Exploring Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood: Part IV:

Mister Rogers at Idlewild Park

It’s time for our final stop on the neighborhood trolley. We’ve looked at play areas and educational exhibits focused on Mister Rogers, and now it's time to visit the main attraction: Mister Rogers’ The Neighborhood of Make-Believe located within the Story Book Forest in Idlewild Park.

Idlewild is located in the Laurel Highlands area of PA. Opening in 1878, it is the oldest amusement park in PA and the 3rd oldest in the United States This story starts in 1956. Arthur Jennings, an engineer and character performer at Idlewild, approached park management about creating Story Book Forest: a theme park based on "emotion rather than motion". Jennings did much of the work building life-size models of characters and straight from fairy tales. Because he lived in Latrobe, Mister Rogers often visited Idlewild and Storybook Forest with his family.

Photo of The Frog Prince: One of the many fantastical structures in Idlewild’s Storybook Forest (Taken 2003)

Courtesy of The Theme Park Files Member: Shelby Brokaw

In 1989, park president Henry Henninger pitched a ride to Mister Rogers based off of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. The area’s emphasis on emotion and imagination, and Idlewild’s commitment to wholesome family entertainment, related to the values that Mr Rogers taught on his program. It was a great fit for both parties and as such work began developing the attraction. The Neighborhood of Make-Believe was a perfect setting to complement the other imaginative attractions in Story Book Forest. The Neighborhood Trolley was also an excellent way to have adults and children alike traverse the magical area. Idlewild acquired trollies from another amusement park, in which they originally served as horse drawn vehicles.

The attraction opened in 1989 and features a unique storyline about King Friday inviting guests to a “Hug n Song” party. King Friday requires the riders’ assistance in informing the other residents of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe about the party. The first stop is at the Rockit Factory where Cornflake S. Pecially resides. Riders inform Cornflake of the celebration and then proceed to make their way to the Great Oak Tree. X the Owl and Henrietta Pussycat are here and guests once again inform these neighbors about the party. Other stops include seeing Lady Elaine at the Museum Go-Round, visiting the platypus family at the Platypus Mound, talking to Daniel Tiger at the Grandfather Clock, and lastly greeting Prince Tuesday and Ana Platypus at the castle playground. 

2003 Image of Idlewild’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe

Courtesy of The Theme Park Files Member: Shelby Brokaw

Once everyone has been invited, the trolley heads to the castle garden for the “Hug n’ Song'' party. All of the invited residents of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe are here, and guests join in singing the iconic song It’s Such as Good Feeling. The ride became an Idlewild staple, running 25 years until 2013. The ride had an amazing run and it was time to retire. As Fred Rogers Productions President/CEO described: “The ride closed to visitors at the end of the 2013 season, and Idlewild needed to decide how to replace it. By that time, Fred Rogers Productions had introduced a whole new generation of children to the Neighborhood of Make-Believe through its new animated program Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, which premiered in September 2012.”

Pictured: Daniel Tiger, the main character of the television program Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, of which the new attraction was based off of

Photo Courtesy of Schell Games

The attraction was built by Schell Games, a game design company that focused on educational entertainment. Schell Games had previously worked on Daniel Tigers’ website, so they were familiar with the brand. This new attraction would be similar in structure to the original ride in that guests boarded the Neighborhood Trolley as they invited the neighbors to a Hug n’ Song party. However, this time Daniel Tiger would be joining on the Trolley ride. There were discussions on how Daniel Tiger would appear. Would it be someone sitting on the ride in a full character suit, would it be in an animated video format, or through another method? As Schell Games CEO Jesse Schell stated:  We (Schell Games) suggested putting a high quality sound system on the trolley, and having the host suggest "let's imagine Daniel is traveling with us!" and so then we hear Daniel's voice".

A trigger system was used to synchronize Daniel’s line with the trolly’s location on the ride. On this attraction, newer neighbors from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood appear. Because the characters of Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood are from an animated series, the sets mirrored this style. 2D flat-animatronics were utilized for the  character stand ins and flat set pieces were placed behind them. These new neighbors may be unfamiliar to those who haven’t seen Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood PBS program, but the ride still preserves the spirit of the original Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe attraction.

Different Landmarks found throughout Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood of Make-Believe

Photos Courtesy of Schell Games

With our visit to Idlewild, we finish our trolly ride exploring Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and attractions around Pittsburgh, PA. Kids can still explore the Neighborhood of Make-Believe today whether it be through the original show’s reruns, Daniel Tiger’s television show, the small play area in Latrobe, the Pittsburgh Museums, Idlewild, or in their own personal imagination. The world of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood has allowed for kids to express themselves and for adults to express their inner kid. Most importantly, the citizens of the Neighborhood of Make-Believe, and Mister Rogers himself have taught what it means to be an excellent neighbor to each other. We hope you’ve enjoyed this journey and continue following the theme park files on our next adventure!

I’d like to also give a very special neighborly thank you to Fred Rogers Productions and Schell Games, for being extremely kind enough to share their experiences, work, and photos detailing their contributions to the attraction.