On February 28, 2003, the day after the beloved icon Fred Rogers passed away, thousands of letters from people of all ages around the world began flooding stations and newspapers. They wrote in to express their sadness, but also to describe the impact he had on their lives: helping them deal with the death of a pet, cope with war, or welcoming them into his land of make-believe. Rogers died in his Pittsburgh, Pa., home at the age of 74, after a short battle with stomach cancer. With 40 years in television, Rogers, an ordained Presbyterian minister, devoted his life to promoting positive childhood development and facilitating communication between young children, their parents, and those who support them. He is best known for his Emmy-award-winning show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which began in its early form in 1963 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., then was later picked up by PBS. The last original episode aired in 2001, making it PBS’s longest-running program ever. But his influence stretched throughout the world. Rogers’ endeavors throughout the years included educational books and videos, museum exhibits, planetarium shows, and a shopping mall play area. He even touched the amusement industry, with his Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe attraction at Idlewild and Soak Zone in Ligonier, Pa. Unlike many other industry legends, Rogers never intended to introduce his famous character’s King Friday XIII, X the Owl, Henrietta Pussycat, Daniel Striped Tiger and others, into a theme park setting. In fact, he had previously rebuffed a number of offers from corporate operators. The situation changed in the 1980s when a children’s theme park featuring Mister Rogers’ characters was proposed as part of a redevelopment project in downtown Pittsburgh. Kennywood Entertainment, which had just purchased Idlewild Park, about an hour east of Pittsburgh, was concerned about the competitive impact of this project on its new acquisition. As a result, then-chairman Carl Hughes contacted his company nonprofit, Family Communications, Inc. (FCI), about developing an attraction for Idlewild instead, thinking it would fit in well with Idlewild’s target market of families with small children. The downtown Pittsburgh proposal soon fell by the wayside, but Hughes and FCI maintained contact, talking on and off about a project. Eventually it was decided to get together and see what could be developed. A meeting was scheduled between Fred Rogers and his staff and Kennywood Entertainment management during which Kennywood President Harry Henninger pulled Rogers aside for a private conversation. In the course of the 20-minute discussion, Rogers and Henninger agreed on a basic concept in which visitors would ride on the show’s famous trolley through the Neighborhood of Make Believe. Rogers agreed to be responsible for the creative side of the attraction, while Kennywood would take care of the hardware and keep the attraction faithful to the show. “We did the whole thing on a handshake. There was no contract,” recalls Henninger. “It was a better agreement than we could have ever done with 200 lawyers.” Unlike the proposals from corporate theme parks, the prospect of developing an attraction at Idlewild was especially appealing to Rogers. He grew up in nearby Latrobe and visited the park often as a child. As an adult, he took his two sons there and even used the park as the setting for a couple of segments on his television show. “He had an affection for the park,” notes David Newell, director of public relations for FCI and the actor who plays Mr. McFeely on the show. The project held appeal for Rogers. The low-key, family-oriented personality of Idlewild Park meshed well with that of Rogers. “Like Rogers, Idlewild Park has always been about quality time with the family,” says Idlewild’s current general manager, Jerome Gibas. With an agreement reached, the parties went to work refining the concept. Kennywood officials took Rogers and some of his associates to Paramount’s Kings Island, near Cincinnati, Ohio, to show him their Smurf’s Enchanted Voyage ride. Rogers liked the fact that the ride had a “gentleness” to it, but he wanted something more for the Idlewild attraction. “He wanted something interactive, where parents and children could sit together and spend quiet time in the woods,” according to Cathy Droz, FCI’s director of special projects. Hedda Sharapan, FCI’s associate producer says, “He always encouraged participation on the show, and it was important that the ride did that.” Ironically, according to Newell, Rogers had a healthy disdain for television, but saw it as a means to deliver his message and facilitate communication among family members. Rogers saw the ride as having the same potential. Rogers went to work on a script, developing an all-new storyline especially for the attraction. The end result was a highly interactive ride through the Neighborhood of Make-Believe. Park guests, traveling in the Neighborhood Trolley, visit each of the characters at their houses and invite them to the castle of King Friday XIII for a “Hug ‘n’ Song” party. For the grand finale, the riders hug each other and sing “It’s Such a Good Feeling,” one of Rogers’ better-known songs. As on the television show, the trolley enters and exits the neighborhood through a tunnel. “Young kids have a hard time sorting out real and pretend,” relates Sharapan. “The tunnel is that transition. It encourages pretending.” When he first read the script, however, Henninger was skeptical that riders would actually participate at the level Rogers envisioned, hugging each other and singing at the end. He recalled Rogers telling him to trust him and he turned out to be right. The hug is now the highlight of many visitors’ day at Idlewild. “The concept was an extension of the story he was trying to tell,” says Henninger. Construction took place in a heavily wooded area, away from the busiest areas of the park. A path was carved out of the woods for the 1,600-foot-long trolley track. Each of the eight scenes, including King Friday’s castle, Corny’s factory, X and Henrietta’s tree, and Daniel’s clock, were carefully constructed using snapshots of the studio sets. No blueprints were available. Rogers closely monitored the construction to make sure that it was as faithful to the television neighborhood as possible. FCI’s staff took care of decorating the scenes, while the Creegan Co. and Sally Industries created the characters. They provided videos of Fred using puppets to give the manufacturers a better sense of each character’s movements. Rogers was very particular about details—he counted the whiskers on Henrietta Pussycat to make sure they were the same as the television puppet. The trolleys were among the biggest challenges the team faced. Given the central role they play in the ride experience, it was crucial that they resemble the television trolley as closely as possible, but having them custom built would have been too costly and time-consuming. Henninger heard that the Indianapolis Zoo was selling their two horse-drawn streetcars. When they went to see them, they discovered beautiful wood-and-brass trolleys that were almost exact replicas of the television version. According to Keith Hood, who was general manager of Idlewild Park at the time, the deal was sealed when, as they were inspecting the cars, a child walked by and remarked, “That’s Mister Rogers’ trolley!” After sending the trolleys to General Electric’s locomotive factory in Erie, Pa. for the installation of electric motors, the trolleys were ready to roll. Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe was ready for the 1989 season. From the start, it was a huge success, with waitng times often extending for more than an hour. Although Rogers was very excited to see his puppets brought to life, he had mixed emotions over its popularity, and he did not like the thought of “families waiting all that time in the sun.” As a result, Idlewild opened the 1990 season with a new, one-of-a-kind queue line consisting of benches covered by a roof along with signs featuring trivia questions about the show. It provides a nice respite from a fast-paced day at the park and, according to Droz, fits perfectly with the vision of the ride. “It was an extension, allowing families to sit together and spend time with each other.” Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood impact on Idlewild was tremendous. It allowed the park to expand its marketing area and gave it a true identity. “The ride put Idlewild on the map and solidified our marketing position,” says Hood. In addition, its opening resulted in Rogers receiving the Presidential Award from the IAAPA for his contribution to pre-schoolers and their families. But operationally, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe presents a whole series of challenges. While its gorgeous woodland scenery is a spectacular setting, the park has to be vigilant to protect the electronics from moisture and from animals that like to hibernate in the scenes and sometime chew on the characters and structures. Also, the ride attendants have to possess a specific demeanor and require special training because they interact closely with the guests and the characters on the ride. “We look for someone who is very kind, open, has the right voice, and is willing to talk,” explains Idlewild’s Gibas. Not only do they undergo training at the park, but each year Sharapan spends hours with the operators showing them parts of the television show and discussing what people expect during the ride. “They are representing us as well as Idlewild. They have to be giving,” says Sharapan. But FCI’s involvement goes beyond training. Each year, FCI’s staff visits Idlewild to overhaul the ride and prepare it for the upcoming summer season. According to Newell, FCI feels a personal obligation to care for the ride. “It represents Fred and it’s up to us to maintain its integrity.” The opening of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood of Make-Believe ride was just the start of a close relationship between FCI and Kennywood Entertainment. Rogers was a guest at Idlewild during the 1992 IAAPA Summer Meeting and appearances by characters from the television show, including Mr. McFeely, are now an annual tradition. Most recently, FCI launched the Girls Math & Science Partnership, an initiative to increase interest in math and science among pre-teenage girls. As part of the project, Explanitoids, signs that explain the science behind amusement rides, have been erected at Kennywood, Idlewild’s sister park, in West Mifflin, Pa. Naturally, Idlewild Park is planning to remember Rogers this season, but keeping in line with his demeanor, it will be low-key and personal. After all, the last thing Rogers would want would be to sadden people on a special day. All team member nametags will simply say “Welcome neighbor . . . ” and include a picture of the trolley. In addition, a sign at the entrance to the attraction is planned. Fred Rogers’ messages will live on forever and hold particular meaning for the amusement industry. “It gives parents and kids a space and encourages them to interact, to enjoy and appreciate each other,” says Droz. “They’ll be able to go on that ride year after year and remember and appreciate how much their child has grown. It gives parents opportunities to remember what it was like when they were young.” According to Sharapan, “Fred said that the ride helps parents remember what it was like to be a kid. To be able to see the world through the eyes of a child is a real gift.”
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