Diggerland: Where Work Meets Play
We were pretty excited when we stumbled across the great article about Diggerland on the Construction Junkie blog, as it looks like the world's biggest sandbox for both kids and adults. While Disneyland may win over many families, I am sure there are more than a few parents of Tonka truck obsessed kids who think Diggerland is the perfect place for a family vacation—especially if your child is ready to graduate from toys to the real thing, or if Dad has “operate an excavator” on his bucket list.
In case you haven’t heard of it (don’t worry, we hadn’t either), Diggerland is North America’s first construction-themed amusement park. Located in central New Jersey in the township of West Berlin, Diggerland is building on the success of four Diggerland parks in the United Kingdom. Offering the chance for big and small kids alike to play construction worker, the park features rides and activities aimed at children and adults spread across 14 acres, using modified equipment to allow children and parents to safely dig, drive, and ride machinery similar to what they see in the field.
With attractions for the kids ranging from a skid steer obstacle course to bowling with a mini-excavator to an excavator merry-go-round, there are more than enough activities to keep the family busy and excited for days. What makes the attractions unique to kids, though, is their interactive nature. While you’re simply a passenger on a ride at most amusement parks, in many cases at Diggerland you're actually in charge, operating the equipment in a controlled environment—letting kids live out their toy truck dreams with real heavy equipment. When the kids tire from all the activity, there is the daily machinery stunt show, featuring must-see heavy equipment acrobatics.
For the adults (sorry kids, it’s only for people 18 years old and older), Diggerland launched Diggerland XL. Diggerland XL lets adults operate real heavy equipment on an open site—unrestricted!—with one-on-one tutelage from one of the park’s foremen and real-time radio communication as you live out your construction fantasies. The park currently features a wheel loader, backhoe, and excavator for use in Diggerland XL, and the cost ranges from $199 to $349 depending on which package you book.
According to Diggerland, the biggest complaint they get is that attendees wish they had more time to stay. We believe it; after all, we wouldn’t be in a hurry to relinquish the controls of one of those beautiful machines either. After checking out all the great videos, there's a lot of buzz around our office about taking a trip to New Jersey to see Diggerland for ourselves. Perhaps we can call it a sales call? After all, Diggerland, like any other construction business, can benefit from the exceptional durability and longevity that have made our Galaxy line of construction tires the go-to brand for hard working construction companies. See you at Diggerland!
