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The Construction-Themed Diggerland USA Amusement Park

The Construction-Themed Diggerland USA Amusement Park

By Keith Gribbins June 24, 2014 View Profile

Summer is the hustle season. In construction and landscaping, summertime is slated for serious work. Hopefully, by the time you’ve opened this June issue, projects and contracts have lined up to keep you and your crews rolling large into fall. While the warm weather keeps contractors ultra-busy, it’s still important to find a week or weekend in the summer months for a little relaxation time (to recharge the proverbial batteries). If you have kids or crews that act like them, a little time off can be a much needed sabbatical for everyone involved.

This summer, we suggest you consider North America’s first-ever construction-themed adventure park, Diggerland USA. We know what you’re thinking: What insanity would drive you to want to go to an amusement park that reminds you of the jobsite you just left? Well, we think it might be a cool way to expose your family to the kind of work that keeps you so busy all summer long.

“Diggerland USA will provide a whole new group of children and families with the opportunity to gain hands-on experience with heavy equipment in a safe, fun atmosphere,” explained Thom Peebles, vice president of marketing for JCB North America, in a May press release. “This type of park plays a dual role in both entertaining and educating children who may someday want to turn their experience here into life-long careers in the construction industry.”

Diggerland USA will open its doors to the public, Saturday, June 14. The construction-themed amusement park is spread across 14 acres of centrally-located land in Camden County, N.J., offering visitors of most ages the unique opportunity to operate JCB construction equipment in “a safe, family-friendly environment.” Visitors will have access to 23 onsite attractions, most of which are comprised of modified JCB construction equipment. It’s actually an idea that comes from England. The decision to build the park was made by the owners and senior management of the neighboring indoor and outdoor water park, Sahara Sam’s Oasis, who leveraged the blueprint set forth by the four Diggerland parks in the United Kingdom.

“The opportunity to take the concept of a construction theme park and make it our own was very exciting for us,” said Ilya Girlya, CEO of Sahara Sam’s and Diggerland USA. The Girlya family also owns and operates SAMBE General Contracting which is overseeing the construction of Diggerland USA. “My family has a very personal connection to the project, just as we did with Sahara Sam’s five years ago,” Girlya continued. “Construction has been in my family for many years so it was a natural fit for us to build a construction theme park.”

So, what about the rides? There’s the Dig-A-Round carousel where children climb into the bucket of a JCB 8065 and enjoy the soft, slightly elevated ride around the 14,515-lb 8065 excavator. Enjoy the Sky Shuttle, which takes riders 50 ft into the air via a modified JCB 540-170 telehandler, or the Dumper Truck, which features Terex TA1EH site dumpers where operators are challenged to maneuver around a specially-designed obstacle course. Those are just a few of our favorites. We’d love to know yours too, so send impressions and photos about your trip to Diggerland USA to the e-mail below.