{"id":233081,"date":"2026-07-01T19:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/233081\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T19:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T19:17:09","slug":"getaway-americas-only-italy-inspired-water-park-is-just-a-two-hour-drive-from-pittsburgh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/233081\/","title":{"rendered":"Getaway: America\u2019s Only Italy-inspired Water Park Is Just a Two-Hour Drive From Pittsburgh"},"content":{"rendered":"

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PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

Last summer, my daughter, Sarah, and I ate pasta in the shadow of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and dipped our toes in Bambini Cove. Then we took a ride on the Tilt-A-Whirl.<\/p>\n

Tipton, a suburb of Altoona in Blair County, is home to DelGrosso\u2019s Park<\/a>, which kicked off its 80th season May 16, and its 2016 aquatic addition, Laguna Splash \u2014 America\u2019s only Italy-inspired water park.<\/p>\n

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PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

In addition to the Leaning Tower fountain, the attraction features numerous slides, private cabanas, a wave pool, the float-friendly River Lazio and a Roman Splash Bucket that dumps 450 gallons of water on waders every 21\/2 minutes.<\/p>\n

Both attractions are owned by the DelGrossos, America\u2019s oldest family saucemaker. DelGrosso Foods is one of the largest private label and co-packers of pasta sauce in the country, producing store brands for more than half of the top 20 grocery retailers in the United States.<\/p>\n

I went on a Spaghetti Wednesday in July. Crowds are smaller mid-week, and you can sup on spaghetti and meatballs or the weekly pasta feature with a fountain drink and a roll included.<\/p>\n

Not into noodles? The waterpark has spots dedicated to pizza, cheesesteaks, burgers and Dippin\u2019 Dots. Sarah went with the Alfredo, while I opted for penne in vodka sauce with grilled peppers. These meals weren\u2019t microwaved in a ramshackle snack bar but instead prepared before our eyes at Pasta Fresca, a cafeteria-style eatery.<\/p>\n

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PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

Founders Ferdinand and Mafalda DelGrosso, known as \u201cFred\u201d and \u201cMurf,\u201d opened their first Italian restaurant in Altoona in 1943. Three years later, they sold DelGrosso\u2019s Cafe and purchased Bland\u2019s Amusement Park, which was established in 1907. The couple spiced up the Bland site by selling gourmet grub to thrill-seeking patrons and worked night and day canning sauces in the kitchen. There\u2019s now a massive production plant located across the street.<\/p>\n

DelGrosso\u2019s Park has dozens of rides, most of them tame \u2014 which makes it a great spot for kids. OK, maybe not my kid, an angsty teenager who, at that time of our trip, was chomping at the bit to visit Boyer Candy Co. in nearby Altoona so she could grab a few Mallo Cups and Clark Bars before the orthodontist put metal braces on her teeth. (She balked when I offered to buy her jars of marinara from the gift shop.)<\/p>\n

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PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

For the park\u2019s 80th anniversary season, I\u2019m planning to return and try more of their offerings, including the Meatball Hero, Sloppy Joe Fries and Murf\u2019s Famous Potato Salad, sold by the cup or by the pound. There\u2019s something very punk about devouring heaping helpings of carbohydrates while wearing a bathing suit in public in your 40s, but a word of advice: Wait a while before you ride the Wacky Worm.<\/p>\n

After leaving DelGrosso\u2019s (and feeling 10 pounds heavier), we swung by Boyer Candy Co.<\/a>, where they\u2019ve been making Mallo Cups the same way since 1936. The factory store can be found at 821 17th St. in Altoona. Owner Anthony Forgione is a stickler for tradition.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy father took over Boyer in 1984, and we were embraced as family,\u201d he says. \u201cWe learned the heritage of the company from the source, and we try hard to preserve it as best as we can.\u201d<\/p>\n

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PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER<\/p>\n

The Boyer and Forgione clans aren\u2019t bonded by blood, but by milk chocolate with a whipped, marshmallow center sprinkled with coconut.\u00a0When they were children during the Great Depression, brothers Bill and Bob Boyer made chocolates in their mother\u2019s kitchen and sold them door-to-door around Altoona.<\/p>\n

Today, the Boyer factory takes up a city block. In 2018, the company purchased the rights, recipes and equipment for making Pittsburgh\u2019s iconic Clark Bar. The D.L. Clark Co. debuted the treat in 1917, but sold its secrets to rival New England Confectionery Co., or Necco, in 1999.<\/p>\n

When the Massachusetts brand went bankrupt, Boyer stepped in to save the yinzer staple. After a two-year absence, Clark Bars returned to store shelves in Pittsburgh on Valentine\u2019s Day 2020. Every wrapper reads \u201cBorn in the \u2019Burgh.\u201d Boyer produces about 7,000 bars a week; they vanish from the outlet store almost as fast as they\u2019re made.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw it as an opportunity to bring the Clark Bar home, bring it back to Pennsylvania,\u201d Forgione says. \u201cIt\u2019s made the way it was made in the early 1900s. It\u2019s a slow process, but it\u2019s a labor of love.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the Clark Bar resurrection, folks started showing up at the factory to donate old keepsakes, advertisements and giveaways, including a hatchet. Forgione is a New York native, but he appreciates Pittsburgh\u2019s attachment to its regional sweets.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can tell where you grew up by the candy you ate,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve fallen in love with what it means to other people and what it now means to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Where to Stay: <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a two-hour drive from Pittsburgh to Tipton, but if you don\u2019t want to make a round-trip in one day, there are plenty of affordable, family-friendly accommodations in the area.<\/p>\n

The swanky Altoona Grand Hotel,\u00a0 which o<\/a>nce hosted President George Bush, has three restaurants, a spa, a 4,500-square-foot ballroom and a heated, indoor pool.<\/p>\n

Not a fan of eating spaghetti and spinning around? Head into town and try an Altoona-style pizza. The Sicilian-style crust is topped with tomato sauce, salami, green bell pepper and slices of American cheese \u2014 and then cut into squares. The delicacy originated at the Altoona Grand Hotel in the 1960s, but most local pizzerias have it on their menu as a matter of hometown pride.<\/p>\n

When to Go: <\/p>\n

DelGrosso\u2019s Park and Laguna Splash operate May through September. Go early- to mid-week when the crowds are smaller \u2014 the concession lines are shorter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER Last summer, my daughter, Sarah, and I ate pasta in the shadow of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":233082,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-233081","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233081","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=233081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/233081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/233082"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=233081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=233081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=233081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}