A John Deere 650H at Diggerland. Photo credit: Diggerland USAThough the grownups have always been more than welcome to hop on a machine at New Jersey’s Diggerland USA, the heavy equipment theme park’s many attractions are mostly comprised of compact equipment and aimed at children.
But that’s all about to change with the launch of what the country’s only construction theme park is calling Diggerland XL.
Following the example of a few other equipment playgrounds around the country (like Extreme Sandbox), Diggerland will open the new area of the park April 2 requiring that participants be 18 years or older. The park is promising “unrestricted fun” on three larger pieces of John Deere heavy equipment:
- 444J wheel loader: Diggerland has created a Jenga-like game for the 444J which involves patrons loading up and hauling everything from telephone poles to skids of water through an obstacle course.
- 225C LC RTS excavator: On this 225C patrons will be tasked with digging “holes deeper than you can stand in”, moving thousands of pounds of tires and “excavator basketball.”
- 750C dozer: On the 750C patrons will be able to operate through an obstacle course, build and tear down hills and learn the basics of grading. (We’re not sure why Diggerland used a 650H in the promotional photo above.)
Park patrons will be able to choose from 90-package or a three-hour package which include 30 minutes of one-on-one instruction with a park operator. Once inside the machine they’ll stay in contact with their machine’s expert through a radio headset.
Tickets to the new area can be bought at the Diggerland website. The 90-minute XL package runs $199 for time on one machine and offers the option to split machine time with one other person for an extra $50. The three-hour package runs $349 for time on two machines with a time split option for one additional person of $75.
Diggerland is currently opened during weekends only. Daily hours begin June 13. The park, located in West Berlin, New Jersey, opened in the spring of 2014 and features nearly 30 heavy-equipment-based attractions.
