Diggerland USA, NJ – April 9th 2022

For years we have wanted to take the kids to Diggerland USA located in West Berlin, NJ. We read many great reviews and researched the park a lot and felt while going up to NJ for spring break that we should make a stop by Diggerland before heading home.

It just so happens that Saturday April 9th, Diggerland opened for the season and we were able to go on opening day.

As soon as we arrived we were surprised at how the park looked. Not really sure exactly what we were expecting, however, initially it was not what we expected.

The first ride we went on was Battle Trucks. Battle truck takes you around a dirt course in a 5-ton military transport vehicle. This ride had a min. height of 30″, Taylor was able to ride and we were hopeful that she would be able to ride more rides (that was not the case).

Next up – Elevation Station, 8-ton diamond plate deck with 2 main hydraulic cylinders powered by a 48- horse power diesel engine and raises guest 60 feet in the air. Opinion: pretty boring but neat the see the park from 60 feet up and cool to be on one.

The kids and Blake all took turns on the Backhoe Adventure while I watched Taylor. Only 1 Backhoe was in operation today and it made the rides go very slowly. Only 3 guest and 1 operator ride at a time and each person can switch out and drive if they want. The kids enjoyed driving and controlling the Backhoe and that made it all worth it.

Not knowing how busy the park gets or how busy the park would get on opening day Blake and the kids went on the Ropes Course while I took Taylor to the playground. Diggerland’s Ropes Course is 4 stories tall, one of the largest in the world. The kids had a blast with all of the obstacles along the course.

Crawl Space aka the Playground, not just for Taylor but for all the kids was a lot of fun!

Next up, the 32 foot Rock Wall. Blake and Austin made it to the top, for the rest of us, well we all tried…..tried our best. The nice thing about the ropes course and rock was is they are both included with the price of admission.

Next to the Rock Wall sits 3 “thrill rides”

Spin Dizzy

The Spin Dizzy was by far our favorite ride at Diggerland. Guest spin in a 12-ton, high torque JCB JS 220. It really gets your stomach dropping.

Dig-A-Round

Described as half excavator and half merry-go-round, guest sit in the bucket of a JCB 8065 and go around forwards and backwards in a 14,515 excavator. On one of Austin’s rides, the harness wasn’t secure but the ride operator quickly fixed it for him. Not without some tears being shed by Austin.

Sky Shuttle

Guest sit on a JCB 540-170 Telehandler and go straight up for 50 feet. The ride offers views of the entire park. The Sky Shuttle is a 26,587 lb machine with a turbocharged engine.

For the rest of the attractions, Blake and I took turns riding them with the kids. The kids had so much fun being able to operate all of the heavy duty equipment (it was fun for us too).

Dumper Trucks

Blake and I had to take turns riding with most of the kids due to the height requirements for the operator being a minimum of 56″. For Dumper Trucks, guest drive around in a 1,310 pound Terex TA1EH with 22hp.

Skid Steers

JCB Skid Steer Loader 135 with 47.9hp, minimum operator height of 48″ making these perfect for the kids to drive alone. Isabella was a little hesitant to drive by herself but in the end she decided to. Austin wanted to ride with Blake. While the kids took turns, I went to get drinks and snacks for everyone. The snacks weren’t enough and once everyone finished riding, we got more snacks.

After snacks and drinks it was back to riding rides.

Greased Beast

Guest board seats in the rear hopper section of a steel demolition trailer. Guest are then lifted up about 35 feet in the air followed by a dumping simulation.

Big Diggers

Guest operate and dig with a JCB 8030/8029 weighing 7,092 lbs.

Mini Dig: Bowlers/Ducks

Guest operate JCB 8018 mini-excavators to bowl and pick up ducks.

Rugged Riders:

Guest ride Kubota RTV-900s weighing 2,000 lbs with 21.6hp around a track.

Farm Tractors

Guest drive Kubota B2601 Tractors around a track. Minimum height to drive the tractors is 48″. This however proved difficult because both Austin and Arianna had trouble driving them because of their height.

Before making our way to the opposite side of the park, Blake and the kids get on the Ground Shuttle. Taylor wanted to ride and of course was too small.

Ground Shuttle

Once on the other side of the park, we were the only guest there and had the area to ourselves.

Barrel Train

Taylor could actual ride the Barrel Train and she was so happy! The Barrel Train is pulled by a Ventrac 4500.

Ventrac 3400’s

Turnpike Tractors

Ethan didn’t need an adult to ride with him because of his height but I wanted to ride with him so I jumped in the back of his. I also drove Arianna, Isabella and Austin around on one.

Shake N’ Roll V2

Dynapac CC950 double drum vibratory rollers. All the kids were able to drive and they did a great job as these were not the easiest to operate.

We went back to the Spin Dizzy and rode it a couple times, played on the playground and Austin did the rock wall until it was just about to go home.

The exit to the park is through the gift shop, so needless to say the kids wanted to get something.

And once again, we closed the park down.

All and all, Diggerland USA was a fun park to visit and we can cross it off our list. I wish Younger kids could ride more things with their parents but that wasn’t a deal breaker for us. The kids had a fantastic time and that is what matters!