Rye Playland - Mothers Day - Where Are The Peeps?

I finally got to break the ice this season by going with my wife and my son to Rye for a couple of hours of fun.

Weather - Picture Perfect, a nice breeze, not a cloud in the sky.

By the way...Today wasn't about power riding or running around. It was family day and I was playing the part of family man...not coaster geek.

When we got to the park by about 1 PM, Mrs. Flux and I were shocked. The rides looked to be running well, but the parking lot was almost 90 percent empty. This was going to be a good day.

Since we only expected to stay an hour or two, I opted for a fun card for 38 points. First off...it was time to hit the bathrooms. The mens room had a worker in it (a sixteen year old kid) but still a uniformed employee. Every Mens room had one and Mrs. Flux said that was not the case for hers. The rooms are still abit on the old side, but they were clean enough. (No hot water though).

Preflux is still below 48 inches. (Dammm!)

We did the Whip...best one I've ever been on...lots of side slams...cycle could have been longer. (No line) The Ride op saw me check to see that he was tall enough,,,he was...but she insisted on double checking herself. Bravo!!!!

Kiteflyer...I like this ride...quite comfortable...portable model...but decent cycle and a very polite ride op.

Preflux was staring at the dragon coaster and really wanted to go on it. He was too short and disappointed. (Note to self---increase steroids---just kidding!)

Mom and son took some time to play skee ball. I like it, but I like watching them better. Mother Fluxer missed her calling...she should go pro.

Skateboarder...weird ride. It only holds 8 people and goes back and forth...some smooth but heavy breaking. The ride op asked if some people would mind moving so I could sit next to preflux. Thank you ride op and little girl who gladly did!

Family Coaster...you go twice around...which is two times too many...if you are tall and value your knees rethink doing this. Oh did I get slammed into the bar on the start of the ride. Dam you family coaster. I gladly return my credit.

Ok...got to admit this. There is a ride in Kiddyland that I LOVE at Playland, but since I usually go solo, I feel stupid going in there. It's called Demolition Derby, which is a figure 8 cuddle up type ride with 2 main plates. Lots of fun. Adults must ride in the back.

Ferris Wheel -> Very breezy up there. Fantastic view. The beach the Long Island Sound, the treetops...perfect!

Preflux then did the wooden kiddy coaster solo. It was his first solo flight. THe ride is beautiful, it's a classic, but when he got off he complained that it was short.

That was it for the rides.

Food: Mom and son had Pizza, which was good, better than poppa John's, and it was $2.50 for a slice. They only sold a one-size soda, about 20 oz. also for $2.50. I had Nathan's. 2 dogs a small fries and 10 oz coke set me back 8 bucks. (A bit undercoooked) Parking was 7 bucks. We went home with 11 points on our card for next time.

Side Comments:

1) Where were the people? We did not wait for any ride more then the current cycle. Perfect day!

2) THere has been quite a few postings of late about the healthier choices and vending machines. HEre's the lowdown. Everything you could get before, you can now. There are some vending machines selling things like sun chips and baked chips, but they were there if you wanted it. Announcements were made in English and Spanish about once per half hour claiming that Playland is now non-smoking except for designated areas.

3) There were a policemen on bicycles and security guards on foot a-pleanty. All were enjoying the day.

4) Beach and pool were closed, but the boardwalk was open.

5) A posted sign at the ticket booths said that the log flume and the plunge would be closed today. I could undersatnd the plunge, but the log flume would have been nice. At least it was posted.

6) Ride Ops-All doing their jobs well. And professionally. All were young teens. BRAVO!

7) Here's something I didn't get. Musically, Rye has a pop-hip hop flavor. (Not my thing, but that's fine). Some rides that offer their own music (such as scrambler, thunderbolt, etc) to go with the ride. (One year I heard the song "Gasolina" 12 times at 12 diffrent rides.) The main sound system of the park was playing songs from the 1970's...that sort of went against what the other rides were playing. I heard "Sham-ba-la" by Three Dog Night, "Sundown" by Gordon Lightfoot and the erie "Vincent" by Don McCean. (Mother Fluxer heard Barry Manilow's "Weekend In New England" while I was getting the pizza.) VERY UNUSUAL.

8) NewsFlash - The Swings Are Gone! I loved the Rye PLayland swing ride which offered double seats and a low height requirement. We were both looking foward to it. In its place is a vending machine. (At least it wasn't playing "Seasons In The Sun.")

Mom - who doesn't like rides, had a nice time, the park had familys and mostly well-behaved children and we had a nice couple of hours at the park.

Happy Mothers To All Our Moms! *** Edited 5/17/2007 3:46:44 AM UTC by Richie Reflux***

With a free gate and being so close to NYC, it seems remarkable that Rye can keep their park as safe as it is. Remember the Lake Winnie incident that resulted in that Draconian admission policy for teens? Other parks such as KW had gang problems back in the 90s which led to a change in pricing policies and the addition of metal detectors at the gate.

Arthur - - - > Another thing that I also found interesting is that the cost of a wristband is now up to $40, but the time on it is for 8 hours which is up from 6 hours last year. I guess if you are going to charge 40 bucks a head, you will increase the amount that each guest spends in the park.

A family of 4 hard-core riders spending $160 is NOT at a park looking for trouble.

The gate may be free, but the rides and the games aren't.

One my trip to NYC our tour guide said that NYC has one of the smallest crime problems in the country, but I guess they still got pick pockets, but I am guessing that you are talking about teen crime which is everywhere.

Great Report, Glad to see you had fun. I was there the week before and it was a bit more crowded, although most of the crowds were in Kiddyland. Same beautiful weather though!

It's nice to see that Playland is once again a safe and enjoyable place to bring your family. Hope when I return in August I can catch one of those free concerts at night, good times!

One question, was either the Old Mill or the Haunted Castle near the House of Mirrors open? It seems that the Old Mill is rarely open now a days..

NoRulz2k - - - > The Old Mill was open (No Line). We didn't go in. I am not sure about the Haunted Castle. I usually don't do those type of things. (It wasn't mention on the posted list of closed rides though, so it must have been running.)

Richie -- all parks charge for the rides whether through admission to the grounds, POP wristbands, or pay per ride tickets.

It is interesting to look at that throwback to the past, parks with free gates. Most of them are smaller parks. Among those with larger revenues and attendance are Moreys, Knoebels, Rye, and SCBB.

An interesting thing about Knoebels is their low pay per ride pricing. Their POP (when available) is comparable to other similar sized parks but their individual rides are priced at about half the price charged by many other free gate parks such as Rye, Moreys and SCBB. Delgrossos is another park that keeps the pay per ride prices inexpensive.

I remember when all of the parks in Western PA had free gates including Kennywood and Idlewild. The parks were mostly pay per ride back then with the average price of an individual ride being relatively low.

Arthur - - - > One of the reasons I like Knoebels so much is that when I go there (And that place is a drive for me so it's always a family deal) is that we don't have to pay for my wife. The park gets a few bucks from her for some food and a few bottles of water, but since there's no gate, it saves me a lot of cash that in a sense is wasted. (BTW, if I may ask, what is SCBB?)

At Rye (Less than an hour's drive without traffic) we also get her in free and once in a while we see a small-scale concert.

I mentioned this last year, but Rye has some high height requirements. Their Mind Scrambler is now 48 inches. (I thought it used to be 46" which means my son can no longer ride it). Even the Wild Mouse Coaster and the Dragon Coaster is a 48 inch requirement. I would NEVER argue about a rule like that, but Flux Jr. wants thrills and can't really get that at other places except Knoebels. (Twister and Phoenix are both taller than the lineup at Rye, but their requirement is only 42".

Once again, I will be making vacation plans based on height limitations.

^SCBB = Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk...aka, IB West. Just as sweet, but a little saltier (due to Pacific breezes). :)

Interesting that MBP was also free-gated, but that's no longer an issue... :(

P.S. PreFlux is getting WAY better rides at KG than Dragon Coaster...that thing needs some lovin' - in addition to new trains! Once he gets on Dragon Coaster, he'll be BEGGING you for more Phoenix... ;)

*** Edited 5/17/2007 7:00:16 PM UTC by rollergator***

Interesting how the height requirements vary for wooden coasters. As far as I know, the lowest minimum height for a non-junior woodie is KWs Jack Rabbit -- 36", the same as most juniors and this for a coaster with a fixed bar, no seat dividers and one of the meanest shots of airtime on any coaster. I believe that the reason for this is that the old cars on it do not have a manufacturers guideline for height, the turns are slow unlike Thunderbolt and Racer, and KW lacks a junior woodie (they used to have one called the Dipper but it was removed to make room for the Raging Rapids ride.)

I believe that the Racer could be ridden safely at 42" rather than 46" now that it has seat dividers and individual seat belts. I just don't know if PTC specifies a minimum height for their coaster trains. Thunderbolt remains 52" for a good reason: fast turns with strong lateral G forces and neither seat dividers or belts -- just a buzz bar.

That is why we went to Kennywood a few years ago. I swear that I based going there because of the small height restriction on the jack rabbitt. (As well as the other family rides that they have there: Kangaroo, turtle, flume, plunge...you would be surprised how many water chute rides we can't go on). Two summers ago, Preflux LOVED the Jackrabbit and his favorite part was the often talked about double dip. He also likes anything having to do with "bunnies" so it was a double win.

The last time we went to GReat Adventure, (Last summer) he almost cried because he saw Nitro and Batman the ride, but I knew in advance that he couldn't go on. (He loves the Fun Factory there though and we could spend HOURS in there. I find it opressingly hot on a hot summer day.)

That's why I treat park visits differently when I travel with my family and when I go solo. There are two COMPLETELY different days. Though I wish we lived closer to Kennywood and to Knoebels.. *** Edited 5/18/2007 12:55:46 AM UTC by Richie Reflux***