Funtown Splashtown U.S.A. is the largest amusement park in the state of Maine.
This family-owned amusement park almost closed due to the covid-19 pandemic,
but they returned in 2021 to provide the same fun experience as always. Not many coaster enthusiasts
make it out to Funtown due to how far north it is, but is that a mistake? In this video,
I will review Funtown Splashtown U.S.A. and explain why this is a solid park for what it is.
Funtown has a really interesting history and its origins go back to 1960. That
was the year when Ken Cormier opened a drive-in restaurant. A few years later,
Andre Dallaire, who was Ken’s brother-in-law, opened a mini golf course next door.
Over the next few years, both attractions started adding carnival rides. Then in 1967, Cormier and
Dallaire partnered to form Funtown U.S.A. In 1978, Cormier bought out Dallaire’s
interest in the partnership. And then shortly thereafter, Dallaire purchased the old drive-in,
tore it down, and opened Cascade Water and Amusements a few years later. Both parks continued
to expand, but they would once again join together in 1996 when Cormier bought out Dallaire’s park.
This is when the park was renamed to Funtown Splashtown U.S.A.
While both parks saw a lot of growth in the 1980s and 1990s, recent additions to the park
have been sporadic. In the past decade, the only new addition was the Mount Olympus Water Tower
in 2012. The last attraction added to the dry side was the used Wild Mouse coaster in 2009.
Funtown’s most recent projects have been to refurbish existing attractions. And while this
park doesn’t add many new attractions, Funtown always looks great. Most of the park is very
well-shaded, the rides are colorful, and the park is quite charming. And the super friendly
staff members add to the nice atmosphere. Most of the park is unthemed, but the two
signature rides on the dry side have their own themed lands. Excalibur is located in
the very back of the park in the Camelot area. The wood coaster has a fanciful castle station
that looks great both on the inside and outside. Then Dragon’s Descent, their S&S drop tower,
has a stunningly beautiful dragon archway and an oriental operating booth. There aren’t many
drop towers with as much theming as this and it gives the ride a much stronger presence.
One quirky thing about this park is its layout. The park had a convoluted history and the park
layout embodies that. There was never a masterplan for this park’s expansion. This has resulted in
the park being one windy path that forms a giant dead-end. And the route has some weird pathways.
The most notable is the section where the midway is routed through the porch of a restaurant
and then over a series of stairs that pass over the Antique Cars. This section of the
park can become a chokepoint on busy days, but usually crowds are very manageable here.
Even on weekends, it’s rare to have to wait long at Funtown. Excalibur is usually just a 1-2 train
wait and most of the other rides are walk-ons. The only ride on the dry side that often has a
sizable wait is the Astrosphere indoor scrambler due to its long cycle time and glacial load
procedure. Splashtown tends to be busier and some of the tube slides can generate half hour waits.
Visitors have the option to purchase wristbands for just Funtown, just Splashtown, or both parks.
As of 2021, a combo pass will cost you roughly $40. If you arrive later in the day,
Funtown has major discounts on both single park and combo wristbands. In past years, I could buy
a Funtown wristband for the final 3 hours that cost roughly $13-15, which was an amazing value.
If you don’t want to ride anything at Funtown, the most economical option is
to purchase a Splashtown wristband. The park used to offer a walk-around pass,
but they discontinued that. Since you have to walk through Funtown to access Splashtown,
buying a Splashtown wristband is a way to save a little money if you’re just supervising children.
Funtown has a very short season compared to most parks in the US. It’s often only
open from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend. This is mostly due to staffing,
rather than Maine’s weather. Speaking of weather, Funtown is one
of those parks that is quick to close in the event of inclement weather. If there’s a rainy forecast,
the park often doesn’t even open. When that happens, they post an update on their website and
social media. Just keep that in mind if you’re planning a visit and coming from a distance.
Moving onto the ride lineup, the star is easily Excalibur.
This Custom Coasters Internation wood coaster has a lot of similarities to Holiday World’s Raven.
Excalibur has a great setting in the woods, some powerful drops, good airtime hills,
and very strong laterals. This coaster has some of the best laterals of any coaster.
The coaster has run a little rough in past years, but Excalibur received some much needed trackwork
this past off-season, which has it running better than it has in nearly 2 decades. I have a separate
review going into more detail, but this is one of the most underrated wood coasters out there
since it does a little bit of everything. And if possible, try to get a night ride on this coaster
since there’s very little light along the course. The only other coaster is a Maurer Wild Mouse. I
always found it odd this park doesn’t have a kiddie coaster, but the park at least has
these custom cushions they can slide onto the Wild Mouse’s lap bar to allow younger guests to
ride. I’m not the biggest fan of this coaster’s temporary-looking appearance, but the hairpin
turns deliver some strong laterals and it is an upgrade over the old Galaxi that it replaced.
Funtown has a decent mix of flat rides. You have plenty of spinning rides, but one notable omission
is the lack of an inverting attraction. I hope this is something the park adds in the future,
whether it be a flat or a coaster. There are 3 notable flat rides. The best is
Astrosphere, the aforementioned indoor scrambler. This is among the slower scramblers out there,
but that’s very deliberate. Astrosphere is more of a show than a ride. The ride has stunning lights
and projections paired with ELO’s Fire on High. I have an entire video going into indoor scramblers,
but this is the best of the bunch because of those show elements.
The most intense flat ride is Dragon’s Descent, the park’s 220 foot or 67 meter tall
S&S turbo drop tower. This one offers breathtaking views of the park, woods,
or Atlantic Ocean depending which side you face. I recommend sitting on the side facing the dragon
entrance for the most scenic view. This one packs more of a punch than the other S&S drop towers.
The start of the drop is more violent, which offers a stronger pop of airtime.
The final notable flat is the Bumper Cars. Funtown’s cars are average in strength and speed,
but they run them for a super long time and the arena is wide open.
Not only does this create a lot of chances for collisions, but they are one of the few
parks that openly allows head-on collisions. I guess that’s not too surprising given the
sign by Excalibur. Rather than saying “No Trespassing” like most parks,
the sign says “Is There Life After Death? Jump This Fence and Find Out”. It’s a seemingly
unthinkable sign to see at an amusement park in America in 2021, but I find it pretty funny.
For younger guests, you have the largest cluster of kiddie rides on the midway by Astrosphere.
And then for families, your best bet is the small area to the left of the main entrance.
This area has always felt a little soulless compared to the rest of the park.
It’s lacking the same shade and charm. The area is near the park’s Grand Prix Go Karts
and one unique thing is that Funtown actually includes these with a Funtown wristband. Go
karts are upcharges at most parks, so it’s really cool they’re included.
For water rides, you have some bumper boats and New England’s tallest log flume in Thunder Falls.
This one has a scenic course and a solid final drop. It’s not super steep,
but it has the aforementioned height. And this one can be a real soaker. The splash itself is fine,
but there are tons of water cannons and the locals love firing them at unsuspecting guests.
Splashtown is a solid water park with something for everyone. There are three slide towers. The
older slides are in a line and consist of a mat slide and a few tube slides. The best thing about
this tower is how the Liquid Lightning slide starts with a helix through some rockwork.
The other two slide towers have the park’s newest water slides. One has Mammoth and Tornado.
These are the park’s two most popular slides. Mammoth is a long family raft slide while Tornado
is a thrilling funnel slide with a great drop. The newest slide tower is Mount Olympus, which
has a short mat racing slide and two extreme drop pod slides. Poseidon’s Plunge goes straight down
while Triton’s Twist has a forceful flat spin after the drop. These slides are intense,
but you need to watch out for your back. You can really feel the joints in the slide’s pieces.
Fortunately, the park offers a remedy. There are these backboards you can wear. They look stupid,
but they significantly improve the ride experience both from a comfort and speed perspective.
Then for younger guests, you have the Pirates Paradise water play structure and some smaller
pools. One attraction I’ve always found it weird that they’re lacking is a lazy river.
That seems to be a staple at most water parks. Funtown doesn’t have many restrooms or food
stands, particularly towards the back of the park. But the food stands the park
has are average for an amusement park. The best food are the fries at Mainely Fries,
although you can get superior fries at the nearby Pier French Fries. I recommend getting food at
Old Orchard Beach after a day at Funtown. The one annoying thing about Funtown is that
this is one of those parks that usually does not offer free water. I say usually because
this park’s policy about water is inconsistent day-to-day and employee-to-employee. In general,
if you purchase a food item, you can get a cup of water for free. If you just want a cup of water,
you sometimes can get it for 25 cents. Other times you have to pay the price of a soft drink.
But if you’re pregnant or ex-military, I believe you can get free water all the time.
I wish this policy was more consistent. So do I recommend Funtown U.S.A? This
isn’t a destination park, but if you’re in New England, it’s an enjoyable park.
Between the strong atmosphere, good service, and decent rides, there’s enough to satisfy everyone.
Excalibur and Astrosphere the two standout attractions that are not to be missed.
If you only care about Funtown or Splashtown, this is a half day park. But if do both,
it can become a full day park. Of the New England parks,
I prefer Six Flags, Lake Compounce, and Canobie, but Funtown finds itself in that next tier. But
it becomes more attractive when paired with the nearby Old Orchard Beach
since you have another amusement park in Palace Playland plus scrumptious food.
So those are my thoughts on Funtown Splashtown U.S.A, Maine’s largest amusement park.
Have you been to this park? What are your thoughts about the park or any of the rides?
I would love to hear what you think down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!