Playland in Rye, New York is an amusement park owned by the Westchester County government.
This 90+ year old amusement park has a rich history, classic Art Deco architecture, and
some extremely rare attractions.
But has this theme park kept up with the times?
Find out in this review if Rye Playland is worth visiting.
Playland is located just outside the New York City metro area and is rough 40 miles from
Coney Island.
Playland opened in 1928 and Frank Darling, the park’s original architect, was a former
manager at Coney Island.
Darling in tandem with architectural firm Walker and Gillette made Playland the first
fully planned and designed amusement park in America.
Playland was designed to be a relaxing day out for families.
Along with the amusement rides, the park was situated next to a beach with stunning views
of Long Island Sound.
It’s a really nice location for an amusement park.
This historic park is one of the few owned by the government and Playland was named a
National Historic Landmark in 1987.
The government has done their best to maintain this nostalgic park, but they’ve struggled.
Throughout the 2000s, Playland’s attendance started to decline and local tax-payers have
had to foot the bill.
In 2018, Westchester County contracted Standard Amusements to operate the park.
Westchester Country still owns the park and receives rent, but Standard Amusements is
responsible for investing in new attractions and maintaining the park.
Playland has an undeniable charm.
I love the fountains and beautiful gardens that line the midway.
They add a lot of color and contrast nicely with the flashy rides.
And the Art Deco architecture feels like you’re stepping back in time.
Some of the buildings are in rough shape, but I believe the new operators are planning
on renovating these.
As of 2021, Playland doesn’t have a true entrance.
You sort of just walk into the park.
Thankfully there is a plan to give this classic park the beautiful entrance they deserve in
future seasons.
Admission is free for Westchester residents.
Non-residents either can pay for a $10 spectator pass or purchase a wristband.
In the day and age when park admission is increasing year-over-year, Rye Playland’s
admission has actually decreased over the past decade.
When I first visited the park in 2006 and 2007, wristbands were roughly $35 if I remember
correctly.
In 2021, wristbands- for country and non-county residents- cost just $20.
That is an amazing deal for the amount of rides Playland offers.
There also is a $10 parking fee as well.
Playland is typically open late and this park really comes alive at night with all the lighting.
And if you visit on Friday nights, they often have a fireworks display.
While this is a really nice display, just know this is understandably one of the park’s
busiest days if you’re looking to ride a lot.
Crowds are usually pretty manageable at Playland.
On a busy day, the signature rides can garner waits around 30 minutes while most flat rides
will be walk-ons.
On a quieter day, even the park’s best rides will have minimal to no wait.
The four most popular rides from experience are the Ye Old Mill dark ride, Dragon Coaster,
SuperFlight, and Log Flume.
And be careful trying to get in line for rides near closing.
Playland is one of those parks that closes lines early so the final train goes out right
at closing time.
The operators make judgment calls when to close the queues, so if you want the last
ride of the night on something, you need to arrive early enough.
Moving onto the ride lineup, Playland currently has 5 different roller coasters.
The park’s most iconic ride is the Dragon Coaster.
This Frederick Church designed wood coaster is 90+ years old.
While the coaster is old and manually operated, it is shockingly smooth.
The Morgan trains don’t track as fast as the older ones, so the ride doesn’t have
much airtime nowadays.
However, you can still get a good pop on the first drop in the back and the beautiful dragon
tunnel is always a treat to fly through.
I have a separate review going into more detail, but this is an ok wood coaster.
The park’s best steel coaster is a Zamperla Volare named SuperFlight.
Most enthusiasts hate these Zamperla flying machines for their cage-like vehicles and
roughness, but I’ve never had an issue.
Maybe it’s my height, but this ride never beats me up so I can appreciate the sharp
drops, forceful turns, and hangtime-filled barrel rolls.
Crazy Mouse is a Zamperla wild mouse, but it has operated sporadically in recent years.
If you see this one running, ride it immediately.
The drops on this one fail to offer any airtime, but the hairpin turns have zero braking so
you experience some wicked laterals on this one.
For kids, there are two kiddie coasters.
Everyone can ride Family Flyer, a Zamperla gravity coaster.
But only kids can ride the classic Kiddy Coaster.
This wood coaster circles around Kiddyland.
It’s one of the most sought out credits for enthusiasts because of how tricky it is
to ride, but it is possible during enthusiast events.
The park’s best and most thrilling roller coaster no longer operates.
From 1928 through 1957, the Airplane Coaster delighted guests.
Also designed by Frederick Church, this coaster was praised for its airtime and sharp turns.
It was considerably more thrilling than the Dragon Coaster.
However, this ride was very maintenance intensive and it was ultimately condemned.
Playland couldn’t afford the renovations to fix the ride, so it was demolished in 1957.
But Standard Amusements revealed plans a few years ago to possibly rebuild the Airplane
Coaster and it would be a very welcome addition to Rye Playland.
It would give them a superior signature coaster in my opinion.
Playland still has a trio of dark rides.
The best of the bunch is the Ye Old Mill.
This is a long, slow-moving tunnel of love.
The ride is admittedly dull at points as the ride is poorly paced with long gaps in between
scenes, but the scenes when they do occur are decent.
And there’s creepy atmospheric music that plays in the background.
Just note that single riders are not permitted if you’re visiting Rye Playland alone due
to a tragic incident in the mid-2000s.
Flying Witch and Zombie Castle are the two other dark rides.
These ones are just a cut above a traveling carnival dark ride.
These ones have flashy facades and loud jump scares.
The visual quality is just ok, but there are some interesting audio cues towards the end
of both rides.
For water rides, you have two.
The Log Flume is my personal favorite attraction at the park.
This Hopkins log flume has two solid drops and a layout that winds its way through misty
caves.
If you want something more soaking, you have the Playland Plunge shoot the chutes ride
which will drench you to the bone.
Moving onto flat rides, Playland has a very underrated collection.
The park includes both classics and modern day thrillers.
The most notable is the Derby Racer.
Only three of these high speed carousels remain and it’s a really neat attraction.
You mount a horse with absolutely no restraint and hold on for dear life as the centripetal
force tries to push you outwards.
And along with those forces, the operators jump on and off the platform while the ride
cycles.
It’s truly a marvel to see their skill.
Playland also has a more traditional Carousel.
This historic Mangles creation has a nice pavilion and a wonderful band organ.
This is a must for carousel lovers.
Playland also has one of the best whips in the world.
This one is run much faster, so the turns at the end are considerably more violent.
You’re vehicle is really slammed about in the best way possible.
And it also has a long cycle.
For modern flats, you have plenty of spinning rides scattered about and two other rides
I want to highlight.
Double Shot is a fun S&S launch tower.
While it’s small in size, the two launches deliver strong pops of ejector airtime at
the top.
Then Sky Flyer is an inverting pendulum.
And thanks to relatively loose restraints and the slow rotational speed, you get a boatload
of hangtime on each rotation.
I seemed to levitate out of my seat for a few seconds at a time and then the downswing
delivered some positive Gs as well.
Playland has removed some of their best flats over the years- most notably their Zamperla
Power Surge that would wildly flip guests and the fun indoor scrambler known as the
Mind Scrambler.
Playland also has the kids covered with a large Kiddyland.
It’s one of the largest dedicated kids areas I’ve seen at an amusement park, as it features
21 different rides.
Kids could spend hours here bouncing from ride to ride.
Beyond the rides, you have the aforementioned beach and boardwalk for those hot summer days
if you want a break from the hustle and bustle of the main park.
As for food, I’ve never gotten anything at Playland.
It looks like your typical fair food plus a very popular Popeye’s.
A lot of people seem to bring picnics to the park.
So do I recommend Playland?
If you’re a local, sure!
This is a classic amusement park that feels like you’re stepping back in time because
of all the classic attractions.
That’s the same reason I recommend this park to amusement park historians.
I love this park’s atmosphere and unique ride lineup.
If you’re purely into coasters, I would prioritize the other parks in the Northeast
since this park’s current best coaster is just ok.
Hopefully Standard Amusements can fix that going forwards because a new standout attraction
would really elevate this park.
So those are my thoughts on Rye Playland, the government-owned theme park in New York.
What are your thoughts on this park?
Have you been there?
Let me know what you think about this classic place down in the comments.
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