Philrad's 2010 (mostly) small park adventures

Continuing to enjoy your travels, thanks again for taking the time to share.

Thank you for the nice comments, guys!

Regarding Shockwave, I think it is a bit underrated as well. I remember being absolutely terrified to ride Skyrider at CW back in the 80's after it first opened and I still love that one little airtime hump on the ride. Still surprised that KI got rid of theirs to build that huge bonfire waiting to happen!

After leaving Virginia and a brief stop in Allentown to visit my sister and her family, we headed for NY and New England for the rest of our journey (albeit, with a nasty hangover).

Being that we had a bit of extra time on our hands, we decided to venture over to check out Rye Beach and Playland. I had read on here that there were rumorings of the park possibly closing, so we wanted to visit before that happened...anyone know what the deal is with this park? Is Trump still interested in buying it?

But before we ended up there, we took a little detour...

Ooohhh...ahhhhhhh!

How could you go to Rye and not visit Sleepy Hollow and the haunted cemetery?

If it's epic and/or legendary...we must visit!

We have arrived at the infamous (or maybe not) gate of Washington Irving's grave.

Recognition plaque.

Here is Washington's grave...

I believe there was some nasty pumpkin-chuckin' going on around here.

Eddie Dingle remains. If you're not a Ween fan, you're not gonna get it.

Did anyone know Andrew Carnegie was buried here? I didn't!

If you want to worship the Headless Horseman, you come to this church.

I liked how all of the street signs were Hallow-weeny and had the Headless Horsemen on them. Although, I will say that the downtown area was a little ghetto...

See? How many towns have you ever visited, where there was a random tampon lying on the street? Yikes...everyone back in the Mystery Machine, post haste!

I promise Rye Beach is coming soon...thanks for reading.

Well, well, and very well: this post is getting more and more interesting. Besides the sexy photos of Knobels, you also added photos to my home park of KINGS DOMINION!!! It's the park I first visited in the year of 1978 and I'm still going there.

Okay, more comments.

-So sorry that parade in Knoebels was such a let down, but I do know for a fact that they have a parade at Silver Dollar City that they run twice daily. The best part, you can be in the parade as part of their puppet patrol (the only restriction is that you must be in good health and good shape - no problems if you can handle riding roller coasters and walking all day inside the park). That's what I did last time I was there (in 2005) and that was a highlight for me.

-Don't mind my pillow; she's always this jealous whenever I'm online. Why, last weekend, we both did nothing but . . .

"WILL YOU SHUT UP? Don't talk about it what we did last weekend, cos IT AIN'T NONE OF HIS BUSINESS! But I do appreciate that one of my comments was finally quoted, and I should get the respect I so deserve."

-Moving on, I don't think I ever saw the Flying Tiger ride at Knoebels last time I was there. Is this a kiddie ride or could this six footer, 245 pounder ride it?

-Last time I was there, I was in line to ride the Knoebels bumper cars. I got to the front (meaning - I get to choose the first car) and was waiting for the ride cycle to end. Two dummies did what you should never do in bumper cars: hit each other head on. Suddenly, the power went out and I ended up leaving the line in disgust because the ride was closed due to the power outage (I mean, I've seen people hit each other head on and never have the power go out like that. Maybe it was a coincidence?) I have another reason to visit Knoebles.

-Power Surge is one wicked ride, but it's better if you ride with a partner (trust me on this).

Well, that's all. Keep up the good work on your Photo Trips and I'll make sure my pillow is always satisfied.

"Wow, you really mean that? Take good care of your pillows: trust me on that."

Moving on, I don't think I ever saw the Flying Tiger ride at Knoebels last time I was there. Is this a kiddie ride or could this six footer, 245 pounder ride it?

It is a kiddie ride located over by the Sky Ride. I had never really seen a ride like that before, so I thought it looked cool enough for a pic.

Yes, Knoebels staff will yell at you over the intercom if you do a head-on while riding the Skooters. I didn't do one intentionally, but there were a couple close calls because everyone is just hauling ass all over the place!

Thanks again for the nice comments...hope you & pillow are having a good week together!

I love these types of TR's! Love seeing places that are rarely featured.

BTW, ^^ was that just a conversation with a pillow? Hmmmmmmmm.....ok.

^Yes, I believe it was...just one more reason why TPR is so awesome! It's nice to see that my trip reports bring forth good pillow talk for some folks!

Hopefully some folks will be making love over this one: Rye Beach and Playland Park...let's do it!!!

WTF is Ice Casino? Is that anything like an ice bar? I knew I should have brought Grandma and several rolls of change!

The beach and pool area looked like they might have been impressive at one time, but looked a little run down. On a side note, they were doing lots of work in the general area, so maybe that is a sign of good things to come? Anyone have more info on the beach/pool revamp?

Rides? I seeeeee many, many riiiiiides-uh!!!!!

Well, I've heard these coasters rank right up there with the all time worst. But, will we dare ride? Are those road signs trying to tell us something?

They had a nice fountain at the entrance with bathing skeletons. I assume they were preparing for Halloween...in August? And does it not look like some of the skeletons are in....ummm compromising positions? I say we call this one the "money shot". Wait, if I would have been smarter about this, I would have saved it till the end and called it 'The Climax'. It's these types of blunders why I'd never make it in Hollywood.

Yes! They even have their own hearse just like Cedar Fair parks...but with even better graphics and a waaay better car!

This one's for all the clown-a-phobes out there. I know some people have a genuine fear of clowns, but is there such a thing as a clown fetish where one just can't get enough of their goof-off zaniness? Does anyone out there get massively turned on by squirting flowers, unicycles, squeeze horns and crazy make-up? I bet there is, but I've never Google'd it.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a...slab of faded blacktop in the middle of a kiddy ride? As stylin' as he was...I was a little disappointed that he wasn't sportin' that silver sticker under the brim of his ball cap. That is the coolest fashion statement I have seen since Minnie Pearl left the price tag on her straw hat in Hee-Haw.

Elcom to Rye Beach. I thought about watermarking this one because of it's total awesomeness, but I'm too lazy - steal it if you must.

This would be the Rye beach...or Marble Rye Beach, like I called it. Not sure why everything here is set up to look like a Super Flea without the vendors?

Again...why no vendors? Is it because it wasn't Wednesday, Saturday or Sunday? Or are these car ports in the off-season?

Like Flying Tigers at Knoebels, I thought this was a cool looking kiddie ride...one I haven't seen before.

Take THAT Cedar Point! I might not be able to ride Millenium Force here, but if it rains, I can come back and ride that stinkin' Volare till my face bleeds!

Speaking of that fancy Volare...time to ride! Wait, what?

Michael: "That wasn't too bad."

Phil: "Oh...that was bad!"

Guess my proportions must have been having an off day or something.

Now I do feel like I'm at Cedar Point! I think these were retired transplants from that park in Tijuana...they no longer needed them in their "shows."

$25 for a pie, but who cares - they have beer and fancy mosaic!

But instead of paying $6 for a beer there, we went to the Tiki Bar at the park entrance and paid $8 for one. Woot!

Tiki Bar rocks! Despite the high prices, it was relaxing and we got to overhear the manager/owner talking deals with (who could have been) Donald Trump's cronies trying to swing a deal to buy the park. Or maybe not...but they had a Hoffa-esque like demeanor to them and one had a briefcase, so I figured they must have been talking good stuff. Maybe they were talking about a new Mega-Lite that will hop over the water & feature epic bunny hop air time hills over all the flea market car-ports?

Great views of Long Island Sound!

More Marble Rye Beach Playland Tiki Bar Weird Amusement Park to come soon...thanks for reading!

This would be the Rye beach...or Marble Rye Beach, like I called it. Not sure why everything here is set up to look like a Super Flea without the vendors?

If Jerry Seinfeld were running down the beach with a Marble Rye, that would be Epic! And those Volare's really are brutal.

They should have filmed part of that episode here and had the old lady chasing him down the beach with her purse!

As far as the Volare, all I can think about when I hear that name is some one-hit wonder group from the seventies singing some lame love song. Too bad this coaster design wasn't a one & done!

Playland is another park I really want to visit. Are Volares really as bad as they're made out to be? Great TR, by the way!

Thanks for the TR!

^ Yes - they are.

I remember the crowd being ROUGH when we went on the TPR trip. Not like, OMG I'm gonna die rough, just rough enough to provide hours of entertainment for us!

Still think they need to put the damned ZOLTAN machine back in though.

David

^^Thanks for the comments, guys!

Yeah, the Volare for me was just very, very uncomfortable to ride and I was glad when it was over. I can't say that I got off with cuts or black and blue marks...but it was just uncomfortable & awkward to ride.

Let's just say, I'll take a heartline roll on a B&M anyday over this contraption!

I felt that you bounced around too much and weren't cushioned very well. The restraint system or lack of one if you prefer, doesn't help you out at all. I only rode the one at Canada's Wonderland once, so I haven't really compared, but from what I've heard, riding on the inside of the car rather than the outside is somewhat less painful.

^I'm pretty sure that I took the outside right...maybe that was why Michael said his ride wasn't as bad because he was on the inside.

I never rode the one at CW when we were there a couple of years ago. Even though we walked through 'Black-N-Blue Alley' where the Volare and SLC are located, we skipped both of those as riding Wildbeast was enough pain for one day!

^Haha, I understand completely.

Great TR. I'm surprised I haven't gotten around to this park. Looks pretty run down though. I'm very surprised about that. I didn't know it was on a beach though!

Is it true that Coney Island Luna Park is getting the Volare from Elitch Gardens? (of course they're staying with the Zamperla theme ) If they do I'll ride it strictly because I've never been one. Wouldn't suffer that much if I've ridden one!

I've really enjoyed this TR so far, especially the Knoebels portion.

Is it true that Coney Island Luna Park is getting the Volare from Elitch Gardens?

Luna Park will be getting the Volare from Elitch Gardens.

Is it true that Coney Island Luna Park is getting the Volare from Elitch Gardens?

Luna Park will be getting the Volare from Elitch Gardens.

God help us. Two Volares within an hour of each other

Love the report! This is my home park.

I actually visited the Halloween event and it was fantastic. Just one house, no rides, but it was great and definitely worth 12 bucks. The skeleton fountain thing was the only real decoration but it all looked cool on the foggy night we went there.

Those aren't car ports or vendor spots, that's the midway!

Thanks for the comments everyone...and to Robb and TPR for posting my report on the home page! I always feel honored when I make the big time with my crappy lil' camera and somewhat bizarre commentary!

Someday I'll get me that Nikon, but for now...I suppose we'll have to deal with the oft dimly lighted pictures as shown below in Pt. 2 of Playland.

Before we get to more rides, I'm gonna take my roll of quarters in and double down. Or is that double up? Yeah...that's it...double up. Double Down is that funky sandwich w/o bun that seems to have garnered McRib-like cult status.

Hmmmm...it seems the casino has now been replaced with this hockey rink.

But tricky me...I read Shane's Playland update before posting, so I know the history behind the Ice Casino. Slots were never in the mix, but there was some ballroom dancing in addition to the NY Rangers doing some skating in here for good measure. Definitely a lot of history at this place!

More for the history buffs. I think the park SHOULD be called 'Shangri-La'. If they add that Mega-Lite, enthusiasts would surely be clamoring for the rename!

Yep...more history. If I keep this up, I'm gonna get my report yanked off the front page! It's coaster pics people want to see, right?

Ahhh...finally, a coaster pic! Throw in an all-time classic 'The Whip' for good measure and maybe I've recaptured the hearts of many.

This place is absolutely brimming with classic art deco stuff. I loved the nostalgic feel of the Dragon queue and loading platform. The ride op's were having some fun, although I can't say they were all too efficient in loading trains...especially when there were six of them.

Spoiler alert! If you have never ridden the Dragon before, there is a dirty lil' secret that I must share with you. During the ride, you "enter the dragon" via it's ummm...back side. Then you encounter darkness along with strange odors before you are barfed out of the dragon's mouth right next to 'The Whip'. I had hoped to get a good shot of the coasters back-side penetration, but it is hidden from public eye except from the ferris wheel, which broke down while we were there. What the coaster may lack in airtime, it makes up with hot-n-kinky dragon coaster sex!

For the dark ride enthusiasts, they had a few awesomely cheesy haunted rides. We made sure we hit each one.

While I've heard of 'Freddy Got Fingered' I don't think I have ever heard of 'Freddy got a monster rim job' I guess his posture and the look on his face tells all. It must be all about the forked tongue, I guess.

I'm thinking there were some slight mechanical issues with King Kong Satan's eyes and mouth. Still cool nonetheless.

Why, I think I spy a slight bulge on Dracula! Well, at least what looks like his Lil' Smokie' is pokin' out anyway. But what do we expect for a zillion year old vampire...Long Dong Silver? He's a zillion, people...zillion! Besides...it never was about sex for Dracula...just a little nibble, some blood and it was all good. He's not into that kinky dragon-type stuff!

Here is the Crazy Mouse, but we skipped it. I have to say that after watching a few cycles of it, I'm glad we did as this thing looked riiiiicketyyyy!

Standard log flume, but at least this photo comes with bonus crappy cloud dimming joy!

Thunder Bolt. They had scary sounding rap music coming from this thing, but I don't think there were swear words involved.

Standard shoot the chutes with even more subpar lighting.

Playland's bumper cars made me yearn for Knoebels.

Not sure if everyone's ready for the trifecta of a Wipeout, Star Flyer and a drop ride that looked like it was over before it even started. In case it's not quite enough, we'll throw in the guy in the lower left who was encouraging his kids to line jump the Star Flyer so they could get that front seat - they succeeded with Daddy's positive words of encouragement.

This ride just screams "Take me to the county fair, load me up with candy apples, cotton candy and popcorn and just let me vomit all over everyone!"

The awesomeness of this needs no caption....although I can't help but mention how this amusement park tought us that dragons have very strange (but interesting) bahavioral patterns. I believe that this one is sucking it's own tail. For God's sake dragons, there are children at this park...clean up your act, or at least save it for the internet!

A kiddy Scrambler...how cool!

Any homophobes will want to steer clear of the 'Katy & the Dragon Meet Flamboyant Cowboy Double From Brokeback Mtn and Wendy - The Beer Wench' show. This was probably the coolest, most awesome show at an amusement park I have ever seen except for Mister Rogers @ Idlewild, but that was a ride/show combo. Anyway, this show is more than enough reason to visit Playland...go, GO! Saddle up & do not miss this show!!!!

Learn to live, laugh, love and have fun again...all without the aid of corporate sponsorship! This one is guaranteed to tug at your heart strings, folks.

Interesting that Stratosphere took a kiddy ride just like this, installed it 1,200 feet in the air for a ride that should have been sponsored by Depends.

Rated G version of Dragon w/o back-side penetration. Not sure if they even let whores ride this one - they are all herded to go & try to satisfy the big-boy Dragon.

Thanks Playland! I can definitely appreciate the charm and history behind this great little park. I really don't see that it needs CLP type love, but it could use a little TLC to restore to it's former glory.

Also...great job on the catchy slogan there, Pepsi!

Up next...Lake Compounce and campground photos that could very well doom me to King Kong Satan's Land forever!

Thanks for reading!

This is kinda a late reply but uh, I don't why bet every time I've ridden the Volare down near me (Elitch Gardens, too bad it got took down) I've had a pretty smooth ride. Didn't get any bruises or anything, am I just lucky or something?

^Possible you were lucky...but as I mentioned, the coaster didn't bruise me but it certainly was uncomfortable. Guess my wimpy 39 year old body wasn't impressed, although Michael is 67 and the ride didn't bother him at all - he kinda liked it!

The Whip and Derby Racer are amazing at this park. Loved them!

^Awwww crap...now I'm sorry we skipped them! Were they better than CP's Cedar Downs and Hershey or Kennywood's Whip?

We had the inkling to go on both, but when we entered, we opted to pay for the $15 five ride sampler. We rode the Volare, Dragon, bumper cars and did the haunted houses. I wanted to ride the ferris wheel to get better photos, but it broke down while we were there. Not wanting to wait around, we quickly used up the credit on the bumper cars (which were a disappointment) because it looked like rain and we still needed to head to our campground in Connecticut and try to get set up before nightfall (we failed).

Wow, I liked this report so much that you finally got me to create an account! I like the humor in this thread and it's good to see a report from the park I grew up on.

I just wanted to clarify that you don't go through the back end of the dragon. Its in the mouth and out the... well you know. I also never had a problem with the volare, sure it's not the smoothest coaster, but I never thought it to be rough. It is also a shame that you were not able to ride the whip or the Derby Racer as those are both awsome classics.

Can't wait to see your thoughts on Lake Compounce!!!