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From new ride announcements, construction reports and the latest rumors: Screamscape always has something new to report.
News & Rumors
PLAYLAND PARK Rye, New York
Park News - (9/30/2023) According to a court ruling, the Rye Playland amusement park will retain its tax exempt status. Apparently the city of Rye has been attempting to collect taxes on the theme park ever since they transferred management control of the park (but not ownership) to Standard Amusements. State Supreme Court Justice Anne Minihan backed Westchester County and Standard Amusements in their argument that the property should remain tax-exempt as the property is open to the public and the county itself retains some control over their operations.
(8/5/2023) According to a local news report the Playland Express kiddie train ride at the Rye Playland amusement park in New York jumped the tracks. According to the report below, the rear car left the tracks and struck a nearby wooden pillar near the ride entrance. No kids were hurt, but two employees were treated for minor injuries.
(7/29/2023) If you were trapped on a ride that would not stop for 10 minutes, would you consider this pure bliss or a hellish experience? I have to ask, because I know a good number of Screamscape readers would likely cherish an opportunity to take on experience like that. Personally, I know I would consider it a fun challenge to give this a try on purpose, but riders at Rye Playland felt “traumatized” when the park’s Music Express flat ride started spinning backwards and refused to stop! According to the news report, this took place last week on July 23rd, where the loaded ride refused to respond to controls, as well as attempts to press the E-Stop. The riders were said to have experienced the backwards spin for as long as 10 minutes before maintenance crews arrived on scene and were forced to cut the power to the ride entirely to get it to stop. May I make one suggestion? Perhaps when the Music Express is ready to reopen, it might be kind of fun to rename the ride “Possessed” and maybe incorporate some random ride program sequences so riders never know what kind of experience to expect.
(3/27/23) The local news takes a look at Playland as the park prepares to open for the 2023 season. This includes upgrades to various park structures for the season as well as a look at the park’s newest ride, which actually opened towards the end of last season.
(9/11/22) Rye Playland has been undergoing an extensive series of updates over the past year, cleaning things up, adding a few new attractions here, and massive renovations to a lot of the park’s infrastructure. This comes after years of politics and negotiations had bogged down the process of finding a new operator to invest and take care of the park going forward, but at last the fruits of those labors can be seen. Check out the video below which takes us on a tour of what Playland looks like today.
(8/13/22) Rye Playland has opened a new ride called the Old Rye Motorbike Factory. Guests will climb aboard a vintage looking motorcycle with a side-car that spins around and flies up and down under partial guest control.
