Details of the 5-Year Plan for Rye Playland Released

Sustainable Playland and CAI Parks have released a document showing off the five year plans for the classic Rye Playland, detailing what rides are planned to leave - and what ones will be built.  Over the course of five years around $14 million will be spend on new rides.

The plan is not totally dissimilar from the independent plan that CAI Parks submitted some time ago, before joining forces with Sustainable Playland.  There are a few less ride additions, but still a lot of new toys.  Keep in mind that while this project is moving forward, it still does not have the ultimate final vote and approval of the County Board of Legislators.

The work is proposed to start in 2014 with the removal of some of the older kiddie rides, which would be replaced by a bunch of newer Zamperla models.  These include a Jump Around, Happy Swing, Samba Balloon, Magic Bikes, Sky Tower, HydroRace and Rockin' Tug.  All of the new kiddie rides are shown with appropriate theming.  The Family Flyer, and kiddie coaster already at the park, would be moved, refurbished and rethemed.

In order for the new rides to be added the proposal would see 18 rides and attractions removed.  The full list is above, but a large amount of the removed rides are for children.  Other removals include the Antique Cars, Go Karts, Himalaya, Yo-Yo, Wipe Out and Miniature Golf.

Over the next four years there would be a large amount of bigger rides added to Playland.  These include a Discovery (spinning thrill ride), Galleon (Pirate Ship), Flying Carousel (above), Electro Spin (Disk'O) and the high flying Air Race.  Coasters would also come on board in the form of a launched MotoCoaster and a Spinning Coaster.  After year three the Playland Plunge, a splash boat ride, would be removed in favor of more open park space along the water.

This slide is included in the proposal and shows off how much would be spent on each new ride over the years.  Very telling, and not something you often find made public.  If you've ever wanted to know how much Zamperla rides cost, here's your chance!  You can have a MotoCoaster for $4.5 million, or an Air Race for $1.1 million!  Also notice that they've added a Water Mania attraction for the 7th year out - one of the company's latest attractions.

The plan also calls for the renovation of 7 of the park's classic attractions.  These include the Derby Racer, Grand Carousel, Ye Old Mill, Dragon Coaster, the Whip, Kiddie Carousel and Kiddie Coaster.  All these rides will receive a through refurbishment that will preserve the rides for years to come.

In year four there is a plan to build a water play structure at a cost of $1.5 to $2 million, a larger sized one that would be located near the beach and outside the main amusement area.  The addition would attract even more families to the area, and serve as a mini-self contained water park.

Other improvements to the property in general (non-amusement) would include new indoor and outdoor sports fields, restoring the Ice Casino, totally reviving the original architecture of the property, upgrading the beach, parking, and shoreline areas.  Obviously there are a lot of details available about those plans, but I'm skipping them for now and focusing on the amusement park aspect.

This plan is sounding more promising, I must say.  I'm anxious to hear a 'real' final decision on the future of the park.

You can access the full plan in .pdf form by clicking this link.