Operator Dispute Finally Over for Rye Playland (We Hope) + New Investments Planned

The battle over who will be operating Rye Playland has been going on for years, making a bit of a dark cloud hang over the park and creating uncertainty for the classic amusement park.  But it seems that court battle is finally over and perhaps the sun will come out for the park, especially needed as it did not operate in 2020 due to the pandemic.

This news article details that a new contract has been put into place with Standard Amusements that makes improvements over prior contacts with the company in key areas.  Also of note, I really hope that at this point the county regrets not giving the contract to Zamperla years ago.  Anywho, Standard Amusements will take over the park at the end of this year, and run the park in 2022 for the first time since being awarded as operator in 2015.  How crazy is that!

© Playland

Per the contract Standard Amusements will spend $35 million on improving the park, with a maximum amount of $5 million going to overhead.  That means that around $30 million will be spent on upgrades, changes and new attractions.  No details on those changes were put in the contract.

Fans of the park can rest easy knowing that the contract forces the operator to maintain historical rides including the Derby Racer, Dragon Coaster, Grand Carousel, The Whip, Ye Old Mill the Kiddie Coaster and the Kiddy Carousel.  Other rides can be replaced via a review process with the county.

No opening date for Playland's 2021 season has been listed yet that I can locate.  The park had a strong 2019 season when they added a new spinning ride, so hopefully they can keep that momentum going this summer.