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Thrill, chills and spills in New York StateLooking for Amusement in all the Right PlacesBy Sandra ScottGet the adrenaline pumping and let the fun begin. Take a child, or a grandchild, or release the child within and head to one of New York States’ many amusement parks for thrills, chills, and spills. The big ones
Darien Lake is located between Rochester and Buffalo, take Exit 48A off NYS Thruway. The cost: adults - $34.99, children under 48" - $24.99, children 2 and under - free. For more information check www.sixflags.com/parks/darienlake or call (585) 599-4641.
To get to The Great Escape take Exit 19 off Interstate 87. The costs: adults - $39.99, children under 48" - $24.99, children 2 and under - free. For more information check www.sixflags.com/parks/greatescape/index.asp or call (518) 792-3500. The wet ones
The cost: adults - $24.95, children 3 to 12 - $21.05, children 2 and under - free. For more information check www.watersafari.com or call (315) 369-6145.
The cost: adults - $20.95, children under 48” - $16.95, single ride tickets are available. Check www.seabreeze.com or call (800)-395-2500. The smaller onesHear the thunder! Feel the rush! Try extreme body sliding at Thunder Island, a small family-owned park in Fulton. The thunder you hear will be your heart pounding as you race through the Thunder Rush, an enclosed tube, into a huge bowl and swirl out of control into the drain, dropping into 8 feet of water. The costs: prices range from individual Go Kart rides for $5:00 to a Park Pass for $16.95. For more information check www.thunder-island.com , (315) 598-8016.
The cost: adults - $18:50, children under 48” - $14.50. For more information check www.roselandwaterpark.com or call (716) 396-2000.
More places to find thrills: Magic Forest: Lake George, www.magicforestpark.com , (518) 668-2448 Water Slide World: Lake George, www.adirondack.net/tour/waterslideworld/index.html , (518) 668-4407 Martin’s Fantasy Island: Grand Island, (near Niagara Falls and Buffalo), www.martinsfantasyisland.com (716) 773-7591 Midway Amusement Park: Maple Springs near Chautauqua, www.midway-park.com , (716) 386-3165 Rye Playland: Westchester County, www.ryeplayland.org (914) 813-7000 Victorian Gardens: NYC, Central Park, www.victoriangardensnyc.com , (212) 982-2229 Astroland: Coney Island, Brooklyn, www.astroland.com (718) 372-0275 Adventureland: Farmingdale, Long Island, www.adventureland.us , (631) 694-6868 Splish Splash: Riverhead, Long Island, www.splishsplashlongisland.com , (631) 727-3600 Zoom Flume: East Durham, www.zoomflume.com , (800) 888-3586 For more information (800) CALL-NYS or visit www.iloveny.com Images by Sandra Scott, Six Flags, Roseland Park, Enchanted Forest, and Seebreeze amusement parks. |
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Celebrate Six Flags’ 45th anniversary
on Darien Lake’s newest scream maker, the Big Kahuna, a 700-foot long extreme
four-person rafting adventure. Keep the scream factor going as you speed 70 mph
on Superman Ride of Steel, one of the tallest coasters in the Northeast. Darien
Lake, the largest Theme Park and Resort in New York, has thrills for everyone in
the family plus a Performing Arts Center, hotel and campground. 
Holy Bat Man! Brunch with Bugs! Visit Six
Flags’ other NYS park, The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom near Lake George.
Have brunch with Bugs Bunny and other Looney Tune characters plus meet Batman
and Robin, two of this year’s new characters from the Justice League. For big
thrills ride the Cannon Blaster, the Boomerang, and Comet roller coasters. Bad
weather can’t spoil the fun, the new Great Escape Lodge, reflecting the
Adirondack Great Camp style, is the first hotel in New York State with an indoor
water park. 
Chill out on one of 31 water rides at
New York’s largest water theme park, Water Safari Enchanted Forest, on Route 28
in Old Forge. Tube through the jungle on the Amazon, scream down all 500 feet of
the double tube slide, or be a shadow of yourself as you slide through the
enclosed Shadow. Spin dry on the Tilt-O-Whirl before taking a train ride through
Story Book Lane. Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Enchanted Forest with a visit
to their new Museum of Enchanted Memories featuring 50 years of past thrills and
fun. 
What is the 4th oldest amusement park
in the country? It is Seabreeze Amusement Park in Rochester, which opened in
1879. Those first visitors, even their wildest imagination, could never
envisioned Seabreeze’s newest attraction, The Helix. Take a friend, or go alone
– if you dare! From the top of the 45-foot slide, alone or tandem, whoosh
through the pipe on an inner tube to the giant fiberglass bowl and into the
vortex. Then hop over to the Rabbit; built in 1920 it is the third oldest
operating coaster in the country. The wooden coaster has over 2000 feet of track
with a 75-foot drop, plus exciting curves and dips before ending in a dark
tunnel. 
Ride the wave at Roseland Waterpark on
Canandaigua Lake. The park’s Giant Wavepool has a beach entrance, 5-foot waves,
six wave patterns, and lifeguards. It is the largest water park in the Finger
Lakes Region with 56 acres of water fun, plus heated water. 
Make this summer a thrilling one. Pick a
park! Pick any park! Visit one of New York States’ amusement parks – or, even
better, visit all of them!