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Fun Forest Amusement Park
Rating Details »
Categories: Amusement Parks, Parks, Mini Golf [Edit]
Neighborhood: Queen Anne305 Harrison St
Seattle, WA 98109
(206) 728-1585
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
19 reviews for Fun Forest Amusement Park
A small chunk of Seattle and my childhood dies when they close the Fun Forest. Should I really give it five stars? No. But damn it, the memories deserve five stars.
Viva La Fun Forest!
I'm totally a fan of the fun forest. I hear it closes after bumbershoot this year (2009). *sigh*
Buckets full of memories here. Flirting, having fun, eluding teacher/chaperones, winning prizes from those stupid token-dozers or dart games, getting sick on bad hotdogs or cotton candy, playing dressup & taking pictures in sepia tone in Middle school, buying rock posters from the poster shop [remember when the center house WASN'T merely a bad food court?? when there was kid themed retail all over?] Remember Flight to Mars? The Enterprise? Band trips to play in the center house? You know you do. At least the log ride is still there, and the Music Express. School field trips and such brought all local kids here at some point, sometimes several times. We used to fill the joint - what happened to that apparent graduation requirement of grade and middle school??
Seattle and Seattle Center specifically will lose a seriously easy/cheap/kitchy/family fun resource. Seattle Center is increasingly being redesigned as a tourist and business event destination - it's less and less a Lincoln-Center / Central-Park-esque "arts&recreation zone" of the city... i.e. it's not really as local-friendly or kid-friendly as it perhaps once was. I'm thrilled about the skate park, and glad Vera Project has a home here, but it's a loss nonetheless. It was, in short, a decent place for a cheap thrill for all ages, and those who know how to retain the youth in their hearts.
I would be thrilled if the City put in a St. Edwards Park style playground on the grounds here. Just sayin'. Might ease the heartbreak and keep the center as a legit place for kids that aren't there just to see theatre or museums. And; Get SeaSK8 back in place ASAP guys!!
The last amusement park in Seattle [and likely the last true amusement park: it's a place for recreation and it amuses... not thrills or scares or entertains, just amuses]. RIP, fun forest, and say hi to Ol' Luna Park for us.
http://en.wikipedia.or...
http://seattletimes.nw...
DDR Experience:
More for the non-players, unfortunately; not that I'm hating, but I for one can't enjoy this nearby DDR spot.
DDR Freak lists 2 machines but I didn't see it. the 5th Mix cabinet.
http://www.ddrfreak.co...
Where is the 5th Mix Machine? I'll have to go back and find it.
Extreme Machine had an unresponsive 2p pad; 1p seemed to be fine, but Doubles fail : (
When I asked the attendant if I could get a refund for the machine not being in a playable state - he responded without looking me in the eyes, "Sorry, we can only give refunds if the machine takes your money."
Bah!
This review is primarily for the rollercoaster at the Fun Forest Amusement Park. A friend of mine and myself decided to ride this little beastie while killing time between acts at this years KEXP BBQ/festival. I must say, it was a bit more intense than either of us thought. Now, this is no Six Flags mega-coaster but I did have a few suprising dips and turns. Not to mention the niggling little voice in the back of your mind thinking "this whole rollercoaster is going to fall to pieces at any second!". Well, we survived...maybe I'm getting too old for these things?!
It's more than a Carney good time, it's ghettotastic, or vintage ghetto, or something. Don't go expecting an actual amusement park, this is Fun Forest, not Six Flags.
I dragged some friends here for my birthday, I hadn't been since I was a kid and was mostly surprised that it still exists. It is sad, the Gravitron truly rocked and is now gone, along with the Haunted House, which was never scary but fun somehow anyway. This time, however, I brought my camera and flask and we got those 20$ all day passes.
First off, cotton candy is just as delicious as I remembered, yet this time I was able to consume it without getting everything sticky. The Ferris wheel offers good views of Seattle Center and plenty of time to pass the flask around. The log ride gives you less drinking time, but makes it more exciting.
My favorite parts of Fun Forest was that there were no lines for the rides, and the amazingly bored carnies. They seemed to be ?Russian? ?Eastern European?, and very, very stoned. Their complexions suggested that they do a lot of speed, so maybe they were crashing from the night before? As the night wore on they would sit in their rides between customers; there are few things funnier than a bored/stoned/churlish Carney curled awkwardly into a miniature dumbo seat. It looks adorable! Yet they really don't seem to think so.
We definitely got our moneys worth out of that place. The only annoying part was that our passes didn't cover lazer-tag(!!!) or miniature golf. How do you get to play those games? I think you have to call ahead.
We were visiting the emp, and thought we would also hang out at the fun forest for a little but. It is obviosuly getting old and run down but its still fun place to go on a couple rides and play some carnival games. I hope they keep this around for awhile. it is so vacant I wonder how much longer this place can last once their lease is over. It would be sad to see it go, lots of nostalgia value. We will always enjoy this place no matter what.
Going through Fun Forest during a sunny warm summer day is much more fun than the late evening trips I've done in the past. My son loved going on the rides and boy was it nice and embarrassing trying to scrunch my fat ass on the little tyke rides with him. If it wasn't for the bribe I offered in form of ice cream I would have been stuck in that damn pirate ship all afternoon.
All in all it's a three star kind of place. For everything neat (table hockey, skeeball, photobooth, DDR, ice cream) there is something not so neat (rude ticket agents, the log ride of death, the dude with the red eyeball, having to beg for napkins to go with that melting ice cream bribe, and screaming children).
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8/21/2008
Think you're a real tough guy and small rides won't get your heart pumping? Well my friend, hop on… Read more »
This place was a rare fine at 9pm when the space needle is closed for a private party and it was cold out. The first thing that caught my eye was the photobooths - I'm a sucker for them.
As for the games -- not a really bad selection. The usual weird shooting games, lots of driving games and SKEEBALL! Unlike most of the places I've played skeeball at on the east coast, you can win prizes here when you make it from 180+. (I'm sure I'm the only one that was happy about this.)
The dart/balloon game was pretty good, too. Since it was so dead, the girl kept giving us more darts than we paid for and I finally won... some bunny ears and pink fuzzy dice. Good enough for me.
All in all, not a bad place. I wouldn't necessarily take my kid sister here but it was a nice surprising thing to walk upon.
Where fun goes to die.
In our August trip to Seattle, we opted to stay outdoors and enjoy the uncharacteristically warm day. We had been all set to go to the Experience museum, but we were wooed by the bumper cars at the Fun Forest. While we managed to have fun, this place is tired, sad, and probably should be closed down for lack of living up to it's name.
OK, I agree that it is a crazy waste of prime real estate, but I like the place for its anachronistic role. PLUS: It has rides operated by normal people, not scary carnies. You can definitely get your near-death thrill ride experience here. ALSO: it may not be here forever, so find out whether it is for you + be a good Aunt / Uncle before it is all "I remember there was this theme park, downtown..."
Should it be raining: Inside a mammoth building, there are arcade games, headache-inducing bumper cars, laser tag, and one or two pinball machines.
4 stars from my kids, who thought the Space Needle (on a day so clear you could see Japan from the observation deck) was painfully dull. Miniature golf is better when the course is ratty. There weren't very many rides operating (in January, so I am not surprised) but they were entertaining enough for us. I was still nauseous 2 days after riding The Tornado, so I guess that works ok.
Is Fun Forest expensive? Of course it is. If this is a big deal then spend the weekend scrounging moldy free crap on craigslist, or plant some radishes. FF is in the middle of Seattle instead of 1300 miles away, the Children's Museum and Science Center are both next door, and (unlike Disney) when your headache gets severe enough, you can get a tolerable coffee or a really nice beer next door at Seattle Center.
I have to agree with the other reviewer who said that this place was a shell of its former self from circa: '70's or 80's. I was there this weekend with my 8 year old.
We parked....... $6.00
He rode 4 rides......$11.00
Had one slushie......$3.37
Played 3 dart type throw games.......$8.00
Within 40 minutes we spent $ 28.00
But the real thing about this place anymore is that it just feels dead. There is nothing really put into this place. The people using it look like they'e in from out of town and know no better.
The thing that bothered me the most is still that the people all working there are all about 16 years old and have minimal English language skills. They are in a mind warp and don't even give a basic head nod hello. We played a throw the darts game. After it was over the girl mumbled something regarding the prize buckets and the number 4?? I politely said, "Excuse me?" She butchered her sentence again, then considering I paid like $6.00 to throw a couple of darts, I told her she should really try to communicate better with customers.
I know that makes me sound like an ass, but you seriously can not get any basic language skills from this place.
OK,, a positive......leave the freak forest and go over to the fountain. Sit, read the Stranger, run down and get feet wet... repeat.
Four stars because there's a speedy Ms.Pacman machine.
Neither fun nor a forest.
Back in the day, this place was what the kids call... The Shiznit. I remember riding the Galaga (that giant pirate ship that almost went in full circles, the Gravatron, the Rock and Roll Express, and Mission to Mars. Yeah, there was miniature golf that consisted of 18 holes. It was something. Of course, that day was the 80's and now it's a former shell of itself. All the fun rides are gone. The miniature golf is now a lame 9 holes with ratty torn astro-turf. The games are from the 90's still... But I do love playing me some X-Men for a quarter. The laser tag arena is only good for making out in (and maybe doing some adult stuff, and I don't mean taxes) and the ferris wheel isn't that high. Le sigh. Another piece of my childhood molested and left on the street waiting to be put out of it's misery. An extra star for being able to play old video games for a quarter (like Simpsons).
I miss you Fun Forrest of old. You were everything a kid could want growing up, and now you're old and past your prime. I promise when the time comes, I'll do anything I can to help end what's left of your shell of a life. I will always love the memories we shared and the good times we had.
The rides aren't that open, it's empty. I miss when i was a kid and everyone would go there and have fun. I went there for my birthday hoping that the rides would be open at least the booths were you can throw a pin. But boy was i wrong. It was completely dull.. It's a sad thing that it's closing next year. Mostly the kid rides are open and just the arcade.
It's amusing and fun, especially if you're a kid, but I see a little tarnish with older eyes. I want those rose colored glasses back. Unless you want to drive all the way to Wild Waves/Enchanted Village and pay exorbitant prices, this is the only game in town with a roller coaster and other big rides. The ferris wheel and carousel are open year round too. Actually, this place is much better than when I was a kid, there have been improvements. The carnival games are still a bit seedy, but they now have a climbing wall, laser tag, all that. A good, if expensive, way to kill a day with kids and they try hard to evoke a carnival atmosphere.
Just the name Fun Forest is charged with excitement. Where else can you ride the monorail to that has so many games and rides? Nothing is too exciting anymore except the spinning rides (which I hate) but its fun to wander around the place during a festival. If you have kids you should bring there here at least one time, or else you're a bad parent.
