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Palace Playland
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
4 reviews for Palace Playland
Busy? Not on the chilly and misty evening we were there.
Expensive? Quite.
Tacky? Yes, please.
Three of us went, had a couple drinks and then tipsily wondered through the arcade playing air hockey, Big Buck Hunter, Galaga, and Mrs.Pacman. We got to smash into total strangers while laughing hysterically on the Bumper Cars. Toured the midway and enjoyed the bright colorful lights. We walked on the pier where we made fun of the pizza place's sign pointing patrons toward the "dinning room."
And then we ate gross carnival food for dinner when we finally admitted we were going to give up on our trek to Portland for an actual nice dinner.
I can imagine that this place could get horribly busy on an actual nice summer day. But it is what you make of it. If you go with high hopes, you'll be let down. But pretend you're a kid, and its a blast.
This place is great! It sits right on the beach and brings you back to those old fashioned Coney Island like theme parks. It has tons of various rides for all ages and all sorts of food and games. The prices are moderate where you can buy a ticket book or an all day pass. The rides are old but that is part of the charm. The only problem I found is that there are some questionable characters walking around here at night. Be careful.
People thought this was:
- Cool (1)
The Pier is by far the sketchiest area of OOB to visit. It's a nice spot during the day if you have kids, but the rides are pricey and it doesn't have a lot to offer. It has the benefit of being right on the beach and offering a very touristy picture of Maine summers.
They recently replaced one of the arcades with a massive building of condos with stores on the first level. It's a total eyesore and blocks out the sun but it shows that the city is trying to make the area more family-friendly, which is difficult to do with bars lining the side streets.
Parking is convenient, with meter parking on the strip and a train station that stops right in the area. Palace Playland is a convenient day-activity for vacationers, but there are far better things in Maine to do. Funtown/Splashtown or Aquaboggan in Saco are better options.
I still think that Funtown is better than Palace Playland, but since PP is right next to OOB it kind of evens out. You get an amusement park, a beach and tons of shops and restaurants right in one place.