Sylvan Beach Amusement Park - August 6th, 2026

 From August 2nd to August 6th, 2026, my mom and I visited four amusement parks in the US Northeast, those being Great Escape, Lake Compounce, Six Flags New England, and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park! Lake Compounce and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park were two new parks for us!

We had a great time visiting these four parks! For most of our trip, the weather cooperated, with the exception of August 3rd, which we still made the most of despite the pouring rain! After the completion of this road trip, I have visited a total of 13 different amusement parks in 2026! What a season of travelling it has been! 😄🎢

Sylvan Beach Amusement Park - August 6th, 2026:

Our fourth and final park on this trip was the historic Sylvan Beach Amusement Park located in Sylvan Beach, New York on the eastern shore of Oneida Lake. Sylvan Beach Amusement Park dates back to the 1870s and is currently home to a vintage collection of rides and attractions, including the Galaxi coaster. I had heard about Sylvan Beach Amusement Park in the past, but had never visited until this trip! I am glad we stopped by on our way home as it has a charming small town amusement park vibe that is hard to find these days.

Be sure to enjoy the photos from our first-ever visit to Sylvan Beach Amusement Park! 🙂

After driving for 3 and a half hours from the hotel we stayed at for four nights in Connecticut, we arrived at Sylvan Beach Amusement Park just before they opened for the day at 12pm.

We walked around for a little bit checking out what rides are at this small park.

Here's a look at the Galaxi coaster and Carousel.

Here's a look at the other part of the midway which is home to a Scrambler, Roll-o-Plane, Tilt-A-Whirl, Tip Top, Crazy Daisy, Himalaya, and Bumper Cars. It's a vintage flat ride enthusiasts dream! 😍

Sadly the Rotor has been out of commission for years.

Just before the rides opened, I got myself the all-day ride wristband for around $31.00 when paying with cash.

My first ride of the day was on the Galaxi!

This classic steel roller coaster came to Sylvan Beach Amusement Park in 1993 after operating at Fun Forest Amusement Park in Seattle, Washington from 1974 to 1992.

While not the most thrilling, it does offer some small drops and plenty of helixes!

I do love the colour combination of blue, red, and yellow!

The helixes are the largest portion of any galaxi type coaster.

While these coasters are typically portable, a handful of Galaxi coasters manufactured by SDC of Italy still continue to operate at some amusement parks worldwide.

While the Galaxi coaster opened at 12pm, the rest of the rides didn't open until around 12:30pm.

Sylvan Beach Amusement Park is also home to an arcade that has a huge row of skee ball machines!

The next ride I rode was the vintage 1954 Laff Land dark ride manufactured by Pretzel Amusement Ride Company. It is a classic dark ride with various props and sound effects placed along the track of the ride. I always enjoy taking a ride on such attractions!

After taking a ride on the Laff Land dark ride, I headed over to the Rock-O-Plane. On my way over, I captured this photo of the Galaxi!

2026 is the year of the Rock-O-Plane ride for me as I hadn't been on any until this year! My first Rock-O-Plane was the one at Knoebels during my recent visit in July. The one at Sylvan Beach was just as fun as I managed to flip the car quite a few times!

Up next was a ride on the Tilt-A-Whirl. I have always been a huge fan of these rides, so I was excited to ride one that appears to be from the 1950 or 60s based on its metal construction. Of interest, the bonnets on the cars had metal ventilation grates. This unit sure spun around a lot!

The Bomber (Roll-O-Plane) passes near by the Tilt-A-Whirl.

Up next I took a ride on the classic Scrambler. It had a rather vibrant colour scheme!

Afterwards we stopped in the Kahuna Restaurant for lunch.

My mom ordered a small nacho with cheese.

I ordered a burger with a side of fries, a fried pickle, and a glass of ginger ale. The fries had crispy batter, the burger was tasty, and the fried pickle was very tasty too! 😋Sometimes the smaller parks surprise me with their meals! Sylvan Beach Amusement Park food does not disappoint!

After lunch, it was time to re-ride the Galaxi coaster!

As with most Galaxi coasters, the operator has to push the train off the brake to get it to the loading position.

Here's the plaque of quality! It's amazing that the Galaxi has been delighting riders for the past 52+ years! Here's to hopefully many more!

During this ride I sat in the front row.

Blue skies with white clouds were overhead Sylvan Beach Amusement Park.

Here's a look over the midway from the lift hill of the Galaxi.

Up next was a ride on the Bomber. This classic Eyerly Roll-O-Plane sports a very vibrant paint job!

Luckily the Bomber, just like the Satellite at Knoebels operates with the tilting sideways function as some do not! It was quite fun!

We then decided to check out Oneida Lake as there was a cool breeze coming off the lake during this hot summer day.

Oneida Lake is quite beautiful, giving you a relaxing break from the amusement rides!

After a bit of a cool down from the breezes off on Oneida Lake, I took a spin on the Tip Top. It previously operated at the former Crystal Beach Amusement Park until the park closed in 1989.

Sylvan Beach Amusement Park is also home to some bumper boats.

Sylvan Beach Amusement Park also has a Reverchon manufactured Himalaya ride. It appears to still have its original artwork. While looking a bit on the rough side, it gave a decent ride with a long cycle!

I also took a spin on the bumper cars. These cars move quite fast and bump quite hard, which I was surprised by!

Off to the side of the  property is the kiddie midway, home to a few vintage kiddie rides.

Here's a look at the row of skee ball machines in the arcade.

Next door is the Fascination Parlor. At 50 cents per play, I decided to give it a try as I had never played Fascination before! While I didn't win, I did find it to be quite fun!

Another ride at Sylvan Beach Amusement Park is the Super Slide. Do not let its mild appearance fool you! The burlap sacks made the slide quite slick, causing me to go airborne a few times before going off the end of the slide, almost crashing into the fence at the end! It sure was super wild!🤣

My next ride was on the rare PTC manufactured Crazy Daisy ride. The only other one I had been on is the one located at Knoebels. This unit is quite exposed to the elements as it does not have a shade structure over it. The cars also had a healthy helping of spiders in them. I kicked them away as I got on! This kind of put a smile on the operator's face😂

Located behind the park is a drop tower type ride with the name "Sky Tower" on it. It looks like it has been sitting there for quite a while judging by the shrubbery growing through it. Maybe it will become operational one day at Sylvan Beach Amusement Park.

In the late-afternoon, classic cars began lining the shore.

I love the neon lighted signs located at Sylvan Beach Amusement Park.

Before heading out, I took another ride on the Laff Land!

We had a great afternoon checking out this gem of an amusement park! I highly recommend visiting Sylvan Beach Amusement Park if you're passing through upstate New York! It was a great way to end our US Northeast amusement park road trip! 🙂

Great Escape - August 2nd, 2026

 From August 2nd to August 6th, 2026, my mom and I visited four amusement parks in the US Northeast, those being Great Escape, Lake Compounce, Six Flags New England, and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park! Lake Compounce and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park were two new parks for us!

We had a great time visiting these parks! For most of our trip, the weather cooperated, with the exception of August 3rd, which we still made the most of despite the pouring rain! After the completion of this road trip, I have visited a total of 13 different amusement parks in 2026! What a season of travelling it has been! 😄🎢

Great Escape - August 2nd, 2026:

After 7 and a half hours of driving, we arrived at Great Escape for the last 3 and a half operations for the day. Luckily for us the rainy weather had cleared, making for a fun few hours at the Great Escape! Since our last visit to the Great Escape in July 2024, not too much has changed at the park, other than it now being owned by EPR Properties and operated by Enchanted Parks as of April 2026. With Six Flags selling the park (along with six other properties in April 2026), 2026 Six Flags season passes sold before April 2026 are still being honoured by Enchanted Parks and La Ronde Operations Inc. for parking/admission through the end of the season.

Enchanted Parks who now operates Great Escape has gone one step further with the season passes by offering a complimentary season pass to current Six Flags season pass holders when presented at the front gate, allowing guests to get 10% off food and merchandise within the park. It is a nice gesture for those visiting the park during 2026 and makes for a nice souvenir. As Enchanted Parks does not offer a dining plan, they did reduce the price of the food at many locations within the Great Escape. I'll go more into the quality of the food in the photos below!

It was nice being back at the Great Escape and I look forward to visiting again in the future! Be sure to enjoy the photos of our visit below! 🙂

As of April 2026, Great Escape is now operated by Enchanted Parks. They had put up a few new banners around the park, including the one behind the Steamin' Demon.

In other places, they placed their name over existing signage. I sure hope Enchanted Parks have plans on replacing this sign as it is quite weathered!

With some excellent assistance from Guest Relations after presenting our Gold Six Flags passes, they were able to issue us an Enchanted Parks Great Escape pass so we could receive 10% off food and merchandise during our visit. With the pass, you could also visit the Great Escape for the remainder of the 2026 season if you desired!

To my surprise, the Sky Ride was operating during this visit, which I had not seen operating during my previous two visits to the park in 2018 and 2024! I would take a ride on the Sky Ride after taking a spin on the Flashback and a ride on the Storytown Train!

My first ride of this visit was on Flashback! My main reason for riding it during this visit was to see how smooth it is with the new train it received in 2025.

To my surprise, the Flashback provides a very enjoyable ride with its new train featuring vest restraints! It's much better than the old train it had during my previous visit in 2024! It also received a new paint job in 2025, too matching that of the original paint scheme of when it opened in 1997!

Up next was a ride on the Storytown Train, another attraction we hadn't experienced during our previous to visits to the park, as it too was closed!

Here's my mom and I on the Storytown Train!

It takes you on a journey through and along by the Storytown section of the park.

The journey starts by taking riders through a tunnel.

After the tunnel, you go by the Flashback.

Here's another look at the new train Flashback received last year!

During the train ride, you pass by many of the houses and buildings in Storyland.

You also pass through Jungle Land and the Ghost Town, too.

Here's a look at the miniature Ghost Town along the Storytown Train.

Jungle Land pays homage to the Jungle Land section that formerly operated at the park decades ago.

You can also get a decent view of Timbertown from the Storytown Train.

Here's a look at the 2026 Great Escape park map.

After I took a ride on the Sky Ride, my mom and I had a meal from the Chicken Chalet in the Fest Area. We both ordered the large crispy chicken salad priced at $14.49 each, receiving a 10% season pass discount (before taxes). To my surprise, the salad was very tasty as the chicken was seasoned nicely and was moist! It seems that Enchanted Parks is on track to serving some great food and decently priced meals at their recently acquired parks!

After eating the delicious crispy chicken salad, I took a spin on the Blizzard! It provided a chilling experience as always! The Blizzard is still one of my favourite rides at the Great Escape!

Up next was a ride on The Bobcat!

I had the pleasure of riding The Bobcat during its debut season in 2024! It is still riding incredibly well just like it did two years ago! It is packed with a ton of airtime within its small layout!

Speaking of airtime, I then took two laps on The Comet!

I fell in love with The Comet ever since taking my first rides on it in 2018!

To my surprise, The Comet still provides a very smooth ride along its double out and back layout since my last rides on it in 2024!

Hopefully Enchanted Parks continues to take great care of The Comet going forward as it is the 'jewel' of the park and is a roller coaster generations have been enjoying since its early days at Crystal Beach Amusement Park and operating at the Great Escape since 1994!

During this quick visit I managed to get two back to back rides on The Comet due to the rainy weather that passed through the area prior to our arrival!

With there now about an hour left of operations, we made our way over to the Ghost Town section. On our way over, I captured this photo of the Storytown Train chugging along its track. Sadly, the Condor (which was operating before and after our visit) and the Adirondack Outlaw (experiencing a prolonged maintenance issue) located in Ghost Town were both closed during our visit.

Up next, I took a ride on Canyon Blaster. While a rather uneventful Arrow Mine Train coaster, I do enjoy taking a ride on it every time I visit the Great Escape.

I do hope Enchanted Parks as the new operator of the park, has plans on repainting the track of the Canyon Blaster as the majority of it is quite faded and peeled!

Up next, I took a ride on the Desperado Plunge. It still provides a fun classic log flume experience!

I then decided to take a ride on the Steamin' Demon.

I was dreading a ride on the Steamin' Demon as it had greatly beaten me up in the past! 😅

To my surprise, a ride in the front row on the Steamin' Demon was actually quite tolerable and not too rough!

With just a few minutes left before the park closed for the day, I took a sky high ride on the Sasquatch! Although only one tower was operating during this visit, it still provides a very thrilling ride and provides quite a view of the surrounding area!

After a 3 and a half hour visit, it was time to leave as the park was now closed for the day!

It sure was nice visiting the Great Escape once again! I look forward to seeing what Enchanted Parks has in store for the Great Escape! I wish them the best! 

Up next are photos from our visit to Lake Compounce! 🙂