Oaks Amusement Park — Attraction in Portland

If my 8th grade field trip wasn't the first time I visited Oaks Park back in 19[redacted], it was certainly the first I remember. Having been to Disneyland only once, a few years prior, I had something to compare it to, and despite it not being anywhere near the same level as the Magic Kingdom, Oaks Park has its own small town charm, and when sprinkled with a dash of nostalgia, conjures up similar, warm memories.

Those nostalgia goggles unfortunately haven't red-shifted in the 30 years since that first visit, largely due to things like inflation: an all-day ride bracelet for an adult sets you back $43-$48, the larger sum during peak days (I'm assuming that means weekends and holidays), whereas those under 48" can snag one for basically half-price. Darn, my wife almost made it under the cut-off! Additionally, if you're no longer thrilled by thrill rides, the bracelet is definitely not worth it, which means the visit is not worth it, so you're better off staying home. They really should offer a per-ride purchase option; we came to the park to attend a free on-site event, but I really wanted to take my toddler son on the carousel, although I wasn't about to spend half a Benjamin to do it.

If you're willing to fork over that amount, make sure to get your money's worth: arrive early, leave late. Eat cheap carnival food, and ride the rides until you barf it back up. And after sunset, the park is rather enchanting, even just to take a stroll down the main corridor.

All-day parking is $5, and admission to the park itself is free, although your a la carte entertainment options are somewhat limited without the ride bracelet, but include the roller-skating rink, mini-golf, and the carnival games, which require purchased tickets. There's also plenty of covered tables and green space to spawl out for a party or picnic.

I'll never forget seeing Oaks Park featured in an episode of my favorite Dutch "reality" show, Wie is de Mol, when the contestants ran a gauntlet of dashing between rides and grabbing envelopes of money, while wearing laser tag vests and dodging incoming fire from unseen opponents. It was one of the best episodes of the show, in the only season to feature the US (specifically Oregon) to-date (available on YouTube, with English subtitles, for the curious)! Sadly, unless you're one of those contestants, a viewer of the show, teen, tween, or a sunset-spectacled spectator gazing back upon it through the mists of time, the magic of Oaks Park is as faded as the paint on its...

This amusement park is a place that me my sister and our mom would go to for some fun. Sure its overpriced and all but on a nice sunny summer day. It's well worth the wait!🥰 We visited the park in June of 2019 and 2020. It was fun and a lot of people were there. It makes this place a lot of fun to see in person. Too bad that the big adventure is no more though which sucks😥 it was our favorite dark ride and they used to have it in 2010 and 2011 if I remember correctly. But now they replaced it with a history center about the park which kinda sucks. The go karts were alotta fun and we enjoyed hitting each other as we started to speed up. I was warned by the staff to put my seatbelt on but other than that great ride. The ferris wheel was also awesome that we took. It was slow but enough people were on it so it was cool non theless. The rollar coaster was amazing with a great view at the bottom thanks Oaks Park for all you do. I sure had a lot of fun while riding this ride. They also used to have an arcade here and I would spend some of my tokens to play games like a racing game and a game called Carnevil. It was really amazing but then they took it out. So sad! But yeah there were other rides like the carousel and the rock and roll car ride that I enjoyed as well. The staff were friendly and gave us a bracelet that costed over $20.00 bucks a person but in the end all I could say is I sure had fun. Oaks Park is an amusement park that you will either love or hate depending on when you come over to it either during the day or night. We loved this place so much that if we wanted to we would come again. We had no regrets and the rides operated smoothly on the way out. Thanks OP for some of the fun you provided me and my family. We will return here again you guys rock🥰😇😀🎡🎢 Plus the food option like the burgers and hot dogs were out of this world. Thank you also OP for all the amazing food. You guys definitely deserve this 5 star review for the food you provided to our family. See you next year and stay...

As a lifelong Portlander, I have many great memories of Oaks Park. I thought the new Winter Gleam event would be a great holiday activity and a way to show my wife around Oaks Park. Unfortunately, this turned out to be a terrible experience. First, while there are a good amount of lights, nothing is particularly impressive. I was more impressed last week when I accidentally stumbled on a neighborhood display. The only activies included with the $18 pp entry fee are the carousel and the train. We went on the carousel, which was fun, but didn't want to wait in the never ending line to cram onto the tiny train. There was supposed to be a holiday Bazar with local merchants, which turned out to be one guy selling horror themed stuff sources from Temu, a guy selling whiskey, and a man trying to sign folks up for a timeshare. That was it.

Then, to add insult to injury, we existed this disappointing event to find a $44 parking ticket for not paying for parking. When we arrived, we saw the pay to park signs, so we headed for the kiosks. there were two of them, and the screens were totally dark. They looked like they must be off.. we wondered if maybe the signs were for Oaks Park regular hours and this event was free parking. The signs above the kiosks said "all hours $3" and "weekends--special." We though that explained it and that special must mean free for these weekend events. Just to be safe, we checked the cars near ours, and not one of them had a parking skip on the windshield. This assured us that we didn't need to pay to park, and we didnt think about it again until we found the $44 dollar ticket. Who charges that much? It's a racket. This place is now nothing but a money grab. I'm going to contest the ticket. If they won't cut us a break for an honest mistake, I'll certainly never go back and I'll tell everyone I talk...