Funtown Splashtown USA — Attraction in Saco

TLDR: Fun experience, food venders are strict or confused, and use caution with online tickets. SPLASHTOWN UNRATED, PERSPECTIVE FROM ADULTS WITHOUT KIDS.

Pro tip in hindsight: don’t purchase online tickets unless you know the weather. Purchase tickets online the day before if you want to do it that way. Not knowing the refund/raincheck policies, I purchased tickets to both parks online a week before we went. A week later, we woke up in the hotel to a full day of rain. The park never opened, so we shifted our vacation schedule to go the following day. Others may not be so lucky. The cost of admission was fair, but steep if you only plan to stay a few hours. They have reduced rates if you go later in the day. Do your research first.

The park was clean, beautiful, and well-kept. There were minimal waits because we got there early. However, Funtown is a maze due to their expansion history. A map is your friend. We walked around the park before committing to an activity, which was fun. We enjoyed the new haunted hotel ride. It was interactive and had a great atmosphere. We squeezed ourselves into the antique cars, which were really fun. I also rode on Excalibur, which was certainly a thrill. There were other rides in the park that adults could ride on as well, but we didn’t go on those. We aren’t big fans of rides.

There were a handful of carnival games to play and an arcade. The arcade was a bit disappointing, but it wasn’t a bad experience. There need to be more redemption games in addition to ticket games, there weren’t any cups to hold quarters, and the candy in the candy claw melted in the wrappers because it was right next to the doorway. The games didn’t give out too many tickets, but they were fun if you like the experience of playing them over collecting tickets. They have a decent mix of older and newer games, which is nice. Overall, the arcade is a nice escape from the heat and a way to spend a few dollars. The prize selection was decent if you had enough tickets.

If you’re not fans of rides like us, the other options are generally limited to carnival games, the arcade, a few gift shops, and food. There were many places to purchase food and drinks. Many of the items were pricey. Bring your own water and such to save money. I purchased a 6.00 hotdog before going to the arcade. It was good, and I’d compare it to a lightly grilled version of a blue membership club café’s hotdog. While at the BBQ stand, I asked for an empty cup to carry quarters in while at the arcade. The worker seemed confused and held a cup out to me. I reached for it and he put it back while muttering “Sorry, I don’t know.” We then went to the Hungry Bear food stand for 7.00 fries, which weren’t anything to write home about.

We waited at the window for food with two other people. A worker brought over fries and said something about ticket number 6. Our receipt was “07336,” so I was confused. We all shook our heads, but I told him that we were only waiting on one order of fries. He wouldn’t give me the fries until I showed him the receipt. The food venders here are more strict than the security checkpoint when walking in. I asked him for a cup for quarters and explained the arcade didn’t have any. He didn’t know what I was talking about, so I had to explain the change machine and not being able to carry 80 quarters. He still seemed confused, but he was able to give me a cup.

Overall, Funtown ride park is a good experience. We had dual-park tickets, but we went home early. Though, it was worth it to have the option to switch parks. For non-riders without kids, we quickly hit all points of interest. Aside from the food venders, we have no noteworthy complaints. We recommend doing research, buying tickets at the park, getting there at opening, and bringing your own water. For a family with children, or for those crazy about rides, this is a great local venue to enjoy the day at. Keep up the good work.

Best...

This little amusement park/water park hits way above its league for big rides.

For coaster fans, the big draw is its CCI wooden coaster, Excalibur, the biggest roller coaster in Maine and one of the best woodies in New England. (I think it might actually be my personal favorite wooden coaster in the region, though it's not the biggest or most forceful.) There's some nice theming there--the station is themed like a castle, and the whole coaster lies beyond the "Camelot Bridge" through a peaceful wooded area. It's running fantastically well now, possibly thanks to a retracking involving Gravity Group's precut wooden track.

The other big-ticket rides in Funtown include a new and amazingly slick shooting dark ride through the very haunted "Whispering Pines Hotel"; a gigantic drop tower; New England's tallest log flume; and the "Astrosphere", an indoor Scrambler with atmospheric music, lights and projections. There are also go-karts included in park admission.

The layout of the place is kind of haphazard and I've heard that this can be a crowd control problem on busy days, but it was not an issue when I visited. The food I had there was not great, probably the park's biggest failing, and it's less well supplied with games and shows than some of the area's other amusement parks. But it's a surprisingly great place to go for big thrills given that it's such a little park.

As with some other small local parks in New England (but definitely not Six Flags), parking is free. Transit connections to the park, from what I can tell, aren't great. Amtrak actually goes to Saco but getting from the station to the park could be an issue.

Its water park, Splashtown, is quite big for the size of the park--I did not sample its attractions on my visit but my wife enjoyed the slides and pools. It's possible to buy individual admission to one or the other.

In terms of size, I'd compare the whole place to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH, except that relative to Canobie, there is less dry park and more water park, so the sizes are roughly equal. Its atmosphere isn't quite as nice as Canobie's on the whole. But the big rides here blow away anything at Canobie; I suspect they are less subject to...

Every stage of my life , included this place From the age of ,5 to present ; accompanying my daughter and my grandchildren for this right of passage. For a large, unknown number of Maine-raised children. It's expensive ,you must buy a bracelet To enter the park ; PERIOD. ..No more simply walking with your family , without riding any rides at all...It does not matter . Park-Rule now states ; "No bracelet / No Entry /No Exceptions." So you spend $40. Basically ,to walk around. I am not convinced that supports or is supportive ,or works in their favor of attracting ,or building a customers base that is likely to return several times in their short-season .This isn't new ...this was enacted several years back . How many of them will simply choose to by-pass their second trip ,in -favor of Their direct competition ; where they continue to walk for free w/ their families ,choosing not to ride - or ride W/o a surcharge to walk on their property? Although Funtown will always be dear to me ,and the majority are very fond memories to keep , & hold ... Where do you think you will find our feet walking next time? I hope P/R addresses this Aggressively, & proactively before damage is critical Right the wrongs your long ,long time patrons need a reason to continue to drop that $4.75 on a Sunkist soda ,or $5. on a pretzel and paying $40 for the privilege to walk w/ your grandchildren and take one or two pics of them loving your attraction ; the way our younger-selves did once on the same rides is majorly flat-lining ... Souring , those that were once sweet memories . I would suggest Calling first for specials that may be being offered on entrance fees ; Splash town is not open for the 2021 - season ,as of yet -was ( *as of : 06/06/2021 *) Wear comfortable clothing/ foot wear . The facilities were very clean ; Go carts are the best ; as is Excalibur,and the O.G. of longtime - attractions ; The Astrophere..is just as it was @10 y.o . The concession - food is expensive ... They check all bags,purses etc....