Palace Playland, Beachfront amusement park in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
Palace Playland is an amusement park on the coast at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, with rides suited to different ages grouped along a wooden boardwalk. The park includes roller coasters, a carousel, carnival games, and smaller attractions for young children, all within walking distance of the ocean.
The park opened in 1902 as a simple ice rink with a carousel and grew steadily over the following decades into one of the largest amusement parks in Maine. New rides were added across the years, and it has remained in continuous operation for well over a century.
On Thursday evenings in summer, families gather along the shore to watch fireworks over the water, a ritual that has marked the season here for many years. The wooden boardwalk fills with people of all ages, and the park sits at the heart of this shared summer routine.
The park is open during warmer months only, with no fee to enter the grounds, though individual rides are paid separately. Comfortable shoes are a good idea since the area covers a fair stretch of open boardwalk, and sunny days tend to draw larger crowds.
The Sea Viper roller coaster, built in 2018, runs close enough to the ocean that riders can see the Atlantic during parts of the ride. The front row gives the clearest view of the water, which makes it worth waiting for if the line allows.
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