Going back decades, Playland holds a special place in the hearts of Capital Region residents. Now called Huck Finn's Playland, the little amusement park is gearing up to begin its 72nd year.
With the miniature railroad ready to run for another season, Scene One Entertainment owner and CEO Joe Masher led reporters and elected officials on a tour of Playland Thursday. The park is now in Albany’s Warehouse District off Broadway.
"This park has a very special place in my heart," Masher said. "And I want to make sure the kids have the same experience that I did. The carousel has been rehabbed for the season. It's ready to go. It's playing carousel music. Appropriate carousel music, the chariots have been painted. So it's looking really good and running perfectly. So this is what we call this the little section. It's for kids. It's one ticket to ride. There's still no admission price here at the park. So you just come in and buy tickets. There's no technology here and I love it and it's gonna stay that way."
Albany Common Council President Corey Ellis too has fond memories of summer childhood visits to Playland when it was in Latham. Those visits continued when an older Ellis worked as a summer camp counselor.
"I brought our kids here as a reward for being good," Ellis said. "The whole camp they earn points. So you had to get 100 points. If you got 100 points, then we brought you to Hoffman's Playland. That was their crown jewel to come to Hoffman's Playland. So to see all these rides and then see the boat ride back, it brings back a lot a lot of great memories and I'm just happy that, you know, you know, this park is being kept up renovated."
Dave Lucas : What was your favorite ride?
"My favorite ride was the cars because I like to be in," said Ellis. "You know, every kid when you were a kid, they wanted to be a fireman. So that was always the route you tried to get on and what you would do as a kid. If you weren't in line fast enough to get the firetruck car you would just wait and you come out of line and wait [for] the seat because you wanted to be the next one to get there."
David Matthews has handled maintenance at the park for years, going back to when it was Hoffman’s on Route 9.
“ I picked up on this pretty easy because I do I have a mechanical background. So I just love doing it. You know? So it's not very difficult. It's just hard to get parts,” said Matthews.
Dave Lucas: What's a typical day like for you? Do you come out and check all the rides?
"Every day, we're here at 6 o'clock in the morning. And we go through every ride and run it. We walk the track. Yeah, just make sure everything's running safe and everything else. A little emotional for me because it's a long time," Matthews said.
Masher says the park's 1958 rollercoaster has been refurbished and "is still going strong." There's a tent set up for children's birthday parties and Playland opens its doors to schools holding field trips, and of course the concession stand.
"We also are bringing in some exciting foods this year that were not around before. We're bringing back candy apples and caramel apples. But for the first time the park has fried Oreos, which should be interesting to see people eat them. And we are bringing a lot of gluten free products."
Official opening day is Saturday. Park Hours:
Opening Day May 4th.
Open Fridays 3 pm-7 pm and Weekends 10 am-7 pm: May 4th – June 23rd, and September 6th – October 26th.
Open Tuesdays through Sundays 10am – 7pm: July 2nd – August 31st.
Open Monday 10 am – 7 pm May 27th & Sept 2nd.
Location
- 25 Erie Blvd.
- Albany, NY 12204
Below: Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan, Assemblymember Pat Fahy, other elected officials and reporters ride the rollercoaster at Huck Finn's Playland.
Rollercoaster fans on board at Playland. Listen to @WAMCNews pic.twitter.com/AY7ADhuRtD
— Dave Lucas (@davelucas) May 2, 2024
