A Walking Tour With Ollie Shevin.

So, you wait in long lines, there’s no shade, lots of crying kids, and drinks cost eight bucks. What should we call it? “Amusement park”.

My hometown of Rye, a suburb of NYC, is well-known for Playland, an amusement park built in 1928. Everyone who grew up here spent their childhood there, because the park includes a beach and an ice rink, and the best 4th of July fireworks around.

Ollie pauses in front of Playland Baths (told you this place was old) because you might recognize this boardwalk from the film Big, where the character Josh gets his wish granted by a fortune-teller machine.

Next to the ice rink (where several high school and college teams play – and the New York Rangers used to practice) is a miniature golf course. A great place to watch your kid throw 18 tantrums in a row.

Some folks have Vietnam – people from Rye have the Dragon Coaster, a wooden roller coaster built in 1929 that is physical terror interrupted by periods of vomiting. Not helping: a scene from Fatal Attraction, in which Glenn Close’s character “borrows” Dan’s daughter for the day was shot on the Dragon Coaster.