‘Sky-High Drama’ Closes Ride at New York Amusement Park

One of New York's most popular amusement parks has had to close a ride down for a unique reason.

As the warmer months arrive across New York various "summer" attractions normally open up around this time of year. Many of us get excited about the opening of places close to home in the Hudson Valley that we can visit for rides, excitement, fun, and much more.

Playland in Rye New York

One of those places is Playland, often called Rye Playland or Playland Amusement Park, located at 1 Playland Pkwy, Rye, NY. The 280-acre amusement park in Westchester County was built in the 1920s and almost 100 years later is still providing a ton of family fun entertainment with various rides including the Dragon Coaster, Saw Mill River, Double Shot, and the Gondola Wheel.

Playland, now owned by Westchester County opened for the season on May 18th, and even before they opened their gates they announced they would be closing one ride for a while due to a unique reason.

The Gondola Wheel Closed at Rye Playland

The popular Gondola Wheel at Playland is currently closed until further notice after park staff discovered that a "family" was nesting near the top of the attraction. According to a recent post on the park's Facebook page, "The Gondola Wheel will be closed until further notice for active Osprey nesting and their safety!"

As you can see in the picture above it appears that an osprey family has moved into the top of one of the Gondola Wheel carts and made it their nest. To respect the nest and to ensure that they have a chance to safely hatch the ride will remain closed until that happens.

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Osprey fans shared their appreciation that the park was taking extra steps to provide safety for the osprey on social media with comments like, "Thank you for respecting our wildlife ❤️" and "I love that commercialism is respecting nature. About time !"

How Long do Osprey's Nest?

Osprey do not normally nest in Westchester but do typically return to Long Island, NY in March and begin nesting in early April according to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC).

The osprey chicks should hatch by the end of May to early June and at that time they will begin to learn how to fly. In years past most osprey are ready to leave the nest by early to mid-July. The park also said they would be providing Osprey updates over the next few weeks on social media. When they do, we will update this article.