Rehoboth's Funland ready for a new season

Funland is open, bringing back to Rehoboth's Boardwalk the family-friendly fun and budget-friendly fare that has brought visitors back for generations.  

Heading into Funland's 52nd season, personnel manager Christopher Darr said this year, the family-owned business has added a new swing-hammer game called the High Striker, which gives players a chance to show their strength.

As with any 52-year-old, a little cosmetic assistance was in order, Darr said, so some rides have had a little work. Still, Funland traditionalists can rest assured most of the hallmark features of the amusement park remain.

"A lot of the stuff we do, people don't want us to change, like the fire trucks and the boats" he said.

"That's part of our job, keeping it the same."

Visitors might notice the mermaid who has been overseeing the boats for decades has a new look and a new do.

The Haunted Mansion ride made a hit in a recent popup book and a coloring book developed by artist Brian Allen. Not to be left out, Funland contacted Allen and asked him to leave his mark on the ride itself.

In April, Allen traveled from his home in State College, Pa., to update the entrance to Funland's famous fright-fest.

Commissioned to add a mural to the opening segment of the ride – a black hallway where riders await the worst – the artist said he was asked to set the stage for the rest of the ride.

Planning his mural was a challenge, considering he was doing preliminary sketches at home without seeing the space that would become his canvas.

“I wanted to make it so I could change things around if I needed to,” Allen said. “It’s kind of a weird space to paint a mural, so I tried to put in a lot of spooky pictures and windows and a staircase on this ramp.”

The Haunted Mansion is always different from the other rides, Darr said.

The mansion never opens until 6 p.m., he said, and many nights, by 6 a line has started and it continues until the end of the night. This year, the Haunted Mansion is not scheduled to open until Saturday, May 18.

Built in the off-season from 1979 to 1980, the Haunted Mansion has always been its own beast, Funland co-owner Bill Henschke said.

At first, the cars didn’t fit on the track they bought, Henschke said, and so the ride had to be hand-fitted.

Pieces of the wrought-iron gate were dug out of the Schukyll River, he said, and welded together for the ride.

With 19 rides and 16 midway games in addition to the arcade, Darr said, once the season starts, there is always something to do, but that's when the Haunted Mansion becomes one of the easier rides. As long as it is running, it is pretty low-maintenance, he said.

“The good thing about the mansion is we don’t have to keep it nice and sparkly,” Darr said. “It’s all about the cobwebs.”