Alrighty, I'll do a little "review sandwich" here -
I'll start with the good, then get to the bad. For the good, a $35 family pass was more then enough to entertain our family of five, and this was a completely magical birthday day for my seven-year-old. My 7 and 9 year old were in absolute heave and we all had a blast.
But...let's put it this way - back in the 70s this place was probably top notch. And, it is probably still functioning on all of the original equipment. Think incredibly worn out carny ride type of atmosphere. The people working there didn't hesitate to tell us how broken and worn out things were, and to show us their scars (yes, serious scars) from injuries down the alpine slide (it's made of fiberglass - don't put yer hands out or it'll bern ya!)
More than the faulty worn out rides, however, the biggest drawback here is for the life of me I can't figure out why in the world they are still in business with their customer service being what it is. I guess because so many were able to have fun despite it all. The woman running the desk was one of the must unhappy people I've ever met, and made it very clear what an inconvenience we were to be coming in and (gasp) giving her money. She got royally pissed off because I upgraded our horseback ride from a half hour to an hour - and she had to use white-out on her notepad to mark off what she had written.
We tried to let a little sunshine in, but 90% of the workers there were just downright sour people, chain-smoking and pissed at the world. The other 10% wouldn't talk to you. Our horseback ride was not only like pulling weeds to have a conversation with our guide, but the horses were NOT gentle ones for beginners. My husband put down that he was a novice rider, and was informed on his ride in "yeah, we weren't sure what your horse would do - he's new, so you were the guinea pig." Another one of the horses was clearly sick, sneezing and farting the whole ride, and pretty skittish (that's the one they chose to put my father-in-law and my 7-yr-old on) - they couldn't lead because we were informed the horse would run off and not stop if he was in the lead.
So - I would NOT suggest horseback riding unless you are an experienced rider who likes asshole horses. I would also not suggest really doing it because it's not much for view or fun.
I also wouldn't suggest going if sour people will keep you from having fun, because apparently this is the place to hang for negative attitudes.
Lastly, I was told that the campground had only one spot left for full hook-ups - like I needed to book right away. We arrived, and there was literally ONE camper there. Yep, there are only two full hookups, no bathhouse, and a portapotty in a field. They keep all the broken down junk bumper cars and boats in sheds around the property there.
Now, all of that being said, it was nice having an empty campground, a big open field to play in, and cheap rides to enjoy. The time there was fabulous with our girls - our youngest learned to ride a 2-wheel bike on the flat field in the campground, the other campers there were super nice, and we had a blast doing the go-carts, bumper cars, and the alpine slide and chairlift, which we did over and over.
As far as good for kids - older ones, yes as long as you're okay with a little danger. Young children, not much to do. My 4-year-old did the go-karts with an adult and rode the chair lift - everything else was too big and dangerous for her (height limits for everything anyway, so even my 9-yr-old was too short but they made exceptions).
I don't think it's something we'd push to go back to again, and I'd rather support places that are appreciative and exhibit excellent customer service - we work hard to show our own gratitude and be excellent patrons - I know there are people who don't, but since I work in the customer service industry as well, I know that assuming everyone is going to destroy/take advantage/etc is not the way to serve well - I'd rather go on the assumption that this is a win-win situation for everyone - the patron and the business.
So there you go. read more