Beware. The ticket eaters that they mandate you feed your tickets into give an inaccurate count. You lose about 40% of your winning tickets. All of them do this. Think of how many thousands of tickets that is. Dont take my word for it. Count out a string of tickets and feed them into the machine. See what you get. I brought this up to them and they gave me a 75 ticket voucher. I left it sitting on a machine, because I dont care about the tickets. My concern is the stealing from little kids. read more

You've got all the makings of a retro fun day here. There are many benches under the shady willows for people watching. Cute little boats bob in the harbor. Time suddenly slows down for awhile as you try to imagine those "good old days." Just ignore the screaming children, pigeon poo and the funky smell of the arcade... But in all honesty, I really came for one thing only: the photo booths. You just gotta try it! It was worth the day trip out to Salem just to spend $2 for a strip of black & white photos. Ahhh...the memories :) read more

I remember going on the little boat ride and playing skeeball when I was little. I was cleaning out a box of old toys and actually found some tickets that I was probably saving for an awesome giant stuffed dinosaur. Fun ticket games and regular arcade games next door (The Simpsons and Ninja Turtles arcade game!!) A great place to spend an afternoon/evening. I still go down there just grab some ice cream, popcorn, or a chop suey sandwich and throw down a few quarters at the arcade. However, parking can be ridiculously difficult on a weekend afternoon. And just to cement this important point that every else has brought up, avoid the bathrooms. seriously. read more

I don't think I can appreciate this place the way people who grew up in Salem seem to. A fun place to kill an evening in the summer though.

The people watching is worth 2 stars alone.... you definitely get an interesting (but usually friendly enough) crowd - its worth coming down, playing some of the vintage games (or if you're more into new ones go for it). If you're an adult with other adults, do give any tickets accumulated to kids (or their parents, don't be creepy!). What else... take a stroll, grab an ice cream or slice of pizza - you can easily have a few hours of fun for under 20 bucks, which is great. read more

I mean it is small. I like to walk around and people watch. There is a lot of that. Mostly for young kids and families.

This place never gets too old. The arcades are fun, the staff could be a little friendlier I guess. Lots of kids and parking spaces.

Solid arcade, bring your quarters, but don't forget to bring some dimes for the Monkey Band!

I love it here. It's a beautiful view, extremely cheap, and a good time for my children. They love the games and the rides. We make a whole day out of going here. And after we stop for lunch. Everything is right there ..games rides and food ..my kids love it..it's not huge or fancy or anything amazing. But we do enjoy it. read more

Full disclosure: I grew up in Salem, and used to come here as a kid. Thus, it's got a nostalgic connection that won't easily be torn down. I believe that you have to rate anything for what it is, within its own terms, and The Willows is a very special place on the North Shore. Unlike something like Weirs Beach, which is near the highway and in the middle of tourist country, the Willows is about as far from 95 as you can get without actually taking a boat into the water. Meaning that it's a place that caters primarily to locals, and has that special charm that is rarely found in similar establishments. The way to enjoy the Willows is to come here on a hot summer day and spend your time leisurely. Do the arcade in one trip, then do the casino (where you can win prizes) in another hop. Look around at the casino while you're there - the building has been standing forever, and the old wood lattice work on the unused upper balcony really harkens back to the old days. DO NOT miss out on Hobbes' popcorn, made in a hundred year old machine and is, in my opinion, the best popcorn I've ever had. For lunch, there's a ton of great greasy places around - Hobbes does good grill food as well, and you can't go wrong with fried dough or Italian ice for snacks after. The Chinese place is a local favorite for their Chop Suey sandwiches, which sell for a whopping buck fifty. And make sure to explore the park as well. Go down by the water and walk out onto the docks, where you'll see locals fishing. Check out the old concert stage too, and the old picnic houses. The Willows will always be a magical place, but I don't think you have to have gone since you were a kid to feel it. Just take it on its own terms (not for tourists!) and eat it up - things like this disappear every day never to be seen again. read more

A ton of fun for a great price for the arcade games. Reminds me of my childhood with some of the vintage games (pinball, Simpsons game). And I love that most games are just a quarter or two. Makes for a great time of fun and entertainment. read more

I just paid $7.50 for 3 miniature plastic dinosaurs and a twizzler. In my day, arcade games are 1 token to maybe 3--max. Most of the games in this arcade are 4 tokens and they aren't even big ticket games. read more

This review is for the arcade but also for the Willows in general. We had soo much fun there. There are pizza places, a million ice cream shops, a bar, the ocean, and tons of open space to picnic on. The willows are beautiful and it's a great place for a family or to go on a date. Free parking, cheap arcades and endless fun. read more

This is a decent arcade. There are a good amount of cabinets. The selection isn't very unique, but the games are good. They have cabinets like Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man, Centipede, Galaxian, Galaga, Operation Wolf, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Simpsons, Tetris, and Afterburner. Most of the cabinets work, but the last two times I've been there they haven't fixed Asteroids. I mean come on, it's Asteroids. One great cabinet they have is the Global Arcade Classics. It has at least 50 games on there. read more

I have come while visiting my brother and his family. Now that we live in Salem, I intend to visit more. I am an adult. I found the atmosphere friendly. read more

Great arcade with plenty of old school games and pinball. It's got plenty of skeeball and other ticket giving games as well. If only they would fix the Funhouse pinball machine... That's all that keeps me from giving it 5 stars. read more

Salem Willows has been a fun place to go, as far back as I can remember. I have even stopped by in the middle of the day just to play a couple of games of pin ball, to forget about life for a few minutes. A couple things have changed this year...no more quarters. they went to Tokens...YUCK...Plus their pinball machines are dwindling every year. They told me that they are expensive to fix and they only have one person that can work on the machines. I will still enjoy going to Salem Willows...just not quite as much read more

While vacationing in Salem as a child 45 years ago, my cousins took me to this arcade - I can't believe it still exists - but what I really wanted to see was if they still have the fortune telling machine. I was about 12 at the time and paid my money to have my fortune read. Well, I got "Reading C" which stated, "(Blah, blah, blah, blah.) A pair of twins will bless your married life. (Blah, Blah.)" Being only twelve, I held on to the card and kept it in a safe place. Fast forward 18 years and my husband and I became the parents of a beautiful baby boy. A year and a half later I was pregnant again and my first ultrasound showed (guess what?) I was pregnant with twins! Freaky, huh? My twins are 24 now, and I still have the card tucked away in a safe place! It would be interesting to know how many other "measurable" fortunes came true! read more

Cheap Cheesey Outdated. Lame Coin-op games Pinball games missing balls. Who cares its the Willows. Great views. Lots of parking. Lots of terrible food thats not that cheap. Its just a good way to waste 3 hrs on a spring afternoon. read more

Look, the Willows park is a great place to spend an hour or two, but many of these reviews are inflated with nostalgia. I suspect this has cast a quite rosy tint on the recollections of this arcade, or possibly reviewers might have never had their expectations set at an appropriate level by other arcades. Not sure, but do I always have a dime for those monkeys. read more

I was a loyal customer at Salem Willows for well over 20 years but those days are over. Yesterday was my friend's only day off before he leaves for California. I called the Arcade at about 1:00 PM and asked for operating hours. I was told they would be open until 9:00 PM and to "come on down!" Well we drove over 30 minutes, arrived at about 6:00 PM, and they were closed! I am so pissed off. With the price of gas why would they lie to paying customers?! When I called today for an explanation I was told they closed "because no one was there." That is just unacceptable, unprofessional business practice and will be reported and reviewed as such. I've spent a lot of money at their establishments and even had to buy disgusting Peppy's food just to use a bathroom! They can't think they are professional business people with such disregard for customers. Don't waste your time or money there. read more

A nice small manageable size. A good way to spend two or three hours with bored teenagers. They even, wait for it, enjoyed it and each other! Food choices plentiful. Classic fair food. read more

I love the Willows!! But then again I have been coming here since I was a kid with my grandmother so it holds a lot of special memories. It's just fun. Low key, arcade, loud fun! If you don't like loud arcades and kids having fun all around you, don't go. If you like to feel like a kid and play Ms. Pacman and skee-ball get your butt there. I wish that I could remember the name of the place, they make fresh squeezed lemonade... so good! It's easy enough to find if you really want it. There are really nice places to walk along the water too. Places to sit and space out. Good stuff. read more

I have been going to Salem Willows for 30plus years. I now bring my kids there. They have a blast. I have already made several trips with my kids down to the Willows and this year is great. They have alot of new arcade games and the Casino has the Wooden balls back with the long skeeeball alleys!! If you haven't been this year it is worth checking out. Do call ahead because it is an Amusment Park and there season doesn't official start till Memorial day. Then they are open from 11am till 11pm during the summer. I think its a great place to bring the kids. read more

Went here for the first time since i was little and my grandmother would take my brother and I!!! Just as awesome as before. Fun and a nice place to walk around a lot read more

relly cute arcade! the musical monkeys were adorable!!!

always a fun time here arcades that some are really old school, great food very scenic has the water and peer to go swimming or sit by eat and best places to eat and go to with friends but they put bumper cars in now which suck because before they had a spinny coaster , but they do have lil boat rides for lil kids and a merry go round thats been there for decades read more