Martin's Fantasy Island - Grand Island, New York - traditional amusement park in western New York

Located in western upstate New York, Martin's Fantasy Island is an 85-acre amusement park with over 30 rides, as well as other attractions. This park has roots that date as far back as 1961, when it was simply called "Fantasy Island.'' The park went bankrupt, however, and in 1982 it was bought by Charles Wood out of bankruptcy. Later it was sold to the International Broadcasting Company and back to Wood, before being sold to Martin Dipietro in 1994. He renamed the park Martin's Fantasy Island.

Currently, the park has two operating roller coasters, which are both huge draws for tourists. The first, Crazy Mouse is a steel mouse type of coaster that opened in 2005 and reaches heights of 42 feet. The other roller coaster is called Silver Comet. This is a hybrid steel and wooden coaster that came to the park in 1999. This coaster reaches speeds of 50 miles per hour and features an 82-foot drop. In the past, the park has also had a number of other roller coasters, including kiddie roller coasters.

The park has a number of less adventurous rides for guests who don't like roller coasters. The water attractions and rides at Martin's Fantasy Island are extremely popular. These rides include the Cannon Bowl, the Lazy River, the Log Flume, the Pro-Slide, and the Raging Rapids. The park also has a kiddie pool and a wave pool for older guests to cool down during the day. Along with water rides, the park has antique cars, bumper cars, a tilt-a-whirl, boats, a train, the Sea Ray, teacups, a gondola wheel, and motorcycles. Many of these rides are especially for children.

Martin's Fantasy Island also has a number of shows every day. The Wild West Shoot-out has four shows daily from June to Labor Day and weekend shows in May. There's also the Golden Nugget Saloon Show, which has western-styled singing and dancing. Children can enjoy daily puppet shows, as well as an interactive theater show featuring well-known children's characters.

Along with shows, Martin's Fantasy Island hosts many events every year. Additionally, they can be booked for a picnic or party, and these catered events give guests a number of choices. Each ticket for a catered event, which includes hamburgers, hot dogs, sausage, ice cream, drinks, and salads, comes with admission tickets, posters, and free parking. They have special birthday park packages as well, which include access to the birthday house, park admission, pizza, ice cream, drives, and paper products. Guests can also order a cake from the park's bakery or bring their own.

The park is open from May to September annually. Before Memorial Day and after Labor Day, they're open weekends from 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM. Later in the summer, their hours increase so that the park is open until 8:30 PM. They're closed most Mondays, and some special days have other hours. General admission is $23.95 for adults and $19.95 for children under 48 inches tall. They also have discount tickets available for seniors, groups, and guests who come to the park after 5:00 PM. Discounts are also available for special events, such as report card day, grandparents day, and military day. For more information, guests can call 716-773-7591.