Roller Coaster Guide to Funtown Splashtown Usa: Every Coaster Ranked
Funtown Splashtown USA's standout coaster is Excalibur, a hand-built wooden out-and-back from Custom Coasters International that opened in 1998, stands around 100 feet tall, and tops out in the mid-50s mph. Riders must be 48 inches tall. The back row delivers the strongest pull over the first drop; the front row offers views across the pines.
Maine's roller coaster story runs almost entirely through one ride, and it lives in Saco. Funtown Splashtown USA is a classic family-owned park, and its coaster count is short. But the one big credit here is the real thing: a hand-built wooden coaster that enthusiasts drive hours to ride. Here is the honest ranking of the coaster and every other ride at the park that delivers a thrill.
1. Excalibur
The headliner, the reason coaster people come to Maine, and one of New England's best wooden rides.
- Ride experience: A Custom Coasters International woodie from 1998, built almost entirely with hand tools on site. It stands around 100 feet tall, runs in the mid-50s mph, and follows an out-and-back course that dives through the pines. The first drop pulls you down into the trees, and the return run stacks up honest airtime pops over a ride that feels longer than it is. It is a classic wood experience: rattly in the right ways, smooth where it counts, with lap-bar freedom modern steel rarely allows.
- Height requirement: 48 inches.
- Best seat: Back row for the strongest pull over the first drop, front row for the view across the treetops.
- Best time to ride: First hour of the day for walk-ons, and again in the final hour when the train is fully warmed up and running its fastest.
The rest of the thrill lineup
No other coasters, but these carry the day between Excalibur laps.
- Dragon's Descent: The drop tower, and the tallest structure in the park. A slow climb with a view to the coast on clear days, then a genuine stomach-in-throat plunge. Do it at least once.
- Astrosphere: An indoor Scrambler wrapped in a dome of lights, lasers, and a booming soundtrack. It is a genuine New England cult classic and completely unlike riding a Scrambler outdoors. Because it is enclosed, it rides the same at noon as at night.
- Thunder Falls Log Flume: One of the biggest log flumes in New England, with a long course and a proper soaking drop. Save it for the heat of early afternoon.
- The classic flat ride row: swinging ship, bumper cars, and the usual midway spinners fill gaps between coaster rides without ever building serious lines.
The kiddie side
The park has a full gentle-ride section for small children. There is no separately credit-worthy kiddie coaster to chase, so adults without kids can skip the zone entirely.
First-timers guide order
- Excalibur, front half of the train, to meet the star properly
- Dragon's Descent while your nerve is up
- Thunder Falls Log Flume before the midday line forms
- Astrosphere
- Excalibur again, back row, to understand why people love it
Excalibur in context
For a park of Funtown's size and regional standing, Excalibur is a genuinely impressive anchor. Zierer Force coasters are underbuilt relative to their ride quality: this manufacturer produces smooth, airtime-heavy layouts that outperform their footprint on paper. The Excalibur credit is one of the better Force installations in New England, and coaster enthusiasts doing a regional tour should treat it as a legitimate stop rather than a checkbox. The park's second credit, Dragon's Descent, is a Gerstlauer launch coaster built around a 200-foot vertical drop. That specific combination of a quality Force coaster and a quality Gerstlauer in one small park is unusual for a property of this size, and it makes Funtown a more substantive credit stop than its reputation suggests.
Enthusiast order
- Excalibur at opening, then immediately again: back row, then front row
- Rotate through wheel seats and middle rows across the day; the ride changes noticeably by position
- Astrosphere once, because you do not get many domed Scramblers in a lifetime
- Excalibur in the last hour, warmed up and flying, as many laps as the line allows
The truthful summary: this is a one-coaster park, and that is fine. Excalibur is worth the trip on its own, the supporting rides are charming, and a half day here pairs perfectly with the beach at Old Orchard just up the road. Come for the woodie, stay for exactly as long as the woodie keeps calling you back.
Thoosie