Silver Comet.
Photo: Richard Koppelman. View full-sized image.
On April 30, it was announced that Niagara Amusement Park & Splash World on Grand Island, New York — a short distance from the tourist destination that is Niagara Falls — would not open for the 2026 season. The news followed earlier reports and rumors of the park having encountered various difficulties, heightened by its failing to post job openings and season pass sales.
Beginning with its opening in 1961, the amusement center that opened as Fantasy Island (the preferred Fantasy Land name was deemed too similar to Fantasyland at Disneyland in Anaheim, California) endured many ownership and name changes, including Two Flags Over Niagara Fun Park under the leadership of Charles R. Wood and Martin’s Fantasy Island under Martin DiPietro in 1994. It was the latter who installed Silver Comet, a steel-structured wood coaster from Custom Coasters International in 1999 — a nod to Comet at Crystal Beach (Ontario, Canada) that was briefly stored at the park after the auction of the park before being relocated to Great Escape (now Six Flags Great Escape) in Queensbury, New York.
The Sea Ray, which operated from 1995 to 2011, with Silver Comet behind it.
Photo: Rob Ascough. View full-sized image.
Following an unsuccessful stint as part of Apex Parks Group, Martin’s Fantasy Island was purchased by IB Parks & Entertainment under the guidance of Gene Staples, who had previously made headlines in the industry for purchasing Indiana Beach Park in Monticello, Indiana — another Apex Parks Group property — and returning it to operation. In recent years, the park’s meager ride lineup was bolstered by the addition of Serpent — an S.D.C. Galaxi that once operated at Americana Amusement Park in Monroe, Ohio — and the Flying Witch dark ride from Playland Park in Rye, New York.
Silver Comet, built by Custom Coasters International, debuted at Martin’s Fantasy Island in 1999.
Although the recent announcement did not completely close the door on the park reopening in the future, the official statement on the park’s closing mentioned, “attendance and revenue levels in recent seasons were not sufficient to sustain the costs of operation and continued investment required to rebuild and operate the park responsibly.” Time will tell if IB Parks and Entertainment will make another attempt to revitalize the park in the future or if another operator will express interest; both alternatives leave the future of a beloved amusement park and its excellent wood coaster in doubt.
— Rob Ascough, Publications Director
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