All the rage these days

AS the entertainment industry in Guyana continues to boom, the Ramada Georgetown

Princess Hotel is looking to keep on top of the game, and last Saturday officially opened their “Fun Park” amusement park at its Providence, East Bank Demerara location.
There’s the exciting Pirate Ship, the rotating Flowers Ride, the Candy Paradise, the Carousel, the bumper cars and so much more that makes this the place to be if you’re looking for thrills and excitement. Not to mention the well-stocked concessions bar, which is every kid’s dream come true, from chocolate fountain and cotton candy to its hot dogs and boiled corn.
And if you’re old enough to remember the travelling carnivals that came to Guyana in the past, or if you’ve ever enjoyed the rides that used to be a part of the GuyExpo experience, then you are going to love the Ramada amusement park.
And it doesn’t even matter if you’re not old enough to remember any of those things, because the Ramada comes with attractions that cater to just about any age, no matter how old or young you are.

JAM-PACKED
The Park comes jam-packed with rides and attractions, but don’t let that have you thinking that the place is by any means clustered or confusing. The layout is well done; everything is well spaced, though the entire thing is enclosed.
But, be warned! There are rides that will thrill, and rides that will scare some of us.
The pendulum Pirate Ship is just one such ride that is not for the faint of heart. Able to seat 30 persons at a time, the ride takes you almost to the roof, and will have you screaming to come down.
But don’t worry! Like all rides, it’s completely safe; seatbelts and everything!
Another screamer is probably going to be the crazy-dance ride, which also swings like a pendulum, but also spins. The bumper cars will be all the rage though, and for those who want to stick to the less scary end of things, there’s the carousel, which seats 24. There’s also a sand box area.
Naturally, some of the attractions come with age and height limits for safety reasons.
FIRST OF ITS KIND
Though Guyana has other entertainment complexes, and play parks, this amusement park is the first of its kind to be established in such a big way in Guyana.
The Fun Park officially opened to much fanfare and crowds. Its symbolic ribbon was cut by General Manager, Eray Kanma and then eager patrons got on to the fun part, enjoying it all the more because everything was free for the day.
The Park complements the Hotel’s “Fun City”, which already comes with the full quota of arcade games.
Fun Park Manager, Huseyin Deminel, explained though that while the Fun City facility is one that more caters to young children and teens, the amusement park is going to be for all ages.
“We figured that Guyana needs a bigger amusement park to which families can come altogether. Fun City is a nice entertainment centre, but we were thinking only children or teenagers would come there. But with the Park, all the family members can come, with very nice rides for them to ride all together,” the Turkey-born electronic engineer said just before he took us on a tour of the facility.
And the prices for the rides are not exorbitant at all. As prices go in Guyana, theirs “ain’t bad”. Entrance into the Park is free, and you only pay for the rides that you go on. Prices per turn on the rides range from $200 – $500. The payment system is much like the one at the already established Fun City at the Hotel.

HOW IT WORKS
How it works is that you buy a Fun Park card for which you add “credits”, each of which is $100. If you already have a Fun City card, then no sweat! The cards are interchangeable. This, of course, means you can also use your Fun Park card at the Fun City.
The Park opens daily from 12:00 – 13:00hrs, but it doesn’t actually really get busy until late in the evening, and of course weekends.
The facility is just behind the hotel, on the northern side, so as soon as you enter the compound, turn left.
And don’t worry! Before long you won’t have any worries with finding it, because there will be a shuttle train conveying patrons to and from the Park.