Awards

The Spirit of Excellence Awards honors IAAPA member facilities that demonstrate an extraordinary commitment to human resources training and professional programs that attract, motivate and retain talented people while advancing industry employment standards. Playland was honored with two awards: Winner of the Best Orientation Program and Runner-up for Best Supervisory Training Program offered to park managers.

The Phoenix Award
The rarely given Phoenix Award is presented to an organization responsible for the preservation or rebirth of a cherished part of amusement history. For 2003, Playland was honored with this award for its care, renovation and protection of the Art Deco structures, historical rides and integrity of this 75 year old treasure. This particular award is only given to a park that has demonstrated an outstanding effort at preservation and traditional operation of a historic, well-known institution. It is chosen above all other parks throughout the world.

The Brass Ring Awards honor amusement parks and attractions for outstanding promotions work in eight categories including television. Playland's 2003 television commercial which featured a grandmother reminiscing about her visits to Playland and then bringing her granddaughter to the park, received the Distinguished Excellence Award within the criteria of awards program as set by IAAPA.

The National Amusement Park Historical Association (NAPHA) awarded the prestigious Life Membership Award to Playland, Rye, NY, in July of 2003. The international educational and enthusiast organization has chosen Playland for this honor due to its international leadership in and commitment to preserving the heritage and traditions of the amusement park industry. Playland is just the third amusement park in the world to have received the award since its 1993 inception.

"Playland is virtually a living museum of amusement park history. Its combination of well preserved classic rides and vintage buildings are a throwback to the Golden Age of amusement parks", states Jim Futrell, NAPHA's Historian.

Founded in 1978, the National Amusement Park Historical Association is an international organization dedicated to the preservation and enjoyment of amusement parks past, present and future.

Playland Park 2003
The Metro New York region of the American Coaster Enthusiasts presented a plaque wishing to congratulate Playland Park on its 75th Anniversary of thrills, chills and spills. They particularly honor the park's beauty and historic significance as one of the finest Classic Amusement Parks in the world.
Kiddy Coaster 2001
Winner of the ACE Coaster Classic "one that has been shared by generations of thrill seekers since the golden age of the 1920's when the wild, uninhibited, free wheeling thrills of the wooden coaster established it as the premier thrill ride and an icon of popular culture." Winning coasters must be unaltered from their original design.