Oaks Amusement Park, Portland

What: Oaks Amusement Park
Where: South Portland, along the east side of the Willamette River
When: August 2009
Why: Because my kids earned cheap passes from the library summer reading program, and we love rides!
How much: $11-17 regular price for a wristband, depending on if you want Deluxe or not
There are discount days, like Thursdays are $12 if you show a Safeway card. Check out their website for more details!

This is the roller skating rink's actual organ! We went that night because the rides all close at 9, but skating is open until 9:30. More bang for your buck! I was shocked to see a real person playing the music! The organ pipes are right above the rink--it's very cool! And there were some really good, adult skaters there to watch. Fun!

This was my favorite ride, the Screamer. You have to be 48" tall. It's awesome!

The scrambler, part of the south section of the park.

My tips/thoughts:
1. While not as big as some amusement parks, there was plenty to keep my 4 kids (ages 4-7) entertained ALL DAY! The lines weren't too bad, even on a busy summer day.
2. Get there before noon to buy your bracelets, like 11:30. This was our goal, but we arrived at noon and the lines were horrendous! This was the peak time.
3. Just because their website says you have to be a certain height, only means you have to be that height to ride alone. Most of the rides, except Rock & Roll, Bumper Cars, and the big Coaster, allow shorter kids to go on with an adult. So I was able to ride with my 2 youngest while my older 2 rode together. Perfect!
4. The parking lot is really close to the rides, so you could easily pack a picnic and keep it in a cooler in your car until you're hungry.
5. The food is expensive, but not horrendous--get everyone their burger or whatever and share some fries, ask for water, and it's actually reasonable, for an amusement park!
6. I refused to wear a backpack, and we no longer use a stroller, so we had 2 fanny packs to carry our stuff. Not so fashionable, I know, but very practical. My oldest carried one with snacks and a water bottle, and mine had my little camera, cell phone, bandaids, more snacks, money and ID. There were drinking fountains all over so we just kept refilling our water bottle.
7. There were lots of bathrooms and water fountains and it was a great place. I felt very safe, the employees were really nice, and I highly recommend it!