Lake Compounce Discussion Thread

Will I have enough time (will it be enjoyable) if I do a few hours in the morning at Quassy, then hop over to LC for the rest of the day?

 

Yes. Lake Compounce isn't really a full day park unless you go to the water park. Make sure you ride the chairlift... it closes when it gets dark and it's the most unique ride in the park. It's like 30 minutes long.

Yes. You could even spend part of or most of the day at both parks without rushing.

Thank you both! I've only ever done two parks in one day, one time. Dorney in the morning, Knoebels in the evening. I wish I would have split Knoebels into it's own day. I could have ridden Phoenix all day long! I just don't want to make that mistake again. I know Boulder Dash is a Phoenix level contender, but Lake Compounce doesn't seem as big a park as Knoebels, nor is the drive between LC and Quassy as big as Dorney and Knoebels.

Outside of trying to get to Dollywood for the first time, this is my most anticipated trip of the year. And I'm going to Kings Dominion and BGW for the first time this year, so putting Boulder Dash above everything in Virginia says a lot.

I have one trip planning question. Will I have enough time (will it be enjoyable) if I do a few hours in the morning at Quassy, then hop over to LC for the rest of the day? I don't want to do waterpark stuff, but I want enough time to take pics, do all coasters multiple times and get in a bunch of flats/water rides. Is one day (probably a Saturday or Sunday) enough time to not have to be in too much of a hurry?

 

Quassy can easily be done in 2 hours without rushing. Wooden Warrior is an amazing wooden coaster (in my top 10) with surprising airtime despite its size. I've never had to wait more than 2-3 trains for it. Get the all-you-can ride band and you can get on this at least 5-6 times in an hour. You would then have another hour to grab photos and ride some of the park's other rides. The two I'd recommend are Frantic (a crazy spinning inverting frisbee that's no taller than 20 feet) and Reverse Time (an update on the classic trabant).

 

Lake Compounce doesn't get bad waits on the ride side. The water park can have some slow moving lines though, so it's good you are skipping that. Boulder Dash is my favorite wooden coaster. Wildcat is getting new trains this year so hopefully that gets smoother. The non-coaster rides worth riding are the sky ride, Thunder n Lightning, and Down Time. If you don't mind getting wet, they have one of the better river rapids rides too. Ghost Hunt (their shooting dark ride) is getting new targets this year, so maybe that will fix it, but for the past few years the guns/targets haven't really worked.

You've confirmed my exact thoughts. Thank you! Quassy for those three rides you've mentioned. And all the renovation projects at LC are making me drool. I honestly prefer a good refurb year to the new hotness some of these parks are throwing out. If Holiday World would increase their refurb rate on Legend and do the same to their other two woodies, I would go back in an instant.

Looks like this is my year to go to Lake Compounce. I've been wanting to go for years, but never did. Even drove by it once on the way to SFNE without even realizing it was there! Ever since that stupid drive by I've desperately wanted to go. The addition of Phobia and now the awesome track work on WC and BD make me want to get over there as soon as I can.

 

I have one trip planning question. Will I have enough time (will it be enjoyable) if I do a few hours in the morning at Quassy, then hop over to LC for the rest of the day? I don't want to do waterpark stuff, but I want enough time to take pics, do all coasters multiple times and get in a bunch of flats/water rides. Is one day (probably a Saturday or Sunday) enough time to not have to be in too much of a hurry?

In only 7 hours this past summer at Lake Compounce (I believe it was a Tuesday), I was able to get on Boulder Dash 36 times, Phobia three times, and each Wildcat, Zoomerang, and Thunder 'n' and Lighting once. It's not a park that typically gets busy, but it's still such a good park that it's worth going for multiple days in my opinion. However you can probably get to everything in the park in 5 hours or so.

You've confirmed my exact thoughts. Thank you! Quassy for those three rides you've mentioned. And all the renovation projects at LC are making me drool. I honestly prefer a good refurb year to the new hotness some of these parks are throwing out. If Holiday World would increase their refurb rate on Legend and do the same to their other two woodies, I would go back in an instant.

The park does a good job of taking care of Boulder Dash. The ride runs really smooth other than one portion that has gotten rough over the years (the triple up). Thankfully the park is modifying that section this offseason. I know they've tried to fix Wildcat in the past but it hasn't been overly effective. I'm hoping the new trains can finally do it.

I also want to add that if your visit can somehow get you at the park after sunset, take full advantage of that. Boulder Dash is one of the best night coasters anywhere. However, I know the park can close before it gets really dark in the summer so this can be tricky.

Wildcat should be great this year, pretty much every bad part before the return trip by Ghost Hunt is being re-tracked. The only part I'm worried about is the 2nd turn by the station because I don't think that has gotten any work but it should be fine. They are also rebuilding the middle of the lift and replacing the track. As I've said, they are adding a support coming of the lift that you will go through on the return.

^Wow, I didn't expect THAT much to be done about Wildcat. I'm definitely going to at least get that credit next time I go, since the first time I skipped it since I heard it was bad, and the second time it was closed.

This is great to see, it's a shame that such a classic ride that looks so enjoyable has always run like a piece of sh*t despite their continued re-tracking efforts. Hopefully killing those PTC trains for good will finally make it a good ride.

Well at this point they may as well just give the ride a better layout.

In all seriousness, well done LC. This is what needed to happen; hopefully it's done right and holds up well.

Here are some pictures from an off-season tour today.

http://imgur.com/a/m5rXf

I am really liking how the work on Boulder Dash is looking, looks like there will be some great airtime. Here are a few notes.

-Wildcat's new trains are expected to arrive on 4/17. Expected to open Memorial Day weekend.

-Ghost Hunt's work will start in a few weeks, expected to open around 2 weeks late.

-Boulder Dash should be testing in about two weeks. It will have new restraint mechs that double the clicks (less leeway between clicks).

-Wave-swinger will have new seats.

^Wow, I didn't expect THAT much to be done about Wildcat. I'm definitely going to at least get that credit next time I go, since the first time I skipped it since I heard it was bad, and the second time it was closed.

Wildcat's not bad at all. I only really found a couple parts of it to be rough, and there are actually some decent forces. It's just overshadowed by the awesomeness that is Boulder Dash.

The last time I rode it, the first drop was quite good, but the bunny hills in the middle were rough. It'll still only be a once a visit ride for me because of how good Boulder Dash is.

Huge thank you to Jerry Brick at Lake Compounce along with our ACE New England Rep Rus Ozana for arranging a construction tour today. A lot of progress has been made on both Wildcat and Boulder Dash along with the Sweet Shoppe getting a facelift. To add to BoulderDash's earlier post here are several more photos from today's construction tour.

Sections of Wildcat are being assembled on the ground and then put in place.

The Sweet Shoppe is receiving a great makeover.

Boulder Dash is looking great! Should be able to start testing in the coming weeks.

Bolder Dash's Control Room

Green Train is Ready to Roll

We also had the chance to get a little behind the scenes view of Phobia

Jerry took us inside Phobia's Flywheel converter and substation system. This saves the park about 25% of the electrical costs associated with running the coaster. When in use it's monitored 24/7 by the manufacturer who's in Germany.

^Those are some great photos and some very interesting facts. Thanks for sharing!

^Those are some great photos and some very interesting facts. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks it was an fun day. Jerry was just awesome and willing to show us anything we were interested in. Great group to spend time with.

Glad to see both wooden coasters getting some major TLC.

Thanks for sharing!

Haven't been to the park in years. Guess we'll have to make a stop in the next time we are up north. Thanks for the pictures, they are great!

I'm so excited about Wildcat. That coaster has been terrible for a long time, despite being a moderately sized classic wood coaster that should have never been rough. Those trains were garbage. It's not going to make any top 10 lists but it'll finally it'll be the enjoyable, classic family coaster that it always should have been.

I'm so excited about Wildcat. That coaster has been terrible for a long time, despite being a moderately sized classic wood coaster that should have never been rough. Those trains were garbage. It's not going to make any top 10 lists but it'll finally it'll be the enjoyable, classic family coaster that it always should have been.

If I remember correctly Jerry said that the old wood on Wildcat was all 2x6's and for even more durability and strength the new wood is now 2x8's. The new trains should definitely help as well.

So many of Lake Compounce's Facebook followers will be disappointed that Wildcat doesn't have loop-de-loops when they show up this year.

So many of Lake Compounce's Facebook followers will be disappointed that Wildcat doesn't have loop-de-loops when they show up this year.

From the park's Facebook page. I still can't get over the fact that this coaster FINALLY won't suck any more.

The ride is going to look so weird but awesome with the Millennium Flyers. I really love the claw marks on the sides.

Wow! It's great to see Millennium Flyers going on such an old, classic woodie. I would've expected them on Boulder Dash before Wildcat, but it's still great news.