Photo TR: Lake Winnie '07

Since Shannon's employer was offering a free "family day" at Lake Winnie, complete with picnic lunch, we just couldn't resist. Free is always good, and the day turned out great. We arrived around 11 am, ate at one of the three thousand picninc pavilions onsite, and then headed out to the rides.

Not much has changed from years past, but the park has a newly paved parking area....well, sort of. Cannonball was running great in it's 40th anniversary year and the Fly-O-Planes were back in service! Ride ops were friendly and effecient, and the place was clean as always.

Enjoy the pics.

Which looks like this at that particular moment in time when the photo was snapped.

And a lap around the park for good measure.

Naturally, you have to hit the slide on the way out.

Pov of said swings.

Wave Swinger.

Boat chute. If I'm correct, this is the only one of its kind in America, and is 80 years old this year. Happy birthday Boat Chute.

Anyone know why this place is named Lake Winnie?

Chair lift over lake.

Rib cracker.

Lame bumper cars.

And one more to drive the point home.

Again.

Closer view.

Fly-O-Planes are back!!

Cannon Ball pov. She still runs great!

YES!!

There was a battle of the bands competition being held there on this day. High school bands from GA and neighboring states made me long for a beer and a football game.

Joe's right, kiddie credits are fun for everyone!!!

Extreme wacky worm pov for Joe who wasn't actually here this day.

Well, besides headless penguins, kiddie credits of course!

What makes Joe happy?

The high tech ride vehicles.

Uninspired "haunted" dark ride name. The effects weren't very special. Very campy, and good for a laugh.

Round Up.

Pirate ship.

The park's new entryway.

Derek?

Newly paved parking area. Well, except for the spaces themselves. Still, a very welcome improvement.

Park Map.

Wow, the new entry way look very nice. Much nicer than the last time I was there in 2003, when it was pretty much just two little ticket booths with a banner over them! I've already promised myself a trip to Lake Winnie this year, and this TR makes me think that it may be sooner than later!

-Julie

ehhh the bumper cars can be fun

I still kick myself for not going back in 2004...... Someday....

I <3 the Fly-Oz Whalom had some back in the day.

When did you guys go? We went yesterday for the first time. We really liked it a lot....Nice little park for the whole family!

Dude, great shots. Were those rock-o-planes recently renovated? They look fantastic, but are they much fun?

I never knew the park was quite this big, it looks like it has several high-quality rides.

So close....and yet.....so far away.

Really nice pictures.

Dude, great shots. Were those rock-o-planes recently renovated? They look fantastic, but are they much fun?

Them be Fly-O-Planes, Sonny!

Them said Rock-O-Planes be good also!

Viva Tennessee!

Dude, great shots. Were those rock-o-planes recently renovated?

Yes. They used to sit where the Oh-Zone is now and they were rejuvenated last year before relocating them..

I never knew the park was quite this big, it looks like it has several high-quality rides.

Especially compared to Six Flags or Carowinds or Dollywood, the park has a bunch of well-run flats

Those slides are dangerous. Seriously. One time I was at American Adventures and the slide was extra fast that day. Many people were catching a little bit of air on the last hump so I decided I would do it. When I got to that hump I must have subconsiously tried to get more air by lifting my but right when I crested the hump, which in turn made me catch about a foot of air off of the slide and land right on my tail bone on the divider between the two lanes. It hurt so bad, that for about a week I could not bend down.

Wow, the new entry way look very nice.

Yep, I was impressed that they've spruced it up a bit. It's such a great little park, that I hated to see it look so ghetto from the outside.

ehhh the bumper cars can be fun

Yeah, I guess I just managed to find the two lamest cars on the floor that day.

When did you guys go?

I believe it was around 11-3:30ish. I saw your TR, but didn't remember seeing you guys. Glad you liked the place. It really is a great little park for families.

Were those rock-o-planes recently renovated? They look fantastic, but are they much fun?

For someone who doesn't do well with flats anymore, I talked myself into trying 'em out (risking going home sick). They may be old and seem like a steel cage of death, but they were actually pretty fun. Nothing ground breaking, but fun.

Dude, great shots. Really nice pictures.

Thank you, and thank you.

Those slides are dangerous. Seriously.

I guess I lucked out then.

I <3 the Fly-Oz Whalom had some back in the day.

Are LW's the only ones left?

I was going to head back to Lake Winnie again April 14, but rain was moving into Tennessee, so I headed home instead.

Glad to hear Cannonball (my #100) is still running great!

I chickened out on the Fly O Planes, I'll muster up the courage next time.

I <3 the Fly-Oz Whalom had some back in the day.

Are LW's the only ones left?

In a park?... Yes. I have heard of one or two more that hit the road but have not seen any myself. Bensons (in NH) and Whalom (in MA) both had them in the 80s and Whalom still had them in the 90s.

But both parks are now gone.

I can't believe me and my buddy Scott didn't run into you guys. We were there from about 12-4. It was our first time there and we had to get credits. I made him ride the Whacky Worm even though he didn't want to. I was like, Dude, it counts as a credit. He was so embarrased on the ride, but he did it anyway. Wish we would have known other TPR's were there. I was going to take my camera and do a PTR, but I forgot my camera and I guess you guys beat me to it!

Awesome PTR Scott! I wanna get back to Lake Winnie so bad this year. I love that place.

But wait, did they take out the Orbiter and put Fly-O-Planes in it's place? I hope not. I can't wait to ride the Fly-O-Planes but the Orbiter is freakin' awesome.

to tell you the truth, I have never even heard of this park but I have heard of the cannonball and it looks like a really nice coaster to go onto. btw great photos!

^^ it looks like the Fly O Plane was placed behind the Orbiter, closer to the first drop on Cannonball, because yes, losing the Orbiter would be tragic.

We rather enjoyed our visit to Lake Winnie ourselves the other day. Cannonball was really a big suprise. I wished we had a little more time, and that the Fly-O-Plane attendent was not on his break, so we could have done more.

^^ it looks like the Fly O Plane was placed behind the Orbiter, closer to the first drop on Cannonball, because yes, losing the Orbiter would be tragic.

Affirmative. And thanks again for the compliments guys.

Thanks for sharing the photos! I haven't really seen any pictures of Lake Winnie that much so this is a change. Looks like a decent little park, and the Fly-O-Planes look awesome!

-Justin

I enjoyed your photo trip of the park so much I decided to check out its website (www.lakewinnie.com). Since this park is close to where I'm planning to spend my vacation, I may go out there.

FREE PARKING? WOW!!!

Thaks for sharing the photos. It's good to know about the changes in the park, since I'll be visiting Lake Winnie some time this month. Thank goodness they brought back the fly-o-plane ride.

We went to LW several years ago....had a great time. Free Parking...almost Free entry....good food.....Cannonball rides with one train wait...

What was really nice was that my family of five was able to enjoy Lake Winnie for about the same price as ONE Disney ticket.

Did anyone else feel the slightest bit uncomfortable riding the chair lift over the lake....?

Did anyone else feel the slightest bit uncomfortable riding the chair lift over the lake....?

That's funny you mention it. There were actually two distinct thoughts I had while riding.

1) These kind of chair lifts always make me feel somewhat uneasy.

2) It's really not that high up. It'd be kind of cool to jump from here into the lake.

So instead of thinking about anything else, I just kept taking pictures.

Did anyone else feel the slightest bit uncomfortable riding the chair lift over the lake....?

That's funny you mention it. There were actually two distinct thoughts I had while riding.

1) These kind of chair lifts always make me feel somewhat uneasy.

2) It's really not that high up. It'd be kind of cool to jump from here into the lake.

 

So instead of thinking about anything else, I just kept taking pictures.

I'm sure part of my feelings were due to the fact that I was in one chair with our young son (at the time) and my wife in another chair with our young daughter. I recall that I had him bunched up right next to me...with a good handful of his shirt in my grip.

my thoughts were, if we fell out...no way is that water going to be deep enough to do any good.

but to stay on topic, we LOVED Lake Winnie.

while gathering info for our trip, I emailed LW. The guy who responded was the owner/manager (the big guy) of the park. We exchanged e'mails several times with him suggesting other things to see in the Chattanooga area. When we visited LW, we got there a little before opening, and as we're waiting in line for them to open the gates, this older guy comes out and goes down the line greeting each person, and welcoming them to the park...taking his time....chatting about this and that....he had on a name-tag, it was the guy I'd been emailing....so we talked for a few minutes....greeted all our kids....(did not get us in free or anthing though ).

It's the experiences like that that really make the classic, family owned amusement parks something special.