mrceagle

I'm in my 30's and do visit from time to time along. I also Visit with A friend that is also in her 30's but she is in a wheel chair. The park has a few wheelchair ready attraction and she gets free admission. So she can go and be much more included then going to a park like SFNE, LC or Canobie. But if you have never been there you will not get the full impact of the park unless you can see it through a kids eyes. park dose get a handful of local teens and while its focus is younger kids like Legoland the attraction are mostly built to accommodate everyone. but if your going to go up also hit Santa's Village it's actually a better overall park.

Lake Compounce, Operated by Palace ent, Added a Dunkin Last year. So I wasn't overly surprised that it happened here. I'm sure Water Country will fallow suit. What bothers me though is with the Donut shop there no Pixie Kitchen no longer offers Breakfast. You used to be able to get real Breakfast form Pancakes and French Toast to simpler things like Cereal and oatmeal. So you could get healthier options if you liked no its just junk food and over priced junk food at that.

I was originally planning to do 2 trip reports I one but plans fell through. But I and some of my family hit up Story Land on Opening day. Weather was a bit chilly in fact there was still snow on many of the mountain peaks. Because of this the water rides were off the table for this trip but the park had Splash Battle and The Bamboo Chutes open. Dr Geyser's however was closed and it was the only ride closed that day. We ate no food at the park but instead had Breakfast at Dunkin Doughnuts on the way to the park and at a Nearby Restaurant, Delaney's Hole in the Wall. With the Addition of last year's Roar-O-Saurus in 2014 the park was able to focus on capital improvements for 2015. Changes could be found all over but one of the most noticeable can be seen as you enter. The park relocated the grab and go snacks to the real meal section of the pixie Kitchen. In its place is a Dunkin Doughnuts. The prices are on par with any other location and you can get the signature drinks as well as their namesake Doughnuts. We all have season passes but the line to get them processed was very long. So we opted to hit the rides first. As usual the park's Polar Coaster was the first ride of the day. Lines at the rides were reasonably full but none were terribly long. Rides Polar Coaster X4, Roar-O-Saurus X2, and X1 on the rest of the rides; Cuckoo Clockenspiel, Turtle twirl, Crazy Barn, Eggstrodanary Tractors, Alice's Tea Cups, Antuique Carousel, and the Huff Puff and Whistle RR. The Train as usual was the last ride of the day taken after closing. We walked to and got in line for the Antique Cars but the line was so long we opted to hit the carousel and tea cup rides instead. This also gave my niece a chance to hit the Fairy tale forest and all it has to offer. The big Surprise for the day is when my niece agreed to ride Roar-O-Saurus. Last year she road it and didn't do well. She refused to ride it again or at all in future trips last year. But I talked to her about it a lot over the winter and I promised to stay with her and that we would ride in the middle. The wait was around 20 minutes. She did fine on the hill but tensed up as soon as the ride started. I dropped my arm down and let her hold onto it. This seemed to help a lot, Not only did she get off saying she licked the ride but asked to ride a second time as long as my dad let her hold his arm. It may be early in the year but riding with my nice on her second ever wood coaster ride tops my list for most memorable. Capital Improvements There were a handful of small additions and changes around the park. In the new Dino area a couple Fiberglas dinosaur benches have been added as well as a pergola over the Dino Dig. Sadly the Selection of Dino sours on display has not increased. The Dutch Village also saw some work. The bridge in front of the Wind Mill was removed and the water way filled in. The area now features a large paved midway and a new landscape area. This removed the areas bottle neck and looks a lot cleaner. The gift shop in the Dutch village is now a make your own soft serve sundaes shop. While I like the food option the inside looks horrible. Basically a couple machines on one end featuring chocolate/Vanilla/Swirl and Dole Whips Orange/Pineapple/Swirl, Toppings on each wall, and a casher on the far end. The rest of the building is open, wasted space. Whistle top Snacks is no more and in its place a new gift shop. This was the best of the capital improvement for me. The inside looks great and the smaller gift shop location has a more specific collection of items. Mostly Roar-o-Saurus Items. The Car ride now has a separate Exit. Similar to the conversion of Dr Geyser's you no longer exit in the station. The Park built a new covered area about 100ft for the station were you now exit your car and the car is then sent empty into the station. Not really sure what they accomplished by this except to shorten your ride. The station was still full and overflowing. They always unladed and loaded separately anyways, The Dutch Shoes also saw some work. The Machine seems to be new. If it isn't it was very heavily rehabbed. The Swing arms also seem to be longer. The ride no longer has a paved walkway around the ride but not has a Boardwalk that sits partly over the grass. There is also a new fence but unfortunately it's very basic aluminum fencing similar to a carnival setup. The park closes an hour earlier in the spring then they do in the summer. This made for a bit of a short day. We left right at closing so we could have Dinner and as usual hit a lot of traffic. I need to get moving though. This trip was on opening day and we're now I August and I haven't been back. But I have all of August and then weekends in Sept and early October. Time to start Planning!

No adults can visit without a child. While the park itself is geared towards children all the rides but 1 can accommodate adults. nearly all of the rides are larger family rides. Their Flume for example has the same 45ft drop that is found on most of the Hopkins Flumes. There there is it's a smaller dark ride. The Holly Humbug adventure is an interactive dark ride. It was build into an exciting building and is 2 levels. it uses a rarely seen barbari dark ride car. I have a picture of the building taken from the monorail in one of the photo albums. it's a wonderful park very underrated. everyone talks about Story Land which is in itself a very nice park but lacks the charm of Santa's Village. That seems to be the thing to do in the area. normally when I'm at one park and talk to anyone they have either gone to the other park the day before or will bo the day after. It's worth spending some time in the area . On top of Story Land and Santa's village there is also Whales Tale Water Park, Clark's Trading Post and a number natural attraction like the Flume Gorge, polar caves, Find Lost River, Just to name a few.

After a quick stop at Jefferson Fun Park, Formally Six Gun City, I made my way up to Jefferson, NH's big attraction, Santa's Village. With the rain and no crowds at For Jefferson I didn't know what to expect when I got to Santa's village. To my surprise, the parking lots were packed. Despite this the park was not overly crowded, with only short waits for the rides. I had only a few goals on this trip and I had only a few hours to do them. I took some time to say hello to the parks owner, try out 2 new food items, check out the new downtown, the new Elf Lodge, and while I didn't use it, I took a look at the new water slides. I accomplished them all. As you enter the park you are no longer welcomed by a large building. Instead, you are welcomed into a downtown area with brightly colored and very beautiful buildings that house a stroller storage, restrooms, new Elf University, and an expanded candy shop. To put a bow on it all, fresh landscaping with plenty of evergreens. After a short chat with the park's owner I was off to lunch. The parks Ho Ho H20 Play structure received two companion attractions, the Joy ride slides and the new Elf lodge. The joy ride slides were installed in what was once a parking lot for a neighboring restaurant which pushed out the park's fence. The new attraction features one tower with 3 body slides. The slides were built by Proslides, and were rehabbed with White Water West's Silk tech. the combination was very impressive. The sliders were flying down the slides and having a great time. The park pushed out their fences yet again by taking over a neighboring restaurant. The building was rehabbed and expanded. It houses a gift shop, restrooms, changing rooms, nursing rooms, and a food stand that offers pulled pork & chicken, pizza, and drinks. I opted to get the pulled pork which came with homemade potato chips. I also bought a souvenir cup which gave me free soda and slushy refills for the day. Each cost me $7.99 plus tax. My other food goal was to get Ice Cream at the newly expanded Frosty's Freezer. The park used to offer pretty standard Ice Cream but now they offer homemade Ice cream made on site. The flavors are all given fun names like enjoy-mint. The mint wasn't an option on this trip but I stuck to a personal favorite - Coffee. It was some of the best Ice cream I have ever had, very creamy and great flavor. Best of all, the extremely generous portion was in the $3.50 range after tax. While there is some seating I opted to walk over to the Yule log flume and eat my ice cream on the bridge. Between all this eating I hit rides and shows. No extra rides, but I hit all these rides once; Rudy's Rapid Transit, Skyway sleigh, Rockn' round the Christmas Tree, Yule log flume, Chimney Drop, Holly Humbug Adventure, SS Peppermint Twist, and the Santa Express. I watched 2 shows - the park's staple 3D movie, a Tinkerdoodle Christmas and a new show. The new show was a Christmas lights show in the Polar Theater. The lights and displays were choreographed to the music. The show was fun to watch but was very short. It's only 10 minutes so the show is basically 4 songs. Hopefully they can expand the show a bit next season. The park also has a handful of live shows that went on around the park. One of which is an end of day show at a small stage by the front gate. The park also operates an Animatronic show which was recently rehabbed with new figures. Love the show but there was not enough time to watch it. In all it was a great afternoon at the park. I had to skip a few rides and a show but I will hit them on my next trip. A longer day will definitely be in order and I think next summer I will try out the new slides. I have been coming to the park for a long time and have seen many changes and upgrades. I think the park really hit the nail on the head with these last few upgrades. I'm sure they were the tipping point to get then in to the top 5 children's parks in 2014 Golden Ticket, and a top ranking from Trip Adviser. See the full report with over 50 photos from around the park and shooting off what's new: http://photos.newwhalom.com/2014SVreport.html

Funspot took out their potable and upgraded to the park model. They aren't really referring to down time more then what it takes to keep it up. but, I think that was more of an excuse. the biggest reason is the horrible capacity. Equinox's spot can't fit the large model. Also the park tends to lean towards portable rides to cut down on property tax. While an Air Race would have been a flashy ride and easily a showcase attraction. I agree with then that they need an addition with high capacity. the park has too many lower capacity attractions.

your mixing up a couple rumors. The rumor from before was about the replacement of Equinox. Something will replace it but nothign has been picked. it will not be a n Air Race. the park feel sits too high maintenance and tool ow capacity. part of the summer the space will be used to house a Motorcycle Ball stunt act. The Game that's being removed is the Bonanza. I mentioned it if you look at the full sized images on the photo gallery. Anyways the park operates paint ball gallery that is goign strong and the old Light sensor shooting gallery is just not pulling its weight so it's coming out. They woudl not say what will replace it but from talking with 2 manager sand 1 of the owners it may be a new game not a ride. click for bigger image

It is a very positive change. They still have the floods for loading and unloading but thank god they no longer use them during the ride.

I agree the new scheme looks a lot better. The train also sports a new logo on the front.

Though a bit later than normal, Canobie Lake Park opened for the season. Weather was fantastic for a day at the park mid to high 60’s with a few clouds. No heavy winds to affect any rides. I was visiting with my older brother Steven. Throughout the day I ran into friends from ACE and The Canobie fan forums. I first went to Customer Service to buy tickets for the season along with upgrading an unused ticket from last year. $84 dollars for 3 tickets good for the season. The upgraded ticket cost me nothing since prices didn’t increase from 2014 to 2015. One cool thing is this year they give you your tickets in a brochure sized file folder that has a park map printed on the inside. This was much nicer then having to ask for an envelope. Rides down – The only ride listed as down was Extreme Frisbee. Wave Blaster however never opened. Tilt-a-whirl had a bit of down time but was up quickly. The train has major issues and was shut down early. My Brother and I opted to hit Canonball first. We had already taken a look at the rehab and wanted to try it. Unlucky for us both rides we ended up in the center of the train. This made it difficult to truly assess the outcome of the work. But what I did notice was a bit of a shake that was likely from the train but the back turn was very much improved. The train glides through it better however the return trip felt a bit slow. The park only re-tracked a bit over half of the coaster, from the drop of the turn to the entrance to the station. Hopefully the rest will be done for next season. Throughout the day when went from 11am to 6pm we rode Cannonball, Untamed and Mine of Lost Souls twice. We then rode the following rides once: Zero Gravity, Rowdy Roosters, Tilt-a-Whirl, Antique Cars, Skater, Psychodrome, Caterpillar, DaVinci’s Dream, Star Blaster, Corkscrew, Log Flume, and Pirata. I hit Boston Harbor Patrol with Pubman from Canobie Fan. The big surprise for the day was that Psychodrome got a rehab. Gone are the cheesy party lights. All of the lighting bars around the dome are fixed and now sport red, blue, green, and white bulbs. The parks also added large strobes in the center and a couple on the outside. The park no longer operates a flood light during the rides cycle. Instead the lights around the dome flash filling the area with those colors and then switch to a strobe sequence. This repeats until the ride ends. Mine of Lost Souls also seems to have seen a bit of love. Since my rides last year the lighting was a lot better and the audio throughout the attraction was much better. I am a big fan of this ride but it still needs some work. The waterfall effect doesn’t work correctly and riders are getting dripped on more and more as it ages. I bought a shirt for the first time in years on this trip. I got an Equinox shirt which as marked down to $10 since the ride is no longer at the park. I will likely get a few more since the shop which is not operated by the park offers shirts for $15 or 3 for $36. These shirts also seemed to be better quality then other shirts I was finding at other locations in the park for $20-$25. I didn’t eat any food in the park today but was surprised to see that Portofino’s was open. This location normally doesn’t open until late spring. Instead my brother and I went to Long John Silver’s after the park closed. We invited a number of people to go but in the end only Pubman form Canobiefan opted to go. Food was very good but the orders got messed up a bit. The employees handled it wonderfully corrected the issue and even gave us a bit of extra food. In all it was a great opening day. No new ride has been picked to replace Equinox but the park did get a number of smaller landscaping improvements and many of the rides had new lights. I can’t wait untill later in the season to see them in action. The park never did get that busy, but the discount sale was running all weekend this year. 1 trip down 3 more to go! Full report with a 27 image gallery and even more info from the park : http://photos.newwhalom.com/Openingdayreport.html

Like Lego Land Story land is geared towards younger kids. It's Key Demographic is about 3-8 years old. Story land precedes Lego Land by many years and has been around since 1954. previous rides were geared towards that range. many rides were even simplified a bit. For example their Flume, the hill is less steep then your average hill. it's also much shorter. to compare, Nearby Santa's Village has a full size flume hill at a normal drop. It is a nice park and offers more the 20 rides Roar was marketed and promoted as that gateway roller coaster. 42in requirement with an adults is towards that family range. On this trip the coaster was very fast and upset some riders. My niece road on a separate trip a couple weeks later. For starters the light layout means a lot of movements. If you look at my photos i show that you have to walk under 2 runs of track to get into the inner switchbacks and the station. if you've ever walked under an operating coaster it rumbles and makes noise as it passes and with such a small layout it dose it 3 times very quickly. The drop is very steep for a coaster billed as family. that drop is 38.5 ft most family coaster are around 20-30. It's still short but with the steep drop it is more intense and drives the speed up to 34. though on this trip it felt faster. but it reaches basically the same speed in 38.5 ft that Wooden Warrior gets in 45. an update form last Saturday (PTR coming) The coaster seemed to run slower, I think they slowed the lift to drop the speed. It didn't whip around corners as bad and there was little to no shimmy. I road in the back seat and didn't get through as violently as it did on my previous visit. Very fun, personally I found the coaster more enjoyable.

Since I was in the area and snagged a discounted season pass I drove the extra hour to the park and processed the pass. I had only been to the park once in the last few years but this year the park installed a new wood coaster, Roar-o-Saurus. This was a Thursday so I expected light crowds but I arrived to a full parking lot. Despite this, the crowds were a bit moderate within the park itself and most rides were either walk-ons or only a cycle or so wait. The mid week busyness may have had something to do with the fact that Curious George was making an appearance that day. Season pass processing was simple but I was surprised to see they now process passes at customer service. A few years ago I had a pass and they processed it at the driver's license building by the Antique Cars ride. The equipment there is much better. At costumer service they have low quality printers and take your picture with a webcam. Ride count: Roar-o-saurus X10, Polar Coaster X3, and one ride on the fallowing; Splash Battle, Cuckoo-Clockinspeil, Alice's Tea Cups, Las Brovas Silver Mine (Walkthrough), Bamboo shoots, Turtle Twirl, Train. I also spent time in the Story book forest and Cinderella's Court. There were no rides down for the day but the Dutch Shoe ride did see some down time.I wanted to ride Dr Geyser's Remarkable Raft Ride but I would have had to pay for a locker to hold my back pack. $1 dollar, not worh it. Given this trip was an add-on I only had about 4 hours in the park. My focus was to check out the wood coaster and attempted to ride it in as many seats as possible to get a good idea of the coaster. I did not eat at the park. I found food options on the high end with most options at 9.99 with a few Kids sized meals at 6.99. I checked out a few locations and found similarly high prices or had a difficulty finding the prices on those items. I ended up only buying a Souvenir cup since the one I had was no longer accepted, but I was told this new cup will give me refills for the season. The cup was 9.99. Roar-o-Saurus The area For the most part only a few changes were made to the area. The preexisting bathrooms saw no change to support the theme. A large planter in the center of the courtyard was removed and in its place is a small dino dig. There is only one dinosaur to dig up and there is a sign that names the dinosaur and explains the parts of the skeleton. I was expecting something a little bigger but the small attraction did catch the attention of a few kids. There is a roller ball game added to the area called Dino Dash. The mechanism was relocated from the Las Bravos area and rehabbed to fit the theme. The game looks great but the building housing it is pretty average. The game did seem to be doing well in its new location but then it never did bad in its original location. The only other building added is a booth for the on ride photo. There is no gift shop or stand in this section with Roar merchandise. The biggest attraction next to the coaster is the Dinosaur displays. The park purchased both static and animatronics Dinosaurs that are placed around the area. They are a nice touch but I was a bit disappointed. At the construction tour they talked about ordering a number of figures. At the park on my visit was about a half dozen dinos featuring 4 different species. They are all located around the bridge leading to the coaster. The coaster The coaster is a bit of a mixed bag. This is similar in scale then Wooden Warrior at Quassy in CT. Roar is much more compact and includes some fairly extreme angles as well as very fast transitions. At construction and on paper these would seem to add a lot of intensity. It does, but at a cost of smoothness. The coaster has a noticeable shimmy throughout. A few MPH less might stop this. I would not be surprised to see a trim added in the near future. The coaster also has a very steep drop which is borderline too intense for some of their audience. In all it's a very good addition and has a lot to offer. The Timberliners are very accommodating and provide a comfortable ride. I would note that while I enjoyed it I saw many kids scared off pre ride do to noise and it scared my niece to death who normally loves coasters and rides. I did see far more coming off of the ride happy but there may be a healthy medium that was missed on this addition. I spent a good deal of time n the Los Brazos area. The area added a panning for gems attraction which was relocated from Lake Compounce. The attraction looks great in the center of the area. The park added a small booth to support it that is noticeably newer then the res t of the area. The park walled off the former game building, hopefully this spot will see an addition soon. I also noticed they redid the Shooting Gallery. The park removed the cool cameras and converted to a more traditional rifle theme. Interesting though is the park used over the counter air rifles and retrofitted them with the laser mechanism. The price has been increased and is now $1.00 for 24 shots. The areas star attraction is the Silver Mine. This guided tour is a spin on the crooked house attraction. I seem to always catch this attraction towards the end of the day and normally by myself. It was very different with a group. Best of all there were adults and kids that have never done the attraction before so it was a joy watching them go through the attraction with a level of ahh. Seeing the group get so excited about a bottomless pit, the vortex and the bottle rolling up the table made for a very good experience. I wandered the park taking in rides, the landscaping, and watching guests interact with the fairytale animals and themed areas. The day did not feel rushed, which was a blessing given the crowds I expected. I stayed till closing, took the last after hours train around to the front, and made my way out. Because I left right at closing I hit a lot of traffic but I knew the park so I was able to cut behind a building and get into the road without waiting in a long line. I left right away so that I could stop by Attitash for the mountain coaster. That mini report will be up soon. Check out the PTR with two photo albums containing 115 photo form my trip and the Winter Construction tour of Roar-o-Saurur http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Story%20Land/2014Spring/PTR.html

Glad you enjoyed it. I have also ben hearing of markets. but that are has been marked up so much with no results.

First off I have to thank by friend Mack (Pubman) for treating me to a day at Canobie. I arrived at 10:45 to meet up and get into the park for the start of the day. The focus today was to see the 2014 tribute shows and if possible the vaudeville Magic Show. Rides were second on the list. We were disappointed to see that the park's dark ride Mine of Lost Souls was listed as closed for the day. The park also listed Equinox, Wave Blaster and DaVinci's Dream. Davinci's Dream did open around 1pm and I observed maintenance working on the Mine and Wave Blaster. I walked to the Mine hoping to get an idea of what's up, but no luck. We later learned it was an electrical issue. The first rides of the day were the Bumper cars, Psychodrome and the Lake Cruise. The park was surprisingly busy. With a couple major events going on in NH I expected lighter crowds. Queue lines were filled but they moved quickly with employees working hard and trying to fill all the seats. Ride count: One ride each - Bumper cars, Psychodrome, Lake Cruse, Canobie Express, Untamed, Yankee Cannonball, Rowdy Rooster, Log Flume, Boston Harbor Patrol, Over the Rainbow, and Xtreme Frisbee. Lunch was at the Dancing Bear in Ye Old Canobie Village. This is my favorite food location featuring BBQ options which are cooked to order. I didn't get my usual half rack of ribs because they have become very expensive. I ordered a BBQ chicken sandwich platter. My friend got a hamburger platter. Platters are served with steak fries and coleslaw. Prices are high both meals and a refilled Souvenir cup cost $22.77 after tax. Lucky for me my friend was covering lunch (thanks again). Quality wasn't bad, better than other options in the park, but obviously frozen chicken. Also, the sandwich was made with chicken strips which were hard to eat. Thankfully they have forks available. A single chicken breast or pulled chicken would have made for a better sandwich. A negative change to this location is they no longer deliver your food. They call your number for pickup but there is no pickup area. You have to fight through the queue of those waiting to order to get your food. The shows Tribute to Madonna - returning and now in the Dance Hall Theater This was a pretty good show. A few years back it ran during Screemfest on the midway stage. The show is even better in the dance hall. There is more room to show of the backup dancers and it allows the tribute Artist more room to move round and interact with the audience. The song line up features a couple newer songs with well known classics. My only complaint is some of Madonna's best songs are her power ballads and they didn't cover any of them. It would have been a great opportunity to showcase the dancers and slow things down a bit. Even Like a Prayer was presented with the Dance remix version. I saw this show twice. Forever Kings - Limited Engagement through July 6th in the Dance hall Theater This is a Stage show featuring both Michael Jackson and Elvis. It replaces one of the 2 Jackson Tribute shows. To say this show was in demand is an understatement. The Dance hall was packed pretty much standing room only. The show itself was interesting basically mini version of the 2 shows and a surprise moment when both were on stage for the song Black and White. Tribute to Michael - Returning for its 5th season in the Dance hall One of the Top 3 tribute shows the park has ever had. The show is upbeat, exciting, and the performer Eddie Moss is amazing. What are truly impressive are the dancers this year. Not to say any of them were bad in previous years but they really hit the jackpot this year. What was also good to see is they reworked the songs that were used in the past and added in a new and very in demand song Beat It. Tribute to 1 Direction - New in 2014 on the Midway Stage I watched a little bit of this show on two separate performances. The positives, the performers look a lot like who they are representing and the younger guests especially girls were very excited for the show. On the other side the show had limited appeal to anyone else. The choreography was simple but that's to be expected. The singing was a big weak and harmonies were way off. Hagerman's Vaudeville Magic Show - Returning for its second season on the Village Stage This is a simple magic show. I caught the end of the show which normally showcases the best tricks. I was not impressed. The two simple tricks were nothing special and the finale, a quick change, was in no way quick. The performer is a bit monotone which really make the show dull. I do see promise in the show if they can work on the pacing and make it seem less like a birthday party magician act. In the works and New The Magic Seed - coming fall 2014 This family area will be a featured attraction for Screeemfest. The back section of the former ball field is truly transformed. Pathways are laid out, plants are growing, and a few animals are already in place. The park relocated one of the birdcages from the long gone zoo area which houses both a peacock and peahen. A front pen houses a peacock and chickens. The area come fall will host a full blown petting zoo. A noticeable change is a very nice wood fence that now runs along the front of the area. Boat House Casino - Formally the Lake side Arcade The new casino arcade is finally opened after a long delayed rehab started in 2012. Now The Jackpot Casino in the back of Bear Lodge has found a new home and name. The new arcade still operates the jackpot coin games, video poker, and slot machines. The pop-a-ball poker games seem to be absent. This location features a handful of standard arcade games including a new short length Ice ball (Skeeball) games. What I don't get is why, with all the long rehab, they didn't switch out the floor. The building looks amazing, but the dark old tile flooring doesn't fit. Fellers Follies - Replaced the Old Man climbing wall This is the parks latest game/up-charge attraction. It's a traditional ladder climb game. The game had a good draw no one seemed to mind removing their shoes to use the attraction. While it was popular not one guest came close to winning. The game is priced at $2 for one play or $5 for 3 attempts. The Melt - Replacing the Funnel Cake Stand The stand has been repainted and now sports a large 3D sign featuring a plate of grilled cheese. This was likely done by Themendous the company that made the other large 3D props and signs. A few smaller changes have been made as well. All the tagged trees from opening day have been removed around the Flume. Turns out this was done to install security cameras along the layout. Two large monitors are set up in the station showing off the views. The park also fixed the Electric Fountain. The Fountain now sports a base plate at the top which hold 3 high capacity water nozzles. Good to see the park's first attraction get some love. The day in all was very fun. It is always a bonus to have a friend to visit with so thanks again Mack for treating me to the park. I got on a few rides, saw amazing shows, and the weather couldn't have been better. So with any luck I will get in a summer trip and if I can swing a Saturday now through Labor Day I can see their Fireworks display. No matter what I'm checking out Screeemfest and the finished Magic Seed. Here is the TR with 2 albums containing 72 photos - photos.newwhalom.com//2014SummerShowsreport

Ya, very surprising, But while it can be seen as negative news there are positive ways to look at it. Security did their job and were on top of things. Metal detectors are not a must. The park operate a simple bag checkpoint at the entrance and it works. The park keeps 2 city police at the property to back up security and they did their job.

I remember that day, Unseasonably warm weather and more pre season advertising. This level of crowds is a bit rare for opening weekend. Opening saw very light crowds this year but special on the next few weekends will lead to big crowds. Th one thing we can't deny is that the park is doing well. As for that field in the photo I wouldn't make a mountain out of a mole hill. the petting zoo was relocate behind untamed and the corn maze scraped.

Spring is here and with that park season has begun. After a week delay, Canobie is finally open for the season. Weather was warm but there were overcast skies and a risk of rain which seemed to scare many people off. I saw a greater than normal amount of people buying any-day tickets and driving off. I grabbed lunch on the way at a Dairy Queen and managed to get to the park just before opening. Guests were already in the park and rides were testing or already going. I bought 2 tickets and upgraded one left over from last year. So after visiting today I have tickets for two more trips. After the bag check and the gates, I saw that they had many of the Canobie Critters out to greet guests. I didn’t go straight to a ride but took in the park. Frisbee and Wave Blaster were not operating today. From the looks of things they simply hadn’t been completely put back together after the off season. While this was disappointing, the rain and weather made it a bit understandable. Later in the day, Crazy Cups went down and despite a noticeable effort they never came back up that day. Ride Count Cannonball x5, Untamed x5, Mine of Lost Souls x2, Star blaster x2. I then took 1 ride on Zero Gravity, Wipe out, Rowdy Roosters, Log Flume, Pirata, Corkscrew, Ferris Wheel, Canobie Express, Blue Heron Lake Cruise, Da Vinci’s Dream, Boston Harbor Patrol, Turkish Twist, Skater and PsychoDrome. What’s new? Frisbee will be getting a test seat but it’s not in place yet. Davinci’s Dream also has a new control system which works off the original operating console. Star Blaster got new concrete and some of the railing was replaced and all of the railing has a silver paint color. Riders now are lined up by number not colors. Sky ride will be getting new tubs. Canobie Express got a new propane tank and in car lighting. Many attractions saw new paint: The mine cars on Mine of Lost Souls, Canobie Express, Locomotive and cars. Caterpillar’s structure was repainted and has a cartoon like grass and bug display. One big change is the Old Man Climbing Wall will be removed and put up for sale. The park will add a new game in its place a rope ladder challenge. The guess your weight game has also returned seems the High Striker was destroyed by a fallen tree limb sometime last year Another change is the corn maze area is no more. All the sets like the entrance and Porch stage have been relocated behind Untamed. It is now called the Magic Seed. The area will again feature a petting zoo but no word on whether it will hold a corn maze. There is also no definitive answer to when it will open. The attraction in the past was only featured during Screeemfest. The newly expanded parking lot which was not finished for last summer and in turn never used is finished and will dramatically increase parking capacity. I suspect we will see this lot used more often and the two grassed lots used only when needed. Shuttle busses will be used less often. Now let’s see them put that shuttle bus money to good use The park has a new food option in 2014. The Funnel Cake stand will now offer grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, salads, and soda. Options range from traditional Grilled cheese to melts with various meat or veggie options and are combos with chips and a pickle spear. Prices are a bit expensive with prices ranging from $6.99 for a traditional Grilled Cheese and all other options costing $8.49. Upgrades are meat $1 dollar Cheese .25 cents and Veggie .25 cents. Soup is $5.25 for a cup. Opening Day is always a short schedule 11-6 so I didn’t spend much money. I refilled my souvenir cup at Portofino’s for $1.08 after tax. I was surprised to see this pizza/pasta shop opened it normally doesn’t open till summer. I also spent some time in the Palace Arcade. Pinball games are now all a quarter so I played a few. I was especially impressed by the new Wizard of Oz Pinball which included a large LED Screen that showed video clips from the movie. Rides were running well and they all looked great. The staff was friendly and on their game. Getting on rides was quick so it made for a great day for hitting rides. I do wish more people had opted to come out and enjoy the park and the beautiful weather the day delivered. I just wish I could have picked up more tickets. Next trip will be after the shows start. Michael Jackson will return. Madonna will return after a couple years away and host a new show in the dance hall. A one direction tribute and magic show will round off the summer shows. I also look forward to Screemfest and the new Rocktober fest coming this fall. Check out the Main PTR page with links to albums containing more then 50 photos - http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Canobie%20Lake%20Park/openingday2014/2014openingdayreport.html

I am very happy with how that photo came out. I borrowed the camera from a friend and it's a point and shoot so I was still getting used to its limitations.

It was nice having that extra week. With my birthday in October the month is just nuts with inspection and registration any car repairs. hard to work in a car trip with so much money goign out. that extra week was a godsend. Thing to look at with parks is while your hoping for Dec hours most New England's parks Donalt even open past Columbus day weekend in October. So they would need to open for the remainder of the month to keep going. No surprise there. I have yet to see Six Flags pull off a decent haunted house. There were a few back in the early 2000's that were good Nightmare Island, Brutal planet, Terror vission come to mind. The Forest walk was also much longer back then. TGE's main haunted house is very good and I have hear good things about their new one. That's horrible. I can see a party light or laser something the make things bright and dark again. Canobie a Dark haunt a few years ago that was very good but the Dark maze at Haunted acres is likely the best dark house in NE from what I have experiences.

With an extra weekend of operation it made things easier to work in a trip to Six Flags New England (SFNE). Weather projection had clear skies, cold temperatures starting in the 50’s and dropping close to freezing come nightfall with no snow or rain in the forecast. I was off to the park with my brothers and sisters-in-law. For those who know me best I will pause to let you look out your window for flying pigs. So after a seven year hiatus from visiting the park on a normal operating day, I was finally returning. Before we went we hit a local Golden Corral to have lunch. As we arrived at the park the parking lot was surprisingly empty. The crowds in the park were equally low. I waited at the ticket both to find out I only needed to present the bring-a-friend e-mail pass to the ticket booths. The outside of the park seemed a bit under themed for the Fright fest event but the note worthy displays are all inside. I always liked the transformation of Main Street into the graveyard. There were a few basic animatronics set up here and there that are set off by motion sensors. For the most part this section is the same as when I hit Fright Fest in 2004, but the park looked nice and it was time to hit rides. It might surprise you to hear that my first ride was not on Bizarro, but on the Six Flags Express, formerly Thomas the Train. This was a new credit for me and I figured I’d hit it before heading further into the park. In fact out of my first 5 rides, 3 of them the park considers kiddie rides. After hitting Thunderbolt and Bizarro, we hit Kidzopolis. The Krazy Cars (formerly) Big Red Cars moved well and were roomy. I think it would make a great dark ride system, but overall seemed a bit of a pointless attraction with Route 66 antique cars next to it. This ride was also a walk on while Route 66 had a solid line. We also tried the ZoomJets (formerly Big Red Planes) which was an ok attraction, but it had horrible movement. It was slow to lift or drop using the control button. There is no bar like you found in the old plane rides Ride Count 1x: Six Flags Express, Thunderbolt, Krazy Cars, Zoom Jets , Voodoo Vortex (Kontiki), Terror Twist (Tea Cups), Mind Eraser, Balloon Race, Zombie Coaster (Pandemonium), Cyclone, Carousel, Buzzsaw, and Crime Wave. 2x Batman Dark Night and 9x Bizzaro. The rides were operating ok for the most part. Coasters nearly all had a noticeable shake, Bizarro and Mind Eraser having the worst. The Cyclone ran reasonably good on the newly tracked section but shook through the remaining sections. Thunderbolt was impressive and Batman was smooth but I noticed the trim brake was hitting harder then I last remembered. The Zero G roll was a bit lacking but the interlocking corkscrews were smoother. Flats ran well but I didn’t bother riding Scrambler and Joker simply because they were being operated so slowly, they weren’t worth even a cycle wait. I also skipped Poison Ivy which was producing a horrid roar as the train operated. I have never heard a Zierer make so much noise. The flat I opted to ride ran well and were fun Fright Fest This year offers 3 Haunted houses; Midnight Mansion, Wicked Woods, and Total Darkness. I had intended on hitting the haunts when I went and I knew they were an upcharge. I found out after entering that without a season pass it was $20 dollars for 3 haunts. That’s a bit much for a dark haunt and 2 longstanding short haunts. I later heard more than a few complaints about how horrible the haunts were so I think I made the right choice. In all it was a good day. They really need to work on their flat selection. The park is operating better than many of my trips in 2005, but the park as a whole was much better then. With Any luck it won’t be another 7 years until I visit during the main season again. Read The unabridged report and check out the 54 image photo album: http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Six_Flags/Frightfest2013/Photo%20Trip%20report.html

Cannibal Island is much better as a haunt then it was as a Scare zone. Still needs work but it's a nice extra. I was happy to see the Village longer, but it needs to up it's game. Virus is worth the trip, it's an amazing haunt. Heads up this is closing weekend. Friday 25 - Sunday 27th. Glad you liked the pictures.

For five years as fall approaches, Canobie Lake turns spooky as they launch their Halloween event, Screeemfest. I managed to arrive close to 1pm for opening and entered using a discount ticket I bought opening day. The park was busy without being overly crowded. Weather was comfortable, warmer than your average fall day, which worked out well. It was a simple plan to hit the rides early and the haunts later. I opted to hit up Equinox as my first ride. This is only my second ride. While I did enjoy the ride a bit better then my first but I really am not a fan. I took some time looking at the outdoor displays as I made my way back to Corkscrew. I finally got a chance to see the newly painted train to go along with the new paint job. From there I looked over the park while working to meet up with a buddy from The Canobie fan forums. I managed to meet up with him and another member of the site at the Bear Lodge. Over the day I managed to run into or see a number of people I knew, but the three of us were off to check out the rides. Mack (Pubman) and Steve are not really into thrill rides so we rounded the park taking in the many family rides the park has to offer. Later, after splitting up I focused on the more thrilling rides. My ride count: I rode only once on Equinox, Over the Rainbow, Dodgems, Zero Gravity, Cannonball, Rowdy Roosters, Xtreme Frisbee, Corkscrew, Pirata, Wipe Out, Star Blaster, Psychodrome, and Caterpillar. I managed to ride Untamed twice. This was my first time riding Caterpillar since the park rehabbed the ride. The rehab went well and the ride ran very smooth. It is much quieter then it was before. My only complaint is it does seem to run a bit slower, but still has good speed. This trip was also my first ride on the park replacement Pirate ship. They replaced their SDC version that has been in the park since the 80's. The new ship runs great. It picks up speed fast, extremely quiet, and the ride itself looks amazing. My complaints are that the ride cycle is a bit too short and the tropical island themeing for the ride looks out of place for the vintage/western theme of Old Canobie Village. Fall Entertainment There are 2 main shows for Screeemfest but the park also has a blue grass band back by Corkscrew on a stage called the porch. A petting zoo was set up in that area along with a number of hay roll creatures and a small corn maze. The park offers a monster parade featuring all of the walk-around scare actors, hearses, the Ghostbuster car (ecto-1) and more. They really help round out the two main shows. The Amazingly Freaky Side Show Variety Show! Some of you may have seen SwingShift SideShow on America's Got Talent. The show was good. Most of the act was traditional sword swallowing and pins though flesh. They did have a couple unique tricks but if you saw them on TV you already saw it. The show pulled a good crowed and the theme fit the season so It was a good addition. Bonfire This is an AC/DC tribute band. It was loud. But I guess you should expect that. I really do not know a lot of AC/DC songs. I only knew a couple songs but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the show. The band was energetic and put on a great show. I personally welcomed the change while the Madonna tribute was good it was getting a bit old. The Haunts Dead Shed - This is one of the better haunts at the park. The rooms were rearranged a bit and the beginning was extended. It was nice to see it get a little bigger. The themed smells were working better this year. But the haunt has lost a bit of its intensity from its introduction. I did find this year’s version to have much better lighting and more props. There was also a leg level claustrophobic effect I don't believe was present last year. I’m hoping this one gets a big rehab next season. The Village - This haunt uses the majority of the Old Canobie Village area. The haunt was expanded this season and not has a small cut into a seating area for the Village stage.While the haunt still feels a bit short this was a nice expansion along with a better layout around the walkways. While this slightly longer version was a huge step up from last year, they seem to be missing the mark by failing to use any buildings in the area. Cannibal Island - This Haunt is located outdoors in the Castaway Island section of the park. The haunt was pretty much the same as last year; bamboo walls, fake vines, themed props, etc. This was my longest wait of the night around 45 minutes, the rest ranged from 15-30 minutes wait. It was fun lots of fog but the haunts feels small and really needs more. Merriment Inc - This was by far the most improved Haunt in the park. The haunt was completely reworked and has a more fluid layout. It was well staffed and had a few very well placed air burst gags. Best of all was this haunt was expanded. They added proper lighting along the back side to light the boxes which now lead you to the circus tent maze. The attraction has a new finale a vortex Tunnel. It's about 30ft and works very well. I have wanted one of these since the premier of Screeemfest. Virus (new for 2013) - This attraction was amazing. The themeing was top notch and the Dancehall made for a good home. The staffing was very good but they haven't really found their roles yet. A few seemed to have the nearly dead victim figured out. Despite this it was still scary and a lot of fun. After the failed Terror in the Corn and the still weak Cannibal Island/Lake this was a breath of "stale" air. A must hit. For the first time in a long time I actually bought food. Normally I just refill my souvenir cup, I got a few years ago, but I was hungry and my friend also wanted to eat. We opted to eat at the Be Bop Diner which is one of the few options available during the season. Money was tight so I opted to just get an order of Teriyaki Glazed Chicken Fingers and a drink refill. That alone, no fries, was $8.70 after tax. While this isn’t horrible it’s a bit pricy. It would have cost me another around another 3 dollars to get crinkle cut fries, which I am not a fan of. Food is promoted as baskets with fries for $9.95 before tax, which is 9%. Overall it was a great day; great weather, good friends, scary haunts, and thrilling rides. What more can you ask for? I liked the shows, but will likely skip them on my next visit. It was cold and misty by the end of the day, but in a way that fit the seasonal theme. I will hit the park for closing day for my next trip. A bit sad to think this was my second trip this year and the season is nearly over. View Photo Album (45 images) - photos.newwhalom.com/Canobie Lake Park/Screeemfest 2013/Photo Album

Having won two tickets to Story Land located in Glen New Hampshire, I made plans to visit with my parents and 10-year-old niece. We got a bit of a late start but arrived at the park at 1pm and we had till 5pm to enjoy the park. The first thing we did when we arrived was bring our dog to the onsite kennel. Foliage is at peak right now in the White Mountains and crowds were good but light. This was a good weekend since the holiday is 2 weeks out and weather was unseasonably warm for the area in the mid 70’s. My parents bought their tickets for $27 each with a military discount. With a long trip the front restrooms are the first hit before making our way up and over the hill past the Church and Heidi’s Grandfather’s house to the Cuckoo Clockenspiel, the park’s clock themed teacup ride. Our day was officially off to a start. We hit a couple rides on the Polar Coaster before moving further into the park. My niece wanted to use Professor Bigglestep’s foam factory. I used this opportunity to check out Splash Battle Pharaoh’s Reign, the park’s newest ride added a couple years ago. In all I was not very impressed, short layout aside all the cool themeing is in the center and you never see it from the ride. You simply meander around a nearly triangular track while the sets spray you and if they are around you spray people and they spray you. It’s really just a glorified spray ground. Later in the day we rode the Slipshod Safari Tour. This was hacked into to make room for the Splash battle. Now the ride had lost a lot before and was nothing amazing but the current version is too small, too tight, and really not enjoyable. They still use the tractor trains form the larger ride and they are simply too much for the small layout. I think a new ride system would do wonders for this attraction. Ride Count 1 ride on: Cuckoo Clockenspiel, Splash Battle Pharaoh’s Reign, Slipshod Safari tour, Balloon Wheel, Alice's Tea Cup, Antique German Carousel, Farm Tractors, Los Bravos Mining Co (Walkthrough), Huff Puff & Whistle Railroad. My niece and dad rode the Whirling whales 2 rides on: Bamboo Chutes X2 ( Iroad alone) and the Crazy Barn x2 3 rides on Turtle Twirl (my nice and dad road 5 times) 4 rides on the Polar Coaster Given I had not been to the park in a few years I was on the lookout for small additions. One of the first things I saw was a meet and greet area in the front of the park. The park also built a permanent stroller storage building. Two more changes caught us by surprise one good and one not so good. The good addition was a small play area with hydraulically powered diggers. Four were set up along a small sandpit in the parks farm area. The other addition was disappointing. The front play area got a new name and with it the removal of the ball pit. My niece was very upset to see it gone and in its place a small magnet play attraction. My niece showed no interest at all and it seemed that was the general consensus with only a few kids using the area. Normally this area was very busy. We opted to eat at the park since we had a long ride home. Being late in the season many of the stands were closed. We made our way up and over the hill to the front of the park and made out way to the Pixie Kitchen. I noticed the front snack stand is now a fried dough stand. I was impressed to see they were cooking fresh dough and not the pre-fried dough that has overrun the areas parks. We rounded the corner and ordered lunch: 2 kid’s chicken meals, 1 adult chicken meal, a large drink, kids drink, and a Souvenir cup refill. The meal came to just under $33 dollars Read the full Trip Report here: photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Story%20Land/Fall13/Photo%20Trip%20report.html

The day is finally here where Canobie not only opens for the season, but has its one day sale. I got off to a slightly late start but managed to get to the park about 5 past 11, just after park opening. I quickly parked and made my way to customer service to buy my season tickets. Canobie has no season pass but instead sells discounted tickets good for the entire season. I bought 3 for $81 dollars and used one to get in to the park. The first thing I noticed is that security was doing bag checks. This was a first for the main season though it was done the last 2 years during Screeemfest. I expected this though and even talked about it before hand with friends. The screening was quick and really didn’t slow down entrance to the park. I made my way to Equinox. It’s my tradition to hit the newest ride first. I got in the queue line which is horribly set up. There was a 2 cycle wait which wasn’t bad but the rock music blaring from the rides speakers were a bit too loud and ear piercing! So I got on and made my way to my seat. My God this is uncomfortable. The seat is only a small pad that goes between your legs. The shoulder restraints would be fine, the belt like shoulder harness is great, but there is an extra bar. This bar is an angled plate of steel with no padding that jabbed straight into my ribs. The ride itself is pretty intense, but there is no sense of direction; you’re just everywhere. I want to try it again which never happened this trip since the ride went down early afternoon. I made my way to Dodgems and then to Zero Gravity. I group of teens were talking about how they thought Zero gravity was better than Equinox. Good to see so much love for an old school ride. I then passed by cannonball and hit Star blaster so I could attempt to meet up with a few people form Canboiefan. I saw a small group of ACE member on Star Blaster took a second to say hi and did eventually find a group of Canobie fan posters. I opted to go around the park with them for a bit hit Over the Rainbow and Mine of Lost Souls. I then grabbed a drink, Souvenir cup refill $1.08 with tax, while everyone got lunch. The rest of my day was focused on walking and enjoying the park while I hit rides. Crowds were average with 1-2 cycle waits. I opted to use the single rider line on my last 4 rides on Untamed. The park was clean and prepped for the season. I did see a few crews raking up leaves. Though I did notice none of the fountains were operating. Read the full report and see more pictures: http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Canobie%20Lake%20Park/Openingday2013/CanobieOpening2013report.html

It was very Saddening to hear of this news. He was a very good name and a pleasure to talk with.