mrceagle

It was a long day for me. I got up at 5:30 so I could get ready and drive to the park for the 9:00am start time. We stayed till 4: 30 or so. We were gests of ACE, myself, brother, sister in law, and my 2 twin nieces. My sister in law and Nieces didn’t ride anything. She’s Pregnant and the twins are not tall enough to anything in the DC area. It worked out well because they were able to hand out in the Air Conditioned Johnny Rockets building. In all I had a solid ride count Bizzaro – 25 Joker’s Wild card – 1 Catwoman’s whip – 3 blitz – 1 ($6 charge) I never waited for the front seat. Got a few rides in the very back. The middle is a lot of fun the back seats in the front half of the train were removed for the sound system so the next seat, front seat back half is a great seat to ride in. Joker’s Wild Card is one of the worst Wipeout/tribant rides I have ever been on. After riding one I was done. Doubt I will bother with it any time soon. Catwomans whip seems to have had a couple more trees planted since my last ride. It’s always a nice family coaster. I noticed they took the trip out of the middle of the ride so it travels the back half a little quicker. I would have rode it another time of so but it was shut down do to maintenance problems. Blits was fun. It’s nothing like a launch tower. I would definitely not pay $25 dollars to ride it. I wish it had the video I would have liked to see the panic on my brother’s face. The transformation: I was surprised by the amount of work done to this attraction to convert it to Bizaro. While many things were announced or leaked over time there were a few surprises. The Queue has SFTV as well as a Video screen in the back part of the queue with a negative image effect. The audio is not a musical sound track like that found in most coasters now a day. The audio is actually more of an audio effects story that guides you through the coaster. Some of the displays are a little cheap looking but they go with the story well. So big cons. The lift is a little slower but that should change as they work on the brakes. The new trains are heavier so they need to keep the speed even. The new seats are in no way accommodating. They lock at a lower level then the old ones. The attendances seem to be instructed to staple you in. My legs were hurting by the end of the day. I actually started holding myself down so the restraints wouldn’t dig into my thighs. The head rests are separate pieces not built into the seat. They stick forward on the sides a bit. I found my shoulders hitting them during the air time portions of the ride. This was most prevalent in the back seats of the cars were they are higher. Also to sit comfortably with your feat flat you need to slide then under the bars for the restraints. In all I enjoyed the coaster but didn’t find it any better or worse then the original Superman. Johnny Rockets was open for the visitors to get food and drinks. In one meal we ordered a single burger plate, chicken finger plat, 2 shakes, and a medium drink. If we had to pay for it, it would have been $38 dollars and some change. In all between another chicken finger plat and drinks we would have spent around $80-90 dollars on food. The food was good though. I didn’t like the milk shack. I had a real JR Milk shake at the One in Burlington mass 2 weeks ago and this was not a real milk shake. I also found it overly sugary. I didn’t even finish it I found it too sweet. On a side not I practically live off mountain dew. The shakes seem like they are intended to be mixed with milk like they do with Dunkin Donuts Coolatas. More photos coming soon!

Herc, good hearing from you. glad you enjoyed it.

I agree completely. when I heard they were holding off on a ride this year I was just hoping to see a couple capital improvements so I didn't feel jept. I was surprised too see that much being done. Plus word on teh street, not confirmed, is that Vertigo theater will be removed for a new attraction in 2010. I did get confirmation that vertigo is pretty much done. that they can't get movies for it any more so something will have to happen with the attraction. Electerik - ya my opening day trip reports always contain updates on improvements to the park. I do a lot of Trip reports and you can only show the same rides so many times in reports. But if you like to see rides check out some of my older trip reports. If there is a specific ride you'd like to see let me now and I'll do my best to post some pictures. Last years Spooky world at Canobie PTR 07 TR lots of night shots 07 shows PTR 06 trip, lots of water park photos and interestign park photos PTR a numbe rof shots of the new entrance

What a day to open Canobie Lake Park. The Weather report had the day being sunny and 83 degrees, perfect for a park day. Turned out to be much warmer, heard it was 92 degrees mid day. The park was really busy. I have never seen an opening day this busy, though it’s never been this nice on an opening day before. It was about 11:20 by the time we all got in. I was told the park opened up at 10:30 instead of 11 to let in the crowds. Off the bat I quickly noticed changes within the park. The side wall of the Trellis was knocked out and they built in a window. Seems Fried dough will be sold out of this site. The park will be getting a 3D sign. The park also has a one man band performing around the midways. I talked to Al, a ride op that is a member of Canobiefan, he was on the rowdy Rooster but they were down. They were down for the day along with the Vertigo Theater. The kiddie land had 3 rides down as they Work on that section of the property. I meet up with a number of people form Canobie fan also saw a few ACErs during the day. I also noticed that a few rides had problems but maintenance got them back up ASAP. The Corkscrew, Flume, Dragon coaster, from what I saw. But the park was all out working on Capital improvement this year. Onto of the new stand and kiddie land improvement mentioned above. They are rebuilding the deck at the Gables Grill. The park also removed 3 smaller games and has new game coming. I could not get confirmation on the game they wanted it to be a surprise. But I did get word that the prices will be major. The park also removed the old Worlds fair lights. They kept one up by the carousel as a reminder of the classic lights. The new lights are all round the park. The park also had to add new speakers since the old lights had both lights and speakers. I didn’t geta chance to see how the lights looked since the park closed before dark. The Speakers were a little on the quite side. Going into the day I planed on doing the park with my brothers, sister in law and my nieces. But after they took off twice and I spent and hour waiting for them I moved on by myself. The day turned out pretty well. In all it was a good day for rides. Despite a solid crowd the lines were never more then a 1 to 3 circuits long. Cannonball was 40 minutes. I made out well throughout the day. I got a single ride in on Mine of lost souls, Flume, Zero Gravity, Whip out, Star blaster, Skater, Over the rainbow, Boston Harbor Patrol, Twist&Shout, Canobie Express train, Caterpillar and Davinci’s Dream. I got 2 rides in on cannonball. I willingly skipped Timber splash and Boston Tea Party despite the hot weather. I also didn’t bother riding Phycodrome after hearing the flood lights are still being used. Another big change this year is the park switched from Coke to Pepsi. You can find Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and Sierra Mist at the stands. Aquafina can be found in the vending machines around the park. Bottled water is $2.75, while Fountain drinks are 2.65 plus tax, basically 2.86 after tax. Not sure if anyplace offered Root beer. I took advantage of the opening day sale and bought 2 tickets to use later in the season. Those tickets as well as the day ticket cost me $67 Dollars. That was a little bit discouraging since I could buy a season pass to story land, Santa’s village, or Clarks for that price. For the price of a 4th ticket I could have purchased a season pass to any other New England park. They really need a season pass In all it was a really good day. Talked to alt of people while in line, they all seemed to be enjoying their day. A few were checking out the park for the first time Since things are looking good to an event in October I will go 3-4 more times before the season is over.

This year Ace New England’s Nor Easter event was help at Six Flags New England. They welcomed us into their employee building which is located across the street form the park. The building was surprisingly big and worked well for the event. Lake Compounce: Water park expiation – The park is still looking for state and local funding to move the road to install water park. Trains on BD will still have open dividers. They will add 3 High top slides with the tower using the same location with riders coming out on the old pool. Proslides is contacted to build the slides. Rides - Wild Cat has 2 full time carpenters that work on the ride. The older train is being redone this off season. Rest rooms are getting work, trying to make rest room greener. Music Express has not sold. Jolly jester is the name of the Tip-a-canoe kiddie ride. Shows will be simplified to save money with a new show called Rock the nation. Peanuts characters will have a year off. New food: Self serve slushes. They brought in a trailer version of it to try it out and it was a huge success. A new building will built for it. Company Picnics will be hard to sign on this year, short term challenge. SFNE: Melissa the marketing manager: Coaster cars with Audio set to the coaster. She talked about a second Johnny Rockets will be added to Rockville (shacks and fries). She also confirmed that Thomas Town sprayground (pop-jet fountain) and the Show Stompin which will be in the Rockville Gym. They showed a promo video about Clawshun Industries. They confirmed TGE’s Holiday in the park. rollercoaster cuts, Interactive hair station with SFTV And children get a free photo. Larry Litton the parks GM. Talked about family, mentioned the height restriction variance. Starting a green transition, Add recycle stations. Superman’s Seats will be more accommodating to larger riders. They are not slowing the ride down. All of Superman’s track will be repainted to the purple and blue. SFNE will be submitting their capital plans for the next 3 years. The park has invested 260 million over the last 10 years. Glow in the Park floats are still on property and parade may come back. The new coaster colors were picked do to there longevity to keep color. They gave up a backstage tour. It was nice to see the park from a new angle. After the walk around at the park side they did door prizes. Simpler this year with t-shirts from SFNE, Schlitterbahn cooler bags, Santa’s village ornaments, and other small extras. Whalom: Scott Lanciani and My self presented news from the New Whalom Park Ownership Program, LLC. Scott Explained that an LLC is a Limited Liability Company. He spent some time talking about little history of how the program got started and the board of Directors focusing slightly on Andrew Probert who is in charge of design. Andrew has a history in Theme park design through Disney Imagineering. He also has TV Star Trek the Next Generation and the original Battle star Gelactica and Movie experience working on projects like Star Trek The Motion Picture, and Back to the future. He wrapped up inviting people to see Andrew’s Web Site, Probert Designs. Scott then allowed me to talk about our online efforts. I talked about our goal to launch our new version of out web site, Whalom.org. I then talked about our Invasion free powered forums, which allow our members to suggest rides they would like to see as well as keep up the programs progress and local news. We mentioned the fantastic support we have seen on out Facebook fan page which is just short of 1,500 fans. We then took questions from the group. Questions consisted on funding, property, and local support. Do to time constraints we ended out group presentation but made ourselves available for one on one talks for the rest of the event. The auction was at the end of the day. Santa’s Village was really good to ace this year. A lift wheel, up stop wheel, and a Restraint spring were all in the auction this year. The other Item up for auction was a pin from one of the cars that operate on Leap the Dips. I personally bought the up stop wheel and the spring. Other news: The NY region is looking to do an event at Seabreeze and Sylvan Beach Amusement Park. An official of un-official even at TGE might be planed during the Christmas event. NE Region event – Funtown Fest returns. Their Galaxy went over seas. Knoebles – Miler coaster to add in place of High Speed Thrill Coaster. More photos coming soon!

Cool report. just think of the park trips you can afford with the savings on gas.

The 3D house is only mildly frighting. the haunts are dark and they have a fair fright factor. The Crypt and the Mansion are the scarier houses. I would say at or above SF Fright Fest. The park sels Monster Medallions for $5 Bucks. when performer sees one they will back off or drop the fright aspect of the character. i saw many of the Walk around charters simply interacting with guests and not trying to frighten people. So I'd say you're set. Plenty of rides for him to ride as well.

This is not the Original Sagus Spooky Wold. I never made it to the Faxborough version. i did find the attraction over all better at Canobie then it was at the Bayside Expo Center. The 3 Haunts are pretty good and it's always a bonus to get a few park rides in. Only a few rides are not operating so there is plenty to do. many of the games are operating as well. Especially for the price. If you travel 2 hours go to the McDonald's off exit 3. They have the Discount coupons to get in for $19.99. you'll need one coupon per ticket. Also if you are traveling 2 hours and are looking for a bigger experience there are a few Haunts near by. North there is Haunted acres about 45 minutes away. and Nightmare New England which is a million dollar haunt with 4 attractions. It's only about 30 minutes north.

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I plan another trip or so so there will be more pics later.

No the the US stepped in and created a Democracy. He's only a Mayer now. Ya some of the pics are really big. I just didn't like the smaller size. thanks for your suggestions.

After a long day hanging out in Nashua, NH I made my way to Salem and to Canobie lake Park for Spooky World. I got to the park very early and they wasn’t open yet so I Drove down to Spirit Halloween and to a party store to see what they had for props. I then returned to the park at 4:40. You’re welcomed at the front gate by a hearse which has been done up with a Canobie/spooky World wrapping. Looks great and can be seen from the gate as soon as you enter. Gave out a few discount Coupons I got at Market Basket and entered at 4:45. The park wasn’t open till 5 and that included the rides. I used the opportunity to check out the park The park really didn’t do much as far as Halloween themeing. I found that a bit disappointing. I hope this changes for later trips and if a Halloween event returns next season. There were a few things around that were fun to look at and a few small graveyards. There were 3 nice displays by the trellis (a bride and groom) and the Lemonade stand (farmer and wife) and a zombie at the Cantina. There were also large Spider webs by the cannonball with large spiders and wrapped up bodies. The rides operating for the event were: Ferris wheel, Frisbee, Pirata, Corkscrew, Canobie 500, Twist and Shout, Rowdy Rooster, Wipe out, Carousel, Dodgems, Zero Gravity, Crazy cups, Yankee Cannonball, Star blaster, Skater, Davinci’s Dream. The park also had Kiddie land 1 open except for Pony Carts. The train and Mine of lost souls were part of the Halloween event. My rides: Canonball: 2, Frisbee: 1, Train: 1, Mine of Lost Souls: 1 (first ride), Wipe out: 1, Davinci’s Dream: 1, Skater: 1, Pirata: 1, Star blaster: 1, Rowdy Roosters: 1 (last ride of night) My first ride of the night was the Mine of Lost Souls which was listed as part of the Halloween event. The ride is virtually the same with a few small additions. A Coffin in the crypt, projected head on the cliff was in the main room. There were a couple other small things placed here and there but nothing amazing. In front of the ride there were heads and 1 skull on stakes that sung songs. I checked out the silver Scream Horror Museum which was well pathetic. The Museum I had gone through years ago when I did spooky world back in the 90’s had props from the movies and mock ups of characters. This one was basically a few resin wax museums like figures of Horror movies icons. It’s really nothing to get excited about. It should have been set up in one of the closed shop, Dancing Bear or Flume unload area, basically in the south end Canobie village to ad another attraction. The Spooky Express is the Halloween version of the Canobie express. This was by far the most disappointing part of the trip. The spooky scenes were not scenes at all. Basically there were a bunch of Plywood cut outs painted to ghosts, monsters, and pumpkins light up by orange and green lights were there wasn’t a light to light it by. I talked to a hand full of people the Manager of the Photo booth. If anyone had heard the news about him being her you might be happy to hear he is doing better but still recovering. Talked to Anthony Birney one of the park owners, he’s looking forward to seeing how the event turns out. Al, Freddy Free mail, from Canobie fan was operating the wipe out. I also talked to a couple nice ladies that were running a new Halloween gift stand at the Sky ride. The park only had a few eateries open. Trellis, Lemonade stand, Poncho cantina, Be Bop, Popcorn stand, and the international food station. There was also a few stands open and a tent by Star Blaster selling steamed hot dogs and candied/caramel apples. The park had many of the arcades and games opened as well. I spent a good amount of time getting pictures of the performers around the park and checking out the haunted houses. In all I got 3 runs though on the Libratory in 3D, 2 runs through The Crypt, and 1 run through the Monster Mansion. All the haunts had reasonably good fronts and first rooms. There was also a magic show pulled a good crowd but it was nothing special Laboratory in 3D – This was my favorite attraction. I got 3 trips through because the crypt exited right next to the entrance to it. So I walked over to it and went through. The set walls are custom not off the shelf. The 3D effect is fantastic and there was a great selection of animatronics. In fact out of all of the Spooky World attractions it has the best animatronics in this house. The Crypt – Was in my mind the scariest of the 3 houses, with a quick moving line. The themeing was ok with the open roof taking away from the effect. This house had a fare amount of performers and they did their best to make you jump. This house also has a couple good animatronics. Monster Mansion – IS the best themed of the 3 haunts. While it had the highest number of actors it also had the longest line. At least it was all within the dance hall building. This was the longest of the 3 haunts with some good optical effects. Thing in the attraction sort of ended with no real climatic scene. Worse of all like the crypt the ride exits into the back with nothing telling you were to go. I did mention it to the park though so it will hopefully be fixed. The main midway had a tree monster stalker which looked great and the exit of the event there was a red eyed stilt walker. The park also had a number of walk around characters. These characters made the event for me. They did spend some time scaring people. The majority of the time though they served as mascots for the event. Interacting with guests and posing for pictures. They all did an amazing job. Over all I had a good time. The park could have done more with the Halloween themes though they had a good amount of Harvest festival style landscaping and sets. The haunts were on the short side but in all a solid Haunted attraction. There were a few small things but I think those will be cleaned up as the event goes on. Not to mention it’s great to have another month of Canobie before the end of the season. Anyone wishing to go can find Discount Tickets at Market Basket Supermarkets and Mc Donalds. The McD’s off exit 3 in Salem has the discount coupons. With limited eateries open you might want to eat before hand and grab your coupons at the same time.

I'm glad you enjoyed them. I am always happy to know people are getting something out of my efforts.

There were spaces int eh code. stopped them from displaying. fixed now. Thanks for the message.

After a delay of my Saturday trip since the parks were closed due to weather I set off Sunday morning to CT from NH. It took a little more than 2.5 hours to get to Quassy from NH. I had a free ticket for the park I needed to use up. I went with my brother on this trip and we arrived at Quassy around 12:30. Quassy is a small park. It sort of appears out of nowhere after a long drive off the highway. We pulled in turned down free tickets since we had some and pulled up to the attendant. She took out 2 tickets and $5.00 parking fee. We parked and then had to find the ticket booth. It’s inconveniently located in the back of the park. We got out Wrist band and made our way back to the front and to the parks larger coaster Monster. Monster or Mad Mouse on the sign is a Classic wild mouse style coaster with both dropped and sharp turn. The coaster had a low capacity only running 3 cars. It was slow at the time so we got on fast. We squeezed into the small car and took our ride. The drops were good with some air time. The turns were freaky since the small old track vanished below your car just before you turned. A fun coaster but nothing amazing. We back tracked a bit and hit the parks new Galleon (Pirate ship) ride. It has good movement but the location left a lot to be desired. We checked out the arcade which is housed in the parks classic ball room building. We then took a look at their kiddie land. Their back kiddie land is basically 2 classic Hershel kiddie rides (boats and jets) in the middle of the parks kiddie coaster. They allow adults to ride so we each took a turn on the kiddie coaster. Interesting layout large coaster but no forces. Got really slow at the end also. The boat also leaves form that section of the park it’s $3 dollars for a 30 minutes boat ride around the lake. It would be nice if it were covered in the all ride band. We walked back and hit the train which goes around the picnic grounds. Likely the best ride at the park. The speed is good with a large circle. They also send you around twice. We then hit the carousel, a Chance fiberglass model in the parks classic carousel house. We took a look at their pavilion/picnic building. They were having an October fest event so the area was opened. It’s a nice set up with a large pavilion, baseball field, horse shoes, and a volley Ball net. We hit the Tilt-a-whirl. It ran ok but seemed recently painted. We hit an extra ride on the Pirate ship, Rode the parks trabant, and tried this Flying dragon ride. It was a compact flying carpet. Run very slow but if it wasn’t braked so much you couldn’t over the true dragon within. We hit the train again and then made our way to the front of the park. We skipped a second run on the Monster coaster since it has a line. We hit the Paratroopers which were really well run, YoYo, and got in line for the bumper cars. The line took forever with only around 9 cars on the floor. They were reasonably good cars though. Good speed but limited bumping ability. We hoped on the Music fest a flying bobs attraction before ending our day at the new Giant Slide. It was close to my park in the parking lot. In all it was a good day at an OK park. Quassy has a lot of classic charm but has failed to take the park into any level above that. It’s worth your time if you’re in the area or are a fan of these old time small parks. The $21 Dollar all rides pass is pricey given their selection, including the boat would have increased its value significantly. I did have a good time and would go back after they add another ride or two. Lake Compounce: We made our way to Lake Compounce. It took us about 35 to get from Quassy to the park. We were met at the Parking booth by no one. After a quick look we saw no booth open so we parked. The parking lot was nearly empty. We walked through the tunnel and also found the ticket booth all closed. There were ticket takers so we knew the park was open. So it was off to Group sales to get our tickets. We got our tickets which were $15 each with coupon since we brought 8 tubs of Peanut butter and 2 cans of beef ravioli for the food bank. We entered and made our way around to Ghost hunt. The new ride is fantastic. It’s has a few remnants of the old ride but in all it’s a whole new attraction. The trackless 4 passenger cars are roomy and a lot of fun. The lasers work well though I kept shooting my brother in the back of the head from the back seat. The former balcony scene was enclosed and a new light effects show was added. It’s by far my favorite part of the ride. Boulderdash was next on the list. The ride had had been retracked over the last 2 years and on the off season the trick track was removed and a new element was added. We got in like for the back car front seat and got in after just 2 cycles. The work done really helps the ride. It’s as wild as always but even more intense. The new section which is a series of hills which provide extreme air time was mind blowing. A fantastic rework by GCI! Wildcat was next on the list. The coaster was a walk on and we jumped into the front seat. We were off! The ride was running really well. The coaster ran smooth and fast. And it seemed to have a better transition between hills. We were later told they rebraced some of the hills. We made our way to the Trolley. Rode it to the back of the park and then walked over to take the train back to the front. It sprinkled a little around 5 while we were waiting for the train. The new train from Wild West World looks fantastic. When we got off the train we ran into the parks GM Jerry Brick. We had a quick talk about the new owners and park plans. He took some time to ask about us. The fact he has a positive outlook for the new owners helps me feel much more comfortable. I was never happy about the buyout. We ran into him 2 more times before the end of the day. We also saw that Jason Piperton was back doing his street performer act and said he had a new Show all ready for The Haunted grave yard performances. We hit the Zoomerange coaster and the Zoomer’s car ride while we were in the area. Zoomerange’s new color scheme looks great and the Color shifting pant is amazing, though the coaster is running a bit rough. Zoomer’s was fun as usual and I noticed a few new things thrown around here and there props form an old shooting gallery they had had in storage. After a quick drink of free soda we saw Jerry again he warned us about some upcoming weather. So we made our way to Thunder and Lightning. The rid seamed longer than normal. No matter what it was, like normal, an exciting ride. We made our way to Balderdash for a few more rides. We hoped to get a few rides in before the weather hit. We got a ride in the front and walked around and got in the back. Just as the ride was about to start eh sky opened and the operator said welcome to The Lakes new water coaster and sent the train out. It was pouring. My shirt was socked before we were at the top of the list hill. I saw little of the coaster since it was hard to keep my eyes open. We got down and being wet we opted to stay on. So we had another back seat ride. Rain was lighter. After that we did 2 more rides form the next seat up. After Boulderdash and getting really wet we made our way back to Ghost hunt. We ended our day there. 2 rides and we had to go around and then we had 4 rides in a row. The rain had stopped by this point. I spent a bit of time taking a few pictures and we made our way out. We ate at a small diner near the park. In all the day turned out great. The weather was mostly good and the rain held off till the very end. In all the day cost me only $35 dollars not including food. I can’t wait to get back for the haunted graveyard.

With news that my parents were headed to Story land with my niece I figured it would be a great chance to hit the park this year. I invited my friend Anya who had never been to the park before. My friend and I got an early start and meet up with my parents at 9:30 in Meredith. We then all hoped into one vehicle to make the trip to the park. We arrived at around 11:00 and went right in. Walking in I noticed one of the first changes for 2008. They had rebuilt the gas station I though. On closer observation a city Hall had been built. The Chester and Hester animatronics have returned. The building now offers Drivers licenses for kids for 6.00 dollars. I would guess they also use this building for season pass ($64) processing. We made our way to the Bamboo chutes and found a short line from there we bought out on ride photo which has gone up in price since last year. We bought 2 and got a small discount. My friend and I went to DR Geysers Remarkable Raft Ride while my parents and niece went to play in the photo spot flume boat. The raft ride was less wet then normal with many of the gags not spraying as hard as it would I the middle of the hot summer. Still a great ride my friend had a blast. While heading to the raft ride and after getting off I noticed they added a small wet zone with the small popping water spouts. A nice little addition but I think it’s a little misplaced within the park. Maybe they wanted to keep it in the same area as the 2 water rides. We all made our way to the parks Roller coaster the Poller Coaster. My friend and I got the back seat and my niece and father took the next seat forward. My niece loves this coaster and my friend really enjoyed it. She isn’t a big fan of huge rides so this coaster and the other rides in the park were right up her ally. You could say they are just right! We also took a couple rides on the CockooClockinspiel before taking another ride on the Poller Coaster. My friend rode with my niece. It’s amazing how much her face lights up as she rides the coaster. We all took a ride through the Slipshod Safari. My niece and friend then took a spin on the whirling whales. Another chance for this year was that the park took out the small sandcastle maze and installed a sea themed pay game. We hit the new Circus Show which was very good. Though a little short on seating, it was standing room only just after we got there. The show had a good selection of acts and all were well presented. Though they could have played to the back audience. We watched the backs of the performers most of the show. We hit the Turtle Twirl and Flying fish before grabbing a bite to eat. Good news, the food prices have not increased. We then took a ride on the Tractor ride and crazy barn. The rest of the day was spent hitting attractions my friend and I Hit the Silver Mind, then we all hit the carousel, Pirate ship, and Tea Cups. Alice’s Tea cups have been painted, and the ride is not under cover. A great upgrade you cannot really notice if you didn’t know it used to be uncovered. My nice went to play in the little dreamer play area and then the tree house. My friend and I went to the front of the park to take the closing time train run as our last ride. We met back up with my family after a quick side track through the 3 bear’s house and past grandma’s house. Of the bat I heard some music I have not heard before. I walked over to the tree knot that held a small image last year. Now a small model room lay within. The music slowed and suddenly an image appeared. There is now a small peeper’s ghost effect showing of a video hologram of a leprechaun. A pleasant surprise! I ran into one of the parks managers. Not having much time to talk he ask about our feelings on the circus show. I did find out it’s on a year to year contract but they will be back for 2009. I was unable to ask about any new attractions. Photo’s coming soon!

Going to opening day has become a bit of a tradition for me. So I was making plans well into advance for this day. My brother and sister in law couldn’t make it but my older brother did and I brought my friend Anya. Anya and I didn’t meet up with my brother till 2:00 but we got a lot done before that. I ran into many members of the Canobie fan site as well as Fellow ACE members throughout the day. We rived at the park about 10:45 Crowds were already looking good for an opening day. I saw one of the park’s managers outside So I talked to him for a bit before we bought some future use tickets and went in the park a little after 11. I saw Carl and Anthony Bernie driving buy so I flagged then down. They confirmed that the rides are expected to be in by Memorial Day weekend. I think that most all of us know that Zero Gravity is a Dartron I got the inside scoop on the other new/upgrade ride. The new upgrade to Ocean trip is a Sartori rides Tidal Wave. It’s A crazy/flying bus ride like Zamperla/SBF make. I will post more info later. We then discuss the need for some additions for the Castaway Island Water Park. Anya and I headed to Frisbee but it was down at the moment. All the rides were operating. Frisbee, Dragon and Kiddie tanks had slight maintenance issues during the day but were quickly resolved. We stopped by the Matterhorn area to look at the upcoming hot dog stand. It’s a permanent building not a themed stand. I can’t say I like the placement since it makes adding a ride later very difficult. We made our way To Cannonball. There was about a 2-cycle wait. We barley made it in and ended up at the end of the line. Despite that we got front seat. We ten made our way to Star Blaster. Both these rides were first time rides for my friend Anya. We then made our way to Phyco Drome. Phycodrome was operating with the floodlights. The party lights were running but you can hardly see them under the floodlights. The ride is still running at a reasonable speed but the ride experience is a bit hallow with the Floodlights on. I was later told this is now SOP and they will stay on all season. This is a disappointment. I heard many complaints about the floodlights from people exiting the ride. The ride op was also extremely slow which extended the wait for an already low capacity ride. We hoped on DaVinci and the boat before grabbing a drink. I refilled my cup form last year for a Dollar. We walked around the park and looked for some changes. The Palace arcade got a lot of work. Games were removed and other shifted to other areas of the park. We made our way to Ye old Canobie and rode the flume. We finally ran in into my brother at Mine of Lost Souls. I’m a huge dark ride fan but I find myself more and more disappointed in this one. Nearly every door wasn’t working. The ride badly needs a rehab. The only positive thing was the sound level. You could actually hear the “Way Down in the Mine” song. The 3 of us hit the Pirata before heading back to the front of the park. Found one of the two be Smoking areas across form Old Man climbing wall against the park fence. My brother and I hit Frisbee. Rowdy Roosters was next on the list. And we hoped on the train since it was in the station. Some parents got mad at me because I called out for their son to get back as he tried climbing between a fence and the moving train. Other then that the ride was nice. We all talked to a couple families about local parks. Especially parks lost like Whalom and Salsbery beach. My friend Anya wanted a snake so we got fried dough at Be Bop and another refill. The fried dough was much better then last couple of years. A little pricey though, $5.95 total. After eating we talked to a Canobie fan poster and ride op Al. Anya and I Hit the Antique cars, while My brother hit star blaster. We all hit Caterpillar and skater. Skater was operating a simple program spinning only counter clockwise. But the ride length was still good. The Tilt-a while was next in line, followed by a quick look at the Canobe 500. The cars have been repainted and look great. The cars also now have crome wheels. The end of the day Consisted of a ride on the Cannonball and Mine of lost Souls. We attempted to ride the carousel. The Op said she would let us on but she couldn’t since the Ride Supervisor locked the entrance gate. End of the day was not as welcoming as opening was. Rides were quickly shut down, as were games. With gates coming down before closing when multiple openings were present. They were quick at the palace Arcade to remind use they were closed. I told then I was just getting a couple shots of the Pinball Ally since the games manager brought it up. They weren’t allowing guests to use the restrooms within the park directing people to the restrooms outside of the gate. Normally they open the gate next to them and allow people to use the restrooms and then leave through the gate. In all it was a good day. My friend said she had a great time. We’ll be going back, I still have 4 tickets and ACE is going to have a day. They have a few things I hope to see improved on as the year goes on. But I look forward to visiting again and hope many of you get a chance to as well.

Nor Easter is a non-coaster riding Regional ACE event. It was healed in Natick Massachusetts. This was the same location the event was held in 2 years ago. After Lake Compounce last year this felt like a downgrade. But the Snacks were plentiful including freshly mad fried Oreos. I ended up getting there a little late. Didn’t really miss anything, one game. Only information I missed was that Six flags New England and Lake Compounce would not be attending the event. LC had the Fan site walk through the same day while SFNE Said they were having a job fair and wouldn’t be able to send them. They did send a DVD with videos from previous attractions and the teaser video for Dark Night. All these videos can be found online. Presentations started with the introductions of representatives from the New York Region of ACE and The Western NY Coaster club. ACE NY has an event Planed for Labor Day weekend. The parks will be at Darien Lake with ERT on Moto Coaster, Ride of Steel, etc as well as Martins Fantasy Island with ERT on Silver Comet and Wild Mouse. There was also of a small event in late Jun at Magic Forest in Lake George NY. The Western NY Coaster Club has an event at Canadian Wonderland. It will be held on August 31st with ERT on the new Behemoth and more. New England ACE had a few updates. Funtown Fest will not be held this year. I later found out that the park made this choice in response to the Preservation Conference being held in this area. There will however be an event at Canobie Lake Park. No further information was giving since this event is still being planed. There was also a reminder of The Preservation conference to be held at LC, SFNE, and Quassy. Funtown/Splashtown USA sent Ed Hodgton, Marketing Manager, down from Saco, Maine to talk to us. He restated that Futnown Fest would not be held in 08 but they hope to bring it back in 09. The new addition to the park this year will be a new Redemption Arcade located behind the bumper cars. The park plans to continue expanding Splashtown their water park in 2009. They plan to expand into an open grass area that is now used as a corporate picnic ground. They might ass something for the dry park within the next 2 years but nothing has been planed. The Galaxy has also been taken off the market and will stay for the time being. Quassy sent us a presentation that talked about their 100year history. Some Key historical information: Celebrating it’s 100th anniversary. Opened as a trolley park by the CT Trolley Co and is one of only 11 trolley parks remaining. Original dance hall now holds the parks arcade. In 1983 the park added the Hershell Mad Mouse in place of their wood wild mouse and is one of only a few remaining in the world. Park expanded form just a beachfront to a water park in 2003, which was expanded in 06. According to their ride height list There will be 2 new rides. Galleon Pirate ship and a Giant slide After a short brake and a Coaster Con Memories video made by Poul Coloumb, I personally got up and talked about other parks. I talked about the parks in NH as well as the New Whalom Park Ownership Program. Santa’s Village is getting a new ride this year. The new Wave Swinger will be called Rocking around the Christmas Tree. They are building a new Flume station building. LARC as well as the upcoming down town, which should start construction in a few years, designed the station building. RWS will be presenting 3 all new shows this year. The RWS presentation of “One Upon a Christmas” show won the Golden ticket for best show in its price range. Story Land will be focusing on shows this year. They have removed their Circus World Animatronic show and will be replacing it with a live music show. They are also adding the Royal Hannaford Circus, which just ended a long run at Adventure Land. Canobie Lake Park is replacing 2 rides this year. Ocean trip and Round up are out, they will be replaced with Boston Harbor Patrol and Zero Gravity. Matterhorn’s spot will get something new but not a ride. After the success of the Giant Popcorn stand Canobie will be adding a giant Hot Dog themed stand. The Soul Man Show will return to the Western Stage this year. 4 new shows will be introduced: A dog action act in the Dane Hall Theater. A boy band show as well as Bob the Builder live will perform on the Midway Stage. Saturday Night Fireworks are under a new fireworks company. New Whalom Park Ownership Program is a group of individuals working to reopen a park with a classic heart under the Whalom name. At this time we’re on the ground Floor. Lawyers have been contacted to crate a company and trademarks processed. The biggest news for the project is the Boards newest Member, Andy Probert. Andy has a vast back ground in both entertainment and amusement parks. A few notable projects include Back to the Future, Tron and a long stay with Disney Imaginering. We’re in contact with PTC about getting the blue prints for the Flyer Comet. The rest of the day consisted of Talking, more videos, A Quiz show game called Hot Potato, and door prizes. I got a Couple tickets to Quassy from the door prize table. Other prizes included Tickets to Canobie Lake Park and Delgrossos. a lot shirts, poster, and cups form LC, Cyclone, and SNE. The day went well. There was a good turn out. In fact there were a few comments bout it having a better turn out then some of the summer coaster riding events. It’s always good to meet up with people you don’t get to see much. My Family, a friend and I finished our day at Jordan’s furniture. Jordan’s Furniture in Natick is home to the Bourbon Street Experience. The inside of the store is themed to New Orleans Bourbon Street. The street sets span a large area with animatronics that come out of door or are out on balconies. The main attraction is The Mardi Gras FX show. The show features video Animatronics lighting and props during this 20-minute show. We ate Dinner at the Kelly’s Roast beef which is in the building. While we didn’t do them the store also has an Imax Theater as well as a Bose store, which has an interesting little show. Photo’s coming soon!!

actually only 2 of the 3 things in that square is being removed. there is a Family bathroom the very large rectangle in the image. it's not coming out. The small rectangle in the center is Bumper Buggies. Even if this is a long term plan, They shouldn't be removing 5 flats to eventually replace them. this is about money and not future plans. They are properly staffing rides? well those 5 rides not open up 9-10 employees that can go to other rides.

This is a quick reference of my two earlier trips to the park in early and mid September. I will work to keep things as short as possible and offer a good selection of photos. I’ll post a Closing day PTR later this week. September 9th trip It was an extremely busy day with 2 corporate picnics. The 2 companies were PC Connection and BAE. This made for very long lines and a lake of rides for most of the day. I had lunch with family before coming to the park. As is I didn’t arrive at the park until 1:30 to a nearly full lot. I parked about as far away as you can. Employees were being bussed in and GP was later bussed in as well. But in this aspect they were on top of things I can’t say the same for Sedexco that day. I waited 20 minutes just to get a Refill on my soda at the Pickaxe pub. Many vending machines needed to be emptied and were not accepting cash, change only. Dancing bear and Portifinos were already closed for the season. Outside of 2 refills of soda I got no food. The lines were that bad until after 5:00 when a light shower scared allot of people away. The vertigo theater was showing a new move to the attraction Pacific Pursuit. I hit the attraction while it rained. Ran was over by the time I got off. The movie made little sense and left many of the attendees puzzled by the end. Though there were some well shot underwater scenes. The park had a new attraction set up. I guess you could say show. It was a Beach Party. Set up in the midway stage. Basically a couple DJs play music and the seats have been cleared out so people can dance is they want. But the stage looks great. Rides hit: I got on Xtreme Frisbee, Policy Flume, and Cannonball, and Star Blaster 2 times. I got one ride in on Deviance’s Dream, Mine of Lost souls, Pirata, Caterpillar, Over the Rainbow, Crazy Cups, Skater, PhycoDrome, Vertigo Theater, Roudy Rooster, Corkscrew, Tilt-awhirl, bumper cars, and Wipeout. I got one only a few of these ride during the day. Nearly ever ride was hit between 6:00 and 10:00 pm after a slight shower. I for the first time got sprayed by the new coin activated water sprayer on the flume. Nice addition got me slightly wet but nothing terrible. Also on phycodrome the flood lights were all of except for on at the operator’s booth. My daily rides: This was the last late day for the park so Night shots were a priority. I took a few while waiting in line and I slowly made my way out after closing. I didn’t leave the parking lot till 10:48 at night. Well after closing. September 16th: This trip was larger then my last one. The group was my parents, niece, brother, sister in law, as myself. We purposely avoided the day before because Raytheon was at the park. This day was worse then my previous trip. There was one major corporate picnic today, Gillette. Well this group seemed to think they owned the park. Line cutting, smoking too close to people, and genera attitude was bad today. There was also a huge misuse of the parks disability assistance program. My 1 Cannonball ride was met with a 60 minute wait. Mostly do to 4 of these groups coming nearly at once. They get 2 rides and there groups were all 4-6 people. That made it so only 13-15 were loaded at a time. This was a short day. Like any park trip with my family we didn’t get there at opening. In fact we didn’t get to the park till 12:30. We stayed till 7:15. The park closed at 8 anyways so wasn’t a big deference. I strayed away from them a few times so I could hit a few more rides. Service was better this week at the pickaxe Pub. My Family got 4 Nathan’s hotdogs, Fries, I refilled my Souvenir cup (1.00), and 2 16 oz sodas. The meal totaled $20.75, not terrible but not reasonable. In order, I hit all the rides only once: Tilt-a-while, Xtreme Frisbee, Flume, Pirata, Turkish Twist, Star Blaster, Deviance’s Dream, Cannonball, Tea cups, and Wipeout, Carousel. I was able to bring my Niece on the Crazy cups which was a lot of fun. My Father tends to hog her on park trips. She had a fuller day hitting all the Kiddie rides as well as all the Family ride mentioned in the above list. This was also my Fathers first ride on the park Frisbee ride. he really enjoyed it. Down rides: Ocean trip was down both trips. The ride has had allot of down time. While I haven’t been able to get information on the issue I was give the impression that they aren’t happy with it. Skater was down on my second trip. Crazy Cups ride was operating with 5 cups not 6 both trips. The removed cut was out by the maintenance building. In all the 2 trips weren’t my best trips to the park. But only part of that was do to the park itself. The groups that were there and the conduct of some of the guests were. Also the Food service needs to rethink their operating procedures. The park isn’t the same size or pulling the same attendance as it did 3 years ago. They need to adjust accordingly. The park in all is always fun. Lines may have gotten to me is this was my only trip of the year or if I have only 2-3 trips a year. But, as it was these trips were my 5th and 6th trips of the year and Closing day Final trip is right around the corner.

I'm sure you both would. It's one bonus of having a niece to bring. You can visit the park with a better excuse then simply liking the park.

I would think within a couple hours of you there would be a good number of parks. but PA has lost a few over the years which is a shame. The park dose look great in the snow. Since I have a better understanding of how my Camera Works I should be able to get better Night shots of the lights this year. but until then here is last winters Report to get you in the holiday mood. www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31796&highlight=

Good to See a post from you. Yes LC is worth mentioning but I think there are plenty of people doing that already. they don't need my help. i will be hitting LC again in October and will post a TR showing off the awesomeness of LC and the Haunted Graveyard. so all in good time. I am much more then a Thrill seeker. I am a park enthusiast and look at more aspects of a park then it's thrill rides. Now by major I take it you mean Thrilling! in that case your right there most Thrilling ride woudl be there Zierer coaster. But if you mean major as in a notable attraction your wrong. They have the only 3D attraction in a park in NE. A nice interactive dark ride, one of 2 in New england, 1 of 3 dark rides period. NE's only monorail. Broadway style shows and an animatronic show. It's just an overall unique park. also you might find something to like in these smaller parks. But keep in mind this is a couple hours drive for me. it wouldn't be a vacation like it woudl be for you. Sorry, I forgot there's more than one "Playland" in North America, lol My home park in Vancouver, Canada is called Playland. Home to one of the top 25 (still, I hope?) wooden coasters in the world. Celebrating it's 50th Birthday next season! And that's about it for this crapular place. Here: http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=38879&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight= Take a look. Think some themeing of some/ANY kind would be good for it? That playland! I call that the Movie Playland since Final destination 3, Mitch Albrim's the 5 people you meet in heaven, and Ridding the bullet were filmed there. looks like it could use a some landscaping at least.

They do a Great job all year. The big thing about the Christmas season is it's the only part of the year they are open late enough to turn the light on. Boy do they have allot of lights. nearly every ride is open as well. Not sure which playland your talking about. it it's Palace playland not sure how much better it's going to get but they could do more. Rye playland has allot fo potential and the plans put forth from there master plan will help make it a much more atmospheric attraction.

i enjoy sharing them. I feel there are many parks out there that get over looked just because they don't have the bigest baddest coaster out there. i hope that seeing the smaller park in my area will encourage members to seek out smaller parks in there area. not to mention get the park out there so if anyone is in the area they can visit is they wish to.

It's a fantastic place to take the kids. It's also a great park if you simply want to feel like a kid again or have a day in the park and not feel rushed like you can at many of the large scale parks.