mrceagle

Coming up to April 21st I was more then exited. Canobie was opening for the day and I had made some special plans. So as we got ready to go to the park opening day I think my niece was as exited as I was. My mother was also planning on coming along. Saturday morning came along. We got a slightly late start to our day. We ended up getting to the park a bit after opening. There was already a good crowd. My mother bought the day’s tickets and 6 good any day tickets. I bought another 5 for myself. So we invested $260 for a season of enjoyment. After buying our tickets we made our way into the park through the brand new entry plaza. It looks great! First ride of the day was the Canobie 500, which I rode with my niece. She had a blast! From there I jumped on the Frisbee which was having problems just earlier. The ride is a bit smaller ten the versions I’m used to seeing. It still holds the 40 passengers and offers a fantastic ride. It’s extremely colorful and looking at the amount of lights it has I’m guessing this is going to be a spectacular ride at night. Since my niece is small we maid our way to Kiddie Land 2. My niece insisted I ride with here on just about everything. So my third ride of the day was the parks Dragon coaster. We then hoped on the Mini Dino ride fallowed by the Jungle bounce. She rode alone on the Bavarian Swings. We stopped by the fishing for Frogs game and my niece played one game. Didn’t feel it was really worth it. $2.00 dollars to play and we won a small prize which was a tiny clip “Cat in The Hat” thing. Given the prize a dollar would have been appropriate. On a side not a new ride was added in that area “Fish R Jumpin.” We worked out way down the Back Midway to the Boston area. We stood just out side the splash one for Boston Tea part so we would get cooled down by the mist but not actually get wet. My niece and I then hit Ocean Trip. We continued down the Back Midway to the Over the rainbow ride. MY niece and I road together and my mother took her own. That way we could spin and she could simply ride. We brought my nice to Kiddie Land 1. The area is filled with the classic Allen Herschell and W.F. Mangles rides. My Nice Road Flower Power (Mangles Kiddie whip), Carousel, Helicopters, Pony Carts, Fire Trucks, Space Jets, Boats, tanks, and Jeeps. She had a great time and it was fun to watch here enjoy the rides. It was my turn to have a little fun. I jumped on the Star Blaster, Always a blast. From there I hoped in line for the Yankee Cannonball. The Trains had received a new paint job on the off season. They completely redid the rides queue. The direction was changed and they added a full length around the front. My niece and I took a spin on the crazy cups, the parks classic crazy daisy ride before getting lunch. Since my niece likes hotdogs and I prefer hamburgers we opted to eat at the Be Bop Dinner. We got 2 hotdogs, a hamburger, a cheeseburger, 2 drinks and Fries. That cost us $21 dollars. Food was good and we ate our meal under the giant hamburger. I was able to snag a great shot of the parks train. After Lunch we made our way to the western area of the park. We took the central midway past Corkscrew. The park has switched out trains this year. The black train now runs. Seems to be a bit quieter then the red train was operating last year. Before hitting the Policy Pond Long Flume My nice took a spin on land sea rescue, one of the parks scattered kiddie rides, after that my niece and I road the Log Flume twice. We bought a small (3X5) on-ride photo which cost $8.00 dollars. That’s slightly cheaper then last years prices but still a bit high. From there we made our way to the Mine of Lost Souls. I really like this Dark rides. A number of animatronics and highly themed rooms gives off a Disney feel. The ride dose need to e upgraded though. Some doors no longer work as well as a couple animatronics. There was a slight delay before getting on a monitor went out and a few riders coming off clamed a prop was on the ground, but I didn’t see anything out of place after riding it. So with a limited time remaining to the day we headed back to the main midway past the new Popcorn stand. On our way through I was able to get some good indoor shots of the new entrance plaza with a new gift shop. We all road the Carousel which is always fun, it seemed to be running faster then last year. I got a quick minute with one of the owners and complemented them on the new entrance. He asked me what I though they should get. I honestly answered roller coaster. We hit rides as we went along Rowdy Rosters which ran well and while not snapable allowed for some +90 degree pulls. I hit the Wipeout. My nice took a few rides on the Jr. Sports Cars. In all my nice only missed the Mini Scooters, Autobahn and mini flume kiddie rides. I ran over to the Cannonball to get a second ride in. I Lucked out and got a front row seat. I was able to snap a great shot of the new logo. Got a great shot of the new train which I think looks great. From there we continued down the midway and Road the Sky ride which my nice didn’t seam to care for much. The antique cares were enjoyable. I supplied the gas and she drove. We then walked around to the Caterpillar ride. Always a fun ride but I was a bit disappointed they weren’t running it with the canopy. I was able to jump on Deviance’s Dream the parks flying swings ride. It was my last ride for the day. They replaced the Double adult child seat with a seat that would accommodate a larger individual. Before leaving I got a few more shots of things going on around the entrance area. The old Bozo house area is showing some signs on work. The old bathrooms were removed and a new platform built, apparently for a larger locker area. And I couldn’t call it a day without getting a few more photos of this amazing entrance. In all it was a very good day at the park. Staff was on top of things and The weather cooperated. Hopefully they can get the few rides that had problems or was down up and going soon. In all it took like Canobie is going to have a great 105th season.

Fantastic Trip report the park looks great. If the city doesn't buy it I hope some one dose. it would be a shame to see an park like that vanish.

good to see a few more pics. he's looking good.

Great pics. Leeks health despite the little scare. Have to pass on my nieces baby, ahh isn't it cute.

Congrats man. I'm sure everything will work out fine. looking forward to the pics.

Great pics. I enjoyed the Trip report. signs are colorful but They're a bit strange.

It is a very different sensation. It was a little less for me since this is my second time through the park while it was closed for winter. I did a tour 2 years back. But I hope you do get there this summer. if your in ACE this year we will have a Summer Event at LC likely in July. Nothing like Nighttime ERT on Boulderdash.

Ya that would do it. The North east dose have a very varied opening schedule for our parks.

The big thing is finding a balance. a well rounded park with reasonable prices. You'll likely see pay as you go with a all rides option to start out with. But all this is still in the planning stages. But the goal is to offer the park in the $18-20 range so it's a huge value compared to the rest of the parks in New England.

This is great to hear! this is the reaction were hoping for. This is very true. many outside of New England and some within don't realise that SFNE changeover was more of a fluke when it comes to Whilom then anything else. It did play a small park. Canobie saw a big drop in attendance in 99 do to SFNE opening but has seen it more then return. The largest reasons were poor management, Local support, and a lose of local population. Dev ins closing was a hug hit on the park. Thousands of workers and their families worked and lived on that Army base. Another huge impact was that some family members sold there part of the park to members outside the family. That individual had a grudge against the park and When he got near majority of the company he pulled out and left the park standing with out the needed income to operate. Management - Beth Bowen Should have never taken the rains of the park so soon. She apprenticed for only a few years before taking the park and didn't have the managerial experience needed. On top of this mismanagement some park planes were set forth fueled by here beliefs. She didn't like Weapons and offered free admission one day to anyone turning in a fake weapon. attendance was well past capacity that day but just about everyone got in free. Not a good business move. The prices stayed low when they really needed to be raised. at Closing A full day was around $18 dollars. While not much had been added with the price of other parks in the area a 19 or 20 dollar charge would have been more then acceptable to those who visited the park.

You arn't loosing much. Why spend so much on a park that will close again in a year? We have Kennywood, Dorney, Hersheym SFGADV, SFNE, Canobie, Waldameer, Coney Island, Cedar Point and Geauga Lake. I say we have some more quality parks than the southern and californians. Most of those parks aren't in The New England region and are not in any way reasonable parks to visit. Even SFGAdv is 5 hours From Boston. most of the parks mentioned are too fare away to bother with. The goal is to offer a better prices amusement park option for eastern NE. Canobie lake park would be a larger competitor then SFNE since Boston would be the main audience. as for rides it will be a mix of old and new. Flying Scooters and a new whip ride are among some of the classic rides coming back.

Ya you guys got the upper hand being later in Spring. It should be warmer and the Rainbow rider should be in.

Since I live right of Rt 13 To get to this years Nor Easter event at Lake Compounce I had to drive by what used to be Whalom park. Only 2 buildings remain. They site as grim reminder of a once thriving amusement park. Now there is just emptiness. Despite a few side trips we got to Lake Compounce at 5 past 12. To our surprise we were greeted by a member of security who said likely the best world I have heard in years. “The event has been moved to the ball room. Please drive through the park and park by the ball room.” So I did as requested How’s this for a parking space! We used the back section of the ballroom. The bar, which I regret seeing removed, is gone and 2 conference style rooms are in its place. We gathered in the larger conference room which had Speakers, televisions, and a projector installed. The sales display was set up in the adjoining room while food was set up in the hall. First off was a quick introduction from Peg Batchelder. We got a few updates from neighboring regional reps from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. When they were done talking about upcoming regional events we invited Up Jerry Brick to talk about Lake Compounce. Lake Compounce The road will begin the move in 2007 and the new road should be complete by very late 2007 or early 2008. They then need to remove the current road. That will take place in 2008. They then have to grade the land so that it's even with the water park now. This will likely take into 2009. Jerry hopes that the City will put up the 3 million, in the form of a bond, needed for this project. The water park will not get an expansion till The road is moved. So The water park expansion will likely take place around 2010. The water park will not to 100% built in 2010 but the 1st of around 4 fazes. You'll likely see the park return to the dry park addition water park addition trend they have had over the last couple years. The old Paddle wheeler was Sold to a School in GA and replaced by a 40 person pontoon boat. This boat is allot more maneuverable and will allow for a much higher capacity. That should help improve guests’ experience. 2008 we will likely not see a ride but other improvements. Since rides, the road, and water park additions have been so much of a focused the little thing have been placed on hold. The hope for 2008 would be to work on those little things, capacity problems around the park for example. One plan talked about was a rehab of the Ghost hunt ride. This would include upgrading the ride to 4 passenger cares which would cut back on lines. While Jerry was the only park representative at the event updates were presented Using information collected from the parks by Peg, Assistant Regional Rep Mike Thompson and Donna Piper, Kevin Coutermarsh and myself (Michael Coutermarsh). Funtown/Splashtown USA Mike talked about the new additions for Splashtown coming in 2007. The park plans on adding 2 slides from Pro slides, both starting from a 70ft platform. They are adding a Tornado water slide and a family raft slide. With the global worming weather we had the slides are installed and only awaiting a few final touches before they can open to the public. Canobie Lake Park Peg read a press release and I filled in some loose ends when it cam to Canobie. The new ride for 2007 is Xtreme Frisbee. It is a Huss Frisbee that will swing 63ft high and carry 40 passengers at a time. The park also replaced its main gate entrance area. The new entrance is better then twice the length of the old one. The entrance sports a NH cottage theme with rock bases wood siding. The new entrance will also holds a new Gift shop and new bathrooms. The old bathrooms will be converted into expanded locker space for the park. A new court yard was set up with the new entrance. The park moved a 75ft tree to make a new centerpiece for it. A new Popcorn box themed stand was also added to the park this year. The parks Matterhorn ride is being removed A new ride should be in soon but will likely be a 2008 addition with parts showing up in 2007. The Matterhorn is being removed do to a problem with the runners the cost to repair the ride just isn’t practical for the park do to its age. Story Land Heritage NH is closed as of the end of 2006. The park has some hope of opening it back up in a new location. There are no plans worked out as of this time. As of this time the park has no mediate plans for the 2007 season. They may not add a ride this year but hope to brake ground on There next themed area. Santa’s Village The park is not sure what it is up to for this year. There were plans to get an adult tower ride and a family tower ride but the park seems to be looking for alternatives that would give them a better capacity. Building up the parks overall capacity will be an overall focus for the park over the next few years. A new larger nicks Pizzeria and a Main street are possible future projects. Quassy The popular “Bumper Cars” and “Tilt-A-Whirl” rides have both received major facelifts for 2007. The bumper cars are getting a 50’s theme make over. The park is also adding the Lakeside Theatre stage which will host many shows and events. Six Flags New England The park will welcome 2 new character franchises in 2007. The wiggles will be added to the park and take the place of the existing Tiny Timber Town. Thomas town will be Built in the parking lot and be the parks 3rd kids area. Coldstone Creamery will also be added to the parks food selection. With the event being hosted at Lake Compounce we were able to do a park walkthrough. Which didn’t seem so special after driving through it! But I got some great pictures of boulderdash’s Track work, which is being dome by GCI. The new Mag brakes for Wildcat: This is were the spinning coaster would have gone: The SBF made Rainbow Riders ride will go here: Caterpillar trains new location: The work on Boulderdash The new Zoomer’s Gas and Go Lots of park picks: We like in past Nor Easter events had games, do prizes, and mush more. The event went longer then expected but the park wasn’t going out of there way to kick us out. The Auction weren’t especially well thanks to one ace member who brought in vintage park posters. I got one for Cincinnati’s Coney Island. I don’t know the amount of money raised but I would guess it was more then $300 and a couple of the bid upon posters were in turn donated to the coaster museum. The evening for me and my group didn’t wrap up till around 7:30. I was able to take my time leaving and take some really good night shots of the park

No the supports are wood. The metal you see are bracing that hold the pieces of wood together.

Construction, Sweet! Great pics. I didn't know M&V was Constructing it. They are such a Hidden talent in the coaster world.

Great looking coaster. One acre now that's something great. The small rumor of my home park looking at adding a coaster to the present Antic car ride location is sounding more realistic now.

A bit anticlimactic but a good story over all. Saves rob from being killed in the next story or worst yet in between were no one really knows what happens.

You mean like the Haunted Mansion that apparently has Blood and guts in it. and is the Roger Rabbit ride actually beyond normal Cartoon violence. also It's only a few attractions and most of them are pixar themed I believe.

Some great shots of the park. Mystery mine looks like a great ride and the area around it is well thought out. What was that mini tower ride that was shown. how dose it work and who makes it?

Looks like things are coming together well. What a nice addition. this should help the park allot.

it's a normal assumption japan is so lacks with rules though that they would shovel off the tracks and then let a 3 year old ride a looping coaster there parents lap. But it's Unusual to see a park open in the winter in an area you get snow. most parks that offer Winter festivals are in warmer areas with better weather.

The snow wouldn't Loosen the wheels. But you really do need it out of the way. the added resistance would not allow the train to make the Full run. It would stop before it was planed to. The coaster Ran up to that we3ekend I went. If it hadn't snowed it would still be operating.

Being winter we Dressed worm and in layers before leaving the house around 9:00 that morning. Weather report called for 40% chance of Snow and Cold and estimated 31 degrees. After a long drive which brought us through the towns of Carol and Bethlehem we arrived at the park. The park side parking lot was already filled. I was glad to see snow had fallen and we would be walking through a White Christmas park. So we parked across the Street in there overflow parking lot. We walked up to the line at 11:15 to see 4 reasonably long lines waiting for tickets and an equally long line waiting to get in. We figured we would hit the Train first off. There were already long lines at Holly Humbug and there were a few problems with the sky ride. They had to use a leaf blower to blow the snow off the track so the sleighs would run right. We walked back to the Polar Theater and hoped on the train for a ride around the park. When we got Off I notices Bill, an ACE member, was operating the train so I talked to him a bit. He introduced me to one of the maintenance workers. We talked about the Ferris wheel moving and possible replacement rides. The park has a dedicated team that will help in its future growth. One newer attraction is the new Mini Doe-nuts Factory. It was an Empty Building last I was at the park. We wanted to go on the S.S. Peppermint twist first but it was down Maintenance had it up in 30 minutes of so and it was up the rest of the day. We hit the reindeer barn and looked around. I really like the new reindeer over the traditional deer. We made our way across the park to see what they did with the new car set up. The rides new setup is nice and the cars seem to handle it better in the snow then they did last year. The ride though was a bit dull without the effects I had enjoyed so much. I noticed allot of lights around the ride. We would have to come back and ride after dark to get the full effect. After the ride I needed to worm up the cold was getting to me really badly. After worming up we walked down the path towards Rudy’s it wasn’t blocked off like it usually is. I slipped and hit the ground once but it’s my own fault. I took a few shots of the area in snow. Worth the bruised ego! Before heading back to the other side of the park we took a spin on the Ferris wheel. It’s a traditional Eli Wheel but it works and the park. A Nice relaxing ride that’s not too fast of slow. I was able to get a good sky shot of the coaster covered with snow. Always a special Treat. After checking back up on the peppermint twist we safely walked (no more falling for me) to the polar theater to see Tinkerdoodle Christmas. It’s a fun little 3D show with some good pops. A very smart move for the park but they need to show It more often The barley maid it in that show and many of the later shows were closed do to full houses. We hoped over to the SS peppermint twist after the show. Great little ride! Still worm we opted to battle the Humbugs and the line to get in. We waited about 35 minutes for Holly Humbug adventure. The line was out the queue. Only shot like a 2,500 score but that was while video taping the ride, 1st person shooter style. From there we hoped over to the skyway Sliegh ride. There was around a 45 minute wait, and this ride has a high capacity. While waiting I did what many did is I went on The Drummer boy tea cups while my brother and Sister in law waited in line. After our Sleigh ride we figured we’d go and eat. Since there were 3 of us we opted to eat at Nick’s Pizzeria. Turned out to be a slight mistake! The staff was on the ball. Pizza was coming out as fast as they could make it and service was well organized. But, it seems everyone else in the park had the same idea. There was a waiting line just to get a table some were opting to take there Pizza up to Downers delights and eat at there tables. Our food took a slightly more then normal 35 minutes to come out. Not big worry it took us that long to get a table. The 3 of us used a 2 seat booth and my Brother stood. The park is apparently considering building a new building for the Pizzeria. I think it’s time to take action. From there we took a walk past Santa’s house and along the back area of the park. were looking at plots that might hold a ride or attraction to better scatter the rides to thin out the crowds. We walked past the small pond were the large Nativity scene still stands. We walked into St Nicolas’s church. In all my times I have never seen what I saw. There was a Family Praying in the church. It reminded me that Santa’s Village strived to be more then just a themed park. We walked around the park taking Photo’s and it was starting to get dark. I took what little time I had left to take as much video and photos as I could. With the light almost gone we headed for the Reindeer carousel. It’s a nice ride but way too small for adults. It would be nice to see them upgrade to a larger more family friendly carousel and move this one to another area of the park, perhaps past the reindeer barn. As it was dark we hoped the train to see the park at night. We took the train all the way back to the polar theater. The park looks amazing at night. Something you don’t get in the summer since them along with the rest of the parks close at 6:00 pm. There seemed to be more lights this year. While they seem to add lights every year this year stood out as one of the best. The lights were amazing. Every tree seemed to be aglow. We opted to walk back to the car ride knowing there were lights along the ride. What and attraction. The night rid was amazing. Many of the mist affects from summer were replaced by lights. The Rides Car wash dad lights along it ceiling that turned on and danced as you passed though. Well worth going back for. We walked back to the Sky ride hoping to get a very amazing night ride. The lien was shorter but still around 30 minutes. It was worth the wait the raised view of the park at night along with all the light hidden in some of the back wood area you don’t se from the ground. One section has hundreds of Stubbed that sparkled like stars in the night. We hadn’t much time left and my I wanted to hit a few more rides. My brother and sister in law went off to ride the train till closing. I made my way to Holly Humbug. Not planning to take any video this time I went for a high score. I chose the better of the two guns on my car and took aim. In all I didn’t do too bad. I scored a 5,480. The operator said that was the Highest she had ever seem but I have had a +6,000 score. But not too shabby! I walked back through the Polar Theater. I always do this because it’s heated and provides a quick worm up. I then walked over to the SS Peppermint twist. I was able to get in 6 rides before the end of the day. The ride literally stoped as they announced the parks closing. In all it was a very good day despite the crowds. But hey I’ve been to SFNE, Canobie, Disney, Etc it was nothing I couldn’t stand. I have to commend maintenance for there hard work. Jingle Jamboree (Animatronic show) was the only attraction down that wasn’t planed. There were small problems on the Skyway Sleigh, SS peppermint twist, and Bumper cars (condensation on the floor). They responded quickly and resoled the problem in a timely manner, often to Thunderous applause. Thus comes the end of my coaster and park year. What a wonderful way to say goodbye to the 2006 season.

The park is well underway on there new entrance and it looks great. From what I've been told there 2 weeks ahead of schedule. here is a Slide show of the new entrance. Slide show link Extreme Frisbee is up and almost ready to go for 2007. Photos on Canobie Fan. You can also see the Frisbee on Canobie's Site. Canobie's Frisbee page

Sad sight! I really like these first Gen Free fall rides. They are a bit more exciting them many of the newer ones. But after seeing them all up for sale I new SFI wouldn't have them much longer. I just hope a park bought it and it will be reconstructed near by.