Canobie Coaster

What a great weekend for Kennywood to get both their new for 2019 attraction open plus Sky Rocket after a year long closure.

Fantastic report! Last year, SFOG would open Twisted Cyclone a half hour before the posted opening to anyone. From your report, it sounds like they may still be doing that, which is an awesome bonus. I agree Goliath runs faster than your average B&M hyper, but it does have a rattle in the valleys of the big pullouts. I'm glad you got on Rampage. It really personifies everything CCI does best.

Great report! Was the mid-course on Boss bringing you to a full stop? It did that for me last year. I sort of wish the train charged right through it though since I enjoyed the ride (no clue if they ever turn it off). Also I agree that Six Flags St. Louis is very hilly. I wasn't expecting that going into the park.

I might just have been lucky, but in the last two years I'd say, I've been to La Ronde several times where the lines were fairly manageable even on days where I expected crowds. However it is probable that there will be more people on a Wednesday, especially in the evening, as it's a fireworks day. It is also true that if you go right at the opening you will have to wait in line for a while to get in the park, so unless you're pressed by time or really want to spend a lot of time at the park I would suggest you to wait one or two hours after opening to go. I showed up midday and had to wait 2 hours to get in the park. I have photos to prove it. I learned later in the day they had a back entrance too. Is that one less busy?

Great report! Sounds like a winner for Kennywood

Except on the cooler mornings at the start of the year, Boulder Dash never has a problem hauling. The park does its fair share of trackwork on Boulder Dash, but they admittedly wait to retrack a section until it gets pretty bumpy. See the triple down for evidence.

^ Not bad. You should be able to walk onto the Comet most of the day.

Even on a weekend, crowds are very manageable. Comet is usually no more than a 1-2 train wait. The coasters running one train can get a 20-30 minute wait if you time it wrong. The two rides that can get long queues are Raging Rapids on a hot day and Alpine Bobsled because of its putrid capacity. With regards to Alpine Bobsled, I honestly have no clue how much it has run this year. An employee told me they just list it as closed on the app by default even if it's open. So there's no way to look back at QueueTimes to see how much downtime it has truly had. I will say that I saw it running on June 29 and have a photo to prove it.

^ It's free admission and then you can either get a wristband or pay per ride. Usually I take the subway, but last year I parked in the lot for the Brooklyn Cyclones. I think it was $10-15?

^ I didn't realize they removed it. I also didn't know that kiddie coaster came from Canobie.

In 2017, I found Wodan good up front with several pops of air, but it was bumpy elsewhere in the train. Ultimately I thought it was similar to Thunderhead.

You're right it's not on El Toro's level. It's above it. I hope to make it down some Saturday this summer so I can get a rare non-Haunted Graveyard night ride. Those night rides are why I justify putting Boulder Dash above a ton of rides like El Toro.

Please do. It's just as fun to bash Parques Reunidos as it is CoastRider.

I admittedly haven't visited Lake Compounce on a weekday in quite some time, but I've never seen them do delayed openings in the past. That's a shame to hear about Boulder Dash. I thought it was running very well outside of one bump on the outward leg when I rode it in May. As for Ghost Hunt, I used to hate it. But the work they did on the guns made it much more enjoyable.

On the bright side, I'm glad this will be open when I'm at Disney World in December. On the downside, I know I'll be queuing a long time since we will probably be there opening weekend.

Out of curiosity, has anyone gone to the rebranded Magic Forest kids park down the road? For 2019, it has reopened as the Lake George Expedition Park. Their website doesn't list any rides, but I can confirm they at least have the old Ferris Wheel and Tilt-a-Whirl operating from our drive-by. Plus I saw a new kids drop tower. I'm curious if they still have the old Herschell kiddie coaster or if they maybe added a newer model like a SBF spinner.

The area by the park doesn't have much. I usually eat in Hamilton (20 min away) after I leave. I think there's a gyro place by El Toro that looked to have some healthier options. No clue how good they are though.

I've never visited Dollywood on a weekday with Lightning Rod operational. The longest line I've seen on a weekday is 30 minutes for the rapids, Firechaser Express, or Mystery Mine. On weekends, Lightning Rod has the longest wait. Their Timesaver gets you on the coasters very quickly. Usually you can get on Lightning Rod in ~2 trains. Firechaser and Tennessee Tornado usually get you on the next train. Wild Eagle is the only one that can get a decent Timesaver wait (up to ,20 min) since the merge point is further back. I know Dollywood can run out of Timesaver Unlimited passes (Lightning Rod is unlimited on this one despite the webpage being confusing about this), so it's a bit risky to wait and play it by ear if the park is busy.

Canobie Lake Park It was one of the hottest days of the year. When I set foot into my car, I thought I was going to melt. I flipped on the radio and heard the familiar jingle: “When the sun is blazing and the summer gets hot, Water Country’s a very cool spot.” Except I wouldn’t make it there before they closed. The same could be said about Funtown, Lake Compounce, or Six Flags. But I could make it to Canobie to experience their new for 2018 2019 water park, Castaway Island. It was the perfect day to check out Canobie's new...wait what does that sign say? Son of a biscuit. I was stunned Canobie would close their water park so early. They always kept their water play structure open until 6. After consulting the website, it got even more perplexing. WTF? We aren’t a bunch of Floridians. We are New Englanders. We risk frostbite every year watching the Patriots in the playoffs. If sunny and 81 degrees is inclement weather, I guess global warming is real. WTF?!? For reference, here was the weather. The world wasn’t ending. In actuality, Castaway Island was closed for a private function. Apparently the park’s website had no other way to notify guests the water park would be closed they issued a weather alert “that wasn’t necessarily a weather alert”. No seriously. Reread the text description in the above photo. So Castaway Island will have to wait another visit. Considering it was delayed all of last year, I think I can wait another month. It's small, but it sure does look nice. As a consolation prize, I took a lap on the Policy Pond Log Flume. This is still one of the best traditional flumes around. It has a good layout, some mini drops, a great final plunge, and the perfect amount of wetness. Speaking of wetness, that holds true even if a guest drops a quarter. Canobie is too mainstream for water cannons. Instead, they hide sprayers. Last year, I was hit by one in the teepee tunnel. This year, I learned one of the overhead lights was turned into a shower. Well played Canobie. I had noticed the park chopping down a lot of trees around the flume in recent years. I'm glad to say the park has started to plant new trees along the course. The wooded setting really helps make the ride. 9 out of 10 Can you find the water effect in this photo? It looks like they're planting a tree for every one they chopped down. Up next was my annual ride on the Corkscrew. But this trip was different. For 20 years, I have walked across railroad tracks en route to the main entrance. Not in 2019. No, I walked over your garden variety, asphalt pathway. Long story short, the park rerouted their train ride to accommodate Castaway Island so the train no longer passes in front of the Corkscrew. As for the Corkscrew, it was decent. Per usual, I rode in the back to get some air on the drop and the ride was smooth outside of the first turnaround (granted that’s like a quarter of the ride). 5 out of 10 The Corkscrew thankfully didn't do a lot of screwing. Speaking of the train, here's the sexy new station by the water. As more parks rip out their rotors, my love of the Turkish Twist increases. Not only is it one of the last examples of a dying breed, but it is also the best rotor I’ve ridden by far. The Gs on this thing are ridiculous. Yes it’s short, but I totally understand why since it’s already too much for people. If this were Roller Coaster Tycoon, I’d position a handyman by the exit 24/7. 9 out of 10 The Turkish Twist is a delight. Up next was the crowd barometer, the Yankee Cannonball. The coaster regularly has a full queue even on a random summer weekday. So I was stunned to see it was only 1-2 switchbacks deep all night. Luck was truly on my side since I got two front row rides. I still prefer the back, but I won’t shoot a gift horse in the mouth. For those unfamiliar, Canobie counts off exactly 18 riders into a holding area. It is then first-come, first-serve for seats. And you are not allowed to wait an extra cycle. I’ve ridden the Yankee Cannonball just over a hundred times and I think I can still count on one hand how many front row rides I’ve taken on it. In the front, the coaster has tiny pops of air on most hills except for the start of the return trip. Dang you GCI and your reprofiling! In the back, the Yankee Cannonball has less instances of airtime, but they’re more powerful. The best parts are on the final turnaround and the first drop. And it’s glass smooth too, a remarkable feat for a 90 year old ride. 7 out of 10 I'm pretty sure I can recite this sign verbatim after all these years. The only thing more disappointing than Castaway Island closing early was Star Blaster. I really hope I caught Star Blaster on a bad day because it made a mini Moser tower look like Zumanjaro. New for 2019 were seatbelts. And nobody knew they were there. I wish the park went all Cedar Point and announced “seatbelts first, lap bars second” because everyone blindly lowered their restraints. This resulted in the operators constantly having to unlock the restraints. Needless to say, loading was glacial. But the real disappointment was the ride. The launch audio wasn’t synchronized, the launch was lifeless, and there was absolutely no airtime (the belts weren’t the issue). 2 out of 10 If you look closely, you can see the new seatbelts that go across your waist. Thankfully I got my airtime fix from Untamed. Like all Eurofighters, that first drop delivers a powerful burst of air. There’s also some decent hangtime in the loop and barrel roll. Now you do need to lean forwards though. The ride has some rough transitions on the cutback and helix. Failure to prepare for these moments will end in pain. 6.5 out of 10 Roar! I had about an hour left, so I scurried across the park to ride Mine of Lost Souls. Canobie veterans know to hit this ride at the end of the night. Midday, it often has a 30-60 minute wait. At night, it’s more dead than the ghosts on the ride. Outside of backlit text in the opening hallway, the ride was its usual WTF. Somehow this mine in New Hampshire leads to Egypt and a date with the Grim Reaper. If you’re confused, join the club. That’s the Mine of Lost Souls for you. 7 out of 10 Enter if you dare. After the crazy short cycle on Cyborg, I felt compelled to ride Wipeout. Canobie only runs the ride in one direction (protein spills were common back in the day), but they run it for quite some time. And it’s run fast enough to deliver some tiny pops of air and borderline painful lats at the end. 8 out of 10 Hehehehee Wipeout. It was now 8:20, so I made my way to the Yankee Cannonball. The park diligently closes the queue a half hour before closing on busy days. On slow days, they have a trigger-happy employee by the entrance who closes the queue without any warning. They closed the queue at 8:45. When the employees realized they only had 2 trains left, they channeled their inner Six Flags and slowed to a crawl. We even heard them laugh and say, “Make sure you really take your time checking restraints.” It was only funny for me because I was on that last train. It's not cold. I was just too lazy to put my new hoodie in the car. Without a doubt, I’ll be back at Canobie a few more times this summer. Along with rerides on my favorites, I finally want to experience the water park that has been teasing me for a year now. There’s also another new attraction under construction, a double decker carousel. Canobie must have caught SFNE-itis since this will be their third carousel. But the rendering sure does look nice! No clue if this is for 2019 or 2020. Canobie has a history of opening flats late in the year. Here's the construction site as of late June. Canobie is a wonderful home park. It really is a charming place that always puts a smile on my face. Most people clamor for new rides. I just dream of the day when Canobie offers a season pass. Remember, it's a crime to text and drive. Even on Antique Cars.

^ That's a fair point. I'm still shocked they allowed a wooden coaster, which is probably far louder, unless it's located deep in the park or something.

Nice update! Having these two hypers next to each other will be great.

It's not just Ireland and England; the same thing happens here in America. People knowingly live next to a park and then whine at any opportunity. The shocking thing about this is that the park already has a big wooden coaster. That cannot be quiet. For these steel coasters, they could do things like filling the track with sand.

This was my first time experiencing Moose on the Loose. I thought the ride was perfect outside of my moose having laryngitis. It was cute and the audio I overheard from other vehicles put a smile on my face.

Great report! I'm glad you were strong enough to resist T3. It's not worth the pain.

Agreed. It was perfectly made. Thanks for the update Robb!