Canobie Coaster

Conneaut Lake Park I felt like I was walking into a warzone with Conneaut Lake Park. I decided not to warn my girlfriend so she could form her own opinion, but apparently I used my Hotel Breakers “get out of jail free” card by visiting this park. By all accounts, the park is on the upswing. Granted that’s not hard when you’re on the precipice of closure, but you can tell on social media the park is trying its best. I just think they’re in a difficult position. The locals are accustomed to the dirt cheap $5-10 admission, but can they really turn a profit essentially giving the gate away for free? In its current state, I could see many deeming this place a ghetto death trap. I put on my Camden Park “so bad it’s funny” glasses (and lent a pair to my girlfriend), so we spent a majority of our visit laughing at the oddities you’d never see at a corporate park. Here we go. We visited on the most expensive weekend of the year. Just look at those prices. Take the Blue Streak for instance. To dispatch the train, the operators needed to manually push the train out of the station. That alone is rare. But I’ve never seen an operator do this while carrying a drink. I guess they have some good water in Conneaut. And he didn't even spill a drop. In all seriousness though, the two operators at the Blue Streak were some of the nicest I’ve encountered at any park. They were constantly joking and interacting with the guests. About a third of the jokes were at the expense of themselves and the other two thirds were at the expense of the ride they were working. So how did it ride? I’ll start by saying that it didn’t track very well. Every valley was littered with jackhammering and any change of direction was downright violent. This didn’t bother me since the seats were ultra-cushiony, but it was a one and done for my girlfriend. Just keep that in mind. But if you ride in the back, this thing has some legitimately terrifying airtime, particularly on the first three drops. Here’s a slow-mo play by play of these airtime moments. - Train violenty crests drop. - Body starts to ride upwards into seatbelt. - Seatbelt is so loose that it might as well not be there. - The effing seat itself starts to get airtime. - Rider’s thighs smash into buzz bar. - The rider shouts a profanity. - The seat spanks the rider in the bum. - The rider and seat return back to the train together. - Vibrations in the valleys. - Rinse and repeat. I heard good things about the first three drops of Blue Streak and they delivered borderline standing airtime. The return leg’s airtime wasn’t as intense, but almost every drop delivered at least some sort of pop. I grabbed a repeat ride in the front and realized I made a grave mistake. It was almost as bumpy as the back with almost none of the airtime. There was a great burst of air entering the turnaround and maybe one or two feeble pops on the outward leg, but that was it. If you have a high tolerance for rough and tumble wooden coasters, you’ll love Blue Streak in the back row for its airtime. They don’t make them like this anymore! I definitely enjoyed it, but I had to tap out after a few rides. 6 out of 10 This ACE coaster classic is the reason to come to the park. Don't be fooled. This drop is one of the most terrifying out there. It'll rough you up, but it's worth it for the air. Blue Streak is pretty difficult to photograph because it's tucked back in the woods. The park has another undisputable coaster in Little Dipper, but adults aren’t allowed on it. Adults can ride a disputable coaster in Devil’s Den. It’s one of those gravity powered haunted houses with a chain lift, short little drop, and a series of hairpin turns. But the most well-known and infamous feature of the Devil’s Den is the freaking gum wall. Most parks would have a zero tolerance policy having their classic dark ride lined with bubble gum, but of course Conneaut Lake Park proudly advertises the dang thing. And that leads me to the most hypocritical of ride signs ever. In tiny font, you can see the obligatory “keep arms and legs inside the car at all times”. However, another sign 10 times larger tells riders to “Stick it to the Devil” in reference to the infamous gum wall. We chose to keep our hands to ourselves to avoid contact with germs. And this was successful until we literally came face to face with the ride’s scariest effect. I do have to commend the park on the other effects though. They were well timed and well lit so they could be appreciated in all their tacky glory. If you count this as a coaster, it’s unremarkable. But as far as dark rides go, it’s about average. And it’s in surprisingly good shape considering some of the other buildings at this park. 6 out of 10 I can't believe they're proud of the gum wall. They even made a slogan around the dang gum wall. Beyond that, the park has a collection of older flat rides. The most notable is a rare Tumble Bug. You also have a classic carousel, flyers that regrettably could not be snapped, bumper cars, and a few spinning rides. The 1910 carousel is a beauty. I guess shirts are optional at Conneaut. It seems a majority of the park’s funds have been dedicated to restoring the rides because not a single one was down. Alternatively, there was one midway between the beach and main midway that simply looked bad. I hope this is the next area that receives attention because it really needs it. This midway could use some TLC. Arguably the oddest thing we saw all day was a patron who patrolled the midway in slippers collecting chunks of asphalt into a Dollar General bag. At first we thought it must have been an employee trying to beautify the park, but it was just some random dude unaffiliated with the park. Oh Conneaut. WTF is he doing? The one gift shop that was open had some unique merchandise though. Beyond the usual assortment of shirts, cups, and magnets, I found some old time portraits and a hand-carved, hand-painted figure of the Blue Streak. The latter currently resides in my living room. This is now one of my favorite pieces of coaster merchandise. Since we visited on a 90 degree day, the water park and beach were considerably busier than the rides. Almost all the locals were burnt to a crisp playing beach volleyball, but they looked to be having a blast. The Ferris Wheel was the lone ride by the lake and I love the placement. Those sunburns... For maximum convenience to the Conneaut Lake Park resort, you have Hotel Conneaut adjacent to the park. The place had a distinct horror movie vibe to it, but apparently it has a 7.6 star rating on Hotels.com. Someone braver than me can try staying there, but we went with the tried and true Days Inn. All I can think of when I see this is the Canobie Lake Hotel haunt. Conneaut Lake Park feels frozen in time. It has a great history and the turnaround according to locals has been immense. I wish them the best since Conneaut has an excellent setting (the lake/woods combo is really relaxing) and a great collection of retro rides. Last but not least, from my girlfriend, avoid the bathrooms. Apparently they were comparable to a porta-potty. Neither had running water, the stench was pungent, and the floor was damp. I decided to hold my bladder until we reached Waldameer from her review.

I've heard conflicting things whether or not it was a construction worker. Either way, I'm glad this monster will be back up and running soon.

When the lift isn't slowing the train to almost a dead stop, I actually prefer Steel Force in the back. However, that seems like the norm now.

Lightning Rod is insane in every single row. Definitely hop on it in the first available seat just in case it pulls a Lightning Rod. I slightly prefer it in the back to get the full experience of the drop, but the launch feels a bit better up front. You should try both after you get that first ride in.

^ Because of all the shows, it seems rare for the park to completely close. Hopefully the forecast just means they know a thunderstorm will hit at some point during the day, but it won't last all day.

I was about to ask when the last time they got a new ride was. I don't recognize anything else new since my last visit in 2007.

I drove past here on the way back from Dollywood and it was a sad sight to see.

Heading to Steel Vengeance first is probably a good strategy because even if it isn't open, you can knock out Maverick early. I'd then recommend going to Millennium Force to get a front row ride because it is absolutely amazing up there.

Is the footer pictured the far turn?

Great report! Does this mean Bill has time to write the reports he's a year behind on now? I can confirm you chose wisely to go on a rainy, miserable day. All of Canada went the next day and even Wilde Beast had a full queue spilling onto the midway.

^ I think you mean the Grid's voice.

I find the Cedar Fair apps are great at telling you if a ride is open/closed, but wait times are pretty slow to update. Personally I think Fury is the de facto way to end a night at Carowinds but Copperhead is great too.

With Holiwood Nights and CoasterMania on different weekends for once, I wouldn't be surprised.

Nice report! I'm sure those cars aren't supposed to look like Mickey Mouse or anything.

When I went to PortAventura, I took a bus directly from the airport to my hotel at the park. Going back to Barcelona, I took the train directly from PortAventura to Barcelona Sants. The train station is on the PortAventura property next to one of the hotels and I remember it being a fast, easy ride.

Great photos. I miss those restraints. Were you the one who has the photo showing the wheels off the track on Superman or is that someone else? I know you had one for El Toro.

From my experience, the rides with Fast Lane only can all be done with the regular stand-by wait without much trouble. The big time saver is for the rides on Fast Lane Plus. If you're going to spring for Fast Lane, I recommend paying extra for Plus. I agree you want to do Dragster the moment you see it running. If it's a windy day, you also want to do Raptor and Gatekeeper if you see them running.

^ I rode one like that in Lake George and the spinning is quite intense with the small radius. It's basically a high speed tilt-a-whirl.

^That sums up the experience of boarding those perfectly. I'm so glad Six Flags disallowed the Platinum Pass double rides since it's so awkward to just stay on the train like that. I did it once on Kingda Ka and felt way too guilty to do it again. I'd love for SeaWorld to remove that benefit as well, especially since most don't know about it. If anything, I'd prefer them to replace it with a one time Quick Queue in the mold of the perk Six Flags gives members.

^ Thanks! I'll consider it next time, but it's going to be hard to go against the turkey. Or I can just eat there twice. Hmmm...

I know Dorney is often the butt of jokes, but it sure is one pretty park. Great photos!

I too love Plymouth Rock Cafe. For those who were at Holiwood Nights, is the fried chicken they gave us on Saturday's dinner the same as what is sold at Plymouth Rock Cafe? I thought about trying the fried chicken there, but I couldn't go against the tried and true turkey.

^ Thanks! I've only seen the second train on once and oddly it was the one time I visited on a weekday.

Great report! I too like InvadR, but I think it's definitely a front row coaster.

Great report! I guess I've been lucky during my visits as wind has never been an issue.