Photo TR: Canobie Coaster's 2017 US Adventures

[CaptainUnknown]

Story Land does look like a cute little park, and I am a big fan of a (well-maintained) Gravity Group woodie. The look of the front car alone would be enough to get me through the turnstiles.

 

But the biggest question about the park...

 

 

 

 

 

Did you meet Cinderella?

[Canobie Coaster]

I think the park takes pretty good care of Roar-o-saurus, but there's just nothing they can do on some of those transitions. Mine Blower sounds similar from the reviews that I have heard.

 

I did meet Cinderella...back when I was 5. I haven't walked up the hill to that castle in like 15-20 years. There is the pumpkin coach that takes you to the top, but it only seats 4ish people so the line is painfully slow.

[coneyislandchris]

Jesus, that's an adorable little park. I'm kind of kicking myself for not adding it into my New England/Northeast road trip last month, but as it stands that was already jam-packed (eight parks in the span of two days) -- I'll definitely have to make an appointment to stop in sometime! Maybe next year... if my daughter manages to keep up her growth as well as her brother, she should be over the 42" mark at some point during next summer.

 

I really can't get over the theming. Those pandas! *squee*

[viking86]

Love this trip report so much! It's so much fun to see all these pictures from parks that I know close to nothing about. Storyland looks particularly impressive, with it's scenic location and great theming!

 

That has to be some of the coolest theming I've ever seen on a flat ride!!

 

After leaving I stopped at my favorite restaurant in the area for lunch, Glen Junction. It's a really good breakfast place and they have model trains running around the restaurant which is a definite plus from me.

 

 

Food and model trains, sounds like heaven to me!

(although I don't think anything can beat the bar in Prague where they have model trains bring the beers to your table)

[Canobie Coaster]

^ The other impressive thing is that the food is actually good. A lot of those gimmick restaurants are weak in that area. The Alton Towers Roller Coaster restaurant sounded like an amazing concept having coasters bring you food, but the reviews didn't really mention the food.

 

Jesus, that's an adorable little park. I'm kind of kicking myself for not adding it into my New England/Northeast road trip last month, but as it stands that was already jam-packed (eight parks in the span of two days) -- I'll definitely have to make an appointment to stop in sometime! Maybe next year... if my daughter manages to keep up her growth as well as her brother, she should be over the 42" mark at some point during next summer.

 

I really can't get over the theming. Those pandas! *squee*

 

If I weren't local, I probably would never have made it to Story Land. It's pretty far north from Boston, but it's in a very scenic area.

 

Just curious what parks are on your trip?

[PKI Jizzman]

I'm getting weak at nearly every caption, haha. Especially this gem:

 

"The key is to not run towards Roar-o-saurus. Not only would a single adult running through a children's park draw unwanted attention"

 

Priceless advice!

[Rai Fox]

It's been more than 25 years since I've been to Storyland...(oh wow, am I really that old now? )...but those pictures still bring back so many memories. I can't believe how much of the place I remember, actually. I loved Dr Geyers' Raft Ride; I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world as a kid.

 

Those antique cars, too. My first time there, I was probably, I don't know, six years old, and it was the first time I was ever allowed to "drive" on a car ride like that, with my notoriously panicky mother in the passenger seat with me. We took the first turn out of the station and there's a solid "clunk" down as one of the rollers that keeps the car over the guide rail hit the concrete. I might have been young but I wasn't stupid. This was opportunity! After a few attempts at getting off the track being halted by the wheel itself just bouncing off the guide, I turned right when the track curved left and made a bumpy exit from the rail. Freedom! Of course that gave the ride ops a pretty good idea that something was wrong. My mother is sitting next to me acting as if we're in burning plane, and one of the ops has abandoned his station to come sprinting over, but I'm having the time of my life, really driving without a rail now! At least for the fifteen seconds before the ride op caught up and jumped onto the sideboard of the car to take over control.

 

If there was one moment from my childhood that I wish I had video of...

[coneyislandchris]

Just curious what parks are on your trip?

 

It was Father's Day weekend; on Saturday, the kiddo and I left early in the morning to drive up to Maine. We started off at Funtown Splashtown USA, bopped over to Palace Playland, then drove down to Canobie Lake Park, and ended the day at Fun World (okay okay, not really a park, but it had three rides so I'm counting it dammit). On Sunday, we drove to Six Flags New England, then down to Lake Compounce, then Quassy ever-so-briefly, and concluded the trip at Rye Playland. With the exception of SFNE, all the parks were new to us and it was a fun but kinda exhausting trip. I keep meaning to write up an indepth photo TR on the whole weekend but I am so backlogged at this point.

[Canobie Coaster]

I'm getting weak at nearly every caption, haha. Especially this gem:

 

"The key is to not run towards Roar-o-saurus. Not only would a single adult running through a children's park draw unwanted attention"

 

Priceless advice!

 

I've learned that saying you just really love coasters doesn't work in many situations. I learned that with a police officer in Indiana. I guess it looks pretty sketchy if you drive an out-of-state license plate alone in the wee hours of the morning. I wanted to get to Holiday World for opening, but despite my roller coaster shirt and tickets on the passenger seat, the officer did a very thorough search of my car for drugs. Now I try and make sure I get an in-state license plate when I rent a car.

 

So no running in a kids park is a rule I'm going to keep. Last thing I want is to become the Flume Dog of Story Land.

 

It's been more than 25 years since I've been to Storyland...(oh wow, am I really that old now? )...but those pictures still bring back so many memories. I can't believe how much of the place I remember, actually. I loved Dr Geyers' Raft Ride; I thought it was the most amazing thing in the world as a kid.

 

Those antique cars, too. My first time there, I was probably, I don't know, six years old, and it was the first time I was ever allowed to "drive" on a car ride like that, with my notoriously panicky mother in the passenger seat with me. We took the first turn out of the station and there's a solid "clunk" down as one of the rollers that keeps the car over the guide rail hit the concrete. I might have been young but I wasn't stupid. This was opportunity! After a few attempts at getting off the track being halted by the wheel itself just bouncing off the guide, I turned right when the track curved left and made a bumpy exit from the rail. Freedom! Of course that gave the ride ops a pretty good idea that something was wrong. My mother is sitting next to me acting as if we're in burning plane, and one of the ops has abandoned his station to come sprinting over, but I'm having the time of my life, really driving without a rail now! At least for the fifteen seconds before the ride op caught up and jumped onto the sideboard of the car to take over control.

 

If there was one moment from my childhood that I wish I had video of...

 

Hahaha the runaway Antique Car ride sounds amazing! I would have loved that as a kid and being the troublemaker I was, I would have intentionally tried to drive away and out of sight. If only they were faster...

 

Just curious what parks are on your trip?

 

It was Father's Day weekend; on Saturday, the kiddo and I left early in the morning to drive up to Maine. We started off at Funtown Splashtown USA, bopped over to Palace Playland, then drove down to Canobie Lake Park, and ended the day at Fun World (okay okay, not really a park, but it had three rides so I'm counting it dammit). On Sunday, we drove to Six Flags New England, then down to Lake Compounce, then Quassy ever-so-briefly, and concluded the trip at Rye Playland. With the exception of SFNE, all the parks were new to us and it was a fun but kinda exhausting trip. I keep meaning to write up an indepth photo TR on the whole weekend but I am so backlogged at this point.

 

Story Land closes early which makes them hard to hit, but I would have tried to fit them in on the Maine day. I do support going to Fun World since that's a really nice arcade...that of course has a kiddie credit too.

[Canobie Coaster]

Attitash Mountain Resort

 

Anyone who reads my trip reports knows that I enjoy a good mountain coaster. So naturally after a visit to Story Land, I needed to ride my personal favorite mountain coaster since it's just a 10 minute drive down the road at Attitash. Long known as one of New England's premier ski resorts, Attitash has the most activities of any of the mountain resort style parks I've been to. Their star attraction is probably still the old-fashioned Alpine Slide, but the Nor'Easter Mountain Coaster is what brought me in.

 

Unlike other mountain coasters that cost $15 a ride and offer no all-day pass, Attitash actually offers an all-day pass. For $49 you can get unlimited rides on the park's mountain coaster, alpine slide, water slides, chairlifts, airbag jump, rock wall, and mountain biking. They also have a 3-6 special that sees the price drop to $35. Considering each ride costs $15 a pop, the wristband is a decent deal by comparison.

 

I had full intentions of only riding the mountain coaster and booking it out to Whale's Tale. The last time I was at Attitash, the mountain coaster had a half hour wait and the other attractions looked similarly busy. This time, Attitash seemed considerably less crowded so I decided to risk my life. Yes I finally signed the waiver and bought a ticket for the Alpine Slide. I have heard stories from my dad and friends how they violently wiped out. My dad still has scars to this day from his crash.

 

The Alpine Slide began with a long chairlift up the mountain. Since the park isn't Lake Compounce, the chairlift was open. And you know what? I didn't see a single person being an idiot since a fall from this chairlift would likely be fatal. Once reaching the top, the views of the White Mountains were spectacular. I promise they are whiter in the winter but today they were very green.

 

I really wish the Chairlift had backwards facing cars so I could have enjoyed this view the whole way up.

After taking in the view and letting the girls ahead of me get plenty of distance on me, I grabbed the sled and was on my way down the hill. Despite the thrill seeker in me telling me to use less brake, the responsible adult in me told the alpine slide virgin to be a little careful. I wasn't going at a crawl, but I have definitely seen people fly down these at far greater speeds. I saw a few points, particularly the large drop a quarter of the way down the hill that could definitely be prime wipe out spots if someone was lax on the brakes.

 

By the last third of the ride, I had gotten a better idea how fast I could safely push the sled, but alas that was the only ride I budgeted for the day. When I return to Attitash (it's bound to happen, I like being the creep at Story Land too much ), I will definitely go faster now that I know what to expect. The ride's setting is fantastic and the whole ride down is quite scenic. It was also considerably longer than I anticipated. I thought the ride down would only be a minute or so, but I think it was triple or quadruple that. 8.5 out of 10

 

I didn't die!

After surviving the Alpine Slide, it was time to have a ridiculously fast and unbraked ride on their mountain coaster. I've been on 10 or so mountain coasters at this point and none of them match the intensity of Attitash's. The setting is amazing and fully covered by trees so you can't see what's coming next. The speed on this one seems much greater than the other alpine coasters and the turns give insane laterals and there are some pops of air as well. While more controlled, I do prefer the mountain coaster since I know I can't kill myself on that one. 9 out of 10

 

Still the best mountain coaster I have been on.

Make sure you have plenty of space in front of you since you can absolutely fly down the hill.

Morey's may say they have the Great Nor'Easter, but this Nor'Easter is better.

Someday I need to make a visit to Attitash where I'm not rushing to Santa's Village or Whale's Tale so I can capitalize on the wristband to perfect my alpine slide technique and continue to avoid the brakes like the plague on the Nor'Easter Mountain Coaster.

[Canobie Coaster]

Whale's Tale

 

I have been to every major amusement park in New England. I haven't quite been whorish enough to make it to Ocean Beach Park & Atlantic Beach Park (I could stoop that low sometime in the next year though), but otherwise I have been to every amusement park. However, I haven't been as thorough on the water park front. I've been to all of the ones attached to amusement parks, but in terms of the individual ones, I had only been to Aquaboggan and Water Wizz.

 

That meant I was missing New England's two largest water parks, Water Country and Whale's Tale. The former, while big, didn't have any truly unique slides for me and also appeared to have a strict double rider policy on many of the park's best slides. The latter was an hour from Story Land (aka Roar-o-saurus) and had a body bowl slide that I was looking forward to trying. Whale's Tale also claims it's New England's Favorite Water Park because why not? Nothing like a claim that requires no evidence. So sure enough, on the way home from Story Land I took advantage of the park's after 3 pm special.

 

When you can't claim you're the area's biggest water park, you go with the claim that requires no objective evidence, New England's Favorite Water Park.

Whale's Tale has an amazing setting, nestled in the White Mountains. The park itself is relatively compact, but it's well landscaped. The parking lot is also right by the main entrance, so after you change you can easily store everything in your car to avoid getting a locker. So after changing and covering myself in layers of sunscreen since the sun hates me, I was ready to slide.

 

My car was less than 100 feet from the entrance, so a locker wasn't needed.

My first stop was the slide I came for, Eye of the Storm. While I had been on several of the bowl slides riding in rafts, I had never been on a body slide version. I will openly admit that I am not the world's best swimmer, so the prospect of being flushed out of the bowl and then having a sizable plunge in any body orientation was pretty intimidating.

 

Because I went later in the day and it had cooled down to 75-80 degrees, the park had pretty much cleared out so everything was a walk-on. When I reached the top of the tower, I was given the thumbs up and began the descent. The initial drop into the bowl was long and very fast. Then came every child's worst fear, being flushed down the toilet. You could definitely feel the sections of the slide when you entered into the bowl, as it was pretty rough on my back. No long term pain, but enough to slow consecutive rerides.

 

The plunge into the pool was the scariest part, but it turned out to be the best. I made it about 2 turns around the bowl before my momentum slowed and I slid towards the exit. Sure enough, I went head first into the water and gracefully flopped into the pool like an athletically challenged whale. I rode Eye of the Storm, 6 times and I believe I went head first on 4-5 of my rides. I was always told I had a thick skull, so I guess that's where most of my weight is. I really liked my first body bowl slide and outside of that jolt entering the bowl, it was fantastic. 9 out of 10

 

This slide reminded me how ungraceful I am in water.

Next door was the Banzai Pipeline, a half pipe slide. Unfortunately, they had a no single rider policy. It seemed every single group at Whale's Tale had an even number, so I didn't see an opportunity to pair up with a stray rider. It would be awkward to ask to borrow a child at Story Land, but I think it would be even more awkward to do so at a water park so I ruled that out. Dismayed, I rode Eye of the Storm again. When chatting with the operator at Eye of the Storm, he tipped me off that the off that the on-break life guards hang around one of the body slides and most of them would be willing to ride with me. That's much better than riding with a child! More weight in the raft and no chance of a lawsuit.

 

Sure enough I found a taker. Actually I found his supervisor who volunteered someone for me. The employee I rode with had a great sense of humor. The slide itself was great. The drop into the half-pipe wasn't as good as Aquaboggan's half-pipe slide (one of my favorite slides anywhere) since the latter feels steeper and lets you ride in reverse. It was still quite steep and gave a pop of air though. With two adults, we rose high up the halfpipe, which was definitely thrilling since this one had no edge/barrier like the others I've been on. The tiny little hump after the half-pipe looked tame off-ride, but it actually gave a pop of air. 10 out of 10

 

Remember how I said the employee I rode with was volunteered? After we got off, he jokingly mentioned how his supervisor screwed him over, as he had to bid farewell and sprint across the park for a shift. Let's just say that wouldn't be the last I saw of him.

 

What a great slide! I prefer these halfpipe slides to the Tornado slides.

And that's because the employee I rode with was manning the speed slide complex on the other side of the park. I didn't realize the park had added a drop pod slide, so that was a pleasant surprise. Named Poseidon's Voyage, this was one of those dropbox slides with the near vertical plunge and flat turn. After boarding the drop pod, the employee was having a grand ole time scaring everyone. He would pound on the drop pod or get right up against the glass. While waiting, it was absolutely hysterical to watch, but it did intimidate some of the younger riders.

 

When it was my turn, I boarded the drop pod. I made sure to stare at the employee stone-faced as I awaited the countdown. However, our staring contest ended prematurely as I dropped. Every other drop pod slide I've been on has a countdown, but Poseidon didn't which completely caught me off-guard. I personally enjoyed not having the countdown since it kept me completely off-guard like a drop tower.

 

The initial plunge was breathtaking. I could barely feel the slide on the way down and was praying for a smooth transition back onto the slide since I had badly sprained my ankle playing ultimate frisbee a few weeks back and it was still sore. So of course going on an extreme body slide was just what the doctor ordered. Thankfully the transition was very smooth. The slide effortlessly caught my falling body and immediately sent me around a blazing fast turn. I rode Poseidon 7-8 times and it was definitely the park's best slide. Honestly, I think it's the best drop pod slide I've been on because of the unknown plunge start and crazy initial plunge. 10 out of 10

 

The multi-colored slide on the left is the drop pod slide. I was absolutely shocked there was no countdown. It was great!

Also on Poseidon's tower were a few older body slides. In the center are two speed slides named the Plunge. It's a shame they used Plunge already since that would have been better after Poseidon than Voyage. All naming aside, the Plunge was thrilling. The second drop had some good air. However, while Poseidon's Voyage was smooth, the Plunge was not. The transition from the slide into the runoff pool was extremely brutal on my back as there was a noticeable lip between the two sections. I've never seen a speed slide like that before as it's usually just one continuous slide. 6 out of 10

 

Downpour is the serpentine body slide next door and thankfully was a much smoother slide. The slide started slow, but had three drops that built up speed. The final drop is very sudden and surprised me each ride since the turn before it splashes you face with hyper-chlorinated water so you're blinded and busy wiping your face. The turns after this drop are fast and furious before you enter into the most awkward runoff section ever. The slide had a wall on the right side, so you spilled sideways into the pool. I've never seen anything like it. While weird, it wasn't uncomfortable. 9 out of 10

 

Whale's Tale has some very awkward runoff areas on their older body slides.

I got one ride on Harpoon Express, the only other tube slide adults are permitted to ride. They allowed single tubes, but since the slide was designed for the 3 person inline rafts, I traveled relatively slowly down the slide. The high turns and wide trough did have the benefit of spinning my raft around which helped make up for less sliding on the turns. I would have loved to try this in the inline raft afterwards, but didn't feel like petitioning for partners since the body slides were likely better slides anyway. 6 out of 10

 

Lots of twists and turns, but no drops.

I also tried the park's newest attraction, Yakua Beach. This is one of those flow riders. I went on one 9-10 years ago back at the Great Escape Lodge and didn't really enjoy it. I spectacularly wiped out and then had the boogie board shoot into my chest like a diet Pespi-Mentos rocket. Was it any better this time? I did the first part again since with age I've become even more uncoordinated in the water, but at least I Matrix dodged the boogie board this time.

 

Overall, Whale's Tale is a very good water park. Like most of us, I am more of an amusement park person and wouldn't really want to spend an entire day at a water park. The after 3 special is a very good option since the park is small enough that you can easily hit everything and if the lines I encountered on a Sunday were any indication, you won't have to wait long either. The park has a great collection of slides, looks nice, and has some awesome employees.

[djcoastermark]

Cool looking water park with the added bonus of not being packed to the gills with long lines. Nice report. Even though I have no idea what the other park you have been to is like, I would have trouble with going to a park named Water Wizz. Is that for real? lol.

[Canobie Coaster]

There are actually two Water Wizz parks and they are very real. I've been to the larger one on Cape Cod. They have a few decent speed slides and some great mat slides on a hill. They also have a small one in Rhode Island right by the beach.

 

Water Wizz is actually the park shown in the movie Grown Ups if you have seen it. Though if you haven't, don't watch that movie since it's terrible. Kevin James acts out Water Wizz very well if you catch my drift. I tried not to think about the name while I was there and avoided the wave pool at all costs.

[anonymouscactus]

Having no countdown would be amazing. I've only been on one of those slides but was (slightly) disappointed that there was a countdown.

 

Those Alpine slides are fun as hell. I've only been on one when I was much younger, and with the recent influx of (much safer) Alpine coasters I'm surprised those slides are still around. That place looks like somewhere I'd want to check out in the future. Great surroundings, too.

[coasterbill]

Yeah, the Great Escape Bobsled really has a way of sucking you in and screwing with your plans. Whenever we visit it's for an hour or two and it's dispatch times are atrocious but it's the only good steel coaster in the park so we usually end up wasting a ton of time standing in line for it anyway.

[Canobie Coaster]

Having no countdown would be amazing. I've only been on one of those slides but was (slightly) disappointed that there was a countdown.

 

Those Alpine slides are fun as hell. I've only been on one when I was much younger, and with the recent influx of (much safer) Alpine coasters I'm surprised those slides are still around. That place looks like somewhere I'd want to check out in the future. Great surroundings, too.

 

It's still suspenseful as heck having the floor drop with a countdown but this took it to a new level.

 

Shhhh don't talk about the alpine slides disappearing. I have a feeling we may not see new ones now that the mountain coaster is a thing, but it was certainly a nice change.

 

Yeah, the Great Escape Bobsled really has a way of sucking you in and screwing with your plans. Whenever we visit it's for an hour or two and it's dispatch times are atrocious but it's the only good steel coaster in the park so we usually end up wasting a ton of time standing in line for it anyway.

 

I refuse to wait in line for the Bobsled because of how painstakingly slow that queue is combined with the fact that it could shut down at any moment. I usually try and sneak there in the first half hour that it's open and in past years, I could get 3 or so rides in without any wait. That park really needs another good steel coaster. Or any other good coaster to with Comet for that matter.

[Canobie Coaster]

Brockton Fair

 

*As a disclaimer, I wrote this the day of the accident at the Ohio State Fair. After hearing of the tragic accident, I wanted to wait a few days before posting this because of some of the carnival jokes I made. In terms of Reithoffer's rides, they all appeared to be in good shape.*

 

For anyone unfamiliar with Massachusetts, Brockton may sound like an innocent little town. However, anyone who knows of Brockton knows that it is anything but innocent. To say it's a bit of a rough city is an understatement. I try and avoid that city like the plague, but unfortunately it is also home to one of New England's best carnivals in the Brockton Fair. 90% of New England carnivals are provided by Fiesta Shows, but this one is done by Reithoffer Shows (possibly since Fiesta knows better than to come to Brockton) and Reithoffer has several roller coasters on their circuit.

 

I survived the Brockton Fair. That should seriously be a shirt.

My parents refused to take me to the Brockton Fair growing up since they said it was dangerous. There were *only* 1-2 stabbings or shootings per year and they always seemed to happen at night, so I tried to argue that the odds of being seriously maimed during a daytime visit were slim but they didn't have it. Now that I'm an irresponsible adult, I was willing and able to risk my life going into the definition of the ghetto for a ghetto carnival. A few days before I went, there predictably was an altercation in the parking lot.

 

Instead of making me question my life choices, it instead was one of the funniest stories I've ever read. Some stupid teenagers thought it would be funny to steal a giant teddy bear. However, they weren't able to escape the carny's lazy eye and were caught. Instead of calling security or the police, the carny called his buddies and did the most carny thing you could think of, challenged the kids to a fight in the parking lot. The kids thought they would have the upper hand when they whipped out their switch blades, but the carnies started beating on the kids with metal chairs. They close combat quickly ended and turned into a full-on rock throwing riot until police showed up to end everybody's fun. If that's not one of the best stories you've ever heard, you clearly haven't been to enough sketchy carnivals.

 

Knowing that almost all of the altercations occurred in the official Brockton Fair parking lot (I'd get pissed too paying $20 to park on a rocky field only to have my tires stolen), I circled the fair looking for alternate parking. Strip mall. Nah. Strip club. Definitely not. How about the church with the girl scouts in it? They don't look like Brockton so I'll park with them. For a reasonable rate of $5, I was close to the fair's entrance. All I had to do was cross the street and try not to step on any syringes or needles.

 

I got a wristband since Reithoffer had a pretty impressive lineup. As opposed to most carnivals where the rides were packed into a single line, the Brockton Fair's rides were arranged in a loop around the massive demolition derby arena. I'm actually being serious about the demolition derby area, I'm not referring to the parking lot (though that probably is a demolition derby lot too).

 

The carnival midway was huge! And yes that's a KMG Speed that you see.

Unfortunately it wasn't included on the wristband like it is at the Big E.

My first stop was on the Galaxy. The first thing I noticed was that the coaster actually spelled Galaxy correctly. Who would have thought carnies could spell better than theme park workers? One of those Interpark coasters that have been popping up lately (Fiesta added one to their lineup this year as well), Galaxy was pretty average. The drops did give tiny pops of air, but the helixes were slow and uneventful. Still for a carnival coaster, it's pretty good. 5 out of 10

 

This is a "big" carnival coaster for me. All you Europeans are probably laughing at that statement as you see Alpina Bahn or Olympia Looping on your circuit.

Indy 500 was an experience. A Flitzer, I rode alone and about 3/4 of the way up the lift, my car came to a stop despite the chain continuing to run. I looked back and saw the operator raise his hand. I wasn't panicking or anything, but was just curious what was going on. Well the operator grabbed a piece of wood and walked up the lift. Praying he wouldn't beat me with it, the operator began pounding away at the underbelly of the train. Not quite sure what he was doing, but 10-15 seconds later my car started moving again. I always knew I could die someday in Brockton, but didn't expect it to ever be at the hands of a coaster.

 

After cresting the lift, the ride was identical to the one I rode at Morey's 2 weeks before that. No real drops, but the headchoppers and tunnels are enjoyable albeit forceless. 4 out of 10

 

Start your engines!

No real drops, but it's an ok little coaster.

There was also a kiddie coaster that I of course rode. Called "Ride Your Dragon" (yes that seriously was the name), it was your basic Wisdom Orient Express. I planned to snap a photo after I rode, but decided not to since the operator was giving me a pretty hard time for actually making him get up to operate the ride. I'm sorry I'm a sad and pathetic coaster whore Mr. Carny and I know it's hot out, but I had a right to get the credit since I met the height requirement. Well it was a pretty rough ride and can't say I'd ever ride it again. 1 out of 10

 

With the three credits out of the way, I spent the rest of the time hitting a few flats. They had a frisbee ride called Wild Claw that was a major disappointment. Usually carnival rides are known for their long cycles and the KMG frisbees are usually pretty intense, but this one only had two full swings. 4 out of 10

 

There was nothing wild about this claw.

I also saw an Air Race, which was something I had never seen at a carnival before. This ended up being the second best ride that I rode at the fair. I love Air Races and would like to see these at more parks. The rotations alternated positive Gs and hang-time and these are disorienting rides. This one also had a long cycle that went clockwise, counterclockwise, and clockwise again. 9 out of 10

 

The world needs more Air Races.

What was number 1 you ask? Stinger, a Technical Park Loop Fighter. Due to the lack of people at the fair during the early afternoon, I had a bit of difficulty getting on this one since they needed four people to start the ride. After about 10 minutes, we finally had enough people. I thought the half-cage seats were pretty weird. They looked like they would rock or do something, but they remained perfectly stationary as the ride began rocking back and forth. The first half didn't give any air which was a surprise. Instead the swings delivered some incredibly powerful Gs.

 

Then halfway through the seats unlocked and all hell broke loose. The seats flipped and rocked like a Zipper cage. One moment I was staring at the sky. The next I was flung towards the ground. While the Zipper moves fairly slow when you watch it off-ride, Stinger is traveling significantly faster on the downswing which resulted in a completely disorienting and bonkers ride. 10 out of 10

 

Stinger was the star of the midway for me.

No airtime, but the rocking seats during the second half made for one of the most disorienting and intense flats I've been on.

The carnival also had the standard mix of spinning rides and fun houses. I tried the Sizzler which was an intense little scrambler since the smaller rotations were notably faster than on the Eli Bridge versions. I was disappointed that there weren't any sketchy dark rides. Those are fairground staples yet Brockton didn't have any.

 

Check out that custom Brockton backdrop.

Let it go.

I wanted to leave before the rowdy crowds arrived and also had a birthday party to attend, so I only stayed for 1-1.5 hours. Amazingly my car was still in tact with all 4 tires. Brockton is a pretty easy target for me since they're a frequent flyer on the nightly news with stabbings, shootings, and all those fun things, but in all honesty it's safe enough during the day if you exercise standard street smarts. The ride lineup at the Brockton Fair is probably the strongest in New England (just a tad better than North American Midway at the Big E) so if you like sketchy carnivals, the Brockton Fair is the place for you.

[ThemeParkJunkie51290]

Awesome! At least you was brave enough to visit that particular fair. I probably would have said, "Heck no! I'll take my chances elsewhere."

[Rai Fox]

First time I've ever seen a Technical Park Loop Fighter. That looks like it's worth a trip to Brockton for on its own!

[Canobie Coaster]

Awesome! At least you was brave enough to visit that particular fair. I probably would have said, "Heck no! I'll take my chances elsewhere."

 

I said that for years, but decided to finally bite the bullet. I just made sure to have an efficient visit and get in and out as quickly as possible.

 

First time I've ever seen a Technical Park Loop Fighter. That looks like it's worth a trip to Brockton for on its own!

 

I've ridden inverting frisbees before, but this is the first one with the rocking seats. The rocking seats really need to be experienced.

[boldikus]

Some great recent updates!

[PKI Jizzman]

Wahoo waterpark TRs! Looks like a great park with some unique slides. It's almost difficult to find parks without Tornados and mat racers.

 

A no count down drop pod? Yeah, that sounds like heaven. I've never been on one of the body bowl slides, so they are very alluring to me as well. Same goes for the half pipe...looks like a giant wall of delicious airtime.

 

Great stuff!

[Canobie Coaster]

^ It's actually the drop into the halfpipe that gives most of the airtime, but the rest of the ride is still good in that area by water park standards.

 

I think Whale's Tale has one of the older bowl slides so I hope the latter ones smoothed out the bowl area. And yes the no count drop pod was glorious. Whale's Tale has the best collection of body slides I have come across.

[Canobie Coaster]

Canobie Lake Park

Ah Canobie Lake Park, God's gift to this green Earth. There is no better amusement park out there. Suck it Millennium Force and bow down to the mighty Yankee Cannonball. Yes there are Canobie Lake Park fanboys out there that are as rowdy as the craziest Cedar Point fanboys. I too love Canobie (I mean look at my screen name), but I don't quite think I'm in that boat. I'm in the life raft behind them.

 

Not quite sure what the Magic Seed is (yes this is actually in the park), but many fanboys spread their seed over Canobie.

It was the perfect summer day. All morning I saw drops of raining falling from the rooftop of my office building and the temperature was borderline sweatshirt weather. By the afternoon, the rainfall had stopped and the sun was fighting to come out, but was blocked by a sky full of clouds. You know what that means? The perfect day to visit an amusement park. Rather I should say evening, as I took advantage of the twilight special. The cruddy morning forecast kept the crowds away and gave me free reign of the park in comfortable 60 degree weather.

 

Canobie Lake, one of the most well known lakes to coaster enthusiasts.

Roller Coaster Tycoon style food stands? That means I'm definitely at Canobie.

Naturally my visit began at the Yankee Cannonball. Usually the park's star attraction boasts a full queue and a half hour wait, but today it was only about a 2-3 train wait all day. Because of the short trains, a few steep drops and buzz bars, the back seat is the money seat. This is a fact that's a shared consensus among many park-goers and Canobie doesn't allow you to wait for seats. They basically load you up in a caged pen (be sure to watch your head on the giant angled wooden beam) and release the pack of animals into the tiny little station. The first two riders grab the front row 95% of the time and then it's like the Purge for the rest of the seats. The second and third from the back are pretty good, but the back is dramatically better.

 

Despite being almost 90 years old, the Yankee Cannonball is glass smooth. The most recent retracking unfortunately took away a chunk of the ride's airtime, but there's still a hearty dose of it. The first drop gives glorious ejector air in the backseat. The drops off the 90 degree turns also provide good air as well. Many of the ride's smaller hills don't offer airtime like they used to. I'd attribute that to the cooler summer day, but the ride wasn't giving air over these hills last year when it was 90 degrees and muggy. It's a short coaster and only has about 2000 feet of track, but the ride feels like a journey since it takes you outside of the park and runs along the parking lot. Still the park's best attraction after all these years. 7.5 out of 10

 

The woody that gives Canobie fanboys a woody.

I like it in the back. The Yankee Cannonball that is. Not a Canobie fanboy.

Canobie's newest still operating attraction (I'll get back to this sore spot later) is just around the corner, Untamed. It's still amazing just how well themed this Eurofighter is. The adorable bear cars, birch tree painted supports, and ski-lodge esque station really make the ride feel unique. But they cannot compensate for the OSTRs. Hydrus has a similar layout, but it's a far superior ride thanks to the lap bars. The transitions on Untamed are pretty choppy if you don't brace for them, but the first drop and zero-G roll are still excellent. 7 out of 10

 

Untamed is the park's newest hotness. But that new hotness is now kindergarten age.

I wish it had lapbars, but at least the ride has several nice little touches.

Birch themed supports. Yes that is a support in the bottom left, not a tree.

And adorable bear cars.

How many bears do you see?

Plus they made an entire plaza for the coaster.

The Canobie Corkscrew's removal was a popular rumor a few years back, but those whispers died once the park repainted the attraction in a striking electric blue. Also I think the trains received a nice new paint job this year. Either that or I was oblivious the past few years. Yes it's a simple corkscrew, but this coaster does a lot less screwing than the other ones I've been on. The trains are roomy (a problem on a lot of older Arrows) and the ride is mostly free of headbanging. It's still lasts as long as a fat kid's bag of Oreo's, but what's there is enjoyable. The pop of the air in the back row is more enjoyable when you don't take sucker punches to the head afterwards. 6 out of 10

 

Here you ride the Corkscrew instead of getting cork-screwed.

Yes it's actually smooth.

This is the part of the trip report where I usually shamelessly ride the kiddie coaster. Sorry to disappoint you, but I got the credit when it was socially acceptable for me to ride the coaster.

 

Canobie's coaster collection is decent, but the rest of the park is where Canobie separates themselves from the pack. Their flume is one of the best anywhere. It has a fantastic setting, blending in with the wooded area of the park, along with two solid drops. Despite the cooler weather, I got a few rides in. That included the last ride of the night when the park closed the attraction early at 8:30. Same great ride as always except after passing through the tepee tunnel, I learned first hand about a new addition, water sprayers. I've never seen these on a flume before the final drop, so they completely caught me off-guard.

 

Canobie's flume seems so natural with its below-ground placement and wooded setting.

Oh and there are two nice drops.

Oddly enough, while Canobie closed the flume early, they kept their well-themed shoot the chutes ride (Boston Tea Party) open later. Not sure who wanted to get drenched that late at night, but whatever floats your boat. I didn't want to be soaked to the bone, yet I inexplicably rode Timber Splash, their wet/dry slide that's far more wet than dry. I forgot how evil those last two turns were. Still it was dryer at the Boston Tea Party.

 

There's a wet and wetter side. The latter wasn't lying.

Castaway Island was closed. I'd say it's a smart choice, but New England is also the land of shirtless Patriots fans even when it's snowing outside.

They also have a charming old dark ride in the Mine of Lost Souls. All of the ride's practical effects are well-executed. I particularly love the mine scene at the beginning. The Egyptian portion at the end is a big WTF, but who doesn't love the grim reaper? If you're confused, you haven't been on Mine of Lost Souls. If you are confused, you've been on Mine of Lost Souls like me. How you are magically transported from a mine to Egypt and then hell beats me, but it's a must in any visit to Canobie.

 

The logo covers 2/3 of the ride there- the mine and the Grim Reaper. All that's missing is a pyramid or the Sphinx.

Canobie also has a very strong flat ride collection. They have plenty of older flats. Their most noteworthy flat is the Caterpillar. With Idlewild and DelGrosso's closing their Caterpillars, I think Canobie has the last remaining version of this classic flat. And best of all, it's impeccably maintained with a still operating canopy. Eric Carle would be proud.

 

Now you see them.

Now you don't.

The history of their classic attractions is something Canobie genuinely cares about if it wasn't already evident by their Caterpillar. On several of their rides, the park has signs detailing the history of the ride. For example, the Rowdy Roosters flying scooters (sadly not snappable in case you were wondering) has a sign explaining how the vehicles until 2010 were actual drop pods used in WWII. Definitely a cool factoid. The Yankee Cannonball, Corkscrew, Flume, and a few others also have signs giving the GP the knowledge coaster enthusiasts like to waggle over their heads. Talk about leveling the playing field .

 

You may see a mighty fine cock.

But in another life, those roosters were WWII drop pods.

Their Carousel is a beauty, though they no longer play the band organ.

On the wilder side, the park has a decent S&S double shot in Star Blaster. Unfortunately, the park's height limit takes away what could be a spectacular view of the lake, but Star Blaster makes up for it with some solid air. But the most thrilling flat is the Turkish Twist. I'm happy enough to see a park with an operating rotor (a real one, not one of those gravitrons), but Canobie runs their's ridiculously fast. The stench of puke in the drum probably doesn't help, but this has to be a candidate for the ride that causes the most guests to puke in any park. Right before my ride, they had to end the cycle prematurely to let someone off. He thankfully held it in long enough to get off the ride, but he didn't quite make it to the trash bucket before he unloaded on the poor asphalt.

 

For a still thrilling but less nauseating spinner, there's the Psycho Drome indoor scrambler. I'm glad the park restored the light show that they removed for a few years since it takes what's a normally mundane and skippable ride and turns it into a must.

 

These tiny S&S towers give way more air than their big brothers.

This is seriously one of the most intense flats out there. No park runs their rotor as fast as Canobie.

I would have gone to more parties in college if they replaced the alcohol with a scrambler. That's basically the Psycho Drome in a nutshell.

One of their other marquee attractions, the Xtreme Frisbee, has been down for almost a year at this point. The ride was actually removed from the park map and the website. Hopefully the ride isn't going the way of Equinox, but the ride did seem to have way more downtime than your average Huss frisbee. I mean even Six Flags has those rides running consistently. I'm hoping they can have the ride back up and running next year since it's definitely one of the park's most popular rides. Funny how a forgettable flat at a Six Flags park can turn into a star attraction at a family park.

 

The tarp over the vehicle combined with its removal from the website tells me the Frisbee may not run again in 2017.

Canobie also has a thousand arcades it seems. Their biggest arcade is near the front of the park, but they also have a noteworthy pinball parlor over by Untamed. Just how noteworthy is it? The direction signs in the park actually guide you towards "Pinball." But seriously if you love pinball, their parlor is a mecca for you. They have almost 20 different machines in there ranging from the newest versions to old classics.

 

The main arcade. Honestly it looks better than Dave & Buster's.

This definitely looks better than Dave & Buster's. The world needs more pinball.

And the park even points you in the direction of pinball.

And yes that was the Sky Ride in the background. Don't get too excited now.

I ended my night with ride after ride on the Yankee Cannonball. The Yankee Cannonball can be a tricky one to get a night ride on since Canobie often closes the line a half hour prior to closing, but not tonight. With waits less than 10-15 minutes all day, I was able to set a personal best for rides on the coaster in a day with 11. The waits were quick anyway, but they felt even quicker since I was able to catch their Bruno Mars and Lady Gaga show which is conveniently located on a stage across from the Yankee Cannonball's queue line. The imitators were actually pretty good, but the real star was the Yankee Cannonball. My last ride of the night was in the very back row.

 

Not as good as the Super Bowl Halftime Show, but still a solid performance.

No better way to end a day at Canobie.

Time to address the elephant in the room. Outside of the summer when I was in California, I've been to Canobie very single year. What can I say? I drink the Canobie Kool-Aid. However, I will say that the park's recent moves, or lack of moves, has been a disturbing trend. Canobie used to add a new ride every year. They weren't adding coasters to the point they went bankrupt like Six Flags, but it was nice to visit the park and find Star Blaster or even something as small as Wave Blaster. It always made the visit exciting.

 

The park's last addition was Equinox (late 2012), which was an unmitigated disaster. The ride was intense, but I consider myself lucky to have ridden it considering it broke down more than Lightning Rod and was removed after 1 year. No new rides in 5 years. Only increases in admission, the removal of the Tiki Maze, and a cancelled river rapids ride. The latter was an addition I was really looking forward to, but the park was spooked by the Dreamworld accident and cancelled those plans. Judging by how expensive a river rapids ride would be, I'm hopefully the park has been saving up for a big new addition.

 

There were some encouraging signs on that front and I hope I'm not just being an overly optimistic Canobie fan. There was a pretty substantial clearing with survey markers next to Corkscrew and Castaway Island. Since the latter is usually at capacity on hot summer days, I'm hoping the park expands to add a full-fledged water park like what Quassy has done. Selfishly I'd love a big new coaster, but I think a water park is the smarter long term move. A water park is the major advantage every other park in the area has over Canobie and this would rectify that issue. The park also had a construction fence up in Equinox's old pad, so I'm guessing a flat ride could be coming soon.

 

Please be for a water park.

A new flat ride would look great here. If this construction is for another hot dog stand, I'll go on a Clark Griswold-esque rant when he is denied his Christmas bonus.

I may make it to Canobie again later this summer considering it's just a 10 minute drive from my office. I would definitely go more except it's one of the rare parks that doesn't offer a season pass, a fact that is almost as painful as the park's lack of activity on the new ride front.

[coneyislandchris]

Awesome write-up. I was very pleased with the park when I visited on my aforementioned Father's Day road trip; it's got a lot of old-school charm in it. Not quite as much as Knoebels, but that location really makes it a pleasure to just walk around and chill out. Sadly I didn't get a chance to ride either the log flume or the Mine of Lost Souls, but I'll make sure to not skip them next time we're there.

 

When we got on Untamed I was too busy oohing and aahing at those deer antler chandeliers. That gets my vote for craziest coaster theming I've seen to date. I was so lost in those that I didn't even notice that the supports were "birch trees"! Nice detail!

 

Was super happy to see that they had a still functioning Rotor, too. I loved those rides when I was younger, and getting locked in that hellpit again was way nostalgic for me. And the kiddo had no clue what to expect, either, so that was fun to introduce him to it. Now I've just gotta figure out some way of getting my wife on it without having her figure out what it does...