Canobie Lake Park Discussion Thread

[EliHorton]

I too would love Kanonen but think it would be a pipe dream. Then again the park does seem to like buying used rides as we've found out lately.

Last I knew, they actually went over to look at Kanonen. Unfortunately, they didn't purchase it because it wasn't "up to their standards". I have a feeling they'll still add this rapids ride for 2018.

As much as I'd like to see a thrilling flat ride, I kind of think you may be right. We don't know for sure that they totally canceled the plan. Perhaps it is just taking a bit longer than expected to get approval from the city to build the ride. I'd certainly love to see a rapids ride. They are my all time favorite water ride and I can never pass one up when I go to a park.

[Canobie Coaster]

Last I heard was that it was the park's decision to delay or cancel the ride over fears of the accident in Dreamworld. I think they pulled it back before the planning meeting even took place.

[Canobie Coaster]

I popped in for the twilight ticket after work. It was much more crowded than my last visit this year but in line with crowds in past year's visits. Got two rides on the Yankee Cannonball. It really is unbelievable just how much of a difference there is between the very back and even the second to back. Got lucky with the very back on my last ride of the night.

 

I got a photo of the construction site at Equinox's old pad. It looks a little more developed than last time but still not sure what they may be building there.

 

Still no progress on the Xtreme Frisbee. At this point I can't see it opening this season.

[CNYCoasterguy11]

Hi I'm trying to visit the park on Friday but the forecast doesn't look too promising. Can anyone tell me if the park is worth visiting in rainy weather? And does anyone know the policy on what rides stay open and close? The park site wasn't real specific.

[Canobie Coaster]

If the park stays open, you will have a great day. Everything should be a walk-on except maybe the Yankee Cannonball which should only be a 2-3 train wait as opposed to the regular 30+ minute wait.

 

However, the park does sometimes close in rain so either call in advance or check their Facebook page. I was actually considering sneaking over there after work if they stay open because of how light the crowds may be.

[CanobieFan]

The park's carousel organ almost went extinct this year. After months of it sitting abandoned, the organ has been restored and is now operating again. My favorite part of an amusement park in New England is how canobie continues to maintain little nostalgia details for younger people to see.

[Canobie Coaster]

I was terrified it was going to be removed so I was ecstatic to hear it during my visit last week.

 

Hi I'm trying to visit the park on Friday but the forecast doesn't look too promising. Can anyone tell me if the park is worth visiting in rainy weather? And does anyone know the policy on what rides stay open and close? The park site wasn't real specific.

 

Unfortunately the park closed at 5 today. Did you end up going in the morning?

[CNYCoasterguy11]

Unfortunately the park closed at 5 today. Did you end up going in the morning?

 

No unfortunately we didn't try because it was looking so bad and turned out that was the right decision. Hopefully in the future I will get my chance to go but it won't be this year. I was able to get to Funtown USA, Palace Playland and Stoyland on my trip, so not a complete loss.

[Canobie Coaster]

Canobie is the best park of those 3, but both Roar-o-saurus and Excalibur are better than any individual ride at Canobie.

[CNYCoasterguy11]

Storyland was great for my daughter (she's 3), she was able to do everything except Roar-o-saurus, but I was able to get on it again and it's still great with tons of little airtime pops. Storyland was the best of the week other than being somewhat crowded for a Wednesday. Funtown wasn't bad either other than still seeming a little rundown and really lacking in bathrooms especially once you get past the Car Ride. Excalibur was running pretty good even for being almost 20 years old, it was actually rougher towards the front but I love it in the back especially with that great first drop that really launches you from the back rows.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ I noticed the same things about the bathrooms at Funtown. I can't believe they don't have one back by Excalibur. That coaster is still running really well which is a testament to how well the park maintains it.

 

If you had made it to Canobie, you'd be able to see how well they maintain an 85 year old coaster. The Yankee Cannonball runs glass smooth.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

I'm going to the park this Sunday for the first time and I'm looking for some tips. The rides I want to get on are Yankee Cannonball, Untamed, Corkscrew, Policy Pond Log Flume, Turkish Twist, Psychodrome, and Mine of Lost Souls. I'd also like to try Starblaster, Caterpillar, and Zero Gravity. Which rides or sections of the park should I get on right when the park opens? Also, what are the best places for food? Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Canobie Coaster]

Will you be there all day? If so, the lines for the Corkscrew, Log Flume, and Mine of Lost Souls will be less than 5 minutes. Midday, the Corkscrew could have a 15-20 minute wait if the queue is at the bottom of the ramp, the Flume is a 30 minute wait with a full queue, and Mine of Lost Souls can approach an hour if it has a full queue. If the weather is cooler, they will close the flume's line early; however, on a day like that it probably wouldn't have much of a wait anyway.

 

The Yankee Cannonball will have a full queue pretty much all day. If the queue is filled, it takes about 30-35 minutes. I recommend riding it at night, but be careful since they will close the line early. They typically close it a half hour before closing, so I recommend getting there by at least 9:15 to ensure you can get in line. The best seat by far is the very back (huge difference between this seat and even 2nd to back). Unfortunately, the park doesn't let you wait for seats. They don't assign seats. They count of 18 riders and then you enter into the station taking whatever seat is open. If you want to make the wait more pleasant, you can time it so you wait while a show is going on at the Midway Stage, since you have a great view of it while in line.

 

Untamed typically has no more than a 20 minute wait. If you want to get on faster, there's a single rider line if you walk to the other side of the station. Usually I can get on within 2-4 trains with the single rider line.

 

Psycho Drome is another one that will have a pretty consistent wait all day. Like the Yankee Cannonball, they will close this line early so do not wait until the end. If it's a full queue, it can take a half hour since this is a pretty slow loader. I'd recommend hitting this one towards the beginning of the day if you want to avoid a wait.

 

Caterpillar and Turkish Twist will never be more than a 1 cycle wait. The latter is the best flat in the park so definitely ride it. Every other rotor or gravitron that I've been on runs considerably slower than this one.

 

Star Blaster's line is a crapshoot. I've seen it as short as 5-15 minutes midday, but other days it can exceed 30 minutes. 3 out of 4 times, this line will die down at the end of the night, but there are some nights where it will still be pulling a 20-30 minute wait at this time.

 

As for what to do first, I'd recommend trying to get on Yankee Cannonball (reride if the queue is short, since it will quickly get a full queue), Star Blaster, and Psycho Drome in that order. I haven't been to the park for opening in quite some time, but they used to stagger the openings of some attractions so keep that in mind.

 

For food, my personal favorite is the Dancing Bear Cantina. You'd think that would be near Untamed since the whole area is themed to bears, but it's actually on the complete opposite side of the park across from the Tall Timber Splash water slide.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

^Thanks for all of that! I'll definitely try to start with Yankee Cannonball, Starblaster, and Psychodrome.

[Canobie Coaster]

Also if you are a seafood fan, they have a fried seafood stand near the Boston Tea Party that is usually pretty good and it's something you don't see too often at a park.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

I went to Canobie Lake Park yesterday, and it was great! It's a nearly perfect old-school park. The scenery was really nice, there were plenty of trees and flowers, and they even have some actual solid theming in places! The architecture and coaster stations are really wonderful. The seafood in the Boston-themed area was really good actually, especially for an amusement park. The only things the park needs to improve on is the slow operations, and I think they could use one more high-capacity coaster that really stands out. Overall it's just a nice park that has a lot of nice details and is a lot of fun to just walk through. Rides:

 

Yankee Cannonball x 2 - Both of my rides were in the back row, and I was quite impressed. It's nothing too intense, but it's super smooth while having an old wooden coaster feel, thanks to the great trains. I got eight moments of great floater airtime on both rides, with the ones on the first drop and second-to-last hill being especially strong.

Starblaster

Psychodrome - Love these indoor scramblers!

Caterpillar - Not intense, but really strange and almost feels homemade.

Untamed - I knew some of the transitions in the turns would be rough, and I braced for them the best I could, but they really ruined the ride. The first half is great and almost as good as Hydrus, but the rest of the ride causes a headache. And this is coming from someone who LOVES Mystery Mine, which is considered to be a rougher eurofighter. At least the theme is great.

Turkish Twist - So happy I got to experience such a rare ride. A little freaky!

Corkscrew - A 42-year-old Arrow that runs smoother than a 6-year-old Gerstlauer! I was in the back row so the drop was great, the corkscrews are wonderful, and the transition going into the corkscrews was the only really bad part.

Policy Pond Log Flume - Wonderful log flume. The terrain interaction and location is nice, there's a good mix of slow and fast/bumpy sections, and the drops give a perfect amount of wetness.

Mine of Lost Souls - I love weird dark rides like this.

Zero Gravity - The arm goes to a really steep angle, and is one of the better round-ups I've been on.

[Canobie Coaster]

Glad you had a great time at Canobie!

 

Going 2 for 2 on the back row of the Cannonball? You're lucky! The ride used to have more air but the recent retracking by GCI took some away. However the ride still runs incredibly smooth as you saw.

 

Untamed can be quite brutal on that cutback and the transition into the helix. I have to lean forward to avoid any pain. I just wish it had the lap bars like Hydrus.

[Canobie Coaster]

Great news! Canobie received conditional approval to move forward with Tidal River, an addition that'll include a wave pool, lazy river, and slides to give them a water park. Up to this point, they have just had Castaway Island, one of those water play areas.

 

This is an excellent fit for the park. On most summer days, Castaway Island is swarmed and filled to capacity. The structure has served the park well for 14-15 years but it was apparent the park needed something else to compliment it. The addition of a small wave pool, lazy river, and some larger slides gives the park a small, but legitimate water park.

 

The one thing Canobie really lacked compared to the other competing New England parks like Six Flags, Lake Compounce, and Funtown has been a water park. Honestly this addition looks like what Quassy did and it has worked wonders for that park. Quassy used to just have a water play area (a smaller one too) but they slowly built up a small water park.

 

I had a hunch the park would be going the water park route. When I saw them reroute the train loop and clear the land adjacent to Castaway Island, that was the perfect spot for a water park. Then there were also some rumors of sewer work going on in the background at the park. And lastly with the river rapids ride being cancelled last year, I knew they must have had some money available for a larger addition.

 

I'll definitely check it out when it opens (doesn't say 2018 in the article), but I don't see myself using it that often. I will pick rides over water slides 95 times out of 100. But it will help draw crowds away from the ride area and it filled a true need.

 

In other good news, Canobie opened a new for 2017 flying bobs ride a few weeks ago called Ice Jet and was recently able to reopen the Xtreme Frisbee after it had been down for a year.

Edited November 1, 2017 by jedimaster1227

[cal1br3tto]

^I'm not interested, but that sounds perfect for the park. I'm happy about the Ice Jet addition, too.

[Canobie Coaster]

The most encouraging thing for me is the capacity. If it draws some people off the rides, that's going to be a win for me.

[ScreaminNewEngland]

This is an amazing addition! It looks absolutely gorgeous!

 

Here's some more info on where its gonna go and what it looks like.

 

http://www.townofsalemnh.org/planning-board/pages/view-plans-for-the-october-24-2017-meeting

[Canobie Coaster]

Looking at those plans, I wonder if there's any way they could complete a path to get the Timber Splash slides connected somehow. Those would fit in extremely well with the water park.

[coasterbill]

Great addition!

[cal1br3tto]

^^I don't recall riding Timber Splash, but I always really like when water slides like that are in dry parks!

[Canobie Coaster]

I stopped in tonight. I plan to post a TR sometime in the next week, but a quick summary.

 

Ice Jet is a solid addition. It looks very much like a carnival ride, which is a weird contrast to the Carousel next door, but it sure looks a lot better than not having a ride there. It definitely wasn't as intense as the old Matterhorn (nothing except one on the German fair circuit is) and ended up being about middle-of-the-pack for a flying bobs type ride. It did run both forwards and backwards. Also it's nice that they don't play music since you can still hear the carousel's band organ loud and clear.

 

I tried 2 of the 5 haunts. The ride lines maxed out at about 15-20 minutes, but each haunt had at least a half hour wait. I heard the best two were Carnivus and the Culling, so those were the two I did. The Culling took place in a very misty corn field and added a bunch of lasers. I wouldn't say it was particularly scary, but it was a decent walkthrough and some of the optical effects were well done (like the employees diving in and out of the fog).

 

Carnivus was excellent. It was themed as an abandoned carnival so naturally I liked the theme. It's pretty spooky walking through a lifeless midway with no carnies aggressively trying to steal your cash, but that quietness was quickly ruined by scare actors jumping out. This maze had a lot of crevices for the scare actors to pop out from and they took every opportunity. The ending of the maze includes a mirror maze (I wonder if that's where Tiki Maze went...) and then a vertigo/spinning tunnel.