Canobie Lake Park Discussion Thread

[EliHortonI teach at the school of donkey!]

Who else has seen those plans for the water park expansion? I LOVE IT! It looks so creative having the wave pool entry, the lazy rive that splits off of it, and then the slide complex on the island made by the lazy river. It always makes me happy to see such small parks adding such large new rides!

[Canobie CoasterWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

The particular model sounds pretty similar to Croc-o-Nile (former Anchor Bay) slide at Lake Compounce minus the wave pool entry. As often as I've been to Lake Compounce, I have never actually done this slide since it's usually pretty busy.

[jedimaster1227Open Up Happiness]

http://www.unionleader.com/article/20171026/NEWS02/171029444&template=mobileart

New water attraction at Canobie Lake Park wins conditional approval

Tidal River, Canobie Lake Park's first major new attraction in years, will feature a lazy river to float down, water slides and other features. The planning board approved plans for the new attraction earlier this week, though some permits and other conditions remain to be met before construction can begin.

Tidal River will be located on the southwest area of the park near the existing Castaway water playground. Features include a lazy river ride patrons can float along on a tube, a handicap accessible wave pool, water slides, food and drink shops, a lounge area, and restrooms and changing rooms. The constantly flowing river will surround an island with water slides and a wave pool near one of the bends. There will be a bridge for patrons to cross the river to get to the water slides. In all, the new attraction will cover nearly 2 acres.

According to George Fredette, president of SFC Engineering Partnership, Inc. in Windham, who is representing Canobie Lake, the park likes to make a splash now and again. “Canobie Lake Park, since its early years, had a swimming pool,” he said. “It was a very large Olympic-sized pool.” It was a popular attraction, Fredette said, but in 2006 was closed to make room for the park's main gate. Tidal River will be a place for patrons to cool off and relax during the summer season, he said. “We're expecting that the Tidal River keeps them coming to Canobie,” Fredette said.

No significant increases to vehicle traffic are expected as a result of the project. While the park depends on Salem for other municipal services, a memo from Director of Municipal Services Roy Sorenson assured planners this wouldn't be a problem.

The planning board was asked if that assessment includes an expected increase in demand for services due to the Tuscan Village development at the former Rockingham Park. “I believe (Sorenson) did take that into account,” Town Planner Ross Moldoff replied.

The last ride to be added to Salem's Main Street amusement park was the Untamed roller coaster in 2011. New additions to a park keep the experience fresh for patrons, according to Fredette. “Canobie Lake Park continues to make upgrades to keep people interested in coming,” he said.

[Canobie CoasterWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

The park has their hours posted online. They seem to have a lot less 10 pm closings than they've had in the past. In past years they've closed at 10 pm pretty much everyday in July and August. This year it looks like the 10 pm closings are only on the weekends.

The park is definitely trying to hype up their water park expansion, as the first thing you see is "New Waterpark" on the front page with a lazy river graphic. Oddly enough, there's no link to any news article or ride page listing the attractions. I do think this addition is going to do wonders for the park. Castaway needed the added capacity on hot summer days.

[ScreaminNewEnglandA zonkey is a cross between a zebra and a donkey.]

http://www.canobie.com/explore/castaway-island/


Here is some additional information and even a story line to tie in with the theme of the new water park! This addition is going to do wonders for the park!

[thrillriderWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

I have a question about this park.

So the plan is to spend a day at great escape, and the following day at Great Escape till 1 or so and head to canobie lake for the twilight deal.

Can the park be done by doing the twilight, or is it a better idea to do a full day at the park? It will be a weeknight, and they close at 9pm. That gives us 4 hours in the park if we do the twilight.

Our main concerns are the coasters, dark ride, log flume, and a couple of flats.

If we do a full day, are there any coupons out there?

Thanks for any input.

[Canobie CoasterWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

I'd argue you don't need more than a day at Great Escape. If you're into mini golf, definitely don't miss Around the World Mini Golf on the way out of Lake George.

As for Canobie, on a weeknight you'll likely see half hour waits for Yankee Cannonball (they close the queue a half hour before closing), under 15 minutes for the Corkscrew, 15 minutes for Untamed (single rider offered too), and 5-10 minutes for Dragon. If you do the Flume and Mine of Lost Souls once the sun sets, you can usually walk right onto those and save a half hour wait. Their best flat is the Turkish Twist and it's usually just a one cycle wait. Caterpillar is unique and also a one cycle wait as well.

If you only plan to do each coaster once, the flume, dark ride, and a few flats, 4 hours is enough. Just know Yankee Cannonball is first come first served for seats. The best seat is the back and you may not get it if you only ride it once. I'd also be leery of traffic coming towards the park when you plan the drive. If you do want a full day, I believe McDonalds offers discount admission.

[thrillriderWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

I'd argue you don't need more than a day at Great Escape. If you're into mini golf, definitely don't miss Around the World Mini Golf on the way out of Lake George.

As for Canobie, on a weeknight you'll likely see half hour waits for Yankee Cannonball (they close the queue a half hour before closing), under 15 minutes for the Corkscrew, 15 minutes for Untamed (single rider offered too), and 5-10 minutes for Dragon. If you do the Flume and Mine of Lost Souls once the sun sets, you can usually walk right onto those and save a half hour wait. Their best flat is the Turkish Twist and it's usually just a one cycle wait. Caterpillar is unique and also a one cycle wait as well.

If you only plan to do each coaster once, the flume, dark ride, and a few flats, 4 hours is enough. Just know Yankee Cannonball is first come first served for seats. The best seat is the back and you may not get it if you only ride it once. I'd also be leery of traffic coming towards the park when you plan the drive. If you do want a full day, I believe McDonalds offers discount admission.

Thanks for the tips!

[ChiselphaneHarry Potter is a sick donkey.]

Just chiming in to emphasize don't skip Caterpillar! Its one of only two operating left in the world, and the only one in the US. Still fun and the canopy is still a remarkable experience.

[Canobie CoasterWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

It would have been criminal not to take advantage of the beautiful weather this afternoon, so I decided to drop by Canobie after work. Here are the things that are new for 2018.

To start, the park has unfortunately slashed some of their hours. For as long as I can remember, Canobie always closed at 10 pm all summer. This summer, they have 9 pm closings on Monday-Thursday. I was hoping they would have started the Twilight Ticket an hour earlier to compensate, but it still starts at 5 pm. Fortunately it wasn't too crowded, but there were a few things I needed to cut out due to time.

The big addition for 2018 is the water park. While it isn't quite ready yet, the slide tower, restaurant, and entrance look ready to go. It looks like they need to finish the wave pool and lazy river. I'm hoping they can get this open by the end of the summer. But whenever it opens, it should be a real game changer for the park having a legit water park.

Previously their water play structure was called "Castaway Island". From this sign, it looks like they're giving that name to the whole water park.

Here's the big slide tower. I love the octopus at the top!

Another new restaurant is on its way too.

To create room for the water park, they flattened a patch of trees behind the Pirate and rerouted the Canobie Express. The train actually has a new entrance near the Dragon Coaster/kiddie rides. The train route is considerably shorter than before and they still have the old train station standing. That spot looks prime for a new addition in the coming years.

The train has left the station already, permanently.

Now it's down by the Dragon Coaster, right next to the water.

If you refer to the park index, you can see just how many trees used to be behind the Pirate. Now it's so barren!

For a local park, Canobie has always had an impressive array of shows. Their big musical tribute this year is to Aerosmith and they've also brought back the Bruno Mars show. Since the latter is at the Midway Stage directly across from the Yankee Cannonball's queue, I was able to watch it while queuing for the park's signature attraction. It seemed identical to the show last year with no new songs (unless I missed one or two at the start).

Who needs Fun TV when you have a live performance to enjoy while queuing for a coaster?

Last but not least, I noticed two things related to games. One, it appears you won't be able to fool the guesser this year. The little stand is nowhere to be found, although the signage still remains. Two, it appears they updated the theming on the "Guess Your Speed" baseball game. Previously the scoreboard said the Red Sox were playing the Yankees. Now they're just playing a generic visitor. I'm sort of shocked they changed it since it's not like New Hampshire is poisoned with Yankee fever like Connecticut.

Looks like the guesser won't be getting anything wrong in the near future. They also won't be getting anything right either.

Apparently the Red Sox are playing a high school team or the Kansas City Royals.