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Funtown Spashtown Discussion Thread


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Funtown Splashtown USA has sent us a press release about TPR visiting the park during its upcoming tour.

 

An international group of amusement park and roller coaster enthusiasts will be visiting the Funtown USA Ride Park to experience one of the best and biggest roller coasters in the Northeastern US, Excalibur. Nearly 100 travelers from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada and all areas of the United States will visit Funtown Splashtown USA on Sunday, July 31 to ride "Excalibur", Northern New England's largest wooden roller coaster.

 

Theme Park Review, which claims to be "The Number 1 Theme Park and Roller Coaster Web Site on the Planet," has organized the event with its worldwide membership. Based in Valencia, Calif., Theme Park Review has an enormous following of amusement park and coaster buffs across the globe and the trip to the Pine Tree State has been in the planning stages for quite some time.

 

"Robb Alvey of Theme Park Review approached the park in April about this event," said Ed Hodgdon, marketing manager for the park. "Even from the West Coast, Robb has become very familiar with our park through our website, news releases and social media outreach."

 

Group members will be given access to both Funtown USA and Splashtown USA, as well as ERT (Exclusive Ride Time) after the park's 9pm closing time. Theme Park Review members will have the mighty Excalibur all to themselves until 10pm.

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Edited by jedimaster1227
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I visited this park about a month ago. It's a cool little park that my brother and I spent a few hours enjoying.

Excalibur has some great airtime in the back on the first 2 drops, but there's a couple rough spots and the second half doesn't quite deliver as much, but it was a good ride.

Outside of that, you have Astrosphere which is a normal Scrambler, but with insane lights, strobes, and music. Dragon's Decent is also a great S&S Turbo Drop, just like the one at Lake Compounce, but fun nonetheless.

Overall, it's a fun little park to spend a few hours with some good rides. In addition to those rides, there is a mouse, and some good flats, and I'm sure you TPR will have fun.

Edited by chickenbowl
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Funtown Splashtown USA has sent us a press release about the exciting new addition to the park, a six slide water slide tower.

 

The skyline on US Route 1 in Saco Maine will be changing again when Funtown Splashtown USA opens its newest water slide tower in June of 2012. The new tower will feature six new water slides with the latest technology.

 

The new slide tower is scheduled to open in June 2012 and has six brand new water slides. "These new thrill slides will really make a big splash with our hundreds of thousands of guests," stated Ken Cormier, founder and CEO of Funtown Splashtown USA.

 

Each of the new water slides have features that are not found at any other water park in the country. The slide tower will have two levels; one at 49 feet high, and the other at 60 feet.

 

The two water slides on the top level are probably the most thrilling water slides in the country. Unlike with many traditional water slides where the slider either pushes themselves or is taken by the water current, these two slides will have launch capsules. Guests will stand inside the capsule that leans back slightly. While the guest waits in the capsule the floor will drop out from under them, hurtling them down the water slides at over 40 feet per second. Each slide also will be made of fiberglass that is translucent, allowing the slider to see outside of the slide tunnel and guests to watch the slider navigate to the bottom. "You could put a newspaper up to the inside of the slide and clearly read it from the outside," said Cory Hutchinson, vice president and general manager of the company. Talking about the unique water slide designs Hutchinson added, "The 'Flatline Loop' design is unique to our park in that one water slide goes through one of the loops. It's a first-in-the-world design feature, and we'll have it here in Saco Maine."

 

The four water slides on the lower level will allow for the park's guests to race each other to the bottom of the slide, with each sliders finish being ranked first to fourth place. Guests will use special mats on these slides as they race head first to the finish line.

 

Hutchinson went on to say that, "The Cormier Family is very excited to bring these unique water slide attractions to Maine and the guests of Funtown Splashtown USA."

 

The new water slide tower will be located at the current Kartland Picnic Area. As part of this new water park area, the park will be opening a brand new restaurant and restroom facility. Additionally, Candy Land, the Funtoberfest Beer Garden, and two group picnic areas will be relocated to make way for these brand new water slides.

 

The water slides have been designed and will be manufactured and installed by Whitewater West of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. Engineering has been done by Oak Point Associates of Biddeford, R. W. Gillespie & Associates of Saco, and International Aquatic Design of Danvers, Massachusetts. Construction is slated to begin on this project in mid-September with a completion in late-May. The new water slides are scheduled to be ready for the public in mid-June.

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^ That seems like an excellent addition to their water park and I will definitely try and make it back to the park next year. Splashtown's current "speed slides" are pretty small so these two will be a great addition and easily Splashtown's most thrilling slides in my opinion. Then the mat racing slide seems great as well. I loved the one I went on at Blizzard Beach, so I am sure I will love this one as well.

 

I hope Theme Park Review has a great time at Funtown. Excalibur is a very good wooden coaster and basically every seat gives a great ride. The back will give major ejector air on the first two drops and really good air on two other hills, while the front has 3-4 great moments of ejector air. As others have said, Excalibur's first half is far better than it's second half since the first half is jam-packed with air time, while the second half consists of some weak laterals. And while Excalibur isn't glass smooth, it certainly isn't rough as I've marathoned it for 2 hours in a row during one of my visits when the park was empty.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Does anyone have any pictures or videos of Funtown's old Hydrofighter attraction? Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to visit the park before the one of a kind attraction was removed in 2000 to make way for Dragon's Descent.

 

The only photo I've found of this unique swinging/spinning water battle attraction was on Canobie Fan (http://s7.invisionfree.com/CanobieFans/index.php?showtopic=577). Additionally, I remember there being an excellent photo of it in an old ACE Newsletter, but I have misplaced it somewhere in my room.

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  • 3 months later...

Funtown Splashtown USA has sent us a press release regarding the start of vertical construction on their major expansion throughout the park.

 

New steel support columns and beams are beginning to rise at Funtown Splashtown USA as the park expands once again adding six new water slides and various other improvements throughout the park.

 

As a locally-owned business, the park was very conscious about hiring local contractors for as much of the work as possible. "A crew of over 60 local contractors and tradesmen have been working at the park since mid-September," said Cory Hutchinson, vice president and general manager of the company. "We made it a point to have the water slide and steel support manufacturers subcontract with local companies whenever possible".

 

The water slides and supports have been designed and manufactured by Whitewater West of Richmond, British Columbia, Canada and USA, Inc. of Downer's Grove, Illinois.

 

Engineering has been done by Oak Point Associates of Biddeford, R. W. Gillespie & Associates of Saco, Dow & Couloume of Biddeford, and International Aquatic Design of Danvers, Massachusetts.

 

Construction is being done by Dearborn Construction of Buxton, Jim Godbout Plumbing and Heating of Biddeford, Camille's Electric of Saco, Carl A. Goodwin, Inc. of Biddeford, McKenna Welding of Biddeford, S. Richer, Inc. of Sanford and CMC Technology Group of Hallowell.

 

2012 ExpansionEach of the new water slides have features that are not found at any other water park in New England. Two of the water slides are probably the most thrilling in the country. Unlike with many traditional water slides where the slider either pushes themselves or is taken by the water current, these two slides will have launch capsules.While the guest waits in the capsule the floor will drop out from under them, hurtling them down the water slides at over 40 feet per second. Each slide is made of translucent fiberglass, allowing the slider to see outside of the slide tunnel. "You could put a newspaper up to the inside of the slide and clearly read it from the outside," said Hutchinson.

 

The four other water slides allow for the park's guests to race each other. Guests will use special mats on these slides as they race head first to the bottom.

 

The new water slide tower is located at the former Kartland Picnic Area. The park will be opening a brand new restaurant and restrooms, and relocating Candy Land, the Funtoberfest Beer Garden, and two group picnic areas.

 

Construction is slated to be completed in late-May. The new water slides are scheduled to be ready for the public in mid-June. The public can watch the progress on the park's Facebook page where pictures are updated weekly.

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Steel and slides going up!

Steel supports and slide runouts being constructed at Funtown Splashtown USA on December 5, 2011

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  • 3 months later...

I totally agree, they needed a few more high profile slides. and the extra lounge space is much needed. My only aggravation is that he dry park has seem very little in the last decade. basically every addition except for one was for the water park. The only dry park addition since Dragons descant in 99 was the replacement of galaxy with the mouse.

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  • 10 months later...

Kenneth Cormier, 80, passes26.thumb.jpg.64a8f4d5266c6b4c2731a0ae4d76b9d1.jpg

Saco, Maine - It is with deep sorrow that we announce the passing of Mr. Kenneth D. Cormier, the founder and president of Funtown Splashtown USA in Saco, Maine. Mr. Cormier was at Florida Hospital in Celebration, Florida, suffering from a brief illness. He was surrounded by family.

 

A formal obituary and memorial service arrangements will be announced soon. The family is requesting privacy at this time.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 4 years later...

Funtown offered back boards that you would strap to your back on their body slides. I thought that was pretty cool! Their drop pod slide was pretty rough on the back, so it was awesome they had them available for free. It also made it so guys could wear a shirt on the body slides too.

 

Do any other parks offer these boards?

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  • 11 months later...

I was considering heading out to Funtown tonight, but decided against it when I saw the iffy weather forecast. When I was checking the park website for any weather updates, I found this bit of news that went under the radar. For 2019, they replaced the old air dome of the Astrosphere with a concrete one.

 

I'm intrigued to see how that impacts the ride experience (if at all) since the light show really makes this ride unique.

 

Link

 

Funtown Splashtown USA contracts with Dome Technology for Astrosphere project

 

Funtown Splashtown USA is updating one of its icon attractions, the Astrosphere. The park is switching from an airform dome to a reinforced-concrete dome that will house a Scrambler ride that includes a lasers, light, and sound show.

 

For the past 43 seasons, the Astrosphere has been inflated constantly by fan, and the airform is approaching the end of its lifespan. Park owners have employed air domes for this ride since 1976, requiring that the airform and ride be taken down for the off season, then reassembled come spring.

 

“This has always been one of the most labor-intensive attractions to get ready and winterize each season,” said Funtown Splashtown USA senior vice president Bill Cormier.

 

“Once a concrete dome is up, it’s up. I don’t have to worry about hurricanes and wind storms and losing power,” said Cormier. “What I’m looking forward to is a building that’s going to be hard as a rock. It’s going to save me work, it’s going to be turnkey—in the spring I’ll turn on the light, do a little dusting, and we’ll be ready to go.”

 

Conditioning the Astrosphere has also been difficult historically, with weather dictating temperatures inside, including highs in the summer that exceed those outside—"not good for equipment and not good for team members,” Cormier said. The concrete shell will moderate temperatures and provide a backdrop for new laser shows and other special effects.

 

The project will also include cosmetic improvements to the area around the ride. When asked if the Astrosphere’s song, ‘Fire On High’ by ELO: Electric Light Orchestra will be changed for something else, Cormier stated, “No. And we are keeping the entrance and exit tunnels. This ride is loved by so many of our guests, we want to maintain the experience.”

 

This is Dome Technology’s first project with an amusement park. The project is expected to be completed in time for the park’s Opening Weekend in May 2019.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I stopped by Funtown for a few hours today after work. Funtown's twilight ticket is an absolute steal. They will sell the last three hours for just $11!

 

There have been two changes for 2019. The first was the new concrete dome for the Astrosphere. Unfortunately, the loading is still glacial, but it allows the park to now use crisper projections. The sheer number of creepy faces they projected during the ride gets an A+ from me.

 

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The other change is that lap belts were added to Dragon's Descent. This is a change that has been hitting most S&S towers this year. It does slow loading slightly, but the ride experience is unchanged. And I noticed it does have a benefit for the smaller riders. It used to have a 52" height requirement. I noticed they amended the height to 48".

 

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  • 1 month later...

I'd love to hear more info about the Astrosphere changes. Here in upstate New York, I grew up near Seabreeze Amusement Park. Their Gyrosphere was cloned to make the Astrosphere. The Gyrosphere was removed in the 1990s but is a treasured memory for many of us. I visited Funtown 3 years ago to ride Astrosphere and was thrilled to see the yellow and white dome, to wait in the pressurization tunnel, to see the perimeter lights and disco ball inside the dome and, most of all, to experience the ride to the tune of "Fire on High," complete with rocket liftoff. While I'll miss the old dome, I'm hopeful that the new projections will feel closer the the Gyrosphere than the most recent light show.

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Even with the concrete dome, they still station riders in the hall like it did with the air-filled dome. For the most part, the ride is identical to how it was 3 years ago with some upgrades to the projections.

Three years ago there were no projections, just lights. I'm hoping to see the alien face at least.

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  • 6 months later...

Some interesting tidbits were revealed at the ACE Great Nor'Easter event:

 

- Excalibur is having some track work done by Gravity Group on the two roughest parts of the ride. The bottom of the first drop is being smoothed and the fourth turn (after turnaround 1) is being reprofiled to have increased banking.

 

- The park is running a promotion where one lucky guest will win a free season pass and get the chance to rename one of the cars on Excalibur. You must enter by the end of March. https://woobox.com/iwg4a9

 

- The park is replacing their gas-powered bumper boats with electric ones. These boats will also be equipped with water guns as well.

 

- The park is having a Coasting for Kids event on June 6, which is the same day Story Land plans to hold their Coasting for Kids as well. I sort of wish these were on different days so I could support both parks. Edit- I just saw Funtown changed it to June 7!

 

https://www.funtownsplashtownusa.com/coasting-for-kids/

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I agree with that, there is certainly plenty of places that they could put it. It would be nice to see them relocate/remove that kiddie train in the back of the park behind the Casino for a new thrill flat. That is a pretty quiet part of the park and would help the flow of traffic in that corner for sure.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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