A brief visit to Lake Compounce

[mmcirvin]

We went back to Lake Compounce yesterday on the way home from a little family reunion in Pennsylvania. The visit was shorter than we'd expected, thanks to the two-hour backup caused by a car accident at a terrible choke point on I-84 near Waterbury

Comments

[derspatchel]

Roar-O-Saurus looks fantastic; I'm glad there are once again knowledgeable wooden coaster firms out there.

The first time on the Compounce skyride is nerve-wracking and mind-blowing--it still! keeps! going!--and those descents are practically paratrooper drops. It's nice on a good sunny day, though.

My personal opinion OF WHICH I HAVE MANY AS A COASTER ENTHUSIAST is that Compounce could do well by removing the Boomerang--no, "it's the only coaster that goes upside down" is not a reason to keep it--and putting in a nice family coaster, like Dollywood has done with Firechaser Express. That ride just looks flat-out fun.

[mmcirvin]

I recall that Boomerang as actually not being so bad. But it's the only one I've ridden.

[mmcirvin]

...I do think it would be pretty cool if Canobie Lake tore out the Corkscrew (as historic as it admittedly is) and replaced it with something like GCI's "Big Fun" compact woodie, which I think would fit pretty much exactly into the footprint. The new coat of paint they gave the Corkscrew last summer suggests they're planning on keeping it around for a while, though.

[derspatchel]

Yeah, admittedly, one of my main complaints about the Boomerang is a terribly skewed park view: it's a cookie cutter design, cheap and compact enough that many parks can afford to put one in. I wouldn't be surprised if Vekoma had bulk discount deals with Six Flags and Cedar Fair and other theme park chains. To an enthusiast who travels a lot, they're everywhere. You end up asking yourself "Do I really want to wait thirty to sixty minutes for the same coaster I waited thirty to sixty minutes for at the last three parks I've been to

[austin_dern]

Oh, my dear bunny_hugger and I are so looking forward to when we can visit Lake Compounce, and Story Land for that matter. We've got a string of things for our New England Parks Tour which, alas, we're not going to be able to take this year. With luck we'll make it next summer.

Roar-a-Saurus especially caught bunny_hugger's interest because it feels like a joyfully local-park family-ride kind of name for a roller coaster. We haven't got kids ourselves but, well, who couldn't find the appeal in dinosaur roller coasters?

[mmcirvin]

Boulder Dash and the sky ride are the two things they have at Compounce that you can't really get anywhere else. The place is worth a visit just for them.

(I'm still feeling a bit irrationally ashamed that I went back to Compounce on a day when most of the rides were walk-ons and didn't ride Boulder Dash again, given its legendary status. But I am a lightweight coaster fan and BD, in particular its relentlessly forceful second half, is actually near the top of my comfort zone; I need to be fired up in the right way to ride it. And it was very clear that I'd be riding it alone, which on occasion I still get some social awkwardness about.)

[agent_mimi]

Hey, happy birthday Matt!

[mmcirvin]

Thanks!