mrceagle

The last couple years there hasn't been to much that i have gotten really ecxited about. this one has simply blown me away. layout and tyle all look great.

SFNE has always been hit or miss. I have had a handfull of great visits but countless visits that were horrible beyond belief. I didn't go back for 7 years and finally it's been a couple years since that visit.

As for the tram they only own 2 or 3 and one is down because their modified truck messed up and it jackniffed and crashed in to the guard rail. So that one is out fo commission.

Maybe make a vacation out of it and check out Compounce and Quassy, or go a bit further and visit Canboie.

I was originally planning to do 2 trip reports I one but plans fell through. But I and some of my family hit up Story Land on Opening day. Weather was a bit chilly in fact there was still snow on many of the mountain peaks. Because of this the water rides were off the table for this trip but the park had Splash Battle and The Bamboo Chutes open. Dr Geyser's however was closed and it was the only ride closed that day. We ate no food at the park but instead had Breakfast at Dunkin Doughnuts on the way to the park and at a Nearby Restaurant, Delaney's Hole in the Wall.

With the Addition of last year's Roar-O-Saurus in 2014 the park was able to focus on capital improvements for 2015. Changes could be found all over but one of the most noticeable can be seen as you enter. The park relocated the grab and go snacks to the real meal section of the pixie Kitchen. In its place is a Dunkin Doughnuts. The prices are on par with any other location and you can get the signature drinks as well as their namesake Doughnuts.

We all have season passes but the line to get them processed was very long. So we opted to hit the rides first. As usual the park's Polar Coaster was the first ride of the day. Lines at the rides were reasonably full but none were terribly long.



Rides
Polar Coaster X4, Roar-O-Saurus X2, and X1 on the rest of the rides; Cuckoo Clockenspiel, Turtle twirl, Crazy Barn, Eggstrodanary Tractors, Alice's Tea Cups, Antuique Carousel, and the Huff Puff and Whistle RR.

The Train as usual was the last ride of the day taken after closing. We walked to and got in line for the Antique Cars but the line was so long we opted to hit the carousel and tea cup rides instead. This also gave my niece a chance to hit the Fairy tale forest and all it has to offer.

The big Surprise for the day is when my niece agreed to ride Roar-O-Saurus. Last year she road it and didn't do well. She refused to ride it again or at all in future trips last year. But I talked to her about it a lot over the winter and I promised to stay with her and that we would ride in the middle. The wait was around 20 minutes. She did fine on the hill but tensed up as soon as the ride started. I dropped my arm down and let her hold onto it. This seemed to help a lot, Not only did she get off saying she licked the ride but asked to ride a second time as long as my dad let her hold his arm. It may be early in the year but riding with my nice on her second ever wood coaster ride tops my list for most memorable.

Capital Improvements
There were a handful of small additions and changes around the park. In the new Dino area a couple Fiberglas dinosaur benches have been added as well as a pergola over the Dino Dig. Sadly the Selection of Dino sours on display has not increased.


The Dutch Village also saw some work. The bridge in front of the Wind Mill was removed and the water way filled in. The area now features a large paved midway and a new landscape area. This removed the areas bottle neck and looks a lot cleaner.

The gift shop in the Dutch village is now a make your own soft serve sundaes shop. While I like the food option the inside looks horrible. Basically a couple machines on one end featuring chocolate/Vanilla/Swirl and Dole Whips Orange/Pineapple/Swirl, Toppings on each wall, and a casher on the far end. The rest of the building is open, wasted space.

Whistle top Snacks is no more and in its place a new gift shop. This was the best of the capital improvement for me. The inside looks great and the smaller gift shop location has a more specific collection of items. Mostly Roar-o-Saurus Items.

The Car ride now has a separate Exit. Similar to the conversion of Dr Geyser's you no longer exit in the station. The Park built a new covered area about 100ft for the station were you now exit your car and the car is then sent empty into the station. Not really sure what they accomplished by this except to shorten your ride. The station was still full and overflowing. They always unladed and loaded separately anyways,


The Dutch Shoes also saw some work. The Machine seems to be new. If it isn't it was very heavily rehabbed. The Swing arms also seem to be longer. The ride no longer has a paved walkway around the ride but not has a Boardwalk that sits partly over the grass. There is also a new fence but unfortunately it's very basic aluminum fencing similar to a carnival setup.

The park closes an hour earlier in the spring then they do in the summer. This made for a bit of a short day. We left right at closing so we could have Dinner and as usual hit a lot of traffic. I need to get moving though. This trip was on opening day and we're now I August and I haven't been back. But I have all of August and then weekends in Sept and early October. Time to start Planning!

After a quick stop at Jefferson Fun Park, Formally Six Gun City, I made my way up to Jefferson, NH's big attraction, Santa's Village. With the rain and no crowds at For Jefferson I didn't know what to expect when I got to Santa's village. To my surprise, the parking lots were packed. Despite this the park was not overly crowded, with only short waits for the rides.

I had only a few goals on this trip and I had only a few hours to do them. I took some time to say hello to the parks owner, try out 2 new food items, check out the new downtown, the new Elf Lodge, and while I didn't use it, I took a look at the new water slides. I accomplished them all.

As you enter the park you are no longer welcomed by a large building. Instead, you are welcomed into a downtown area with brightly colored and very beautiful buildings that house a stroller storage, restrooms, new Elf University, and an expanded candy shop. To put a bow on it all, fresh landscaping with plenty of evergreens.

After a short chat with the park's owner I was off to lunch. The parks Ho Ho H20 Play structure received two companion attractions, the Joy ride slides and the new Elf lodge. The joy ride slides were installed in what was once a parking lot for a neighboring restaurant which pushed out the park's fence. The new attraction features one tower with 3 body slides. The slides were built by Proslides, and were rehabbed with White Water West's Silk tech. the combination was very impressive. The sliders were flying down the slides and having a great time.

The park pushed out their fences yet again by taking over a neighboring restaurant. The building was rehabbed and expanded. It houses a gift shop, restrooms, changing rooms, nursing rooms, and a food stand that offers pulled pork & chicken, pizza, and drinks. I opted to get the pulled pork which came with homemade potato chips. I also bought a souvenir cup which gave me free soda and slushy refills for the day. Each cost me $7.99 plus tax.

My other food goal was to get Ice Cream at the newly expanded Frosty's Freezer. The park used to offer pretty standard Ice Cream but now they offer homemade Ice cream made on site. The flavors are all given fun names like enjoy-mint. The mint wasn't an option on this trip but I stuck to a personal favorite - Coffee. It was some of the best Ice cream I have ever had, very creamy and great flavor. Best of all, the extremely generous portion was in the $3.50 range after tax. While there is some seating I opted to walk over to the Yule log flume and eat my ice cream on the bridge.

Between all this eating I hit rides and shows. No extra rides, but I hit all these rides once; Rudy's Rapid Transit, Skyway sleigh, Rockn' round the Christmas Tree, Yule log flume, Chimney Drop, Holly Humbug Adventure, SS Peppermint Twist, and the Santa Express.

I watched 2 shows - the park's staple 3D movie, a Tinkerdoodle Christmas and a new show. The new show was a Christmas lights show in the Polar Theater. The lights and displays were choreographed to the music. The show was fun to watch but was very short. It's only 10 minutes so the show is basically 4 songs. Hopefully they can expand the show a bit next season.

The park also has a handful of live shows that went on around the park. One of which is an end of day show at a small stage by the front gate. The park also operates an Animatronic show which was recently rehabbed with new figures. Love the show but there was not enough time to watch it.

In all it was a great afternoon at the park. I had to skip a few rides and a show but I will hit them on my next trip. A longer day will definitely be in order and I think next summer I will try out the new slides. I have been coming to the park for a long time and have seen many changes and upgrades. I think the park really hit the nail on the head with these last few upgrades. I'm sure they were the tipping point to get then in to the top 5 children's parks in 2014 Golden Ticket, and a top ranking from Trip Adviser.

See the full report with over 50 photos from around the park and shooting off what's new:
http://photos.newwhalom.com/2014SVreport.html

Though a bit later than normal, Canobie Lake Park opened for the season. Weather was fantastic for a day at the park mid to high 60’s with a few clouds. No heavy winds to affect any rides. I was visiting with my older brother Steven. Throughout the day I ran into friends from ACE and The Canobie fan forums.

I first went to Customer Service to buy tickets for the season along with upgrading an unused ticket from last year. $84 dollars for 3 tickets good for the season. The upgraded ticket cost me nothing since prices didn’t increase from 2014 to 2015. One cool thing is this year they give you your tickets in a brochure sized file folder that has a park map printed on the inside. This was much nicer then having to ask for an envelope.

Rides down – The only ride listed as down was Extreme Frisbee. Wave Blaster however never opened. Tilt-a-whirl had a bit of down time but was up quickly. The train has major issues and was shut down early.

My Brother and I opted to hit Canonball first. We had already taken a look at the rehab and wanted to try it. Unlucky for us both rides we ended up in the center of the train. This made it difficult to truly assess the outcome of the work. But what I did notice was a bit of a shake that was likely from the train but the back turn was very much improved. The train glides through it better however the return trip felt a bit slow. The park only re-tracked a bit over half of the coaster, from the drop of the turn to the entrance to the station. Hopefully the rest will be done for next season.



Throughout the day when went from 11am to 6pm we rode Cannonball, Untamed and Mine of Lost Souls twice. We then rode the following rides once: Zero Gravity, Rowdy Roosters, Tilt-a-Whirl, Antique Cars, Skater, Psychodrome, Caterpillar, DaVinci’s Dream, Star Blaster, Corkscrew, Log Flume, and Pirata. I hit Boston Harbor Patrol with Pubman from Canobie Fan.

The big surprise for the day was that Psychodrome got a rehab. Gone are the cheesy party lights. All of the lighting bars around the dome are fixed and now sport red, blue, green, and white bulbs. The parks also added large strobes in the center and a couple on the outside. The park no longer operates a flood light during the rides cycle. Instead the lights around the dome flash filling the area with those colors and then switch to a strobe sequence. This repeats until the ride ends.

Mine of Lost Souls also seems to have seen a bit of love. Since my rides last year the lighting was a lot better and the audio throughout the attraction was much better. I am a big fan of this ride but it still needs some work. The waterfall effect doesn’t work correctly and riders are getting dripped on more and more as it ages.


I bought a shirt for the first time in years on this trip. I got an Equinox shirt which as marked down to $10 since the ride is no longer at the park. I will likely get a few more since the shop which is not operated by the park offers shirts for $15 or 3 for $36. These shirts also seemed to be better quality then other shirts I was finding at other locations in the park for $20-$25.

I didn’t eat any food in the park today but was surprised to see that Portofino’s was open. This location normally doesn’t open until late spring. Instead my brother and I went to Long John Silver’s after the park closed. We invited a number of people to go but in the end only Pubman form Canobiefan opted to go. Food was very good but the orders got messed up a bit. The employees handled it wonderfully corrected the issue and even gave us a bit of extra food.

In all it was a great opening day. No new ride has been picked to replace Equinox but the park did get a number of smaller landscaping improvements and many of the rides had new lights. I can’t wait untill later in the season to see them in action. The park never did get that busy, but the discount sale was running all weekend this year.

1 trip down 3 more to go!

Full report with a 27 image gallery and even more info from the park : http://photos.newwhalom.com/Openingdayreport.html

Since I was in the area and snagged a discounted season pass I drove the extra hour to the park and processed the pass. I had only been to the park once in the last few years but this year the park installed a new wood coaster, Roar-o-Saurus. This was a Thursday so I expected light crowds but I arrived to a full parking lot. Despite this, the crowds were a bit moderate within the park itself and most rides were either walk-ons or only a cycle or so wait. The mid week busyness may have had something to do with the fact that Curious George was making an appearance that day.

Season pass processing was simple but I was surprised to see they now process passes at customer service. A few years ago I had a pass and they processed it at the driver's license building by the Antique Cars ride. The equipment there is much better. At costumer service they have low quality printers and take your picture with a webcam.

Ride count: Roar-o-saurus X10, Polar Coaster X3, and one ride on the fallowing; Splash Battle, Cuckoo-Clockinspeil, Alice's Tea Cups, Las Brovas Silver Mine (Walkthrough), Bamboo shoots, Turtle Twirl, Train. I also spent time in the Story book forest and Cinderella's Court. There were no rides down for the day but the Dutch Shoe ride did see some down time.I wanted to ride Dr Geyser's Remarkable Raft Ride but I would have had to pay for a locker to hold my back pack. $1 dollar, not worh it.

Given this trip was an add-on I only had about 4 hours in the park. My focus was to check out the wood coaster and attempted to ride it in as many seats as possible to get a good idea of the coaster. I did not eat at the park. I found food options on the high end with most options at 9.99 with a few Kids sized meals at 6.99. I checked out a few locations and found similarly high prices or had a difficulty finding the prices on those items. I ended up only buying a Souvenir cup since the one I had was no longer accepted, but I was told this new cup will give me refills for the season. The cup was 9.99.

Roar-o-Saurus
The area

For the most part only a few changes were made to the area. The preexisting bathrooms saw no change to support the theme. A large planter in the center of the courtyard was removed and in its place is a small dino dig. There is only one dinosaur to dig up and there is a sign that names the dinosaur and explains the parts of the skeleton. I was expecting something a little bigger but the small attraction did catch the attention of a few kids.

There is a roller ball game added to the area called Dino Dash. The mechanism was relocated from the Las Bravos area and rehabbed to fit the theme. The game looks great but the building housing it is pretty average. The game did seem to be doing well in its new location but then it never did bad in its original location. The only other building added is a booth for the on ride photo. There is no gift shop or stand in this section with Roar merchandise.

The biggest attraction next to the coaster is the Dinosaur displays. The park purchased both static and animatronics Dinosaurs that are placed around the area. They are a nice touch but I was a bit disappointed. At the construction tour they talked about ordering a number of figures. At the park on my visit was about a half dozen dinos featuring 4 different species. They are all located around the bridge leading to the coaster.

The coaster

The coaster is a bit of a mixed bag. This is similar in scale then Wooden Warrior at Quassy in CT. Roar is much more compact and includes some fairly extreme angles as well as very fast transitions. At construction and on paper these would seem to add a lot of intensity. It does, but at a cost of smoothness. The coaster has a noticeable shimmy throughout. A few MPH less might stop this. I would not be surprised to see a trim added in the near future. The coaster also has a very steep drop which is borderline too intense for some of their audience.

In all it's a very good addition and has a lot to offer. The Timberliners are very accommodating and provide a comfortable ride. I would note that while I enjoyed it I saw many kids scared off pre ride do to noise and it scared my niece to death who normally loves coasters and rides. I did see far more coming off of the ride happy but there may be a healthy medium that was missed on this addition.

I spent a good deal of time n the Los Brazos area. The area added a panning for gems attraction which was relocated from Lake Compounce. The attraction looks great in the center of the area. The park added a small booth to support it that is noticeably newer then the res t of the area. The park walled off the former game building, hopefully this spot will see an addition soon. I also noticed they redid the Shooting Gallery. The park removed the cool cameras and converted to a more traditional rifle theme. Interesting though is the park used over the counter air rifles and retrofitted them with the laser mechanism. The price has been increased and is now $1.00 for 24 shots.

The areas star attraction is the Silver Mine. This guided tour is a spin on the crooked house attraction. I seem to always catch this attraction towards the end of the day and normally by myself. It was very different with a group. Best of all there were adults and kids that have never done the attraction before so it was a joy watching them go through the attraction with a level of ahh. Seeing the group get so excited about a bottomless pit, the vortex and the bottle rolling up the table made for a very good experience.

I wandered the park taking in rides, the landscaping, and watching guests interact with the fairytale animals and themed areas. The day did not feel rushed, which was a blessing given the crowds I expected. I stayed till closing, took the last after hours train around to the front, and made my way out. Because I left right at closing I hit a lot of traffic but I knew the park so I was able to cut behind a building and get into the road without waiting in a long line. I left right away so that I could stop by Attitash for the mountain coaster. That mini report will be up soon.

Check out the PTR with two photo albums containing 115 photo form my trip and the Winter Construction tour of Roar-o-Saurur
http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Story%20Land/2014Spring/PTR.html

With less room to expand they add to the park by having a strong entertainment lineup. On top of the shows they have fireworks every saturday night a brass band in the village area and smaller events on specific nights. Fall/screemfest is just as impressive. this fall will be Rock tober fest with a diferent tribute rock band every weekend.

One Direction Replaced Justin Beiber which ran for 2 years. Last year they also has katy perry with Lady Gaga 2 years ago. Matt Lewis who play Elvis Operates the company Canobie uses for the shows. She is conected to the Legands live shows that play in Vegas and at smaller Casinos.

As for SF. I have foudn that shows can be weak company wises exept for a few select parks. The stunt Shows were the real standout shows and they are regretfuly long gone.

First off I have to thank by friend Mack (Pubman) for treating me to a day at Canobie.
I arrived at 10:45 to meet up and get into the park for the start of the day. The focus today was to see the 2014 tribute shows and if possible the vaudeville Magic Show. Rides were second on the list. We were disappointed to see that the park's dark ride Mine of Lost Souls was listed as closed for the day. The park also listed Equinox, Wave Blaster and DaVinci's Dream. Davinci's Dream did open around 1pm and I observed maintenance working on the Mine and Wave Blaster. I walked to the Mine hoping to get an idea of what's up, but no luck. We later learned it was an electrical issue.

The first rides of the day were the Bumper cars, Psychodrome and the Lake Cruise. The park was surprisingly busy. With a couple major events going on in NH I expected lighter crowds. Queue lines were filled but they moved quickly with employees working hard and trying to fill all the seats.

Ride count: One ride each - Bumper cars, Psychodrome, Lake Cruse, Canobie Express, Untamed, Yankee Cannonball, Rowdy Rooster, Log Flume, Boston Harbor Patrol, Over the Rainbow, and Xtreme Frisbee.

Lunch was at the Dancing Bear in Ye Old Canobie Village. This is my favorite food location featuring BBQ options which are cooked to order. I didn't get my usual half rack of ribs because they have become very expensive. I ordered a BBQ chicken sandwich platter. My friend got a hamburger platter. Platters are served with steak fries and coleslaw. Prices are high both meals and a refilled Souvenir cup cost $22.77 after tax. Lucky for me my friend was covering lunch (thanks again). Quality wasn't bad, better than other options in the park, but obviously frozen chicken. Also, the sandwich was made with chicken strips which were hard to eat. Thankfully they have forks available. A single chicken breast or pulled chicken would have made for a better sandwich. A negative change to this location is they no longer deliver your food. They call your number for pickup but there is no pickup area. You have to fight through the queue of those waiting to order to get your food.

The shows
Tribute to Madonna - returning and now in the Dance Hall Theater
This was a pretty good show. A few years back it ran during Screemfest on the midway stage. The show is even better in the dance hall. There is more room to show of the backup dancers and it allows the tribute Artist more room to move round and interact with the audience. The song line up features a couple newer songs with well known classics. My only complaint is some of Madonna's best songs are her power ballads and they didn't cover any of them. It would have been a great opportunity to showcase the dancers and slow things down a bit. Even Like a Prayer was presented with the Dance remix version. I saw this show twice.

Forever Kings - Limited Engagement through July 6th in the Dance hall Theater
This is a Stage show featuring both Michael Jackson and Elvis. It replaces one of the 2 Jackson Tribute shows. To say this show was in demand is an understatement. The Dance hall was packed pretty much standing room only. The show itself was interesting basically mini version of the 2 shows and a surprise moment when both were on stage for the song Black and White.

Tribute to Michael - Returning for its 5th season in the Dance hall
One of the Top 3 tribute shows the park has ever had. The show is upbeat, exciting, and the performer Eddie Moss is amazing. What are truly impressive are the dancers this year. Not to say any of them were bad in previous years but they really hit the jackpot this year. What was also good to see is they reworked the songs that were used in the past and added in a new and very in demand song Beat It.

Tribute to 1 Direction - New in 2014 on the Midway Stage
I watched a little bit of this show on two separate performances. The positives, the performers look a lot like who they are representing and the younger guests especially girls were very excited for the show. On the other side the show had limited appeal to anyone else. The choreography was simple but that's to be expected. The singing was a big weak and harmonies were way off.

Hagerman's Vaudeville Magic Show - Returning for its second season on the Village Stage
This is a simple magic show. I caught the end of the show which normally showcases the best tricks. I was not impressed. The two simple tricks were nothing special and the finale, a quick change, was in no way quick. The performer is a bit monotone which really make the show dull. I do see promise in the show if they can work on the pacing and make it seem less like a birthday party magician act.

In the works and New
The Magic Seed - coming fall 2014
This family area will be a featured attraction for Screeemfest. The back section of the former ball field is truly transformed. Pathways are laid out, plants are growing, and a few animals are already in place. The park relocated one of the birdcages from the long gone zoo area which houses both a peacock and peahen. A front pen houses a peacock and chickens. The area come fall will host a full blown petting zoo. A noticeable change is a very nice wood fence that now runs along the front of the area.

Boat House Casino - Formally the Lake side Arcade
The new casino arcade is finally opened after a long delayed rehab started in 2012. Now The Jackpot Casino in the back of Bear Lodge has found a new home and name. The new arcade still operates the jackpot coin games, video poker, and slot machines. The pop-a-ball poker games seem to be absent. This location features a handful of standard arcade games including a new short length Ice ball (Skeeball) games. What I don't get is why, with all the long rehab, they didn't switch out the floor. The building looks amazing, but the dark old tile flooring doesn't fit.

Fellers Follies - Replaced the Old Man climbing wall
This is the parks latest game/up-charge attraction. It's a traditional ladder climb game. The game had a good draw no one seemed to mind removing their shoes to use the attraction. While it was popular not one guest came close to winning. The game is priced at $2 for one play or $5 for 3 attempts.

The Melt - Replacing the Funnel Cake Stand
The stand has been repainted and now sports a large 3D sign featuring a plate of grilled cheese. This was likely done by Themendous the company that made the other large 3D props and signs.

A few smaller changes have been made as well. All the tagged trees from opening day have been removed around the Flume. Turns out this was done to install security cameras along the layout. Two large monitors are set up in the station showing off the views. The park also fixed the Electric Fountain. The Fountain now sports a base plate at the top which hold 3 high capacity water nozzles. Good to see the park's first attraction get some love.

The day in all was very fun. It is always a bonus to have a friend to visit with so thanks again Mack for treating me to the park. I got on a few rides, saw amazing shows, and the weather couldn't have been better. So with any luck I will get in a summer trip and if I can swing a Saturday now through Labor Day I can see their Fireworks display. No matter what I'm checking out Screeemfest and the finished Magic Seed.

Here is the TR with 2 albums containing 72 photos - photos.newwhalom.com//2014SummerShowsreport

Nice extra attraction. Wish it was going to be around longer.

What's normaly in thsi space?

An article recently came out were park managment said that season passes are not offered because of the low in park capacity.

I would really like to see one. if I had bought 3 tickets it would have been 84 dollars. Higher then any season pass in New England.

Yes it's a Rotor attraction. In the last coupel of years the floor wasn't dropping much- a couple feet. But on opening day it was dropping to it's lowest level and actually stayed down a bit longer then my last trip. This model is a hybrib of 2 comapanies. SDC did the last rehab and upgrade. It can pull 33rpms which makes it the fastest ride in the park.

Here's a link to the larger photo - http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Canobie%20Lake%20Park/openingday2014/CLP27.html

Spring is here and with that park season has begun. After a week delay, Canobie is finally open for the season. Weather was warm but there were overcast skies and a risk of rain which seemed to scare many people off. I saw a greater than normal amount of people buying any-day tickets and driving off.

I grabbed lunch on the way at a Dairy Queen and managed to get to the park just before opening. Guests were already in the park and rides were testing or already going. I bought 2 tickets and upgraded one left over from last year. So after visiting today I have tickets for two more trips. After the bag check and the gates, I saw that they had many of the Canobie Critters out to greet guests.

I didn’t go straight to a ride but took in the park. Frisbee and Wave Blaster were not operating today. From the looks of things they simply hadn’t been completely put back together after the off season. While this was disappointing, the rain and weather made it a bit understandable. Later in the day, Crazy Cups went down and despite a noticeable effort they never came back up that day.

Ride Count
Cannonball x5, Untamed x5, Mine of Lost Souls x2, Star blaster x2.
I then took 1 ride on Zero Gravity, Wipe out, Rowdy Roosters, Log Flume, Pirata, Corkscrew, Ferris Wheel, Canobie Express, Blue Heron Lake Cruise, Da Vinci’s Dream, Boston Harbor Patrol, Turkish Twist, Skater and PsychoDrome.

What’s new?
Frisbee will be getting a test seat but it’s not in place yet. Davinci’s Dream also has a new control system which works off the original operating console. Star Blaster got new concrete and some of the railing was replaced and all of the railing has a silver paint color. Riders now are lined up by number not colors. Sky ride will be getting new tubs. Canobie Express got a new propane tank and in car lighting.

Many attractions saw new paint: The mine cars on Mine of Lost Souls, Canobie Express, Locomotive and cars. Caterpillar’s structure was repainted and has a cartoon like grass and bug display.

One big change is the Old Man Climbing Wall will be removed and put up for sale. The park will add a new game in its place a rope ladder challenge. The guess your weight game has also returned seems the High Striker was destroyed by a fallen tree limb sometime last year

Another change is the corn maze area is no more. All the sets like the entrance and Porch stage have been relocated behind Untamed. It is now called the Magic Seed. The area will again feature a petting zoo but no word on whether it will hold a corn maze. There is also no definitive answer to when it will open. The attraction in the past was only featured during Screeemfest.

The newly expanded parking lot which was not finished for last summer and in turn never used is finished and will dramatically increase parking capacity. I suspect we will see this lot used more often and the two grassed lots used only when needed. Shuttle busses will be used less often. Now let’s see them put that shuttle bus money to good use

The park has a new food option in 2014. The Funnel Cake stand will now offer grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, salads, and soda. Options range from traditional Grilled cheese to melts with various meat or veggie options and are combos with chips and a pickle spear. Prices are a bit expensive with prices ranging from $6.99 for a traditional Grilled Cheese and all other options costing $8.49. Upgrades are meat $1 dollar Cheese .25 cents and Veggie .25 cents. Soup is $5.25 for a cup.

Opening Day is always a short schedule 11-6 so I didn’t spend much money. I refilled my souvenir cup at Portofino’s for $1.08 after tax. I was surprised to see this pizza/pasta shop opened it normally doesn’t open till summer. I also spent some time in the Palace Arcade. Pinball games are now all a quarter so I played a few. I was especially impressed by the new Wizard of Oz Pinball which included a large LED Screen that showed video clips from the movie.

Rides were running well and they all looked great. The staff was friendly and on their game. Getting on rides was quick so it made for a great day for hitting rides. I do wish more people had opted to come out and enjoy the park and the beautiful weather the day delivered. I just wish I could have picked up more tickets. Next trip will be after the shows start. Michael Jackson will return. Madonna will return after a couple years away and host a new show in the dance hall. A one direction tribute and magic show will round off the summer shows. I also look forward to Screemfest and the new Rocktober fest coming this fall.

Check out the Main PTR page with links to albums containing more then 50 photos - http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Canobie%20Lake%20Park/openingday2014/2014openingdayreport.html

With an extra weekend of operation it made things easier to work in a trip to Six Flags New England (SFNE). Weather projection had clear skies, cold temperatures starting in the 50’s and dropping close to freezing come nightfall with no snow or rain in the forecast. I was off to the park with my brothers and sisters-in-law. For those who know me best I will pause to let you look out your window for flying pigs.

So after a seven year hiatus from visiting the park on a normal operating day, I was finally returning. Before we went we hit a local Golden Corral to have lunch. As we arrived at the park the parking lot was surprisingly empty. The crowds in the park were equally low. I waited at the ticket both to find out I only needed to present the bring-a-friend e-mail pass to the ticket booths. The outside of the park seemed a bit under themed for the Fright fest event but the note worthy displays are all inside.


I always liked the transformation of Main Street into the graveyard. There were a few basic animatronics set up here and there that are set off by motion sensors. For the most part this section is the same as when I hit Fright Fest in 2004, but the park looked nice and it was time to hit rides.

It might surprise you to hear that my first ride was not on Bizarro, but on the Six Flags Express, formerly Thomas the Train. This was a new credit for me and I figured I’d hit it before heading further into the park. In fact out of my first 5 rides, 3 of them the park considers kiddie rides. After hitting Thunderbolt and Bizarro, we hit Kidzopolis. The Krazy Cars (formerly) Big Red Cars moved well and were roomy. I think it would make a great dark ride system, but overall seemed a bit of a pointless attraction with Route 66 antique cars next to it. This ride was also a walk on while Route 66 had a solid line. We also tried the ZoomJets (formerly Big Red Planes) which was an ok attraction, but it had horrible movement. It was slow to lift or drop using the control button. There is no bar like you found in the old plane rides
Ride Count


1x: Six Flags Express, Thunderbolt, Krazy Cars, Zoom Jets , Voodoo Vortex (Kontiki), Terror Twist (Tea Cups), Mind Eraser, Balloon Race, Zombie Coaster (Pandemonium), Cyclone, Carousel, Buzzsaw, and Crime Wave. 2x Batman Dark Night and 9x Bizzaro.

The rides were operating ok for the most part. Coasters nearly all had a noticeable shake, Bizarro and Mind Eraser having the worst. The Cyclone ran reasonably good on the newly tracked section but shook through the remaining sections. Thunderbolt was impressive and Batman was smooth but I noticed the trim brake was hitting harder then I last remembered. The Zero G roll was a bit lacking but the interlocking corkscrews were smoother. Flats ran well but I didn’t bother riding Scrambler and Joker simply because they were being operated so slowly, they weren’t worth even a cycle wait. I also skipped Poison Ivy which was producing a horrid roar as the train operated. I have never heard a Zierer make so much noise. The flat I opted to ride ran well and were fun


Fright Fest This year offers 3 Haunted houses; Midnight Mansion, Wicked Woods, and Total Darkness. I had intended on hitting the haunts when I went and I knew they were an upcharge. I found out after entering that without a season pass it was $20 dollars for 3 haunts. That’s a bit much for a dark haunt and 2 longstanding short haunts. I later heard more than a few complaints about how horrible the haunts were so I think I made the right choice.

In all it was a good day. They really need to work on their flat selection. The park is operating better than many of my trips in 2005, but the park as a whole was much better then. With Any luck it won’t be another 7 years until I visit during the main season again.

Read The unabridged report and check out the 54 image photo album:
http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Six_Flags/Frightfest2013/Photo%20Trip%20report.html

The day is finally here where Canobie not only opens for the season, but has its one day sale. I got off to a slightly late start but managed to get to the park about 5 past 11, just after park opening. I quickly parked and made my way to customer service to buy my season tickets. Canobie has no season pass but instead sells discounted tickets good for the entire season. I bought 3 for $81 dollars and used one to get in to the park.


The first thing I noticed is that security was doing bag checks. This was a first for the main season though it was done the last 2 years during Screeemfest. I expected this though and even talked about it before hand with friends. The screening was quick and really didn’t slow down entrance to the park.

I made my way to Equinox. It’s my tradition to hit the newest ride first. I got in the queue line which is horribly set up. There was a 2 cycle wait which wasn’t bad but the rock music blaring from the rides speakers were a bit too loud and ear piercing! So I got on and made my way to my seat.


My God this is uncomfortable. The seat is only a small pad that goes between your legs. The shoulder restraints would be fine, the belt like shoulder harness is great, but there is an extra bar. This bar is an angled plate of steel with no padding that jabbed straight into my ribs. The ride itself is pretty intense, but there is no sense of direction; you’re just everywhere. I want to try it again which never happened this trip since the ride went down early afternoon.


I made my way to Dodgems and then to Zero Gravity. I group of teens were talking about how they thought Zero gravity was better than Equinox. Good to see so much love for an old school ride. I then passed by cannonball and hit Star blaster so I could attempt to meet up with a few people form Canboiefan. I saw a small group of ACE member on Star Blaster took a second to say hi and did eventually find a group of Canobie fan posters. I opted to go around the park with them for a bit hit Over the Rainbow and Mine of Lost Souls. I then grabbed a drink, Souvenir cup refill $1.08 with tax, while everyone got lunch.


The rest of my day was focused on walking and enjoying the park while I hit rides. Crowds were average with 1-2 cycle waits. I opted to use the single rider line on my last 4 rides on Untamed. The park was clean and prepped for the season. I did see a few crews raking up leaves. Though I did notice none of the fountains were operating.

Read the full report and see more pictures: http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/Canobie%20Lake%20Park/Openingday2013/CanobieOpening2013report.html

The day opened with an introduction from Russ and a special thanks to the Assistant Regional Reps. Hannah Harrison was introduced form the NY region. There was a get-to-know you game with a goal to find people that have road all the scheduled ERT Coaster Con coasters, Goliath in 2012, going on ACE Euro tour, etc. The park served cheese pizza and salad. They then played videos while everyone ate.

The raffle was held throughout the event with items like park tickets, Untamed magnets, and other park trinkets. The action included Items form Boulder Dash’s rehab including the front plate to the green car.

Our group was given a tour of the new Surf shop as well as a tour of the water park expansion. The amount of space available for future expansion is impressive. The manager that gave the tour assured us there were still open spaces that could be used Dry park expansion. The tour kept us to that corner of the park but ample time was given to look around.

The event concluded with the presentation of the ACE New England Spirit Award which was awarded to Mike Thompson who has been involved with ACE from a regional level to a national level having written for ACE New. A quick photo op brought the first 10 recipients together.

See the full report with park plans here: http://photos.newwhalom.com/Trip%20Reports/NE2012/NE2013report.html

I finally made it to Canobie lake Park for their Screeemfest Halloween event arriving at 2:10. I missed the 1 pm opening but arrived to a half filled parking lot. Crowds were moderate as I made my way into the park and to Equinox Canobie's new ride. Despite 3 attendants being on the ride it was not operating. As I approached to get a photo I saw a team of maintenance workers attending to the ride. I talked with the attendant that was eager to describe the ride but I knew all that was to know form covering it on the Whalom forums. I was told I could check back but he wasn't expecting to see the ride operating.

I made my way to Untamed, Cannonball has a 2/3rds Filled Queue as I walked by and as I got to Untamed I was surprised to find it a walk on. I hoped in the main queue and walked up the stairs to the ride. I was let right in for a front seat ride. As I exited I noticed the path was blocked forcing guests to walk around the ride to the bear lodge.

I walked to skater and took a ride. Phycodrome was closed despite operating last year's Screeemfest. I then made my way to Caterpillar and Davinci's Dream. In all except for Water rides and Mine of lost souls(affected by Village haunt) the only rides down were Equinox and Phycodrome. Every other ride was open.

I road Star blaster and as I exited I heard the Madonna show so I walked over there. I looked around and quickly found a few members of Canobie fan; JustplainSteve, madjennymorgan and Ben James Ben. Jimmy mass was there but I didn’t notice him too bad. Canobie#1 also admitted to being there but he was stuck in line. I did see a few Canobie staff members I know so dropped a quick high to them but missed out on meeting up with an High School acquaintance that works at the park.

All of us Canobie fans opted to hang out for a bit and made our way to the Corn maze. Later this attraction would be fogged and reopened as Terror in the corn. It was enjoyable but the path was a little muddy despite having not rained in a couple days. We also looked over the autumn fairground. This attraction was found uninspired. The attraction consisted of a couple consigned out tents and a bunch of tents run by Canobie selling miscellanies stuff. There was a Canobie museum store selling old signs and an outlet for old T-shirts and store items. One food stand offered sausage and sliders (2 sliders for $4 dollars). From the write ups and advertisements I expected much more. I also didn't get the location.

We all headed back to the midway stage were we all branched out to do our thing I left been to play the Shooting gallery which I have not used in a couple years because of the $1.00 dollar cost to play up from .50 cents. Funny at .50 cents I played at least once a trip. I then made my way to cannonball and a Full queue. Took nearly an hour and after sitting down and buckling I voluntarily moved so 2 friends could sit together. Great ride good speed given the cold temps.

Not wanting a big meal I walked over to the Poncho Cantina to get Fried Dough. The Fried Dough cost $4.50 I got a Souvenir cup refill for .99 cents. So dinner was $5.98 not too bad. The Fried dough was OK. I think it was pre fried not fresh and seemed to mess the stomach up a bit. I ate my meal while watching the mini Kiss show.

Shows

Madonna - This is the better of the 2 shows. The dancers are great a few of which are back from previous shows. The Tribute artist did a good job but seemed to be a bit off from last year’s show. I later found out that much of the cast had a cold which would account for the problems. But overall it was a good show. Though I think the Prince show was just a tad better.

Mini Kiss - It's an OK show. It's more of a gimmick then a real show. The Drummer and Guitarist are the best performers and the Bass player is pretty good but the lead singer just isn’t that good. Only plus size is he seems to have memorized the song list which is better than their first year. but it pulled a crowed So I doubt it will be going away.

Monster Parade - I didn't see the parade, but with the crowds I really don't see how it can be done sadly after 5 on Saturdays.

Having seen Equinox testing earlier a bit early in the night I figured I’d head over and see that was up. The ride was still down and the parks Rides manager confirmed that it would not be operating that day. I videotaped a test run and then asked a few questions about the ride. Sound and music will play during the ride and rock movie played between rides. I asked about volume and the music bleeding into the carousel and not hearing the band organ, I was told that wasn’t their concern. Which I find disappointing! There was talk of adding Fiberglass walls to the carousel to block some of the noise. Later in the day while they had music playing I could hear it by Rowdy roosters over wipeouts music and down the midway by the tea cups.

I left the park for a bit my phone had died and I wanted to drop off my backpack. So I charged my phone for a bit. I did notice that the park has added a charging station by the lockers but it costs $3 dollars for 15 minutes of charging and it shows ads while you stand there. Though I think Sky Vodka is a bit inappropriate for a family amusement park. After 15 minutes in the car I moved forward closer to the entrance. All the after 5 traffic was being directed in to Kelly's field and the new overflow lot.

I went back in and the park was crowded by this point. In fact it was busier then my August trip. Closing shows the entire main lot used and both over flow lots used. Every ride had full likes and every haunt queue had full to over flowing queue. I invested the rest of my night from 7-11 on haunts expect for 3 more rides on Untamed using the single rider line.

Screeemfest haunts

Headhunters of Cannibal Lake/Terror in the Corn

Cannibal Lake for 2012 was turned into a read haunt using the castaway island area. Well it actually only used the front and part of one side of the area. The haunt was well staffed and used heavy smock. They did use a few lighting spots were a bright light shot at you but nothing complicated. A good start but needs more. You had to use the queue and enter the corn haunt after the Cannibal haunt. I did this twice with first time was a 45 minute wait with lines starting by the kiddie swings and second was a 20 minute wait. The fog was to as thick the second time and I could see the props better.

Terror in the Corn was a simple haunt Portions of the village were moved to this a=haunt the Scarecrows the jump nest and the camo suits are now here. Fog was the main theme with a good staff count. One aggravation was the heady use of in face lighting. And all were clear bulbs. Colors would have really been appreciated and offered more variety. The haunt was still a bit muddy which is not much of an excuse since there are ways to dry off the paths and not overly expensive.

Dead Shed - nearly full Queue 35 minutes wait. The haunt is very good, good themeing but little has changed. Biggest change is at the end were they expanded the butcher room. They added bloody skeletons that hang and a torso table. Nice to see something new but needs more. I miss the cockroach/bug room that was removed a couple years back. I went through this twice

The Village - The village used the majority of the old Canobie area. 50 minutes wait the queue sent you into the flume exit and through the entire main and overflow queue as well as the added queue. The attraction starts with a black out constriction hall and works down the path. The only addition was about 50ft of expanded haunt that brought you closer to the timber splash and the chain saw guys now use this area. The second building is not in front of the mine and is now a dark hall with ah simple haunted in there with a strobe light. I felt this was the weakest of the 5 haunts with a good staffing but needs more.

Merriment Inc - 40 minutes got in line about 20ft form the queue entrance. The haunt is the most elaborate. There was a number of performers and in a variety of costumes from clowns to gas masks. The majority of the haunt is identical to last year with a few midway prices tossed in to the mix. The most changed came after the White out constriction tunnel. The park seemed to have listened to me and black light the boxes after the tunnel which drew you forward. They also has one actor at this point to scare you. They then hung midway game prizes along the wall and fence to present some sense of continuity to the haunt. Worked well no one slowed or got lost like previous years.

In all it was an OK day. I was very disappointed in the new ride. Seems withal their efforts to compete with SFNE they have done it and found themselves their own Catapult. Hopefully the ride will open soon but to and I think it will be a good overall addition but I dislike it'd location and impact to the area. I will see Canobie again in 2013.

More Photos here - http://s1181.photobucket.com/albums/x439/mrceagle/Canobie%20Screeemfest%202012/

A Hotel would be a great addition. I'm surprised SFI never bit the bullet to put one on property. I know it was discussed years ago.

now if the park or some one else nearby could add a camp ground.

Great photos like always. The Safari seems busy.

Within hours of the announcement, butthurt Disney fanboys got their panties in a bunch, crying that it was a Kilimanjaro Safari ripoff.

It is a Knock off of it. but then the safari in general is a knock of of their own Jungle cruse. You can spin this change in so many ways; This is a safer alternative, It's more environmentally Friendly. Fewer vehicles will put less stres on the animals. etc. But the Disney fans have little to worry about after they expand again with Avatar I'm sure it will get it's reports back. Even if it doesn't the parks are completely different.

And 2013 is batman's 20th anniversary and in 2014 SFGA will be 40!!! so i think they will get a giga drop tower on kingda ka and a new coaster! a wing coaster

I don't think the managers have any clue what else to do with the property. I think this ride may have been planed to be a bigger attraction. but they pushed it's time frame out to try and over shadow gatekeeper. For some reason I think Managers at SFMM think they are in competition with CP.

I doubt we would see a giant drop and a high price tag coaster in the same year.

Ya but is they went with a ride like he described it woudl fit into the neighboring movie town. While I liked the old country area it's pretty much dead.

The addition is a good choice. The Kracken slide at Lake Compounce has been a huge hit and this one will have 8 slides instead of 4. Capacity is really good. each slide get I believe 160-180pph. that's 1,200+ pph

I would hav torn down chillers observatory and move bizzaro o we to where chiller used to be. Paint it brown and green and reopen the old country, with a refurbished autobahn, gett ing rid of that dead end zone of the park. With bizzaro gone not only could thu built a better entrance to the new safari but also get rid of all the problems it causes during concerts with noise

I also would have preferred to see Bizzaro go and have a themed area to support the new addition. But I woudl have shipped Bizzaro off to another park.

Putting the Safari entrance on the Bizarro side wouldn't work. It would cut off access to the Northern Star Arena and make getting bands and acts into and out a haste. It is highly unlikely that they would move a major coaster within a park simply from a cost perspective. The next stop for Bizarro is another Six Flags park.

Not really, if the acts are brought in before opening and removed before opening the next day then you simply need a 10 ft wide path and a gate on either side. i agree it is most likely to go to another park.

With the new safari, can we expect safari discoveries to return next season? Also does anyone know what the 3rd big announcement is supposed to be?

The zip line adventure over the safari.

1. Safari is added to the park and rehabbed
2. HH gets a new side
3. Zip line attraction (most likely an up-charge)

But YOLO is already lame and dated, even among the target group (you should see all the backlash in the comments section in YouTube).

They used a Bill and Ted reference! there core audience weren't even alive or old enough to remember that one.

theres videos on the GA website but i couldnt get them to play with fire fox

There are a few things that need to be done. Update firefox to the newest version, you also need to remove the latest flash and install the 10.3. there is a problem with the memory usage and it will freeze or crash.

Most of the addition's I am excited about. I think Full throttle is a cheap trip Gimmick coaster.

same list but a bit more into along with ride removal notices on the Whalom forums: http://s6.zetaboards.com/New_Whalom_Park/topic/8827307/1

Thanks for all the info. The Safari seems like a great move. I am surprised they didn't remove Bizzaro. load unload in the western area is way out of theme but hey, it's SFI.

There is also talk about a Zip line adventure. I guess they are hoping this up-charge along with the hand on Zoo keeper stuff will bring in enough money to cover the costs.