I also got addicted to the Flyers. No Melago mastery here, I'm really not very good. I just *love* them! My final ride in the black tub did produce extreme snappage though!
The Flyer Comet is a fun, fun coaster. It's definitely a backseat ride. I really like it's position by the lake. The tunnel just *makes* the ride! Chris expected the paint job to be farther along than it is - only a small lower section has been coated with primer. I think it will look gorgeous when it's completed!
The park was not deserted by any means, but it was a moderately light crowd and mostly African-American. Is Lunenberg a predominantly black town? I was very impressed with the number of families picnicking - there must have been over a thousand.
In addition to great rides, Whalom also has great food. Their jumbo hot dogs are as advertised - out of this world! I will also have fond memories of Whalom (and forever be grateful to Spatch and Chris) for introducing me to the finest drink ever to pass my lips. Cranberry Dry is the sweetest, tastiest, most addicting drink in the world!!!
We left Whalom Park and made the 45 minute trek to New Hampshire's Canobie Lake Park.
*Stunning* is the only word I can use to describe this gorgeous, gorgeous park!!! It is absolutely beautiful - gloriously tall timbers completely shade the entire park. New Hampshire reminds me of Minnesota's northwoods with miles of pine forests! But never before have I seen a park so completely and beautifully shaded by evergreens.
The landscaping is just a wonder. It's immaculately designed and well manicured, and the rolling elevation is just enough to beautify the park without exhausting everyone. At night, the lighting schemes were amazing - they even ran the lights on rides that weren't operating. I don't think I've ever seen a prettier, more pristine park. It's Kennywood-esque.
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I got to meet another RRCer at Canobie, Ed "The Candy Man" Nelson. Ed is a *true* Yankee! I don't think we'd been talking more than a minute before he said "paahk" and "caaah." Ed is a riot, and if you ain't from New England you'd better listen carefully! Canobie Lake has four coasters, but I only got to ride two of them. The Corkscrew is....well, it's a Corkscrew. This one, however, has the advantage of being in the prettiest setting I've ever seen. The trees surrounding this ride keep it hidden from view until you practically stumble on it. I can't recall another corkscrew ride I've enjoyed more.
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Photo courtesy of Tadd's Homepage |
Photo courtesy of Tadd's Homepage |
The Dragon Coaster is a kiddie coaster I didn't get a chance to ask to ride. Too bad, too, cause it has a nice looking helix! I waited all day until there were no kids around, but the ride op said you must be accompanied by a child. Guess I don't qualify, though some might think differently! The Galaxi coaster was missing alot of it's track - Chris jokingly called it the only Galaxi ever to be reprofiled! I really enjoyed looking at this coaster. Again, the setting it's in is incredible. It's completely shrouded by pine trees, and you don't even see it until you're right there. At night, the Galaxy had it's lights turned on, which shocked and delighted me. It's a rare thing for a park to light a coaster undergoing maintenance! I'm glad they chose to do so, because the lighting was beautiful. |
| Everything in this park is gorgeous to look at. But the star of the show is the Yankee Cannonball. First of all, this is now my favorite looking coaster station. It's in the shape of a spade, and all those laminated layers are just amazing to look at! Plus at night, it's just plain pretty. In fact, the coaster itself is gorgeous. *Everything* about this park is gorgeous! But this station is exceptionally pretty. The shape is so unique, and the lighting at night was warm and cozy looking. Unfortunately you can't queue for your choice of seat. It's first come, first served. |
Photo courtesy of Theme Park Review |
The Yankee Cannonball is truly a beautiful coaster. An L-shaped out-and-back, it runs along a line of trees that border the parking lot. A HUGE pine tree rises smack dab in the middle of the turnaround! The coaster is all white, and the paint looks brand spanking new. Ed pointed out some retracking that had been done recently on the lift hill.
The coaster's only drawbacks are the retrofitted seats. WHY is it necessary to have such a large seat divider? They must have been six to eight inches! It was frustrating because you could feel the airtime pushing you out, but the seats were so narrow they kept you pinned in. Still, it's a great ride, the tracking is very smooth, and at night we would not be denied our airtime!
Canobie also has some nice flat rides, and they have probably the best selection of quality children's rides I've seen for a park this size. We did the Psycho Drome, and I rode my first Caterpillar complete with canopy! We also went to the Vertigo Theatre, where we saw a Cinema 180 clip of Thunderbolt (which I immediately identified correctly!) and other coasters.
We also rode what has to be the *worst* flyers in the world - the Rowdy Roosters. These fins have been harnessed so bad you can't get them to do anything. The only redeeming thing about them was the breeze they provided as they passed the queue. Ed warned me!
We thought we'd seen all of the park. But Ed said we should do the dock ride and log flume, which were at the other end. Wow, a whole nother section! This park is *very* big, much bigger than I expected!
This section was definitely more themed than the rest of the park. This had a distinctly western theme, and the trees were even bigger. I have never been so impressed by a park's beauty than I was at Canobie Lake. Absolutely breathtaking.
Anyway, we were waiting for a ride called Mine of Lost Souls when I asked Ed about the other rides he mentioned. I'd forgotten the first one but the second one was the Log Flume. "That's it," Ed said, "that one and this one here." "No," I said, "you definitely mentioned another one, a wierd one, something about a boat?" "Hmm...." "It started with a D, that's all I can remember." "Hmmm." "Oh! I know what you meant! You meant the *dark* ride!"
After hiring an interpreter to accompany us for the remainder of our visit, we entered Mine of Lost Souls. I didn't get the first part, but wow, the second part was outstanding! I won't give any of it away for those who haven't ridden it, but it's definitely one of the best "dock" rides I've ever ridden!
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We tried to get a ride on the Canobie Queen for a tour of the
lake, but the huge crowds that day, combined with the low boat capacity meant that we'd have had to wait in
line too long. This was the only park we encountered all weekend that had a big crowd. Surprisingly the picnic groves were empty! But the smells eminating from inside the park were so good who
could blame anyone? I was *dying* to get some barbeque this
weekend, but settled instead on some healthy watermelon and
not-so-healthy soft serve ice cream! Ed introduced us to his lovely wife, Pam, and their son Brian, and they left to go down to the lake to watch the fireworks, while we opted to ride the Cannonball. We could still see the fireworks while waiting in the queue, and just as our train pulled out of the station the finale winding down. It would have been cool to see it on the lift hill! Ed came back up and said goodbye after the show ended. He also encouraged us to visit Funtown, one of his favorite parks. Ed, it was nice to meet you and I'll try my best to be there in August! Meanwhile, the park announced they were staying open until 11:30. What could we do? Our hands were tied. We rode the YC over and over. Cindy stopped for some ice cream while Chris and I kept going. We all decided the backseat is the place to be. This coaster is addicting, and even the seat dividers couldn't keep us in our seats! We didn't stop riding until they closed the queue. I just love closing a park. Canobie Lake Park is a place I would happily hurry back to. Our final day was spent back at Riverside. We only had a couple of hours before we had to leave to catch our planes, and we wanted to ride everything! Everything was running that day except the Frisbee, which, by the way, I *really* want to ride. Anyway, Chris thought the line for Hellevator looked to be about 30 minutes, so given our time constraints we opted to pass. We headed through Rockville, a very cute 50's themed area, and over to the Mind Eraser. This particular section was the only area I found unattractive. There were no trees and no decoration. The Mind Eraser was fun, but not something I'd want to ride alot everyday. But it was here we met yet another RRCer, Tony Reynolds. Tony accompanied us back toward the Cyclone area, where I again marvelled at the fanciful design of this park. Rockville, Startoon Studios and The Brown Derby are so whimsical, and all the neon at night only enhances it. There is a neon fried dough stand that is fascinating with lighted glass blocks. Crackaxle Canyon has themed flooring which I always admire so much more than regular concrete. The sky ride cars are so unique - they look like brightly colored Christmas ornaments!!! And the station for the sky ride is incredible! You just have to see it to believe it. We looked for Kevin Dorey in the Thunderbolt station but he wasn't there. Well here he is, right in front of Cyclone! We rode the Time Warp, and WHOA! I want to ride this again and again!!! I laughed though the whole ride! Chris said the restraints hurt his shoulders on both Time Warp and Black Widow, so he didn't ride. Black Widow was the first Arrow shuttle I've ever ridden. I liked the airtime off the drop! We ended our day at Riverside on the Cyclone. And who should be manning the controls? You guessed it, Kevin Dorey! This man is everywhere! We rode the Cyclone three times without even leaving the station. What an incredible ride!
And thanks to everybody who showed up to hang out with us at the parks. Hope you had as much fun as I did! One of my goals for this year was to visit New England and I'm so glad I was able to do it. It's such a beautiful part of the country. I think all of us take the areas we live in for granted, but New England really is an special place. And the parks are just spectacular! You Yanks are incredibly lucky!
Maahk-
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Email: MarkinArk@earthlink.net
