Home > Forums > Trip Reports and Tips > View Topic
( Moderators: ThmPrkCrtc, BobFunland, adriahna )
Hop Forums:
Page [ 1 of 1 ] [ 1 ]
Author Lake Compounce Trip Report (6/19/05)
benleibo
Posts: 781
Registered: 6/25/2003

Rank: Gold Critic
6/19/2005 2:16:43 PM
I live in the New York area, and usually when I think of going to an amusement park for the day I think of SFGAdv. Most of my favorite roller coasters have been steel monsters built by Intamin and B&M and have visited many of the nation's megaparks. However, I wanted to get on some more great wooden roller coasters, so what better place to do that than Lake Compounce. This weekend I visited the park for the first time and it exceeded my expectations.

My main reason for visiting Lake Compounce was to ride Boulder Dash. The number one woodie in the world by Amusement Today - how could I resist! After a day at the park I learned that this park is not all about BD and actually has a lot to offer everyone.

Because of Lake Compounce's unusually late opening time (11 AM) I was able to wake up a little bit later for our day trip. The ride up from NYC wasn't too bad and took about two hours, the same driving time as Great Adventure. As we approached the park we saw all of the satellite dishes at the ESPN studios across the street. Very little of the park is visible from the road and even the parking lot. Parking was $5 and was pretty easy, not too much of a wait at the lines. The walk from the parking lot is a little long but bareable. You actually walk under a road to get to the entry gate. All of a sudden you see the park, with Wildcat's lift hill rising above the coloful little shops on Main Street. The lines were nonexistent at the gate and we got in easily. One thing that is interesting is that the park's best coaster, Boulderdash, can't even be seen from the entrance.

It immediately became apparent that the park is beautiful. All of the buildings are charming and it is very green. There are flowerbeds everywhere and the park is not crowded or oppressive. The location is perfect, surrounded by green hills and the pristine lake.

As for the rides, I reccomend that you read my individual ride reviews. In brief, Boulder Dash was every bit as good as I expected it to be. It is now the only wooden coaster in my top five, beating out others such as Ghostrider and the Cyclone. The setting is fantastic and the coaster never lets up. Wildcat and Zoomerang were decent rides but nothing too special. The flat rides were all in good condition and some of them are quite classic. Although they aren't thrilling, I enjoyed the trolley and carousel for their historical value. The train by the lake is also a great way to see the park. Some other flats were better than I expected, such as the Wave Swinger and American Flyers. Sawmill Plunge was a standard log flume with some nice scenery.

It wasn't a very warm day, so I stayed away from the water park. It looked like a lot of fun though. A lot of the standard slides as well as the cool slides that empty out into the lake. I could see how the waterpark could be crowded on a hot day. I thought that for the most part the park was well integrated into its natural surroundings, the hills and the lake.

Lake Compounce has a pleasant atmoshpere. Everything is well kept and maintained and all of the facilities are clean. Nothing was closed. The people are friendly and the park is a pretty good deal. I find it ridiculous that you can get a season pass for $60 early in the season. Another great thing about the park is free soft drinks all day. There is no catch, and it can end up saving you a lot of money since drinks are usually overpriced. The food was decently priced and tasted pretty good. I reccomend eating at the Croc Pot Cafeteria or the Parkside Diner. Another piece of evidence of the good value was that I bought a park logo fleece for only $16.

There were only a few negatives I noticed in the park. One was that very few of the buildings are air conditioned. I was there on a relatively cool day but in the summer there is no escape from the heat. Also, the hours are kind of wierd. The park opens late and closes early. On most days the park closes at 8 PM, making night rides hard to c
Lin48
Posts: 612
Registered: 7/19/2002

Rank: Gold Critic
6/19/2005 5:44:20 PM
I'm glad you had a good time. I was there on Friday, so I must have missed you by a day.
Anyway, yeah, it's a great park. I'm from New York too (although not the city) and I used to live in CT so that's how I'm familiar with the park. I was glad to get a chance to go back and ride Boulder Dash which is hands down my favorite coaster.
I just wanted to say how I agree with most of your points. I was going to write a trip report myself, but it would be pretty similar to yours. I will second that Lake Compounce is a great park, though, and I'd love to get back there for Fright Fest in October. That is THE time to go.

Lin48
benleibo
Posts: 781
Registered: 6/25/2003

Rank: Gold Critic
6/19/2005 6:12:54 PM
Yeah, I've heard from a lot of people that Boulder Dash is awesome when ridden at night during Frightfest.
benleibo
Posts: 781
Registered: 6/25/2003

Rank: Gold Critic
6/19/2005 6:13:33 PM
Sorry, got posted twice.
Message updated 6/19/2005 6:14:44 PM by benleibo
larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002

Rank: Platinum Critic
6/19/2005 11:28:25 PM
Ben - wait til you get on some real flying scooters. I can understand how you (or others) might think that American Flyers is fun, but you'll understand why afficianados say it stinks if you get to Knoebels.
benleibo
Posts: 781
Registered: 6/25/2003

Rank: Gold Critic
6/20/2005 9:02:38 AM
Yeah I always hear about the Flying Scooters at Knoebels. It seems that a lot of people on this website are really big fans of that ride.
adriahna
Posts: 4692
Registered: 6/4/2003

Rank: Site Moderator
Skooter Junkie
6/20/2005 6:07:42 PM
Glad you had a good time at LC, benliebo - a great little park to say the least. I'm really looking forward to my next opportunity to ride good old Boulder Dash, needless to say...
ibluv
Posts: 2354
Registered: 7/15/2004

Rank: Platinum Critic
6/21/2005 1:26:54 PM
As soon as my sister get's ready we're going. Can't wait. The only reason I haven't gone already is because I just got back from Spain after 5 months yesterday.
Cairn
Posts: 156
Registered: 3/22/2004

Rank: Bronze Critic
6/21/2005 11:13:24 PM
Glad you had fun at one of our home parks up here. I have been going to Lake Compounce for as long as I can remember and have never had a bad day at that park. The rides are great and the drinks flow freely!! Connecticut is very proud of its'classic amusement park and its' fantastic wooden roller coasters!

Yes, the park does close early during the week, not a fault of the park as they are at the mercy of the town's noise abatement rules. They do stay open late on Fridays and Saturdays though, as well as during Octoberfest which is the best time to go. Since the park caters to families, and much of the park's activities are based around the lake, there is not much need for late-night operations anyway.

Glad you had fun and come back up here soon!

--------------------
[Img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/Cairnterrier/YellowBigCairn.jpg[/img]
Message updated 6/21/2005 11:17:53 PM by Cairn
mrceagle
Posts: 13804
Registered: 6/9/2001

Rank: TPC News Minister
6/22/2005 1:21:05 PM
I'd like to expleain teh short season. LC dos't open till memeorial day weekend. they don't want to play games with havign the park open and th ewater park closed adn ether have a discount price or cheat people at full. so they open a bitlater they do stay open longer in the year then most pak since they have the hounted grave yeard one of the best houted attractions you will find.

i do agree they shoudl have later nights.

good trip report though.
Lin48
Posts: 612
Registered: 7/19/2002

Rank: Gold Critic
6/22/2005 2:40:49 PM
I think at this point in the season, when it's more schools coming to the park for the day than anything, they will adhere to their close at 8 plan, but I can remember times later in the summer when they might say they're closing at 8, but will stay open later.
mrceagle
Posts: 13804
Registered: 6/9/2001

Rank: TPC News Minister
6/22/2005 4:26:27 PM
There are are a few times a eyar they are open late. I know $th of July is one of theme.
ibluv
Posts: 2354
Registered: 7/15/2004

Rank: Platinum Critic
6/25/2005 12:30:27 AM
Besides 4th of July weekend, they're open til ten saturdays in July and the first 3 saturdays in August, and during the Haunted Graveyard they don't close til 11 or later. Hope that helps.
Page [ 1 of 1 ] [ 1 ]
Clicky Web Analytics