By Jonathan - September 20th, 2011, 8:38 am
- September 20th, 2011, 8:38 am
#47755
Oc-Boulder-Fest at Lake Compounce - September 10, 2011
36 photos from Lake Compounce http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhawkins/s ... 649784050/
36 photos from Quassy http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhawkins/s ... 650761552/
One of my most anticipated trips of the year: Lake Compounce. My last visit was in 2004, and seven years later I was back for the 12th annual Oc-Boulder-Fest event.
I had a score to settle with Boulder Dash, which was one of the most disappointing coasters I have ever been on when I first rode it in 2004, ranking right up there with Shivering Timbers and the Beast (which I now enjoy quite a bit but I'm sorry it's nowhere near a top coaster). It was a fun ride, a good ride, but not a great ride. Not one of the top ranked roller coasters in the world. Coming into this day, however, I was very optimistic for two reasons. One, in 2004 the park closed in the late afternoon, and Boulder Dash is one of the most notoriously slow to warm up coasters out there. Two, in 2007 and 2008 GCI retracked most of the ride and the reviews since then have been sensational.
Improved or not, the location of Boulder Dash may be the best of any ride in the world. It truly lives up to its name.
With the entire outbound portion of the ride hugging the contour of the terrain, the track for Boulder Dash was lifted in over the trees during construction in order to preserve as much of the forest (and boulders) as possible.
It's a brilliantly conceived ride, and I could only hope that it would run as well as it looks.
It did. Even in the morning just after opening, when Boulder Dash is known to be quite sluggish, my first ride beat any ride that I had in 2004. It was the rides later in the day, of course, that would seal the deal.
While the outbound run through the woods is out of control with some great laterals, the return between the mountain and the lake is all about airtime.
There is another wooden coaster at Lake Compounce. I had one token ride in 2004, and one token ride in 2011.
Wildcat is decent at best, brutally painful at worst.
The other major coaster I already had the displeasure of riding, so no need to repeat the experience this year.
The lakeside and mountainside setting of Lake Compounce makes it a very pleasant location for a laid back traditional amusement park.
Naturally I love that the park still has a trolley running.
Being somewhat terrified of chair lifts, this insane 30 minute sky ride was a nerve racking experience during my previous visit.
As Boulder Dash warmed up in the evening, this segment of the ride would become the most intense and ridiculous. It feels like the whole train just wants to slam through the tracks as it bucks everyone out of their seats with several moments of ejector airtime.
By the end of the night Boulder Dash would be firmly entrenched in my top five coasters.
I had expected that it would be significantly improved from before, but did not quite expect this much. I should have made it up to the park earlier in the summer.
At this point, I ducked out. There was another item on the agenda for the day. 30 minutes down the road in Middlebury, the quirkly little family park Quassy has put itself on the map with the most intriguing new coaster of 2011.
Wooden Warrior, a ride that every coaster enthusiast has been following quite intently.
In addition to becoming instantly known for packing an absurd punch for a very small roller coaster, Wooden Warrior was the first coaster to feature The Gravity Group's highly anticipated new Timberliner trains, which have been delayed on Holiday World's Voyage for two summers now.
Expecting to go to the park and ride as many times as I wanted, I purchased a wristband, then discovered that the crowds were insane as was the line for Wooden Warrior. The ride has one 12 seater train, and on this day the front seat was roped off due to restraint problems, dropping the capacity down to 10. The wait turned out to be around 45 minutes, so I only rode twice.
Those two rides, however, were absolutely nuts.
This coaster is tiny. 35 feet tall. 1,200 feet long. A top speed of 35 miles an hour. It should be nothing more than an oversized kiddie coaster.
True to Gravity Group form, though, the maximum amount of thrill was extracted from what was there to work with.
This short little ride somehow manages to have ten moments of airtime, a tunnel, and some crazy laterals.
These trains have had everyone waiting and wondering. With The Voyage at Holiday World being my personal favorite coaster and the top ranked wooden coaster in the world, the question on everyone's mind is will the Timberliner trains improve the ride (really, how could you improve what is already perfect?) or could they harm the experience? I am a lot more optimistic after riding Wooden Warrior. They are comfortable and track extremely well.
Every small park should be calling The Gravity Group up to order a ride like this. It is a pure fun ride that anyone can go on.
No Little Dipper today. Just the memories of sheer terror from the 2004 RideWorld trip.
When I heard Quassy was removing their classic wild mouse, I assumed it was to make room for Wooden Warrior. Instead, following in the tradition of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion, it was removed to make way for a grass field.
On the road and back to Bristol, where Lake Compounce bills itself as the oldest amusement park in the United States.
I remembered this Sally interactive dark ride being a blast before, but the line was just too long this time. The park was fairly crowded and the day was mainly dedicated to Boulder Dash.
The Disc-O, called Revolution, was new for 2011.
The Screaming Swing had a huge wait with only one arm running so I did not ride it, but it is a welcome addition since my last visit as it is one of my favorite flat ride types.
I've always liked the theme of their S&S tower.
One of the great things about sharing an owner with Kennywood is you get The Potato Patch.
The other great (and terrible for your health) thing that Lake Compounce does is join Holiday World in offering free unlimited Pepsi products at stations all over the park. As far as I know they are the only two parks that do this.
Afternoon was beginning to turn into evening, and Boulder Dash was beginning to fly. The change between morning and night in this coaster is bizarre; most wooden coasters seem to pick up speed late in the day, but Dash takes it to a new level.
It was clear that this was going to be a great night.
Night falls over Boulder Dash.
Waiting for ERT to begin after park closing. There were 146 attendees for the event to experience one of the best night time rides ever made.
The turnout was large enough that it was necessary to go back around and get back in line (only having to wait another train or two, however), but the event featured double rides each time.
It was a fantastic event. All of the employees who helped out were very gracious hosts, and the night rides on Boulder Dash were just ridiculous. It is pitch black out in those woods at night. This is one of those rides that is great by day, but completely legendary by night.
36 photos from Lake Compounce http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhawkins/s ... 649784050/
36 photos from Quassy http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhawkins/s ... 650761552/
One of my most anticipated trips of the year: Lake Compounce. My last visit was in 2004, and seven years later I was back for the 12th annual Oc-Boulder-Fest event.
I had a score to settle with Boulder Dash, which was one of the most disappointing coasters I have ever been on when I first rode it in 2004, ranking right up there with Shivering Timbers and the Beast (which I now enjoy quite a bit but I'm sorry it's nowhere near a top coaster). It was a fun ride, a good ride, but not a great ride. Not one of the top ranked roller coasters in the world. Coming into this day, however, I was very optimistic for two reasons. One, in 2004 the park closed in the late afternoon, and Boulder Dash is one of the most notoriously slow to warm up coasters out there. Two, in 2007 and 2008 GCI retracked most of the ride and the reviews since then have been sensational.
Improved or not, the location of Boulder Dash may be the best of any ride in the world. It truly lives up to its name.
With the entire outbound portion of the ride hugging the contour of the terrain, the track for Boulder Dash was lifted in over the trees during construction in order to preserve as much of the forest (and boulders) as possible.
It's a brilliantly conceived ride, and I could only hope that it would run as well as it looks.
It did. Even in the morning just after opening, when Boulder Dash is known to be quite sluggish, my first ride beat any ride that I had in 2004. It was the rides later in the day, of course, that would seal the deal.
While the outbound run through the woods is out of control with some great laterals, the return between the mountain and the lake is all about airtime.
There is another wooden coaster at Lake Compounce. I had one token ride in 2004, and one token ride in 2011.
Wildcat is decent at best, brutally painful at worst.
The other major coaster I already had the displeasure of riding, so no need to repeat the experience this year.
The lakeside and mountainside setting of Lake Compounce makes it a very pleasant location for a laid back traditional amusement park.
Naturally I love that the park still has a trolley running.
Being somewhat terrified of chair lifts, this insane 30 minute sky ride was a nerve racking experience during my previous visit.
As Boulder Dash warmed up in the evening, this segment of the ride would become the most intense and ridiculous. It feels like the whole train just wants to slam through the tracks as it bucks everyone out of their seats with several moments of ejector airtime.
By the end of the night Boulder Dash would be firmly entrenched in my top five coasters.
I had expected that it would be significantly improved from before, but did not quite expect this much. I should have made it up to the park earlier in the summer.
At this point, I ducked out. There was another item on the agenda for the day. 30 minutes down the road in Middlebury, the quirkly little family park Quassy has put itself on the map with the most intriguing new coaster of 2011.
Wooden Warrior, a ride that every coaster enthusiast has been following quite intently.
In addition to becoming instantly known for packing an absurd punch for a very small roller coaster, Wooden Warrior was the first coaster to feature The Gravity Group's highly anticipated new Timberliner trains, which have been delayed on Holiday World's Voyage for two summers now.
Expecting to go to the park and ride as many times as I wanted, I purchased a wristband, then discovered that the crowds were insane as was the line for Wooden Warrior. The ride has one 12 seater train, and on this day the front seat was roped off due to restraint problems, dropping the capacity down to 10. The wait turned out to be around 45 minutes, so I only rode twice.
Those two rides, however, were absolutely nuts.
This coaster is tiny. 35 feet tall. 1,200 feet long. A top speed of 35 miles an hour. It should be nothing more than an oversized kiddie coaster.
True to Gravity Group form, though, the maximum amount of thrill was extracted from what was there to work with.
This short little ride somehow manages to have ten moments of airtime, a tunnel, and some crazy laterals.
These trains have had everyone waiting and wondering. With The Voyage at Holiday World being my personal favorite coaster and the top ranked wooden coaster in the world, the question on everyone's mind is will the Timberliner trains improve the ride (really, how could you improve what is already perfect?) or could they harm the experience? I am a lot more optimistic after riding Wooden Warrior. They are comfortable and track extremely well.
Every small park should be calling The Gravity Group up to order a ride like this. It is a pure fun ride that anyone can go on.
No Little Dipper today. Just the memories of sheer terror from the 2004 RideWorld trip.
When I heard Quassy was removing their classic wild mouse, I assumed it was to make room for Wooden Warrior. Instead, following in the tradition of the Myrtle Beach Pavilion, it was removed to make way for a grass field.
On the road and back to Bristol, where Lake Compounce bills itself as the oldest amusement park in the United States.
I remembered this Sally interactive dark ride being a blast before, but the line was just too long this time. The park was fairly crowded and the day was mainly dedicated to Boulder Dash.
The Disc-O, called Revolution, was new for 2011.
The Screaming Swing had a huge wait with only one arm running so I did not ride it, but it is a welcome addition since my last visit as it is one of my favorite flat ride types.
I've always liked the theme of their S&S tower.
One of the great things about sharing an owner with Kennywood is you get The Potato Patch.
The other great (and terrible for your health) thing that Lake Compounce does is join Holiday World in offering free unlimited Pepsi products at stations all over the park. As far as I know they are the only two parks that do this.
Afternoon was beginning to turn into evening, and Boulder Dash was beginning to fly. The change between morning and night in this coaster is bizarre; most wooden coasters seem to pick up speed late in the day, but Dash takes it to a new level.
It was clear that this was going to be a great night.
Night falls over Boulder Dash.
Waiting for ERT to begin after park closing. There were 146 attendees for the event to experience one of the best night time rides ever made.
The turnout was large enough that it was necessary to go back around and get back in line (only having to wait another train or two, however), but the event featured double rides each time.
It was a fantastic event. All of the employees who helped out were very gracious hosts, and the night rides on Boulder Dash were just ridiculous. It is pitch black out in those woods at night. This is one of those rides that is great by day, but completely legendary by night.
