Associated parks:
None
Hmmmmm. What to do with my daughter today. I got it, lets hit the oldest operating amusement park in the Chicagoland area(est. 1929). So off to Kiddieland we go.
Just like Holiday World, Kiddieland offers free parking and unlimited self-serve Pepsi products all day. God how I wish the big corporate parks would do this. (Wishful thinking, I know).
The park opened at 12:00 today. We got there around 12:15. The weather was perfect today (80's and sunny). At first the crowds were pretty slim but by about 2:00 the park filled up pretty good.
First order of business was the good old fashioned PTC junior woodie. The Little Dipper. For what this 26 ft tall figure 8 woodie is, it performs well. I just love the nostalgia behind this ride. They also mantain this coaster very well. Also , there is no height restriction so the little kids that are accompanied by their parents have a blast and it makes them feel bigger. Now I just hope that Kiddieland someday decides to construct a 2nd coaster for the park.
Throughout the day we hit rides like the Galleon, the Scooters(bumper cars), Tilt-a-Whirl, Scrambler, The Polyup(great flat ride), the antique cars, ferris wheel, a very nostalgic Merri-go-Round(one of the original rides in the park), the locomotive mini-train, and various kiddie rides.
For a small scale park, they have 2 great water rides. Today they were needed because the humidity was getting up there. The log flume ride they have is one of the best I have ever been on. As soon as your log leaves the station you are be whipped around the circuit with fast moving and wave creating water. The other water ride is the Pipeline water coaster. Rafts through tunnels(good times).
Another thing I like about this park(besides the free soft drinks), is the price for food. Very reasonable prices for an amusement park.
Not much more to say besides repeats of everything above throughout the day. If you have kids under 54" tall and are in the Chicago area, do give this park a try. You wont be disappointed.
Thanks for reading,,,,
-----------------
Ric Flair was hitting on the female host, he told her - "Space Mountain may be the oldest ride in the park, but it has the longest line." WOOOOO!
-----------------
Im the #1 Canobie Lake Park Fan!!!These are my top 3 coasters:
1. S:RoS @ SFNE 2. Yankee Cannonball 3. Cyclone/B:TDK
Def. agree about the log flume. This thing carries some speed but it lacked the big finish - I exited without a drop of water on me. Unfortunately, Kiddieland allows single riders. I spent a very hot, humid, absolutely still summer evening at the park this past July so the flume queue was about the longest in the park. The speed of the ride should help capacity but the single rider policy made the wait twice as long as it needed to be. I watched a group of about 10 pre-teens each get into their own boat!
The Antique Auto ride was probably the biggest surprise. A nice, lengthy trip.
Nice collection of flats - average cycles, I thought.
As for the park's target demographic, I agree. I was there with a 9 year-old (under 54") and an 11 year old (54"+). The 9 year old had a much better time than the 11 year old. Anyone visiting this park should be prepared for HORDES of pre-teens acting like, well, pre-teens, and many teenagers trying to act way too cool.
Free pop!!!
The park is small and we finished in about 3.5 hours, doing many things more than once. Our longest wait was for the mini-train, which starts off with a tour of the parking lot, then turns back into the park for a breakneck trip through the back of the park - basically a large open field. (Expansion plans, soon, KiddieLand?) I know too fast is relative but, if you get here, ride this train and tell me it wasn't a little scary, especially in the dark. The mini-train, Kiddieland's top thrill ride!!! LOL
*** This post was edited by IBsteve on 9/8/2002. ***
You must be logged in to post