Associated parks:
None
My trip to Lake Compounce was my first trip to "The Lake," and I found it to be an absolutely charming park with a great sense of its history and a feeling of promise for good things to come. The colorful entrance plaza is a cheerful greeting to this family park, and within the first few minutes of entering I noticed the clean grounds, freshly painted buildings, and nicely landscaped surroundings that gave me assurance that this would be a good day.
We began by riding the train around the lake which gave us a nice overview of that part of the park. The train took us to the other side of the lake, but we stayed on and returned to the center of the park so that we could find some lunch. We were pleased to find a wide selection of un-typical park food at reasonable prices. I had lasagna and focaccia bread, and others in my group had turkey sandwiches and breaded chicken on a stick with waffle fries. Meal prices were in the 5-6 dollar range and all soda is free.
The park and its ride selection is small in comparrison to the ParamountCederFlags parks, but it has a character of its own that those megaparks cannot beat. The mix of mild to wild family rides should appease most visitors. Boulder Dash is now one of my favorite wooden coasters. Its mountainside and lakeside location is amazingly beautiful even while rideing at what felt like lightning speed. Looking at the coaster as a bystander, it blends in nicely among the trees, and it is the most inconspicuous major coaster I have seen.
An awesome raft ride and a relaxing skyride to the top of "Compounce Mountain" were enjoyed by all of us and they also took advantage of the setting nicely. The park's history was also represented by the antique trolley ride, the beautiful 1911 Carousel with an authentic band organ, and the Starlight Ballroom where we saw an entertaining show by the Acrobats of China.
In the center of the park stands the 1927 Wildcat coaster which is small but very fast and quite smooth. On the other side of the park are some more modern rides such as a large Ferris Wheel, Top Spin, Log Flume, Boomerang coaster, Sky Coaster, and several other flat rides. There is also a fun and well-themed interactive dark ride in which riders can shoot ghosts. It is like a traditional shooting gallery combined with a ride-through haunted fun house. The park also features a very nice water park that has traditional slides and interactive water gadgets, but it also takes advantage of its lakeside setting with some slides emptying into the lake and beachfront swimming available.
I found Lake Compounce to be about relaxing with my family in a lovely setting with rides and entertainment for all ages. It is just the right size and managed very well. I found the employees to be friendly and helpful and many management-type people were preasant throughtout the day. They all seemed genuinely interested in seeing that the visitors had an enjoyable time.
Lake Compounce is smaller, but of much better quality than their Six Flagged neighber to the north. Prices for parking, admission, and food were reasonable, and the park itself, its employees, and its visitors were pleasant. Also, all of the rides were operational, something that Six Flags cannot seem to accomplish, and restrooms were plentiful, large, and clean.
I will return again to The Lake, and I feel confident that they will continue to grow, as they seem to have done in recent years, in a way that brings in new attractions while maintaining its character and history.
Six Flags can't beat Lake Compounce, Kennywood, or Knobles. Six flag parks might have nice coasters, but there's nothing better then a Traditional park:)
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:)KENNYWOOD:)
STEELrevenge2 said:
Six Flags can't beat Lake Compounce, Kennywood, or Knobles. Six flag parks might have nice coasters, but there's nothing better then a Traditional park
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KENNYWOOD
What about a traditional park bought by Six Flags? I'd take Six Flags Mexico over Knobel's Grove easily.
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Lake Compounce-So Fresh and So Clean Clean
I'm going to Lake Compunce for my first time this week. It sounds like an awsome place. Not because of the rides, but the atmosphere. Holiday World seems to be the same thing. It just goes to show you that great rides AREN'T everything. Free soda is an AMAZING concept. That's the best thing ever.
The worst thing I could ever read on a coaster site would be the headline "Six Flags buys Lake Compounce" That would suck. The same thing goes with Holiday World.
In my opinion it is a completely different atmosphere from HW. You walk in HW you feel like family, which is not the case at LC.
Martin
Martin McClellan, I am surprised at your comments regarding the employees at Lake Compounce. During my visit earlier this summer, I found the employees to be extremely efficient and willing to assist visitors with whatever their needs might be. They were especially helpful in assisting my 82 year old grandmother while boarding rides such as the log flume, river raft ride, and the sky ride. I also noticed that in all areas of the park their were supervisors who seemed genuinely concerned in assuring that visitors were haveing an positive experience. Even as we passed through the park's exit gate there was a mature gentleman who wished us a good evening. I left with the feeling that the park's management and employees as a whole cared about doing a good job and pleasing their visitors. I am sorry that you did not have such a good experience during your visit, Martin, but I hope you will give them another try, and I hope that my visit was not just a fluke.
gardener14 said:
I am sorry that you did not have such a good experience during your visit, Martin, but I hope you will give them another try, and I hope that my visit was not just a fluke."
Well I'm glad you had better luck, and I always give things another chance. I do agree with you about the level of professionalism in the upper management--they were very friendly and helpful. I'm not sure that was difussing down to the ride ops though.
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