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I had been trying to stop by Lake Winnepesaukah since last year and everytime I made plans to go, it seems that I always decided to put it off to head to another park instead. I had decided that this past sunday was the day that I was finally going to stop by Lake Winnie. So what it was alittle over 250 miles from my house in north carolina to Lake Winnie. I had drove farther to just ride one coaster afew times. Sunday came and I pointed the truck in the direction of Tennesse and off I went.
I arrived alittle before the park opened at noon and decided to drive up the road to kill some time and see if I could find a great place to take some pics of the park before entering the parking lot, but could not really find the spot I wanted and decided it was time to park the truck in the dirt parking lot. Parking is free and I thought it has already started out to be a great idea that I decided to come.
There was a small line to enter the park and I got out the three bucks to get in. I gave my money to the lady and got my ticket and headed in. I handed my ticket to the guy at the gate and to my surprise it was a sticker that you had to put on your shirt somewhere. I was shocked for a second till I looked over and saw the Cannon Ball waiting on me, so I placed the ticket on my shirt and it was off I went towards the Cannon Ball.
You can buy tickets ($.70 a piece) for the rides or you can fork over 17 bucks for unlimited rides. Each ride takes from two to five tickets. I also noticed that everyone flocks to the first ticket booth at the front of the park. I decided to forgo and see if there was another booth somewhere else. I was luck to notice a booth that was infront of their wild mouse coaster and decided the the unlimited rides was the thing to buy and it was off I went to the first coaster of the day.
#133 Wacky Worm: This is a kiddie coaster that is made by Pinfari. I decided to go ahead and get it over before the crowd made their way back to it. Nothing exciting about it. Only one spin and it was enough for me.
#134 Wild Lightnin`: This was their new addition for 2001 and was named Wild Thing when it opened last year, but for some reason the park renamed it this year. I am not sure of the reason and did not ask why. This is a wild mouse built by LT Systems. This thing is wild since it appears that the brakes are used only when you enter the break run. The brakes that were located throughout the ride were off the three times I rode it. Nothing like being thrown around on a mouse.
#135 Cannon Ball: This is the main reason why I was here. I walked up to the platform and was told to take a seat and I decided to seat upfront. I buckled the seat belt and pulled the bar down and off I went. I was surprised how this coaster ran with only one person on it. I was out of my seat on every hill and loved every minute of it. The hill before you enter the brake run seem to thrust you up and out of your seat. I had a great feeling that it would get better as the day went on and it did. I racked up 23 rides on it before I left at 3pm to head back to the house.
The first ride that was constructed at Lake Winnie was the Boat Chute in 1929 and it is still operating today as it was in 29. It was a real treat to see what the boat chutes in the early years were like. It is great that a park wants to perserve a piece of history and not decided to replace it with a more modern boat chute ride.
The other ride that I was looking forward was the Fly O Planes that was out back in service last year I think. Let just say that it was fun fighting it to stay sideways, but it was even better to fly upside down or rock side to side as you attempt to fly the plane. You will just have to ride it to see what I am talking about.
There are other rides at Lake Winnie that you could see at a fair or a traveling carnival, but the setting is waht makes it worth the trip. Make sure you stop by the gift shop to look at the history of Lake Winnie and maybe the lady that has worked at the park for many of years will tell you about the ice skating that use to take place at the park or the dances and even let you look at some of the old ride pictures she has.
I enjoyed my trip to Lake Winnie and I planned to stop by one more time before they close for the season. It is about 115 miles from SFoG and would be worth the drive after your flight on Superman.
*** This post was edited by Coasterdave on 5/1/2002. ***
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Lake Winnepesaukah is only about 100 miles north of SFOG, on I-75. I remember going there as a kid many times because my parents lived nearby. The Cannonball is still one of the scariest coasters I have ever been on... is it still operated with a fully manual system?
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