Mid-Cal and Manchester Part Three: Canobie Lake Park

Well, I may have had to blast through a thunderstorm over Massachusetts and New Hampshire on the way into Manchester/Boston Regional Airport, but I made it. After a delightful trip to McDonalds at eleven o'clock at night, I went to sleep after a long day of traveling from SFO.

Now, some of you are probably wondering, "Justin, you handsome devil, why ever did you pick New Hampshire as part two of your trip?" Well, again, I'm trying to get to my three-hundredth coaster this year, and I'm running out of major parks to visit.

Granted, Canobie Lake Park, my destination for this leg, is hardly a major park, and I admit that I didn't look beforehand to see how many coasters they actually had, but hey, you live and learn. Besides, I'd never been to New Hampshire.

Anyway, I got to the park a little after eleven. After getting inside, I opted to kick the day off with a lap on the Yankee Cannonball. What a fun ride! I took the front row and really had a blast. The ride had lots of good airtime and it had those classic lap bars that basically fold down until they're horizontal, leaving you with a pretty big gap between your legs and the restraint. Yeah, I spent a few rather harrowing moments hovering over my seat.

I followed it up with Untamed. I'm not a raving Eurofighter fan, but Untamed was good for what it was, and it seemed like the perfect fit for a little park like Canobie Lake. They did a really good job with the theme work too, even painting the supports to look like tree trunks.

Last up was the Canobie Corkscrew, a clone of the first Arrow corkscrew coaster. Again, it was the perfect type of ride for the park, but, well, it was an old Arrow corkscrew coaster, so...yeah...

I spent a great deal of time after my lap on that taking pictures, so much so that in order to catch my 3:50 flight back to BWI, I only had time for one more ride. I wound up going with Untamed because the Yankee Cannonball had too much of a line (read: five minutes as opposed to a walk-on, and I feared that would make the difference). Oh well, now I have a reason to go back.

Overall, I really enjoyed the park. I'm generally not one for small parks like that, but they did a really good job with the place. The setting was nice and the park itself actually came across as quite polished and well done, so major kudos to them for making a nice little New England park.

Though this one was much shorter than the previous two, here are the Cliffs Notes:

-Yankee Cannonball was fantastic. Easily the best wooden coaster of the trip.

- Untamed was what it was. Perfect for the park, but not my cup of tea.

- Canobie Corkscrew was the same.

- The park itself was quite nice. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to get there, but I could see myself sneaking in a visit if I'm in the area.

...and that's all for now, folks. Thanks for reading.

I was disappointed in the Cannonball, although my second ride was the better of the two..closer to the front, no volleying. My favorite ride there was the Mine Of Lost Souls. Did you hit that? I was also happy to find a Rotor, although it wasn't one of the better ones I've been on.

Mike Gallagher said:

Mine Of Lost Soils.

Oooh! Science and thrills.

It was just the coasters for me. Outside of WindSeekers and Orlando/Disney parks, there isn't much in the way of flat rides that I go for.

See, I would have gone with:

Ooh! A mine train that makes you poop!

...but everyone's not as classy as me.

Haven't been to Canobie since they built Untamed, but gosh darn it I love this park. Hugely underrated. Cannonball is awesomesauce - possibly my 2nd or 3rd favorite coaster in New England. I feel like if they could add a small GCI or GG woodie to the mix it would really put them on the map.

Wow, I'm jealous now. Not so much (this time) about your handsomeness, but more about that you got to go to a park I'd love to visit. I've been close twice, but circumstances didn't permit me to go. Like, one time it was winter. Stuff like that. It's a beautiful area, though, and I have friends in New England that hold the park near and dear to their hearts.

Hey, didn't we have a frequent poster here that was a huge Canobie fanboy who managed to turn every thread into something about Canobie no matter what? What was his name? CanobieFanboy? Something like that. Anyway, here he's finally got a legitimate chance and where is he?

Uh oh. I just happened to think. He didn't move to Michigan, did he?...

We were probably mean to him or something...

Well, he deserved it.

:-)

Ok, edit to add winkie.

Thanks for the TR, Justin. My sister is in the Cambridge area, and I believe Canobie Lake is just about 45 minutes away. I suggested we go to this park as an activity when I was visiting the past weekend. It wasn't taken seriously, and I got referred to as "Buster" for the suggestion.

Perhaps my mother and I can go there for Halloween as sailors...probably won't get to ride much if they require all parts though...

Anyway, I've viewed the website, so I have an idea of how Canobie Lake might be. But, when I go to visit my sister again with my parents, did there appear to be enough to entertain a family that would not be interested in spinny rides, coasters, or the water park? If it's a charming place with decent food, live entertainment, and some family rides / experiences, I might have to do a little more convincing next time I'm there.

I didn't eat any food. I wanted to, but I was pressed for time.

As for the rides, there are indeed several family rides. This is another situation where I couldn't really tell you, though, as any time spent away from the coasters was spent taking pictures of them, and it was an extremely short visit on top of that.

If nothing else, though, it seems like a nice, relaxing place to spend an afternoon. The scenery was quite pretty, and the rides were more or less just a bonus. There was some live entetainment as well. I'm not sure if it's a daily thing, but I'd like to think it is.

Honestly, speaking strictly from the coaster perspective, unless Yankee Cannonball is your type of ride, don't make it a stand-alone destination. As silly as it may sound, I went there for convenience over anything else despite the fact that I would have preferred Darien Lake, and the circumstances regarding my travels aren't exactly common.

As a park fan in general, if I wanted to find a nice place to relax for a day and just ride something every hour or so, Canobie Lake is exactly where I'd want to go. I try to view it less as an amusement park and more as a city park that just happens to have rides. Even I have a hard time believing it, but I highly recommend going there if you get the chance. If they offered pay-per-ride options, I'd jump up there for a day trip from time to time. Sit by the lake and just chill while sneaking in some Yankee Cannonball laps here and there. The rides don't define Canobie Lake. Instead, they're complements.

I guess the best way to put it is that it's the perfect amusement park for people who don't particularly like amusement parks.

The Yankee Cannonball was my first coaster, at age 2 (and 11 months.) The year after I was unable to ride because they instituted a height limit. I have a huge soft spot for that ride and that park. I honestly think of it as a smaller Kennywood. They have a large collection of classic flats (unfortunately much less then when I first started going,) a great dark ride (you really should have ridden the Mine of Lost Souls,) and a fantastic flume. The ride has two drops an an extended sequence where you zoom along at ground level.

I cant wait to go back this year. Glad you enjoyed the trip, you plan on putting those pictures on the web anytime soon?

I have one of the Canobie Corkscrew on 500px.com. Just search "Canobie Corkscrew." It should pop right up. I haven't added the others online just yet.