Lake Compounce is the largest amusement park in Connecticut.
This park’s claim to fame is that it’s the oldest continuously operating amusement
park in the United States and it oozes charm.
Plus, it has a beautiful setting adjacent to a lake and at the base of a mountain.
Several of the park’s best rides use this setting to their advantage, so in this video
I will rank my top 15 favorite rides and attractions at Lake Compounce.
This list will include rides at both the dry park and the attached Crocodile Cove water
park.
And there will also be some defunct attractions that are no longer at the park.
15) Rev-O-Lution- This Zamperla disko replaced the park’s old rotor and it has a strong
presence on the midway.
It’s not one of the larger diskos out there, but this one has a pretty long cycle which
gives you plenty of time to appreciate the spinning and faint weightlessness on the spikes.
14) Mammoth Falls- This ProSlide family raft slide is pretty average for the genre.
Most of the layout takes place in total darkness, but the final few turns take place in the
open.
The ride doesn’t have much speed or any thrilling drops, but you do slide up the walls
on a few turns.
13) Zoomerang- This is among the smoothest Vekoma boomerangs out there.
With minimal headbanging, it’s possible to appreciate the thrilling initial plunge
and rapid-fire series of inversions in both directions.
The cobra roll and vertical loop are quite dizzying and intense because of how many Gs
they pull.
12) Wave Swinger- This Zierer wave swinger has had a lot of downtime in recent seasons,
but it’s one of the most intense swing rides out there.
While it may look like your average swing ride, this one runs way faster so you get
some decent Gs on the downswings.
11) American Flyers- This classic set of Bisch Rocco flying scooters were relocated from
Kennywood and these ones are snappable.
This one is run fairly slowly, but the fins have a large range of motion so an experienced
rider can usually snap the cables and get their tub bouncing.
And unlike some parks, most operators allow snapping.
The ability to snap is what transforms flying scooters from a family ride to a genuine thrill
ride.
10) Venus Vortex- The park’s newest attraction is a really cool looking White Water West
half pipe slide.
This slide does indeed look like a venus fly trap and the initial plunge into the halfpipe
offers a faint pop of airtime.
9) Saw Mill Plunge- The park’s Arrow log flume is one of the rides that utilizes the
mountain to its advantage.
This flume begins with a long lift hill up the mountain and then you get lost in a sea
of trees.
Once you emerge, you are greeted by a sizable final plunge.
It’s not super steep, but you build up some good speed and the final plunge is quite refreshing
on a hot summer day.
The one thing to watch out for with this ride is how few logs the park tends to operate.
I’ve seen this ride run with as little as 2-3 logs, which can cause the line to move
at a snail’s pace.
8) Lights Out- The water park’s signature attraction has been closed for a few years
due to structural issues, but the park says it will be returning in 2022.
This high speed body slide is built into the water park’s iconic light house and you
fly down this slide.
The red tube wraps around and through the lighthouse, and you build up some serious
speed down this pitch black slide.
It has a longer duration than most speed slides, but it’s just as much of a rush.
7) Thunder N’ Lightning- This S&S screaming swing has the usually short cycle, but the
floater airtime on the max swings is great.
Getting floater airtime with such minimalistic restraints as you’re either staring at the
sky or midway down below is always a fun experience.
6) Down Time- This S&S turbo drop tower has your standard drop.
It has a small burst of airtime at the start of the descent before mellowing out.
In terms of power, S&S drop towers lag behind their peers.
However, the one at Lake Compounce has two things that help it stand out from the pack.
One, the view.
You get an amazing view of the park, lake, and mountain atop this 185 foot or 56 meter
tall drop tower.
Two, the ride has some really neat audio effects.
The ride is themed to a clock and you hear ticking noises atop the tower that build suspense.
And an alarm triggers right before you drop.
5) Ghost Hunt- This Sally shooting dark ride was recently refurbished and it dramatically
improved the ride.
For many years, this was a lackluster shooter since so few targets worked.
Now, every target works and the laser sights on the guns make it easy to tell what you’re
shooting at.
This ride has the familiar 2D aesthetic of the Cedar Fair boo blasters rides, but this
one mixes things up with a cool mirror room midway through the ride.
Compounce Mountain Sky Ride- The first of two defunct rides on this list is the park’s
legendary former sky ride.
This was no ordinary sky ride.
This one was a 30 minute journey up and down Compounce Mountain.
You forgot you were in a theme park.
That is how isolated you were as you went up the mountain.
And then coming down, you got some stunning views of the park.
Unfortunately, this ride closed after an incident on Great Escape’s Sky Ride and the reason
cited was how difficult this ride would be to evacuate in an emergency due to the treacherous
and rocky terrain.
4) Thunder Rapids- This Hopkins rapids ride is in a bizarre location in the back corner
of the park, but it’s a really fun ride.
This one is extremely well landscaped and it features several powerful rapids capable
of soaking riders to the bone.
You’re basically playing Russian roulette how wet you’ll get.
3) Sky Coaster- This may be an upcharge attraction, but it’s one I try to ride once a year.
The views of the park and surrounding area are similar to Down Time, but they’re even
freakier on the Sky Coaster because of how open you are.
Once at the top, you pull the ripcord and are treated to a terrifying freefall before
swinging over the midway.
This is easily the park’s most intense ride and it’s a true adrenaline rush.
Haunted Graveyard- The park’s former Halloween walkthrough was the best I’ve encountered
anywhere.
As opposed to most parks that have as series of 3-5 minute haunts, the Haunted Graveyard
was a continuous hour long walkthrough loaded with scare actors and themed sets.
Thankfully, the Haunted Graveyard does live on, but the company who runs it moved the
operation offsite.
2) Phobia Phear Coaster- The park’s newest roller coaster is a Premier Rides Sky Rocket
II, but this is one of the best ones.
Unlike most of them that operate with comfort collars, Lake Compounce’s has just lap bars.
This makes the hangtime on the inline twist even freakier.
While the launches on these rides are ok at best, the highlights are the crazy ejector
airtime as you ascent and descend the tower.
It’s some of the most powerful airtime out there in my opinion.
This ride may be short, but it’s an intense flurry of forces.
1) Boulder Dash- This Custom Coasters International creation is an amazing ride for many reasons.
One, it’s just impressive that CCI was able to build a wood coaster of this scale along
a heavily wooded mountainside.
It’s one of the best settings of any coaster.
Whizzing past all those trees augment’s the ride’s already impressive speed.
And it creates one of the best night rides in the world too.
There is no light on the mountainside once the sun goes down.
Two, this ride has a long out-and-back layout that combines several great airtime moments
with surprising laterals.
Boulder Dash feels completely out-of-control in the best way possible.
The ride can be a bit rough towards the back or in wheels seats, which is why this ride
needs to be experienced in the front row.
It’s the smoothest seat and the best spot for the ride’s airtime too.
Boulder Dash in the front row is the best ride in New England and one of the best coasters
in the world.
So that is how I rank the top 15 rides and attractions at Lake Compounce.
What are your favorite rides at this park?
Do you agree with this list?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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