Canobie Lake Park is my home park and I have been visiting this Salem, New Hampshire amusement
park for almost 3 decades.
This family owned park features a whopping 56 rides, including 4 roller coasters, a handful
of water rides, tons of flat rides, and plenty of kiddie rides.
There are also several others that have been removed over the years.
In this video, I will countdown my top 15 favorite rides and attractions currently at
Canobie Lake Park.
There are two defunct rides that would have made the list, so I’ll be sure to note where
they would have placed as well.
15) Canobie Corkscrew- This was not only the park’s first inverting roller coaster, but
it was also the park’s first inverting ride.
This is an Arrow corkscrew relocated from the Old Chicago indoor amusement park.
The coaster has a great first drop with an abrupt pop of ejector airtime and the two
corkscrews have some great headchoppers with the nearby trees, but the coaster is both
short and rather jerky which holds it back.
14) DaVinci’s Dream- This is a gorgeous wave swinger with some gardens, rockwork,
and statues around the attraction.
This is a rare model from Wood Amusement Rides and it’s more forceful than the others.
You can really feel the blood rush to your feet at the bottoms of the dips and the ride
also delivers a beautiful view of Canobie Lake.
13) Over the Rainbow- This Zamperla balloon ride is more popular amongst kids than adults,
but it’s a guilty pleasure of mine.
Because of the ride’s target audience, the balloons are ridiculously easy to spin.
So you can get these rotating at a frightening rate.
The centripetal force is so strong that you will feel yourself bending backwards over
the seat if you let go of the wheel.
12) Xtreme Frisbee- This Huss frisbee is often closed due to mechanical issues, but when
it opens its among the park’s most popular flat rides.
Unlike most frisbees that focus on airtime, the Xtreme Frisbee focuses more on dizzying
spinning and delivers a very long cycle.
11) Wipeout- This Chance Rides flat ride is a lot of fun.
For the first two thirds of the ride, Wipeout bobs up and down delivering ok laterals plus
some weak pops of airtime.
But the finale is where Wipeout shows its power.
The ride stops bouncing and spins its fastest, so the laterals are downright viscous.
The ride used to run a far longer cycle in both directions, but Canobie now only operates
Wipeout in one direction.
10) Boston Tea Party- This Hopkins shoot the chute ride is the wettest ride in New England.
The ride is simple, but effective.
The lift and turn deliver nice views of Canobie Lake and then the climactic plunge is quite
zippy due to the heavy boats.
Then the splashdown is visually stunning both on and off-ride.
The splash is roughly 50 feet tall and drenches anyone in its path- both riders and onlookers.
I don’t ride this one too often since it’s prudent to bring a change of clothes, but
it’s just what the doctor ordered on a hot day.
And I have a separate review going into more detail on this soaking ride.
9) Canobie Lake Hotel- Yes, I am including haunts on this list.
The park’s annual Halloween event has two that are worthy of this list.
The first is Canobie Lake Hotel.
This walkthrough is themed to a haunted hotel with some good sets, several jump scares,
and some interactive scare actors.
The only downside is that it is on the shorter side.
8) Star Blaster- This is the park’s S&S double shot.
The drop tower stands 80 feet or 24 meters tall, but it packs a nice little punch.
The ride’s launches aren’t forceful, but you get two good pops of airtime on the two
ascents.
The airtime was weaker in 2020 than in past years, so I’m hoping that was just an anomaly
and not indicative of how the ride will run going forwards.
7) Psycho Drome- This is the park’s indoor scrambler.
Not only does this scrambler run faster than most, resulting in some solid laterals, but
it feels like a dance club with the booming music and light effects.
The ride no longer uses fog and smoke, but the visuals and sounds take an ordinary flat
and make it standout.
This is where the first defunct ride would have placed.
And it would have been Matterhorn, the park’s now defunct SDC flying bobs Himalaya.
The ride operated from 1987 to 2006, but Canobie ran the ride into the ground with how fast
they operated it.
Unlike most flying bobs rides where you barely swing horizontal to the ground, Matterhorn
swung well beyond horizontal.
You swung out further than most overbanked turns and it felt like you were inverting.
It was insane.
I’m showing pictures of a flying bobs ride I found at Oktoberfest and that’s the only
one I’ve ever ridden that can match Matterhorn’s intensity.
Ice Jet now stands in Matterhorn’s place and while it’s a similar ride, it’s operated
much slower.
6) Untamed- The park’s best steel roller coaster is this Gerstlauer EuroFighter.
The ride looks great with its bear-themed cars, ski-lodge themed station, and birch
bark painted supports.
But unfortunately, it is rather jerky, particularly on the cutback and transitions.
However, I still do enjoy the coaster for the fantastic ejector airtime on the beyond
vertical drop and hangtime on the vertical loop and inline twist.
I have a separate review that goes into more detail on Untamed if you’re interested in
hearing more thoughts.
5) Mine of Lost Souls- This is the park’s Sally dark ride themed to a haunted mine.
I love the atmosphere of the first half showcasing a working mine, but the second half is a bit
scarier as you’re being pursued by the Grim Reaper.
The ride’s effects are a bit dated, but a majority of them are statues or animatronics
which is good to see from a family park like Canobie.
4) Turkish Twist- This is the park’s most intense flat.
This is one of the few remaining rotors in North America; this one was supplied by SDC.
And like the Matterhorn, Turkish Twist is run ridiculously fast, spinning riders at
33 RPM.
The sustained Gs are incredible as you’re plastered to the wall and have that crazy
visual of the floor dropping out beneath you.
The ride does run a very short cycle, but it’s understandable given the ride’s intensity
and propensity for causing guests to toss their cookies.
3) Carnivus- This is easily the park’s best haunt and one of my favorites anywhere.
Themed to an abandoned carnival, this haunt has a freaky atmosphere as you pass chillingly
silent carnival games.
And there are plenty of scare actors.
Some try and scare you.
Others engage in witty banter.
But the ride also includes some fun house style elements that elevate the attraction
such as a long mirror maze, claustrophobia room, and vortex tunnel, and some of these
elements also feature scare actors.
2) Yankee Cannonball- You were probably expecting to see this ride at the top spot.
And until 2016, it would have.
The ride was retracked by GCI in the 2015 and 2016 seasons.
While this made the coaster smoother than ever, the power of the airtime was reduced
significantly.
That being said, it’s still a fun classic with some moderate pops of airtime if you’re
in either the front or back car.
I have a separate review going into more detail before and after the retracking.
1) Policy Pond Log Flume- This was my favorite ride at Canobie growing up and it once again
is my current favorite at the park.
This is a wonderful log flume that winds its way through the trees and past some thematic
water sprayers.
And like any good log flume, this one features a thrilling final plunge that offers just
the right amount of wetness.
I have a separate review that goes into more detail, but I still love this ride as much
as ever after riding it for 3 decades.
The Yankee Cannonball at its peak would have claimed the top spot, but there is also another
defunct ride I like better than any ride currently at Canobie.
And that would be the infamous Equinox, the park’s KMG Tango that rarely operated.
The ride was installed late in the 2012 season and was removed after the 2014 season due
to extensive mechanical issues.
But I was blown away by Equinox the one time I was able to ride it.
The ride was an intense, highly disorienting flat that flung me in every direction all
while you were in this weird standing, floorless position.
Canobie really could use another inverting flat as the Equinox is sorely missed.
So those are my top 15 favorite rides and attractions currently at Canobie Lake Park.
What is your favorite ride at Canobie or thoughts on this list?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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Thanks for watching!
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