Canobie Lake Park

Canobie Lake Park

Slogan	Just for fun
Location	Salem, New Hampshire, U.S.
Coordinates
Opened	1902 (1902)
Operating season	May–Early November
Rides
Total	47
Roller coasters	4
Water rides	4
Website	canobie.com

Canobie Lake Park is an amusement park located in Salem, New Hampshire, United States, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Boston, Massachusetts.

Description

Canobie Lake Park opened on August 23, 1902, as a trolley park for the Massachusetts Northeast Street Railway Company. The amusement park has opened every summer since then. In the park's early years, it was known for its flower gardens, promenades and gentle attractions. From the 1930s to the early 1950s, Canobie Lake Park’s Dancehall Theater became known as an entertainment destination hosting names such as Guy Lombardo, Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra; in later years, such acts as Sonny & Cher and Aerosmith appeared. Today, owned by three different families, the park features over 50 rides, including roller coasters, a log flume, a hand-painted antique carousel, a steam train, a Ferris wheel, the "Starblaster", "Dodgems", "DaVinci's Dream", over a dozen kiddie rides, a variety of foods, prize games, three arcades, live entertainment, fireworks, and more.

The Canobie Corkscrew roller coaster

File:Popcornstand.JPG

A popcorn stand at Canobie Lake Park

Untamed

The Yankee Cannonball, a 1930s-era wooden roller coaster, is one of the park's best known rides. The park also has a looping, steel roller coaster named the Canobie Corkscrew, designed by Arrow Dynamics. It was formerly located at Old Chicago, where it was called the "Chicago Loop". There is also a kiddie coaster, called "The Dragon".

The park also features one of the few dark rides in New England, titled "Mine of Lost Souls". Passengers board a "mine car" and are transported into the depths of a dark mine, which begins to collapse. Another flat ride at Canobie is the "Psychodrome", a 12-car Scrambler ride located in a dome, with special effects lighting and music.

Located towards the back of the park, along the lake, is a Chute-the-Chutes ride titled "The Boston Tea Party". Riders board a large boat and are transported up a lift hill. They turn around and plunge down a tunnel into the water below, creating a large wave.

Also in the back portion of the park is a rotor ride named "Turkish Twist". Riders stand with their backs to the wall of a cylindrical drum (with no ceiling, so others can watch from above). The entire drum begins spinning, and the riders are pushed against the wall by the strong centrifugal force. The floor then drops out from beneath them, while they remain stuck to the wall.

In 2001, the park opened "Ocean Trip", which has been replaced by "Boston Harbor Patrol" (to fit the "Boston Tea Party" theme).

2002 was the park's 100th season. In that year, it opened an S&S Power Double Shot ride named "Starblaster". In 2003 the park opened "DaVinci's Dream", a Chair-O-Planes-type ride. "Wipeout", a tropical surf theme ride, replaced "Kosmo Jets" (an SDC Telecombat ride). It opened for the last three days of the 2004 season, and was officially opened in 2005. Also in 2005, the park opened a new water park called "Castaway Island". The park also added a ride called "Skater". "Skater" took up some of the removed Rockin' Rider site, but has since been moved to the old location of the "Paratroopers" ride (which will be sold and has been removed from the park). In 2007, Canobie Lake opened a HUSS Frisbee named "Xtreme Frisbee" at the original "Rockin' Rider" site.

In 2011 the park added Untamed, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter 320+ model. This is the fourth Euro-Fighter to be added to the US and the only one that resides in the North East. It is the first roller coaster to be added to Canobie Lake since the Canobie Corkscrew, which opened in 1987. The ride features a 72-foot vertical lift and a beyond vertical drop at a 97 degree angle. Untamed also takes riders through three inversions, a vertical loop, an Immelmann maneuver, and a Zero-G-Roll. The ride reaches a top speed of 43.5 mph and has a length of 1185 feet.

ScrEEEmfest

On certain weekends in September and October, Canobie Lake Park opens its doors in the afternoon and evenings for ScrEEEmfest, a special event run by the park that features Canobie's most popular rides plus five walk-through haunted attractions. Past "haunts" have included Merriment Incorporated, The Dead Shed, The Village, Head Hunters at Cannibal Lake, Cannibal Island, Demons of Darkness, and Virus. The three most-popular "haunts" (Merriment Incorporated, The Dead Shed and The Village) have been featured every year since the event's incarnation. The event also features kid-friendly entertainment including a Pumpkin Palace, a petting zoo, and Monster Parade.

Rides and attractions

Name	MFG	Year added	Notes
Thrill rides
Canobie Corkscrew	Arrow Development	1987	Canobie's first inverting coaster. Originally manufactured in 1975, the Canobie Corkscrew operated at Old Chicago from 1975 to 1980 as the "Chicago Loop". It operated from 1982 to 1986 at the Alabama State Fairgrounds as "Corkscrew". It began operating at Canobie Lake in 1987. The Canobie Corkscrew is one of the first steel looping roller coasters manufactured in the world and is part of a series of Arrow corkscrew models produced from 1975-1979.
Pirata	S.D.C.	1986	Modeled after an old Spanish galleon
Psychodrome	Eli Bridge Company	1989	An indoor Scrambler ride with music and various visual effects
Starblaster	S&S Power	2002	Replaced the "Moon Orbiter". The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group.
Turkish Twist	S.D.C.	1981
Untamed	Gerstlauer	2011	Steepest coaster in the Northeast with 97-degree drop
Wipeout	Chance Rides	2004	Replacement of the "Kosmojets"
Xtreme Frisbee	HUSS	2007	Replacement of the Galaxi coaster
Yankee Cannonball	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	1933	Classic wooden coaster loaded with air-time hills
Family rides
Antique Carousel	Looff/Dentzel/Stein & Goldstein	1902
Antique Cars	Arrow Development
Blue Heron		2005	A 20-minute boat ride on Canobie Lake
Boston Harbor Patrol		2008
Canobie 500	Arrow Dynamics	1977
Canobie Express	Crown Metal Products		2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge steam engine and propane-fired
Caterpillar	Harry Traver	1963	Bought from Palisades Amusement Park
Crazy Cups	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	1958
DaVinci's Dream	Wood Design bv	2003
Dodgems		1930s	Bumper car ride
Giant Sky Wheel	Preston Barbieri	1981
Kiddie Dragon Coaster	Zamperla	1991
Mine of Lost Souls	Sally Corporation	1987	Dark Ride
Over the Rainbow	Zamperla	2001
Skater	Zamperla	2005
Sky Ride	SkyTrans Mfg. and Universal Design	1986
Tiki-Maze	S.D.C.		Formerly the Crystal Orbiter, on broken motor-driven platform
Twist & Shout	Sellner Manufacturing
Wave Blaster	Zamperla	2009	Only ride of its kind in the United States
Zero Gravity	Battech Enterprises	2008	Replaced similar Round Up ride
Water rides
Boston Tea Party	Hopkins Rides	1998	Soaking wet ride
Castaway Island	WhiteWater West	2005	AquaPlay RainFortress water play structure
Policy Pond Log Flume	Hopkins Rides	1982
Tall Timber Splash	WhiteWater West Industries	1994	Double water slide coaster
Kids rides
Alpine Swing	Sartori Rides International	2003	Kiddie version of Da Vinci's Dream
Autobahn		2009
Boats
Fire Engines
Flower Power	William Mangels	1994	Kiddie Whip
Helicopters
Jeeps
Jump Around		2009	A kiddie version of Wave Blaster
Jungle Bounce	S&S Power	2003
Junior Sports Cars	Arrow Dynamics	1958
Kiddie Canoes	Venture Manufacturing
Kiddie Carousel
Mini Dinos	Zamperla
Mini-Skooter	Zamperla		Kiddie version of the Dodgems
Pony Carts
Sea/Land Rescue	Allen Herschell & Zamperla	1989
Sky Fighters
Tanks

Other rides and attractions

• Castaway Island (added in 2005)
• "The Old Man O' The Mountain" Rock Wall
• Fireworks
• Games and Arcades
• Shows at the Country Stage, Midway Stage and Dancehall Theater
• Music by the Canobie Ramblers at the Log Flume Gazebo
• "Canobie Critters", with names Patches, Molly, Bruno, and Dapper.
• Canobie Lake Park "Funsquad", a flash-mob type group of people providing an interactive experience of hula-hooping and dancing to guests of all ages.

Retired attractions

Name	MFG	Year Added	Year Retired	Notes
Equinox	KMG	2012	2014	A twisting, spinning and flipping ride. Removed due to mechanical issues.
Ocean Trip	SBF	2001	2008	Replaced with Boston Harbor Patrol
Bowling alley				After purchasing the park in the 1960s, the owners burned all the pins from the bowling alley to keep warm during their first winter.
Calypso	Mack		1988	Replaced with the "Moon Orbitor"
The Canobie Brass	N/A	1979	1982	A brass band that played three shows daily on the stage directly across from the entrance to the Yankee Cannonball. Members of the band were students from the University of Lowell College of Music, Berklee College of Music and Boston University. Instrumentation fluctuated somewhat, but the typical ensemble was alto sax/clarinet, tenor sax/flute, trumpet, trombone, electric piano, electric bass and drums.
Fascination				Replaced with the "Jackpot Casino"
Figure 8 roller coaster	Frederick Ingersoll	1902	1935
House of Seven Gables		1938		Walk-through haunted house
Jr. Roller Coaster		1970s	1984
Kosmojets	SDC			Telecombat, originally purchased from Palisades Amusement Park. Replaced with "Wipeout"
Matterhorn	SDC		2007	Replaced with a concession stand "Hotdog Diner"
Moon Orbitor		1989	2002	Replaced with the "Star Blaster"
Paratroopers			2006	Originally purchased from Palisades Amusement Park. Replaced with "Skater".
Petting Zoo	N/A
Rockin' Rider	S.D.C.	1970	2004	Originally called Galaxi at Canobie before being rebranded/renamed; Replaced with "Xtreme Frisbee"
Round Up		1980	2007	Replaced with "Zero Gravity" (Round Up)
roller skating rink				Used to house ScrEEEmfest haunts
The Swamp	Pretzel	1954	Mid 80s	A dark ride that was replaced with the Can Alley game and employee center building
Swimming pool			2007	Removed to make room for a newer and larger main entrance; was also made redundant by the "Castaway Island" mini-water park.
USA Missile				SBNO as of mid-1990s. The USA Missile is one of a small number of "space simulator" rides built early in the Space Age to a design by John Taggart and Sam Daugherty. Passengers sit facing the nose of the rocket, which is then inclined. A movie is shown on a screen at the front as a crude simulation of space flight. This ride was originally built for Palisades Park in 1958 by Todd Shipyard in California. It was then known as the "Ansco Rocket Ship". Once it had been moved to Canobie, it was painted white with an American flag motif and renamed to "USA Missile". Some time later, it was repainted again to mimic the markings used on such launch vehicles as the Saturn rockets. Similar rides include Coney Island's Astroland Star Flyer.
Wild Mouse	B. A. Schiff & Associates	1960s	1980s	Used wood supports and steel track. The Paratrooper replaced the Wild Mouse and later the Skater
The Whip				Was replaced with Matterhorn and then Equinox. Now picnic tables reside in that spot.
Vertigo Theatre			2009	Replaced with Autobahn to make room for "Wave Blaster"

Food service

Food service at Canobie is provided by Sodexo. There are twenty one permanent food stands and multiple mobile carts throughout the park. There is also a catering area that large groups can rent out and prepay for their food.

Midway

Name	Stand #	Location	Food
The Trellis	Stand 1	In front of the Carousel	Cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, grilled chicken sandwiches, French fries, onion rings, tossed salad, chicken Caesar salad, milk, apple juice, water, coffee, hot chocolate, tea, soda, souvenir soda, souvenir refill
Lemonade Stand	Stand 2	Next to the Crazy Cups	Lemonade, strawberry lemonade, pretzels, nacho cheese
International Food Festival	Stand 3	Across from the Midway Stage	Cotton candy, candy apples, soft serve ice cream, hot dogs, Philly cheese steak, Italian sausage, personal cheese pizza, personal pepperoni pizza, French fries, frappes, baked potatoes, soda, souvenir refill
Hot Dog Diner	Stand 19	Behind the Carousel	Steamed hotdogs, grilled hot dogs, dill pickles, Lays baked potato chips, Doritos, Gatorade, water, orange drink, root beer, soda
Fried Dough	Stand 20	At the front entrance	Fried dough, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, strawberry sauce, whipped cream, strawberry shortcake dessert shot, soda, souvenir refill

Village

Name	Stand #	Location	Food
Funnel Cake	Stand 10	In front of the Corkscrew	Soft serve ice cream, funnel cake, monkey bread, soda, souvenir refill
Lumberjack Ice Cream	Stand 11	Across from the Log Flume	Soft serve ice cream, hard serve ice cream, sundaes, ice cream cookie sandwich, frappes, root beer, soda, souvenir refill
The Chicken Coop	Stand 12	Next to the Village Stage	Chicken tenders, sweet and sour sauce, sweet chili sauce, barbecue sauce, teriyaki sauce, honey mustard, French fries, cheese fries, ranch topping, nacho cheese, Gatorade, soda, souvenir soda, souvenir refill
Candy Shop	Stand 13	Across from Timber Splash	Fudge, assorted candy, rock candy, poofy pops, caramel apples, cotton candy
Dancing Bear Canteen	Stand 14	Across from Timber Splash	Ribs, pulled pork sandwich, BBQ rib sandwich, grilled chicken, cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger, hamburger, hot dogs, mac & cheese, peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables, baked beans, corn on the cob, French fries, apple juice, Bud Light, soda, souvenir refill
Popcorn Box	Stand 18	At the front entrance	Bagged popcorn, small bucket of popcorn, large bucket of popcorn, soda, souvenir refill

Lakeside

Name	Stand #	Location	Food
Portofino	Stand 7	Next to Da Vinci's Dream	Cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, chicken tenders, pasta, meatballs, garlic bread, chicken Parmesan, meat lasagna, tossed salad, chicken caesar salad, milk, water, Bud Light, Heineken, wine, soda
Yankee Whaler	Stand 16	Across from the Boston Tea Party	Soft serve ice cream, hard serve ice cream, cotton candy, popcorn, soda, souvenir soda, souvenir refill
Son's of Liberty Tavern	Stand 15	Across from the Boston Tea Party	Chicken tenders, BLT sandwich, grilled Reuben, turkey club, tuna wrap, pulled pork sliders, tossed salad, chicken Caesar salad, mac and cheese, waffle fries, bacon and cheese fries, nachos, clam chowder, spinach and artichoke dip with chips, popcorn, peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables, milk, water, apple juice, Bud Light, Heineken, coffee, tea, wine, frozen drinks, soda
Minuteman Fried Clams	Stand 17	Next to the Dancehall Theater	Fried clams, clam roll, lobster roll, chicken tenders, fish and chips, clam chowder, French fries, onion rings, soda, souvenir refill

Lower

Name	Stand #	Location	Food
Cafe D'or	Stand 4	Next to the Midway stage	Starbucks coffee, Starbucks decaf, espresso, latte, cappuccino, chai latte, cafe mocha, caramel macchiato, cafe americano, hot chocolate, Starbucks iced coffee, Starbucks iced decaf, iced tea, iced chai tea, iced mocha, iced latte, iced cappuccino, iced macchiato, iced americano, frozen explosion, san pelligrino, apertif, flavored syrup shot, blueberry muffins
Pizza Ria	Stand 5	Across from the Star Blaster	Cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, meatball sub, turkey sub, roast beef sub, ham and cheese sub, Italian sub, tossed salad, chicken Caesar salad, chicken noodle soup, broccoli and cheddar soup, Lays baked potato chips, Doritos, apples, soda, souvenir soda, souvenir refill
Gables Grill	Stand 6	Next to Untamed	Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, double cheeseburgers, chicken club, hotdogs, chicken tenders, French fries, cheese fries, peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables, mac and cheese, milk, apple juice, water, soda, souvenir refill
Poncho Cantina	Stand 8	Behind the Pizza Ria	Nachos, grande nachos, chicken tacos, beef tacos, chicken quesadilla, fries, cheese fries, chili cheese fries, fried dough, soda, souvenir soda, souvenir refill
Be Bop Diner	Stand 9	Next to Skee Ball	Hamburgers, cheeseburgers, hot dogs, fried chicken sandwich, French fries, water, soda

Gallery

• 

  The Caterpillar

See also

• List of amusement parks in New England
• Amusement ride

External links

• Official Canobie Lake Park web site
• Unofficial Canobie Lake Park web site
• Unofficial Canobie Lake Park Appreciation site
• Canobie Lake Park at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• Detailed review of Canobie Lake Park, circa 2001
• Ride change info, circa 2003
• Canobie Ramblers Official site