Canobie Lake Park

Canobie Lake Park

File:Canobie Lake Park logo 2006.jpg Logo of Canobie Lake Park
Location	Salem, New Hampshire, United States
Coordinates	42°47′42″N 71°15′01″W
Opened	1902
Slogan	Just For Fun
Operating season	April through September, October (as part of Halloween from Canobie Lake)
Attractions
Total	47
Roller coasters	3
Water rides	3
Website	http://www.canobie.com

Canobie Lake Park is a 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, and later, Sonny & Cher and Aerosmith. Today, owned by 3 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.

A popcorn stand at Canobie Lake Park

Canobie Corkscrew rollercoaster

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. For 2011, Canobie will add Untamed, its first new coaster since the Canobie Corkscrew.

Rides and attractions

Black diamond rides

Name	MFG	Year Added	Notes
Starblaster	S&S Power	2002	Replaced the "Moon Orbiter"
Canobie Corkscrew	Arrow Dynamics	1987	Canobie's first inverting coaster
Wipeout	Chance Morgan	2004	Replacement of the "Kosmojets"
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
Turkish Twist	S.D.C.	1981
Xtreme Frisbee	HUSS	2007	Replacement of the Galaxi coaster
Untamed	Gerstlauer	2011	Steepest coaster in the Northeast with 97 degree drop

Blue square rides

Name	MFG	Year Added	Notes
DaVinci's Dream	Wood Design bv	2003
Boston Harbor Patrol		2008
Blue Heron		2005	A 20-minute boat ride on Canobie Lake
Yankee Cannonball	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	1933	Classic wooden coaster loaded with air time hills.
Skater	Zamperla	2005
Boston Tea Party	O.D. Hopkins Associates, Inc.	1998	Soaking wet ride.
Policy Pond	O.D. Hopkins Associates, Inc.	1982
Timber Splash	WhiteWater West Industries	1994
Giant Sky Wheel	Preston Barbieri	1981
Crazy Cups	Philadelphia Toboggan Company	1958
Mine of Lost Souls	Sally Corporation	1987
Dodgems		1930's	Bumper car ride
Twist & Shout	Sellner Manufacturing
Caterpillar	Harry Traver	1963	Bought from Palisades Amusement Park.
Dragon Coaster	Zamperla	1991
Over the Rainbow	Zamperla	2001
Wave Blaster	Zamperla	2009	Only ride of its kind in the United States

Green circle rides

Name	MFG	Year Added	Notes
Canobie 500	Arrow Dynamics	1977
Antique Carousel	Looff/Dentzel/Stein & Goldstein	1902
Antique Cars	Arrow Dynamics
Sky Ride	O.D. Hopkins & Universal Design	1986
Jungle Bounce	S&S Power	2003
Flower Power	William Mangels	1995	Kiddie Whip
Alpine Swing	Sartori Rides International	2003	Kiddie version of Da Vinci's Dream
Mini Dinos	Zamperla
Junior Sports Cars	Arrow Dynamics	1958
Sea/Land Rescue	Allen Herschell & Zamperla	1989
Tiki-Maze	S.D.C.		Formerly the Crystal Orbiter, on broken motor-driven platform.
Kiddie Canoes	Venture Manufacturing
Mini-Skooter	Zamperla		Kiddie version of the Dodgems
Canobie Express	Crown		Steam engine and propane-fired.
Kiddieland	multiple	1954	A small area with rides for children only
Jump Around		2009	a kiddie version of Wave Blaster

Other rides and attractions

• Castaway Island (added in 2005)
• 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

Retired attractions

Name	MFG	Year Added	Year Retired	Notes
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.
Canobie Queen			2000s	A paddle wheel riverboat that took a 30 minute ride around Canobie Lake. It was torn apart and sold in parts; its former dock platform still stands today.
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		1970	2004	Originally called Galaxi at Canobie before being rebranded/renamed; Replaced with "Xtreme Frisbee"
Rowdy Roosters	Chambers	1948	2011	Standing but roosters are gone and grass is over grown
Round Up		1980	2007	Replaced with "Zero Gravity" (Round Up)
Skating rink				Used to house ScrEEEmfest haunts
The Swamp	Pretzel	1954	Mid 80s	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." Now "Hotdog Diner" resides in that spot
Vertigo Theatre			2009	Replaced with Autobahn to make room for "Wave Blaster"

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
• Detailed review of Canobie Lake Park, circa 2001
• Ride change info, circa 2003
• Canobie Ramblers Official site