OT: Canobie Lake Park!

[Worfiedoodles]

We told ds10 he could pick wherever he wanted to go as a reward for his fantastic report card, and he picked Canobie Lake Park!

I have never been, dh was there back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, so we don't know much about it.

Any advice or tips? We will be coming up 93 from Boston, I understand it's pretty easy to get there, and parking is free.

I'm more interested in what there is to do, a strategy for touring, etc.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

TIA!
Maria

 

[deb24k]

I wouldn't say that you really need a touring plan. The one tip I have is to bring some swimsuits for The Boston Tea Party ride. You will be drenched and most people change prior to riding a few times then change back. There are sizable restrooms very near the attraction. Also, it's possible that you may want to visit the water play area, but in my opinion, if you have a water park or something similar near you it is not worth the extra time spent (unless the heat is overwhelming).

Food is really pricey, but I think that they recently changed policy again and allow picnic lunches.

 

[caitty13]

We brought my DS3 at the beginning of summer. From what I saw there are a lot of kid rides plus a small water park. We had a lot of fun. To me it was like a giant fair.

 

[DVCJones]

We went last year and had a good time. We will be going again on Friday. I usually arrive early. I believe they open at 11am. They have a water play area with water slides and splash area. This area usually fills up fast on nice days. Your son is the perfect age for this area so you may want to stake out a nice place to sit/hangout. The do have a place to change into dry clothes too. We usually do the rides first. My kids are young and one likes water slides and the other does not.

They have many rides that are fun, however, don't expect Disney It si really nice though. We try to go at least once a year. You can easily spend the whole day there.

I hope this was helpful. If you have any specific questions I will be happy to answer. Have fun!!!

 

[DIS-NH]

Visit the web site.

www.canobie.com

It is easy to get to. 93N to Exit 2. Bear right off the exit. Take a left at the first lights. It will be approx 1 mile on the left. Can't miss it.

have not been in years....and I live 15 minutes away. The kids get spoiled with WDW.

Good luck

 

[thegrimdwarf]

We were just there on Saturday, got rained-out, and are going back on Friday. I will recommend that you check the weather before you go - it's been crazy lately, and there are few places to get out of the rain when the skies open. Also, a lot of the older rides are closed when wet (yep, I'm serious).

That said, you don't need any sort of plan. This park is easily tackled in a day. Food and drink is overpriced - $2.50 for a bottle of Dasani, I think we paid $4 for cotton candy. We'd eaten lunch before we went, and were driven out by the rain before dinner, so I can't comment on the quality - though there's a place that makes fresh cut fries and chips, and they looked oh-my-yummy!

Like a PP said, you will get soaked if you ride the flume, so plan accordingly.

If you've been to Disney, you need to get into an 'apples' and 'oranges' mindset for this park. Keep expectations low.

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Yup, definately don't need a touring plan!!! It's really not that big. Make sure to go to Rite Aid and get discount tickets if you are going during the week. DH and I always joke that Canobie thinks they are Disney with the prices they charge!!!

 

[NHDisneyMom]

Just brought the kids there a couple of weeks ago and they had a blast. It's not Disney by any stretch but it was fun for the day. If you belong to Costco, they sell tickets for $23 vs. the $29 at the gate. You can find $4 off discount coupons but they limit you to weekdays I think.

You can easily get through the park in a day - although we spent about 10 hours there and there were a few things we didn't do. We had a range of ages so we rode the kiddy rides all the way up to the fisbee one. That one was GREAT by the way!! Spins like a frisbee and swings back and forth. I loved it!

We brought a backpack with waters and juice boxes and some snacks. That worked great for us. The water park was fun and a cool place to hang out on a hot day!

Enjoy!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

Yup, definately don't need a touring plan!!! It's really not that big. Make sure to go to Rite Aid and get discount tickets if you are going during the week. DH and I always joke that Canobie thinks they are Disney with the prices they charge!!!

Rite Aid sells discounted tickets?

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Rite Aid sells discounted tickets?

No, they have the coupons for them.

 

[3girls4me05]

I also found the coupons at Market Basket (DeMoulas for all of us ole folk) AAA now sells tickets at a discount too.
HTH and have fun. We love Canobie Lake. Sure it is no Disney but it totally doable in a day. I love the "country fair" type of feeling from it. I would wear a suit under your clothes or bring an extra set of clothes if you don't want to be wet all day. Boston Tea Party and Flume get you wet. Plus there is a water park section. Don't forget a beach towel or two.
Man..now I want to go ram into people on the bumper cars!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

I also found the coupons at Market Basket (DeMoulas for all of us ole folk) AAA now sells tickets at a discount too.
HTH and have fun. We love Canobie Lake. Sure it is no Disney but it totally doable in a day. I love the "country fair" type of feeling from it. I would wear a suit under your clothes or bring an extra set of clothes if you don't want to be wet all day. Boston Tea Party and Flume get you wet. Plus there is a water park section. Don't forget a beach towel or two.
Man..now I want to go ram into people on the bumper cars!

You are leaving in 1 day...how can you stand it?!?!?

 

[thegrimdwarf]

No, they have the coupons for them.

Well, that works, too. I'll have to head over there before Friday. Thanks!

 

[seeking pixie dust]

Oh, Canobie Lake!!! I worked there during the summer on '93 and '94! What a beautiful, quaint park. Take your lunch and a blanket and sit down by the lake - very peaceful. Have fun!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Thanks so much to everyone for all the replies!

We will definitely keep our expectations low -- when ds was younger we loved Santa's Village and enjoyed Storyland, so I was thinking of it as more of that type of park for an older audience -- which is what everyone has described.

I will heed all the warnings about getting wet. I'm packing a bag with towels and changes of clothes.

I think we are going to have a very pleasant day.

Thanks Again, Everybody! (I would multiquote, but I don't know how...sad, I know...)

Maria

 

[katie111]

We love Canobie Lake. I think it is so clean & fun. My kids are much younger, 6, 4 and 1 but we've already been there 3 times this year. I asked the kids the other day what their favorite thing they did this summer was (and we did a LOT) and the both replied Canobie. I know I could get flamed for this but we've had better times there this summer than we had at MK over Feb vacation. The kids get spoiled at Canobie because they can practically walk right on everything with no wait. When we went to Disney and had to wait over an hour for Dumbo I thought they were going to lose it! My one suggestion would be to go to the white wooden rollercoaster first. It seems to have the longest, slowest line. Get there about 15 minutes prior to opening & get right in line. Also the loop coaster, the Corkscrew, is not overly scary but it can do a number on your neck, kind of feels like bad whiplash. Have fun!!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Walking onto rides sounds very good! I am the designated "coaster" rider with ds, so I'll watch out for the Corkscrew. DH does the splash into water rides, and I do the coasters. DS is lucky, he likes everything!

Thanks so much again for all the advice, it is greatly appreciated!

Maria

 

[bjeannep]

I took my kids a few weeks ago. I called it our "Trial Disney" becuase it was my first time I let my 4 year old roam around with out a stroller of the "tether pet". They have a lot of new kiddie rides throughout the park which is nice not having to stay in the kiddie corral like when I was a kid. The ferris wheel always has a long line that takes forever to move. Unless you need about a half hour break while you are riding it, skip this one.

Have fun. If you are staying for the day and you want to leave the park for lunch, there are a lot of places to eat in the area. Just go back to Route 97 (road you are on when you get off of 93) and take a left.

 

[MamaOfTwoPrincesses]

We went to Canobie Lake Park last summer with our then 5.5 and 2 year old DD's. We just found it to be OK, but that may have to do with the girls being so young. We thought the kiddie area was run down - chipped paint on metal, not very appealing, etc.

Also, many of the food stands there use peanut oil. Right from the site: "A majority of the food stands may come in contact with peanut oil or peanut products." This did not set well with us, as our DD is highly allergic to peanuts. Luckily, we had packed our own food, but we were nervous wrecks the whole time, worrying about a contact reaction.... We will not be returning.

This summer, we tried Water Country, and had a great time!

 

[marcyinPA]

We took our boys to Canobie Lake Park two years ago. I used to go when I was a little girl, and it was pretty much like I had remembered it to be! I was so excited to see that they still had the house of mirrors (the mirror maze)...I used to love that when I was little. My kids had never been in anything like that before, and thought it was funny to bump into the glass and mirrors! Oh, and they still had the caterpillar ride too...which really brought the memories back for me. I used to think that ride was "all that" way back when....