Apparently, this park was in serious danger of never recovering from the COVID pandemic shutdown. It feels like it's really bounced back, with major new investments and ride refurbishments making it a place well worth visiting for anyone in New England.
Excalibur is really the dark horse among roller coasters in the region, a ride that would be a major attraction even at a large theme park, somehow looming over this tiny Maine seashore park. Reviews of it seemed relatively indifferent until recently, which suggests to me that the Gravity Group retracking did it a world of good. The coaster it reminded me most of was PortAventura's racing coaster Stampida, another CCI wooden ride from the late 1990s. Excalibur isn't a racing coaster, but it has a similar feel, though it's a bit taller and more forceful, and not quite as long.
Comparing Funtown Splashtown to Canobie Lake Park, its closest counterpart, is interesting. Splashtown is a far bigger waterpark than Canobie's Castaway Island. Funtown is considerably smaller than the rest of Canobie, the landscaping and layout are more haphazard, and it doesn't have as many family/kiddie rides, but the few star attractions at Funtown blow away anything at Canobie. I'm guessing it is less constrained by zoning/neighborhood considerations.
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Date: 2024-08-27 09:14 pm (UTC)Excalibur is really the dark horse among roller coasters in the region, a ride that would be a major attraction even at a large theme park, somehow looming over this tiny Maine seashore park. Reviews of it seemed relatively indifferent until recently, which suggests to me that the Gravity Group retracking did it a world of good. The coaster it reminded me most of was PortAventura's racing coaster Stampida, another CCI wooden ride from the late 1990s. Excalibur isn't a racing coaster, but it has a similar feel, though it's a bit taller and more forceful, and not quite as long.
Comparing Funtown Splashtown to Canobie Lake Park, its closest counterpart, is interesting. Splashtown is a far bigger waterpark than Canobie's Castaway Island. Funtown is considerably smaller than the rest of Canobie, the landscaping and layout are more haphazard, and it doesn't have as many family/kiddie rides, but the few star attractions at Funtown blow away anything at Canobie. I'm guessing it is less constrained by zoning/neighborhood considerations.