We previously reported on Lake Compounce's new offerings for the 175th anniversary of the oldest continuously operating amusement park in America.
I recently was given a chance by the park to take a behind-the-scenes look at the in-progress construction of many of the offerings that will be coming to the park later this year. So let's take a look and I'm going to take you through the entire park with a special look at much of what we had previously seen in concept art starting to appear in reality.
We're going to start at the park entrance and then move clockwise around the park You can either watch the above video or follow along with a photo report below.
First, you can see here the new color scheme that has come to the main street entrance area, which is definitely much more pronounced than the previous color scheme, with the new yellow replacing the old blue.
You can also see the in-progress tech upgrades happening beneath the pathways as well as in-progress landscaping for a newly reimagined entrance area.
This all looks just as good as it did in the concept art, and hearing about the tech upgrades and the maintenance coming to the clock at the entrance really just shows the amount of work that is going into this project. All of these upgrades really seem to be a great new direction for the park.
You can see here the progress to install new lights on the main street area as well as new tile inside one of the buildings that sells sweets.
Just outside you can see the old carousel horse that used to be featured in the park entrance which is being replaced this year, but the park still found a way to incorporate it in the main entrance area.
Continuing clockwise, while I didn't get a chance to go in the water park due to construction on the tour you can see that much of the area is getting an upgrade, with new coats of paint on many of the water slides and various maintenance upgrades that make the entire area just look fresh.
The most significant improvement in this area is the bathhouse which was featured in the concept art. While many of the changes shown in the concept art had not been put on the actual building yet, I did get a chance to see the inside which is being upgraded with all new tile and facilities.
The team that gave me the tour also spoke of various upgrades coming to the building that currently houses the Croc Pot and the Starlight Theater. This is one of the oldest areas of the park so it's great to hear that it's getting the love it deserves and will continue to be a part of the park for years to come.
This is the oldest amusement park in America and as such it has more history than pretty much any other amusement park, and it's great to see the park respecting that history.
This then brings us to the next thing we come upon the Carousel which is the oldest still operating attraction in the park, and for this year is getting some refurbishments to some of the carousel horses. This is a process that will not be completed this year, with the work being done by the New England Carousel Museum and it will be completed over time, with eventually the entire carousel being refurbished.
It's great to see the carousel getting the love it deserves and hopefully it will be looking better than ever this year and in future years as this process is completed.
Various other buildings in this area are also getting paint upgrades, notably the games buildings in this area, for which the work was still being completed. Again I'm gonna make a broad statement that I think all of the color scheme redesigns are a positive change. They seem to be more in line with what the park is and the direction the park is going for in the future.
Continuing through the park we now come upon the most famous ride in the park, Boulder Dash. This is the ride that put Lake Compounce on the map and it's great to see that it is getting some love for the 175th anniversary.
Work was being done to install an all-new sign similar in style to the original to the entrance of Boulder Dash as well as new landscaping along the edges of the queue line. While it's great to see all of the upgrades coming to the park overall, it would feel out of place if Boulder Dash, the park's most popular attraction was left out of the upgrades and it's nice to see it being included.
The team giving me the tour also said that they have heard various complaints on the coaster only running one train over the years, and that they are working to try and fix this situation for the future.
They specifically mentioned maintenance issues with the coaster being the primary reason why they use one train on the coaster, but that they hope now that we are hopefully coming out of the pandemic in the coming months that they will be able to use both trains once demand returns to higher levels.
Boulder Dash is also not going to be the only attraction in the park to get a new sign this year with several other attractions including Ghost Hunt getting new signage. Work is also being done to the park's ferris wheel which will be getting an all-new nighttime lighting package that will hopefully be enjoyed when the park is able to expand operating hours into the nighttime once again.
We now move to the area of the park that besides the entrance area is probably getting the most work for the upcoming season, the back corner of the park that holds both Saw Mill Plunge and the new restaurant replacing the Parkside Diner, the Timberjack Chowhouse.
Both of these are being tied together with a common theme or story that is perfectly fitting with their location right alongside the mountain. Notably, the old number topiaries from the park entrance had been moved in front of the building for Saw Mill Plunge.
Moving into the Timberjack Chowhouse, while the work was not finished you could see the new color schemes for the inside of the restaurant as well as the new counters and some of the new seating, although not all of it was installed.
I really appreciated the new lighting that is coming for this restaurant which will be using flickering fire-style lights which really gives the area a mountainside lodge feel. Beyond the various aesthetic changes to the park will be one of two major additions for this year alongside Venus Vortex, the new water slide that was supposed to open last year but was delayed by the pandemic.
Continuing down we then come by Zoomerang, the park's boomerang coaster which will be receiving a new coat of paint this year. You can see here two sections of what the new color scheme will be for the supports and track.
Finally going into Kiddie Land, you can see some new curbs being added through the area as well as new landscaping that is yet to come.
Finally, throughout the whole time, the team conducting the tour emphasized that this was only the first in a series of upgrades that will be coming to the park for the next few years aimed at boosting its public profile and making people look beyond Boulder Dash.
The park has a unique charm that you can't really find in many other parks and it's nice to see that the team conducting these renovations are definitely leaning into that charm and hopefully, this is a trend we see in the next few years and hopefully with a few new bigger offerings as well.
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