Lake Compounce One Day Park Itinerary

Lake Compounce

Lake Compounce Entrance Tunnel at Night Rainbow Colors

Lake Compounce is a classic-style amusement park filled with both thrilling roller coasters and calmer kiddie rides. This is a popular park and several major rides can have significantly long lines. So what is the best plan to get most of the major rides done in a single day visit to the park?

Here is our itinerary to get the most out of your visit to Lake Compounce. This guide assumes that you are visiting able and wanting to do all of the major attractions. It also prioritizes amusement park rides over the water park, although it does give some time for the water park.

Lake Compounce Carousel Horse Entrance Decoration at Sunset

The first thing that is necessary to get the most out of your visit to Lake Compounce is arriving when the park first opens. Typically the parking lot opens roughly a half-hour before the park opens, and it takes 5-10 minutes to walk from the parking lot to the front of the park so plan accordingly.

At the park entrance, you will want to take a look at the board noting any ride closures or delayed openings, and prepare to adjust your plan accordingly.

Upon entering the park, you should first head to the Ghost Hunt dark ride. Most people will run straight to Boulder Dash, but this roller coaster very often does not open alongside the park. Even on days where it does open with the park, it is typically still doing testing when the park officially opens, meaning you will be waiting with the line not moving until testing is complete. If you go straight to Ghost Hunt you can typically get this ride done before Boulder Dash actually starts accepting riders. Ghost Hunt often has the longest wait in the park, so getting this done early is essential.

After you have completed Ghost Hunt you should check if Boulder Dash is open, and if it is then ride it. The wait should still be relatively short at this point.

If Boulder Dash is still closed then try to ask workers when it will be opening. If it is only going to be a short time (under an hour) then just do some of the smaller rides in the area (Twister, Saw Mill Plunge, Pirate, or Phobia Phear Coaster if it is open) until it opens. If it will take longer than an hour for the ride to open, then just come back to it after Wildcat later in this plan.

Following Boulder Dash head to Wildcat if this is a ride you want to experience. Do be aware this is one of the roughest roller coasters currently operating.

Thunder Rapids Ride Station Lake Compounce

Following Wildcat, head to any of the water rides in the main park, you want to experience (Saw Mill Plunge and Thunder Rapids). These may have longer waits, but as the park gets more crowded they will only get longer.

Thunder and Lightning Swing Ride Vehicle Lake Compounce

At this point, it would be a good time to maybe fit in one or two smaller rides in the back half of the park before getting lunch. Rides like Down Time, Twister, or the Bumper Cars are all great options.

Chicken Tenders and Fries Basket Lake Compounce Potato Patch

As for lunch, there are plenty of good options within Lake Compounce with incredible food offerings. My personal recommendations would be to eat at either the Potato Patch for baked potatoes or chicken and fries, or Timberjack Chowhouse for burgers. Both have great food offerings, although seating around the Potato Patch is limited.

Venus Vortex Water Slide Lake Compounce Amusement Park

After lunch is then a good time to switch over to the water park for a few hours. If you are looking for a chair, check the back section of the water park near Venus Vortex or the beach near the lake, these are usually the last spots to fill up. Be aware that Venus Vortex and Mammoth Falls are typically the two slides with the longest waits. Lights Out, the slide in the lighthouse typically also had a longer line, although it has been closed for multiple years. Rumors state this will reopen in 2022, although wait times for the reopened version of the slide are unknown.

Whenever you leave the water park, you should make an effort to finish anything else in the park you have not completed, starting with Phobia Phear Coaster. This roller coaster rarely has lines longer than most other major rides, meaning it is a good ride to experience later in the day. You will have to wait, but nowhere near as long as the other roller coaster.

Zoomerang Roller Coaster Loop Lake Compounce

After Phobia, you should have time to finish any other rides you want to complete, especially rides in the front of the park. Significant rides worth experiencing here include Zoomerang, Zoomers Gas N Go, Zoomerang, and the Wave Swinger. Then you could either enjoy a nice dinner in the park, or leave the park for the night.

Boulder Dash Ride Entrance At Night Lake Compounce

If your visit occurs on a day where Lake Compounce is open at night (typically weekends in summer) then you may want to try Boulder Dash again once the sun has fallen as it is an entirely different experience.

Lake Compounce Amusement Park Entrance at Night

Lake Compounce is a popular amusement park that can be difficult to get done in one day, especially if you visit on a busy day. Having a well-educated plan can make your experience at the park significantly better, although do note that things can always change, and your mileage may vary.

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