Sabrina's Brochure Spotlight: Lake Compounce 2007

Lake Compounce, touted as the nation's oldest continuously operating amusement park, kicks off its 164th season of operation this Saturday (May 9). That would make 2007 the park's 162nd season. Now that I've sufficiently wowed you with my mathematical prowess, let's dive in!

Could it be? No.... That couldn't possibly be a Rotor on the cover of this brochure...could it? I thought this most classic of all whirl-and-puke rides fell out of favor with parks a long time ago! It fell out of favor with me around the age of 16, I'll tell you that much.

I'm digging the see-through inner tubes. I imagine they make a person feel at one with the slides. A bonding experience, if you will.

New for 2007 was Zoomers Gas n' Go, a family car ride featuring antique Corvettes. "Ya dig?" I do! (Again!)

In addition to the better known adult rides (including a particular wooden ride that we'll get to in just a second), Lake Compounce also features an area designed especially for kids. In 2007 it was called Garfield's Circus World, although Garfield seems to have dropped his sponsorship since then because he is no longer mentioned on the park's web site. And of course, don't forget the requisite water park--in this case, Splash Harbor. It's also worth noting that Lake Compounce offers unlimited free soda to all park guests, as it is one of the few parks to offer such a perk.

There's that famous coaster! I'm talking about Boulder Dash, of course. This highly acclaimed woodie dips and dashes through the woods of Lake Compounce as no other coaster can.

Is it wrong that I'm already looking ahead to Halloween when many parks haven't even opened for the summer yet? Well I can't help it, now that I see the write-up for Lake Compounce's Haunted Graveyard! What you may not know is that the Haunted Graveyard has a very interesting history. It was unofficially born in 1991 as one family's attempt to help their daughter, who had been diagnosed with juvenile diabetes, forget about candy and focus on fun at Halloween. It eventually grew too big for their yard and ended up being "adopted" by Lake Compounce. To this day, a portion of the proceeds from this seasonal event are donated to the American Diabetes Association.

Beautiful New England is the perfect setting for such a lovely traditional park. Lake Compounce is just a hop, skip and a jump away from many different cities, so do drop in and spend a little time soaking up some good old fashioned history this summer!