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Photo TR: My adventures in the Northeast (Rye Playland...


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Disclaimer: Okay, this one is going to be mostly photos with very little commentary, since this was back in July and I honestly forgot most of the details.

 

So, my work found it suitable for me to attend a conference in Providence, RI at the end of July, and much like my Milwaukee trip earlier in the year I figured I'd hit a bunch of parks I hadn't yet. On this list: Playland Park in Rye, NY; Quassy; Lake Compounce; and Six Flags New England.

 

On with the show...first up was Rye Playland.

 

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Got here before opening, so walked around and killed some time...nice area, especially for New York. Now this park has an interesting pricing scheme for those looking to go on rides:

 

Option A: Buy a "Spectator" pass for $10, then ride tickets.

Option B: Buy a "Ride All Day" pass for like $36.

 

However, if you're going to go on more than one ride, it makes more fiscal sense to buy the Ride All Day pass. Makes no sense. Oh well, on to the reason I'm here...

 

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Okay, so their Derby Racer is the 2nd reason I'm here, but still worthwhile. Personally I didn't see what all the fuss was about...this was running just a tad faster than Cedar Point's, and certainly not "throw you off your seat if you don't hold on" fast as was reported on these forums. Anyway, on to the REAL reason I'm here...

 

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Somewhat disappointed...the trains they run on this are godawful. Still, a classic that's operated with brake levers? Scores points with me. 7/10.

 

Then I did some Dark Rides, which were "meh" from an entertainment factor but a "wow!" from a historical, "they-keep-them-up" factor.

 

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Note I did not do their boat dark ride since I didn't feel like getting wet with 300 miles and 2 other parks ahead of me, given all of the signs that said "You will get wet."

 

So, with a little time to spare, I decided to try something new: A Zamperla Volare, their flying coaster.

 

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Ow. Horrible, horrible machine, may they all burn to scrap. 1/10.

 

From there, it was on to Quassy Amusement Park, for the sole purpose of Wooden Warrior.

 

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Got in to the park, paid my $5 for ride tickets, and off I went. One-train ops led to about a 20 minute wait, but wow was it worth it. For such a short-height and short-length coaster, this was something special. They need to build more of these. 8/10.

 

I didn't spend much time at Quassy, though I did grab a burger at what appeared to be the only food place there for a reasonable price. If I had more time in the schedule I would've liked to spend more time here "just taking it in" since overall the park had a great ambiance.

 

On to Lake Compounce...

 

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So there were two reasons I was here. Boulder Dash and Wildcat. Sadly Wildcat was still down for it's major refurb (is it still?), but Bolder Dash was running stunningly pre-collision.

 

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Spectacular, spectacular ride. This was my first time on it, and I was blown away. New Top 4 wooden coaster. 10/10.

 

Decided to wander around a bit and tried their flyers...which were okay...

 

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...and finally Phobia.

 

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The launches were cool, but overall I was quite unimpressed. 5/10.

 

This is another park I wish I could've spent more time at, but the schedule just wasn't allowing it, so on I went to check in to my hotel near Six Flags New England. I had booked two nights at this hotel, and would get to the park on night 1 and accomplish everything I wanted. Day 2 rained, and Day 3 (check out day) I just went in for some re-rides on Superman and Wicked Cyclone. But, on with the report:

 

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First up was their classic, Thunderbolt.

 

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Great classic woodie, very impressive of Six Flags to keep it in the condition they have (skid brakes, buzz-bar trains). 8/10.

 

Next up was Goliath, my first Vekoma GIB.

 

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Meh. Heard some chatter in line (single rider line FTW) about Row 7 being the "magic seat" so I went for that, and I guess the ride was alright? Didn't rattle me to death, and the vertical spikes were a cool twist on the classic Boomerang formula, but overall meh I guess. 6/10.

 

Walked over to Wicked Cyclone...which was down. Walked over to Superman: The Ride...which was down. Walked over to Batman: The Dark Knight (a B&M floorless)...which was running!

 

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Decent enough ride...some of that B&M rattle but overall pretty good. 7/10.

 

Back to Superman, which was now open.

 

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I find it hilarious that the queue actually runs through the room with the lockers; only a matter of time before they're mandatory like at Ka/Toro at Great Adventure I'm sure. Anyway, got on the front row and was not disappointed. A new top 7 steel coaster. 9/10.

 

And now, onto the other reason I was here, Wicked Cyclone:

 

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Got on the front row, and boy did it not disappoint. The overbanks, counter-banks, low-to-the-groud inline twist...everything just made this an awesome coaster. Just a tad below Goliath at SFGAm, but still easily my Top 2 Hybrid. 10/10.

 

With the park about to close, and me being right there, I had to try Sky Screamer.

 

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This was my first time on one of these...I've been on plenty of Windseekers, but something about only chains holding you up, and at 400 feet none the less...I'm normally not nervous on rides but I was on this, I can tell you. Overall, a good time, and a great way to see the skyline of the park at night.

 

Like I said, Day 2 was rained out and Day 3 was just some rerides, and then I made my way up to Providence for the work conference. I'll leave you with some photos of their "Water Fire" event which the host agency made a big deal of but I personally didn't get it. Maybe some locals can chime in and enlighten me?

 

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Next time...Dorney Park for Halloween Haunt!

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Great report so far!

 

You missed on the Ye Old Mill. I think they put the "You Will Get Wet" sign just to cover themselves, but you don't really get wet at all. They fill a few bits of the ride with mist and that's about it. You said the Morgan trains ran poorly. Were they still smooth and just not giving any airtime? I remember it being glass smooth, which was impressive considering its age.

 

Wooden Warrior is a great little ride. I'm shocked you had a wait for it. Even on a weekend, I've never had to wait more than 10 minutes for it. The odd thing is that all the subsequent Gravity Group junior woodies I've been on have some choppy/rattly turns while Wooden Warrior is perfectly smooth.

 

For Lake Compounce, they opened Wildcat this year for 2 or so weekends, but have since taken it down to repaint it. I can't believe I missed out on it this year, but it should be running next year. From what I heard, it's running better than what it used to, but still not as smooth as a retracked wooden coaster would be expected to run. I'm glad you loved Boulder Dash. Too bad you couldn't get a night ride on it since that's where the ride enters into another level of awesomeness.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the big 2 at SFNE. You mentioned buzz bars though on Thunderbolt. I think it used to run with buzz bars, but the last time I rode they had the individual ratcheting PTC bars.

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You missed on the Ye Old Mill. I think they put the "You Will Get Wet" sign just to cover themselves, but you don't really get wet at all. They fill a few bits of the ride with mist and that's about it.

 

Well that's a damn shame then. If I ever find my way back up there (sadly unlikely), I'll have to give it a try.

 

You said the Morgan trains ran poorly. Were they still smooth and just not giving any airtime? I remember it being glass smooth, which was impressive considering its age.

 

Maybe I just had a bad ride/seat, but this most certainly was not "glass smooth" nor were the trains very well padded.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the big 2 at SFNE. You mentioned buzz bars though on Thunderbolt. I think it used to run with buzz bars, but the last time I rode they had the individual ratcheting PTC bars.

 

You're probably right on the restraints on Thunderbolt. Like I said, the trip was almost 3 months ago and I've forgotten a lot of the details.

 

Thanks for the positive commentary though!

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^ I'm a 3 hour drive from Playland, but I haven't been there in 12 years. It's a nice park, but they lack that top ride. They need to add a new coaster to get me to return since I need to pass superior parks (SFNE or Lake Compounce) on the way.

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Great report! Having just been to LC and SFNE in June, I can certainly agree with your stellar assessment of Wicked Cyclone and Superman, though - and I know this is enthusiast blasphemy - I felt Boulder Dash was trash. Just don't get the hype. However, Phobia imo was the star of that park, and seriously one of my favorite steel coasters, and that's after I had a particularly ho-hum reaction to Tempesto late last year.

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nice area, especially for New York

 

I'm sorry but WTF does that even mean?

 

The park's in Westchester County, the county with the highest median income in the entire state outside of Manhattan which is located next to Putnam County (4th in the state), Rockland County (6th in the state) and Fairfield County, Ct (#1 in the state). New York is a state, not a city... and even the city isn't all that bad. Honestly Playland is probably the sh*ttiest thing in Rye and possibly the entire county north of the Cross County parkway. Also yeah, I have no idea why they say with a straight face that you'll get wet on the Old Mill. It's the best dark ride in the park by far and I've never once got a drop of water on me.

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nice area, especially for New York

 

I'm sorry but WTF does that even mean?

 

Well, my entire experience of New York encompasses:

 

-A few day trips into NYC for the Auto Show or Broadway shows.

-An overnight trip into Brooklyn for a wedding.

-An overnight trip to SUNY Albany to visit a girl I was dating at the time.

 

None impressed me.

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