[PKT] Victoria Lake - A Loose Storyline Scenario Park

Hey folks, Kw6 here with my first trip report on Theme Park Review!

I bet some of you might have never heard of this tiny little place called Victoria Lake, located in the Carolinas. Back in the 1800s these grounds were an estate passed down from generation to generation of a wealthy American family of British immigrants, but it fell into disrepair. Then, someone down the line had the brilliant idea to turn it into an amusement park back around 1920. A side friction coaster was built, called Leap the Dips (original name I know), along with a carousel, slide, and paddleboats as a small family venture. However, the Depression took its toll on the park and it shut down, with all the rides being sold off to other parks. The grounds were left to rot once more; however, a coaster enthusiast who is obsessed with the grounds' history bought Victoria Lake. His blog reads, "At first, it was a great struggle; our park had no main draw or any major reason for guests to visit aside from a few carnival flat rides. We were close to foreclosure and bankruptcy. Then, I was able to secure a loan in 2015 and with that came our star attraction, Leap the Dips II! The Gravity Group did a spectacular job working with the terrain and incorporating the history of our park into this stellar family ride." Quite the writer he must be . Anyway, onto the TR itself!

Some park staff were kind enough to let me fly my drone over the park entry. Here you can see the pathway from the 1920s still in use, with the Carousel (Sadly not the original) and Chance Wipeout to the right.

Here's where the majority of the rides in Victoria Lake are located - right along the far end of the lake itself. Included are Lake Monster a Mondial Top Scan, the Swan Boats ride (Again, not the original), Victorian Tea a tea cups, Victorian Schooner a swinging ship ride, and the Victorian Wheel. Man, is this park obsessed with the Victorian era! And last but certainly not least, is the park's pride and joy Leap the Dips II!

This spectacular Gravity Group wooden coaster offers lots of thrills on a small size. There's this one crazy pop of ejector air right before the brake run, and it caught me off guard on every single one of my 5 laps! Some decent laterals are also present in the second half (especially on that 70 degree overbanked turn), but nothing too much as this coaster is mainly intended for families.

The park wasn't really THAT busy, save for Lake Monster and the Swan Boats. Even Leap the Dips II was only a one train wait! Some things that I didn't really enjoy, however, was that there is only one main food court at the front of the park and that there are only THREE - yes, three - bathrooms in the entire park. The park itself isn't too big though, comparable in size to Family Kingdom at Myrtle Beach (as are the high prices for ride tickets); except unlike Family Kingdom, this place has a bucket load of flat, open land ripe for expansion. Victoria Lake just acquired a parcel to the right of their Swan Boats ride, so I expect great things from them now! I'll leave you with this...

70 DEGREES!!

An update on the park's expansion plans is coming someday!