Halloween at Lake Compounce. Trick or treating & haunted walk. Lots of characters and effort put in throughout the park. Pumpkin pie milkshake. Themed decorations throughout the park. read more

Lake Compounce - Swings - Amusement Parks Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

We came to Lake Compounce this year for phantom fall fest and were incredibly disappointed. Everything was so inefficient we spent 5 of the 6 hours we were there in a line. The rides were running with several open chairs which contributed to hour long waits for each ride. Security was called a couple times for line cutters and the response was to just let them keep their spot and ride the ride. The haunted houses were a joke - we waited in line for one of them for 30 minutes and were not even close to half way through because it hadn't moved more than a couple yards forward. There is no reason why those shouldn't have been close to continuous, the houses are just walk throughs! The food lines were also ridiculous, we sat in a fried dough line for 30 minutes because the staff were chatting instead of putting the pre fried dough on plates, it was already cooked they literally just had to put the toppings on it. Also they were absolutely using dirty oil or something for the fried dough, mine was inedible. Tasted like they'd been frying chicken or fish or something in it prior to the dough. Crowds really were not that bad either, we have been to this event on more crowded nights but the place was just ran so poorly you couldn't actually do any of the things advertised. Overall the experience was awful, especially compared to past years. Usually the food is great and the houses are all great but this year was terrible, we will not be returning any time soon. read more

Came here for a kid's birthday party. Pretty unimpressed. Standard money grab operation. You'll walk back and forth past the same crap a hundred times, wait in long lines, dread the schlep back to the parking lot and otherwise hate your life to the point that you're excited about eating a ten dollar cup of Dippin' Dots. However, one cool thing is that there's an Otis Elevator testing facility nearby. I thought a lot about elevators when I was here. It helped. I thought it was funny how most elevators are made by Otis and most escalators are usually Schindler's. But every now and then you'll see an elevator and it's a Schindler! What is that?!? Like stay in your damn lane. read more

Fun amusement park for the kids but also for young adults. Food was surprisingly great as well! read more

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What happened????? As a life long Bristol resident who has gone to LC dozens of times over the years, this is one of the worst experiences I've ever had. I get that it's a Halloween weekend, but I wasn't expecting half the rides to be closed. We went to Timberjack Chowhouse for dinner, which I've been to dozens of times. Paid $15 for my meal (cheeseburger and fries) I get it, overpriced theme park food. But the entire restaurant was dirty. Food was cold, cheese didn't even melt on my burger. Burger and bun tasted like they had been sitting out for a while. The young girl who rang us out wasn't even paying attention and continued to talk to her coworker throughout the entire interaction. They got rid of the bumper cars and replaced it with an arcade. They also don't have free water anymore either read more

I went to Lake Compounce for a work event. This is such a fun small park with lots of rides packed in! The roller coasters are pretty wild and thrilling. Lots of rides and activities for the kids too. The food options are pretty great as well. I love the Croc Pot and they have like a Smokehouse menu that's actually really delicious. The pulled pork, brisket, and pulled chicken is so good and flavorful! They even have a water park with a bunch of water slides, multiple pools, and a lazy river. The staff were so nice to me and my family as well. read more

Lake Compounce - Amusement Parks Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

1st time attending here, much fun for all ages, purchased tickets for 1 day passes & speed tix pass & parking fee. There a water park & arcade area& rides . Varieties of snacks/ sweets & meals to choose from . The ride wax t bad from NY , couple of road work to delay arrival time. Plenty of parking at the park . read more

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Went to fright fest many years ago and was not a fan. When I heard there were five haunted events instead of one I decided to try again. Looks like the one was divided up and moved to five different parts of the park. This was disappointing. We decided to warm up with some hot chocolate. It was ~40 degrees out None in the park. Let's get some food. Park ran out. No fries. No hamburgers. No tenders. All outdoor kiosks were closed. Nothing warm to drink, no food, nothing but long lines waiting for sub-par haunts. The scariest thing there was the 100 year old roller coaster. read more

Fright fest was completely garbage this year when I was 15 years old this was the best park for kids in Halloween now I'm 31 and honestly it was disappointing overpriced and super over packed for nothing and many rides were shut down read more

Well, this park has potential but today was not their day. The TLDR is the wait time for everything was out of control, we went on 6 rides in 5 hours and didn't get lunch because the meal lines were over 2 hours long. I could see this park being fun on a slow day with low wait times but today it was absolutely packed. All the staff I interacted with were very polite and friendly. We arrived 35 minutes after opening. It took us over an hour to wait in line just to park (not a great start). Then we headed to the water park. The path to the second half of the water park is not super obvious but luckily someone I was there with knew the way. The wave pool was nice and the Riptide Racer Slides were a blast (highlight of the day). We got to go down the slides twice before the lines got excessive. Then we headed to the lazy river to wait 10 minutes for a tube. While most of the group when around the lazy river, one person in my group tried to get lunch with our prepurchased meal vouchers. He soon discovered that every single food vendor had a wait of over 2 HOURS!! For a hot dog? We specifically didn't pack a lunch because we purchased the meal vouchers in advance so to have the wait time for lunch to be that long is unacceptable. We went on 2 more rides, and once we got through waiting for those it was 5pm. So we decided it was time to leave the park to actually get a meal since we never stood in the 2 hour lunch line. On the way out , I stopped to buy my niece dippin dots and we tried a hail Mary, could we use the meal voucher to cover this? The manager said yes! We were able to use our 4 meal vouchers for a pretzel, a bag of popcorn, a churro, and a large dippin dots. Definitely not 4 lunches but we greatly appreciated getting SOMETHING for the meal vouchers. In closing, while there are component pieces here that would make for a nice experience, the park was overcrowded, understaffed, and under resourced for the amount of guests they sold tickets to, which significantly detracted from the experience. read more

Lake Compounce - Food line - Amusement Parks Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

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My family and myself had such an amazing eventful time. A beach is available, which have live shows throughout the day. I didn't get the schedule time for the shows. So many kid friendly water rides and activities. Arcade games available and fun family friendly Carnival games to play at a fee. If you win you get a prize. Ofcourse u have to pay money more than u expect because you want to win. Lol Many options for food to eat but it's pricey and the lines are always long. I would highly recommend a visit for the children's and family before summer is over. Reasonable price for parking and entry fee into the amusement park. I didn't really enjoy my food the burger wasn't cooked well and the fries where soggy but I was able to get a refund. Thank you to the hard working staff. read more

Lake Compounce - Amusement Parks Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

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I was there this past weekend. the bathrooms smell like urine. there's no need for me to use the bathroom and it stink. clean the bathrooms up. while entering the park there was garbage everywhere and I couldn't believe that in the entrance there was chocolate covered pavement. read more

I've been to this park a couple times and it's definitely changed and adapted over time. Normally a 5/5. Music played and lots of places to sit in shade. Their unlimited fountain stations throughout the park are convenient and cost-effective. There's never really any drastic wait time for rides. Definitely much less crowded than other amusement parks. Clean and lots of staff around. It is a cashless park. They have exchange machines for cards. On this occasion, I came as a school field trip. This is where some changes have occurred and it definitely affects efficiency. The chaos at lunch, we had a 1 o'clock timeslot and literally 1000 kids waited in line and they would not let us until 1 o'clock on the dot. Which I understand in terms of preparing the space and the food. But perhaps a slow drip of children in or maybe a 1 o'clock or 110 or 115 etc.. There are plenty of places to eat and snacks to be had, along with games of prizes, your standard amusement park. The exit of the park was a bit chaotic. Gathering large groups of hundreds of children at the exit and not allowing us out the gate, but through a store instead was extremely ineffective. I had my group ready to go and was denied leaving through the gate where we were congregated, told to go through the store with who knows how many other schools all waiting at the gate to exit....being directed into through the store was wild. This was not the size of a Disney store but a mom and pop deli about to get ransacked. They eventually opened the gate and saw the inefficiency. read more

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The day was fun. The food was decent but pricy. The ride selection is pretty good for the ages and there are several height charts prior to entering the park. I will say some of the rides for little kids require an adult or older taller child to ride along. There are a lot of bees so as a health tip for those who are allergic keep your EpiPen on your person if you stow your items. There are hills but ample seating is available if you need to rest. You are able to bring in a soft cooler and your own food if you'd like which is nice. read more

Ok, hear me out. The park was great but like, come on! Half of the rides were 4 hours long and thats just with a line of 8 people. The new Twisty Turney was garbage. The ride was 1/6 of being thrown off into another ride and the shakes made me gag. Probably the only thing that was good was the water rides and thats it. Overall, The park is okay but the rides and drinks were horrible. Don't Recommend staying here read more

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Say yes!! With kids without kids you'll have a good time. What's not fun...the long line for entry to park- after that...you're well set! Water rides- wave pool this place has it all. The kids will have an amazing time. Opens at 11 get there then....its a whole day of fun!!! read more

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This review is for the Holiday Lights event at Lake Compounce. This is the oldest operating amusement park in the U.S. and it opened in 1846. It's 365 acres and located in Bristol and Southington, CT. The body of water located in the park is the Lake Compounce; there is a beach at the lake and a water park. The name of the lake came from a native American who signed a deed over to the settlers; Chief John Compound, who was from the Mattatuck-Tunxis tribe. There are 44 attractions, 5 rollercoasters, and 13 water rides. Wildcat is the 14th oldest wooden rollercoaster in the world. They also have a newer award winning wooden rollercoaster called Boulder Dash; this has been named the #1 wooden rollercoaster in the world for 5 years. The historic Lake Compounce Carousel was built around 1890 and moved to the park in 1911. In December, they host the Holiday Lights event which runs through December 31. It's a fun event for children and adults. They deck the park with lights and have the tallest Christmas tree in CT, which is 100 ft tall. There were plenty of rides, games, and activities. Some activities include letters to Santa, DIY snow globe, and personalized ornaments. There's an opportunity to visit Santa, holiday characters, and storytime. There are some dining options onsite such as Johnny Rockets, a food truck, and dining hall. The prices were high which is typical for amusement parks. I've read that people bring their own food/drinks and would go eat it in the car and go back into the park after. We went on a Saturday evening which was pretty busy but not too overwhelming. There was a parking booth, large parking lot, and attendants showing people where to park. Upon entering the park, you can't miss that beautiful large Christmas tree. The restrooms were plentiful and clean. There are ticket booths and the lines moved pretty quickly. The rides were plentiful, cute, and fun for the kids. It was very cold and in the teens; there were some fire pits if you want to warm up. The lines for the rides were short and quick; the longest was the train ride. We were there for 3.5 hours and left right before it closed. We didn't get to ride all the rides but felt like we got our money's worth. Overall, my family and especially my child enjoyed the the park. This is definitely going to be a family tradition going forward. Also, I can't wait to check it out in the summer and will provide another update. read more

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This is our all season escapade. From refreshing summer to twinkling Christmas lights. They need better training for some events they organize but overall we look forward to spend time here and renew our passes to come back yr after year.. read more

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Great day trip with kids! Separate small kids ride area avail. They have a decent water park and fairly clean. One of the oldest wooden rollercoasters in the country. Fast pass options are def worthwhile. read more

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I used to come to Lake Compounce every summer as a kid, and I have so many great memories here. I especially loved the water slides. Unfortunately, after my most recent visit, I can honestly say it will be my last. Boulder Dash was, without question, the worst roller coaster I've ever been on. It wasn't exciting. It was just painfully rough. By the time the ride ended, my friend and I looked at each other in complete disbelief, and several other people were doing the same. Everyone seemed shocked by how violent the ride was. We both walked away with whiplash, sore necks, bruises, and red marks, and I could barely walk afterward. In my opinion, the ride has become far too rough to be enjoyable. After that, we went to the yellow and green tube water slide. The employee at the bottom handed us a tube that was completely filled with water. Since the tube isn't transparent, we had no way of knowing until we tried to carry it. It was unbelievably heavy, and we struggled to haul it all the way up the stairs while people walked past us. When we finally reached the top, even the lifeguard couldn't lift it alone. It took all three of us-the two of us and the lifeguard-to get the tube into position. It was frustrating because the employee who handed it to us should have realized how unusually heavy it was and given us a different tube or emptied it before sending us up the stairs. It's really disappointing because this park was such a big part of my childhood. I expected to leave with good memories, but instead I left sore, bruised, and wishing I hadn't gone. read more

We came here for the first time because it was Phantom Fall Fest. I would suggest buying tickets online before going. If you pick your specific day, it's $20 cheaper. It's $30 for parking which I'm not sure why. I guess you can't escape paying extra when you go anywhere. Cashless so make sure you have a credit or debit card for parking. There are 4 haunted houses to go in. One was boring and not scary. The other three were fun. I don't scare easily but they definitely put effort into it. Overall it was a lot of fun. It is the oldest amusement park in the US. Lots of fun rides, games and concession stands. Water rides are open during the summer. They have a variety of Pepsi products that are free while you are there. Overall a great value for a few hours of fun. read more

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My child and school went here last week. Two kids came home that night like this. My child isn't allergic to anything, didn't eat anything there. We are waiting for school to open on Monday to see if anyone else on the trip woke up like this! Something is clearly going on. If it was more than one kid. read more

Lake Compounce - Amusement Parks Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

We had a great time at this very clean, well operated theme park in New Hampshire. Boulder Dash, the massive wooden roller coaster, is way too bumpy and painful for me but everyone else riding seemed to enjoy it so your mileage may vary. read more

Use to come here when was younger and always had a good time with family. I haven't come here in quite a while. Recently came here for a company outing and it was not too bad. Parking was good even though it was packed. The walk from parking lot to park was not too bad. The park was pretty clean for a packed summer day. I was disappointed some of the rides were down. We were looking forward going on the Thunder Rapid but it was closed that day. But I got to go on a new ride called Phobia Phear. That was a great ride if you twist and turn roller coasters. The food at the park was pretty expensive. I had a regular size lemonade for 9 bucks. It was good but not worth 9 bucks. I also got a kid size ice cream for 10 bucks and it tasted like more ice than cream. End up throwing half of it away. It was a long walk to the pavilion where the company picnic was held. The train was packed and took long to get there. The food that was provided was okay and expected from an amusement park. The burgers were really dry but the hotdogs were good. I was disappointed they didn't have veggie burgers as advertised in their package. Some of the guests wasn't able to eat due to that reason. And yes, I did ask an attendant about the veggie burgers and they said no. They also didn't replenished the food as quickly as they should. Overall had a nice time with friends and family. Enjoy the rides we were able to get on. It's a great place to bring kids to have a fun day. read more

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Literally almost every ride closed. Two under maintenance. I dont understand how they even keep the park open for paying customers like this - it feels like robbery! We got to ride one ride. One. Wish we could refund the season passes... a waste of money. If you come here, expect 80%+ of the attractions to be closed, or dont bother at all. Severely disappointed in this park. Food is overpriced and not good either.... we left after about 30 minutes. What a waste of a long drive here. The one thing this park gets an A for is its audacity to stay open knowing every ride is shut down. Its like gambling and winning the lottery if you come here and rides are actually open, thats RARE!!!!! read more

Did you know Lake Compounce is America's first amusement park? That's a fun fact! I have visited Lake Compounce as a kid with family and for school field trips. Within the past few years after celebrating its 175th anniversary, the park has been undergoing a transformation. From the rollercoasters Wildcat and Boulder Dash getting new tracks to enticing the foodie community with attractive eats, Lake Compounce changes do not go unnoticed. They even have scheduled live entertainment on a floating stage on the lake. They are definitely trying to make Lake Compounce a summer destination. On my most recent visit to Lake Compounce with family, it was a busy summer Saturday. Luckily, it wasn't too hot, but there are a few pockets to escape the sun. The rides posted wait times, most were 45min or less. Most people are over in the water park area. I prefer to stay dry and go on tamed rides like the ferris wheel. They have a wide range of rides from kiddie, moderate, and thrilling. There were a few rides closed while we were there like the popular Thunder Rapids. My family was very disappointed because it's one of their favorite to-do's. The food options were sprinkled throughout the park. They are trying to step of their game with instagram worthy meals like rotating loaded fries, unique topping pizza, and crazy funnel cakes. There is a Johnny Rockets within the park, and special spots serving up Del's Lemonade, Dole Whip, and Dippin' Dots. The prices are what you'd expect from a theme park. I got myself one of the instagram-able food options--The Unicorn Milkshake. It was a vanilla shake blended with rainbow sprinkles, topped with whipped cream, a large waffle cone, and rock candy lollipop. It was $12 and I enjoyed this fun treat. So far I love the changes happening around Lake Compounce, but there is still a lot of work to be had. Some of the employees did not want to be there and it showed. The flow of guest traffic could be more efficient. For example, all guest exiting through a small gift shop, is a Park Operations nightmare!Besides these notes, my family still had a good time overall. I hope to attend Phantom Fest or Christmas spectacular Holiday Lights someday... It might be beneficial to invest in a season pass for next year. read more

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The amusement park itself is great! I have fun every time I come. The issue is the soda fountain situation. As you might expect, everything here is slightly overpriced. But the soda fountains are outrageous. I paid 5 dollars plus tax only to be able to fill my cup up half way, due to the QR Code cup system. I absolutely hate this system and it is a shammy money grab. At least my 2 tablespoons of Pepsi tasted good. read more

We had a great time at Phantom Fall Fest! 4 haunted houses, rides, games & spooky themed food. My first time going and it was very cute. They do Fall Fest every weekend until Oct 27. It is pricey but you can get 50% off if you book online. I thought the mummy candy apple was so cute! I saw kids and groups of all ages last night. read more

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I haven't been here in about five years. It really went downhill if you have little ones. They took away the huge dinosaur walk through, the kiddie indoor train, the bumper cars. The "arcade" that replaced it has like 5 games, and you need tokens to even play - which the token machine was down. Not sure when it became like six flags with over an hour wait for rides but it was crazy. Hugely overpriced food ($20 for a burger only at one place). The waterpark area was fun for them at least and is included with admission. They need a good clean down on the rides though some were pretty rough. Older kids and adults probably can have a decent time here. I'd recommend for kids under 10 to just do Quassy read more

Lake Compounce - Some of the Water area - Amusement Parks Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

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As a caveat, I used to work here every summer back in the early aughts. I know what it used to look like and tricks of the trade like not opening everything up unless the park attendance was commensurate to the level of staffing required. The cost for adult tickets is now about $55 each. We came with one child that is 43 inches so she couldn't go on about half of the rides. However, we didn't run out of things to do and see. We arrived about 1130am and left around 4pm. We chose ahead of time not to do the water park. Zoomerang wasn't running. And Phear coaster didn't start until running the afternoon. The staff in general seems a little lackadaisical. For example, the turnstile attendants and the kiddie coaster stopped working right before it was our turn. Instead of loudly announcing as soon as she realized, so we could move elsewhere she waited until her replacement staff member came and did it for her. Food for 2 adults and 1 child at Nathan's came to $50 for lunch. I do like that they have wait time estimator. However, the estimator for Ghost Hunt said 35 mins and it was actually a 3 min wait. Only one car of Boulderdash was operating. I'm so sad that the SkyRide (chair lift) was taken down in 2017. That had been such a beautiful, calm ride back in the day. I recommend bringing a backpack with snack and water bottles, that way you save on time and money. Also a stroller or beach wagon even for kids up to 5. I easily did 10,000 steps during our stay. I think next time we will plan to spend more time and do the water park. read more

Lake Compounce - Walk back to the parking lot. - Amusement Parks Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

Lots of fun good events like Christmas lights and Fright night halloween good for the kids train ride is nice foods good

We always have a fun time when we come to Lake Compounce, whether it's during the summer, Halloween, or Christmas-time! We visited on Fourth of July with friends, and while the park was packed we definitely made the most of it. There's a lot of new food items to check out and we were big fans of the dole whip from Main Gate Creamery. Line times were accurate as they were displayed. I'm sure we'll be back soon! read more

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I tried Lake Compounce out again after skipping a year because of how bad it was getting. Spent $500 in season passes and it's worse than ever. Pulled a few kids rides out of there, no notice. Food selection has decreased and so expensive. A lot of rude staff or no staff. Perks are crap. Street trash walking around with pants down to their knees. Went a handful of times for the children. They had 3-4 rides available for them to ride. And only open for about 2 months weekly. Do yourselves a favor and go to Quassy. I'm done driving 40 minutes to let my kids down. Lake Compounce, you should be ashamed of yourselves. read more

how do folks go to an amusement park and not have fun? based on the reviews, i was worried when we drove into the park because the line into the parking lot was so long that i couldn't see the ticket booths. but the line kept moving and we were parked, and ready to go on rides within an hour. we came on a sunday during a heat wave so decided to go to the water park first. there were 1-2 rides that were closed when we first arrived, but as the park filled up, those rides were opened. getting a drink in the water park was definitely easier so i can understand the complaints about the amusement park section. all in all, 4 hours gave us enough time to go on the rides we wanted to try (although, we may have missed out on 1 that looked interesting) and we had no trouble buying same day tickets online. $35pp was very fair! read more

Holiday Lights 2024 was awesome. We went the day before New Years Eve and it wasn't crowded at all. The place was beautiful the staff were friendly, especially the dressed up characters. They played great music. The kids were able to go on rides with no long wait times. I lived the dance party area. The decor was perfect! Can't wait to visit during the summer. Parking was $10 +tax. NO CASH for parking not sure about in the park. A new Christmas tradition. read more

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First, the things I liked: -Easy to walk from parking to park -Park was clean, nice landscaping -Water park had plenty of rides and the lake -Lots of rides for very young kids -Plenty of rides for teens and adults and a good mix for the thrill seekers and roller coaster lovers to the more mellow Ferris wheel and haunted house fans. What I did not like: -Few food choices. No healthy options. VERY EXPENSIVE. -Management of park wasn't great. Poor decisions about certain basic things such as signage (confusing), lines (ex: one line we were redirected us using a trash can someone moved into the roped line which confused everyone and sent the crowd in the wrong direction - frustrating), untrained staff (several times we heard someone apologizing that a staff told a guest something that wasn't accurate or being rude to a guest), lack of planning/stock (it was in the 90's and food stands were out of bottled water, out of icecream, they ran out of certain sodas in the soda fountain - they were out of a lot of things)! Tips: -Bring in your own food and drinks in a cooler -our kids were enjoying the wave pool when they blew a whistle and closed the water park at 6pm immediately everything shut off and staff started doing training excercise and it felt abrupt and honestly, a bit off putting. Be prepared for the water park to close earlier than the rest of the park. -Purchase your tickets online before you go for a discounted price and hold onto your wallet when you get there everything is overpriced. Everything. -if it's summer, wear a hat and sunblock. Bring sunblock to reapply after water park, water shoes and towels. read more

Lake Compounce - Entrance to park - Amusement Parks Near Me - Bristol, Connecticut

I love having this park so close to me. Fun in every season but especially beautiful in the winter. Home of the tallest Christmas tree in Connecticut, this park will surprise you every time you go. Loved the big fire pit where you can roast marshmallows or make your favorite s'mores. One of the gift shops had 80% clearance T-shirt and hoodies and of course I had to buy something, too good of a deal to pass. Good food choices, we ended up having the chicken tenders and fries and my daughter had the special burger with bacon. The portions were huge! We enjoyed walking around sipping on some hot cocoa ( season pass holders can get free refills) while listening to Christmas music. Did a couple rides and had a great time overall!! read more

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Former annual pass holder. Did not renew, partly because something was always broken or down for maintenance (looking at you, Thunder N Lightning). My son enjoyed the waterpark, but the rest of the park was just slightly above average. read more

Idk never been.... Line was 5 hours to get into the park and it was closed for the day by the time I got there.

This place USED to be a nice outing, but it has GONE DOWNHILL drastically. The food is horrendous and overpriced, the clientele consists of mostly overweight, tattooed and face piercings, it's over crowded where the wait time for anything (including the unhealthy lunch options) are over an hour, and to top it all off, there is barely any shade, you'll be dying of heat exhaustion before you are ever able to touch a toe in water. Everyone working there is a bored teenager that doesn't want to be there. Just save the money and do something else. It's really turned into a craphole with craphole clientele. BIG PASS. read more