I survived Saturday at SFNE.

[Excellence]

Obviously I survived, otherwise I woudn't be here:)

My first trip of the year was yesterday, and I was foolish enough to not heed the advice of my fellow coaster junkies and avoid the place on Saturday. Silly me.

The line of cars waiting to get into the park began at Springfield on rte 291. Not a good thing. When we finally got to the park the attendants directed us to a dirt parking lot about a mile(im serious...a mile) away from the gate. There had to be at least 20,000 cars in the lots, maybe more..and more were coming. The park was so crowded that by 10:30 pm, 10 hours after we arrived, we had ridden SROS once, Cyclone once, the two log rides, Poison Iv's train( we were bottom feeding just to find SOMETHING to not have to wait for lol),,,and finished the night with Thunderbolt( at least we got the front seat). That's it.

Let me say that any rumors of B&M floorless coasters, or CCI woodies, are very difficlut for me to believe, because if anything, this place needs about ten more parking lots. There were so many people in the park that I was shocked that the fire marshalls didn't limit access after it reached capacity. It was impossible to enjoy ANYTHING, since the sea of people was disorienting to say the least. Not helping is that SFNE has a very small area to begin with. This place needs, land....and a LOT of it. Otherwise, I can't conceive of them adding rides that will generate even MORE traffic.

On a positive note, SROS was as always the complete Hyper. I have ridden several, and this one is still my fav because of the excellent finishing volley of helices and bunnyhops near the queue area.

Cyclone's reprofiling really smoothed out the first drop....and the trains are MUCH better since there is padding now to protect you against the beating this thing unleashes as you whip around the perimeters of the structure. Some people hate this thing, but I like it. Any coaster that makes you feel like you just got ran over by the entire Baltimore Ravens defensive unit is definitely a keeper:)


This park has potential but as long as there is such severe overcrowding, it is going to be very hard to fit in more rides since they need so much room for cars.

Also, security needs to be beefed up, or maybe some LIGHTS added to the far parking lots. My car was broken into and my stereo was hanging out of the dashboard. At least it wasnt raining....and it was somewhat humorous when I asked my GF is she minded if I kept the window down for the ride home.:)

[Zach]

Moving to Trip Reports.

Zach

[Erik Johnson]

Yup, it's confirmed. SFNE isn't worth visiting except in the early and late season. I really hate the way there isn't a maximum capacity in the park (and if there is, it's too high) at which they close the gates. This kind of management makes it impossible to have a good time in the park. A lot of other parks close the gates if the park gets to a certain point so that everyone who is in the park can have a good time.

I went the first week the park was open during the week and it was awesome! I rode SROS twelve times and everything else two or three times. It was a great day! I think Lake Compounce is the way for us New Englanders to satisfy the coaster craving on weekends.

[S:ROSFNE]

It's funny. SFNE is a park that is either empty or completely full. SFNE needs to expand and fast. It really isn't safe having that much people in the park.

[condor27]

Well...... almost like my experience last year, except worse because of rain.

I can't believe they charged 8 bucks for gravel and sand parking lot, while for 1 buck less in USF/IOA, you have covered garage, auto walkways, escalator and security.

The shape of the park is really bad, it creates choke points while some parts are virtually deserted.

I think they should demolish the parking lot in front of the gate, extend the gate next to the road and make the park layout closer to a circle instead of sausage shape.

By the way, which way did you travel into SFNE, north or south? I came in from Hartford (having the previous day at Lake Compounce), and there's hardly any car at all.

[Excellence]

I live in Amesbury( N.E. Mass), so I had to head in from the east. I left around 8 or so, and hit a ton of traffic on the Mass Pike. When I hit a trafic jam in cantral springfield, I was seriously considering turning the car around and heading back. I was shocked that there was ANY space left to park at all, and at 12pm, the dirt lots were nearly full. Parking was free..........probably an act of mercy for any poor soul caught in the mosh pits within the park.

It got so bad that I actually started timing everything on my stopwatch. Bathroom? 15 minute wait. Ice cream? 10 minute wait. Lockers? NONE....and we found that out after a 20 minute wait. ( I guess a NO MORE LOCKER sign would have been a nice gesture:))

It was unbelieveable, and to think that people actually WORK in places like this! As for Lake Compounce, I have never been there, but the next time I have a Saturday to kill, I will be going there instead to chack out Boulder Dash. From what I hear, it is an excellent ride.

[TopGun77]

I have never been there, is it worth goign to?

[Excellence]

SROS is worth the trip, if you do it on a weekday, AND in the fall. Otherwise the crowds kill any pleasure out of visiting the park. Aside from SROS, Thunderbolt, and the Cyclone, the park is rather small, congested, and in need of expansion. Next year, they are supposed to get a new coaster, so if I were you, I would wait until then and make a fall trip with visits to SFNE and lake Compounce.

[J-Brew2001]

I am planning a trip out east soon and would really like to go to SFNE. Guess I will avoid a Saturday as it is a nightmare @ any park during the summer. I also would love to hit Lake Compounce to ride one of their wooden coasters, I think it is called Boulder Dash. Any suggestions of how to plan a theme park trip out east would be appreciated.