We were advised to get on the Boat Ride a.s.a.p. because the wait got long as the day wound on.  We thought it a good idea and hopped on Alpine Way, the park’s skyride.  It has a beautiful setting and goes directly over the lake.  But, I felt a bit of a fool as the other end of the skyride had not the station I had hoped for.  Instead, it was like Canobie Lake’s and merely had a turn-around area which led back to the first loading area.  Feeling a bit sheepish I disembarked, we walked across the connecting boardwalk area and hopped in line.  For those of you who may not know, according to N.A.P.H.A. the Boat Ride is the only existing old mill with a chute at the end.  After about a ten minute wait we boarded the boats, which looked more like fiberglass versions of 40’s-era speedboats than standard old mill floating stock.  After we got into the wooden seats the boat was launched and we floated through one of the longest, darkest tunnels one any ride I have been on.  After several minutes in the dark (with a rather unhappy child & his parents in front of us) we approached the lift.  Folks, this is classic, traditional amusement park technology.  The lift is not unlike modern chutes rides in that it uses a chain- but you could tell this had been around a while.  In addition, the anti-rollbacks worked by having iron prongs that came out the back of the boat slide up and in grooves as the boat ascended the lift.  We rode a set of tracks down the hill and out over the water (not unlike an Arrow hydroflume) before we were let down in the lake.  This is another ride that I am sure costs the park a pretty penny to maintain, but it is well worth it as the Boat Ride is a great unique experience that every lover of park history (and child-at-heart) should experience.

          The Pirate (a swinging ship set against the lake) came next.  Sartori made it and I must say it is one of the better ships out there and we got a nice, long cycle.  The carousel’s beauty called us next and after enjoying some cold Cokes we boarded.  The carousel was built in 1916, came to Lake Winnie in 1967 and at four rows is one of the larger P.T.C.’s carved.  According to a May, 2000 “Scrapbook” section in Amusement Today, page 38, the carousel uses a calliope to produce the music.  However, the park utilized speakers and I saw cassette tapes out also, so I do not know whether the music was recorded or merely being amplified.  The carousel is large, impressive and set in a nice location surrounded by water.  It was a joy to sit back and allow the lumbering machine take me back to another time.  I also always like to see children and parents riding together and this carousel featured plenty of that.

          Directly behind the carousel is the Wacky Worm (I believe a Pinfari).  Nothing too exciting here, we got two cycles and enjoyed it only for the count of number 106.  Atlantacoaster, being the large consumer of park collectibles that he is, suggested we head over to the gift shop.  He got a lot of stuff, I was happy with my customary magnet.  But, one special treat I did get was the many historical photographs which adorned the walls.  Upon hearing my love of park history mentioned one of the gift shop workers, who I am guessing has worked at the park for some time, was kind enough to tell me about many of the pictures.  Her favorite was of the Lusse bumper cars, which she said were “better than the ones today.”  I had to agree.

          After a short walk out to the car we worked our way across the park.  First up was a flat ride called the Genie.  It was essentially a super Round-Up, but I do not know the manufacturer.  We skipped the super slide because the line was so long (and sadly never made it back) for the well-maintained Sellner Tilt-a-Whirl.  After a quick wait we boarded enjoyed a nice, long cycle where the spinning never stopped.  Further down the waterfront area was the Castle, a dark ride.  From the looks of things the vehicles were from Sally (their older versions) and many if the effects appeared in-house.  There was another Cobra (or as the crocodile hunter says- a Kabra)  here…I still have not figured out why Egyptian motifs show up in so many dark rides for no reason!  Even though it was not a “classic” dark ride, I was still happy to see the park have a dark ride everyone could enjoy. 

          We walked back past the Cannonball to get some pictures of the coaster far out on the layout.  It is quite unique to get shots of this coaster because you can literally go right up next to the coaster for photos, it is an different sensation being only inches from the car whizzing by.  The Hrubetz Paratrooper offered an enjoyable ride, as did the Orbiter, an AmTech ride.  Bill got the spinning on the Fly-o-Plane down this time and in my plane I was thrown from side to side so fast that I tore a hole in my shorts- what a flight!  Another ride on the Wild Thing.  By now the brakes were on a touch harder (still light), but the track had warmed up so the ride was essentially the same as in the morning. 

          Yet another walk across the park led us to the Matterhorn.  This was definitely one of the older versions of this ride, perhaps made by Mack.  The cars were sleighs and the ride was not run as fast as my favorite version at Canobie.  While waiting Bill & I were talking about how hard it was to identify the manufacturers in this park because of a lack of manufacturer’s plaques (ironically the Cannonball still had its PTC plaque, a rarity these days) a man turned around and said that the new rides were not built as well as they used to be, because then a company called the Philadelphia Toboggan Company made great carousels, like one at his hometown park that went to Disneyland.  I said, “Olympic Park?”  He was a little taken a back that we knew of it and Bill said, “the park in Maplewood, NJ.”  I think the fact that someone had heard of this man’s hometown park made his day.  (Note: Olympic Park is traditionally one of the most overlooked traditional parks.  For more info. pick up “Smile: A Pictorial History of Olympic Park,” by Alan Siegel.) 

          We again tried to enjoy the boat ride, but after ten minutes it was obvious we were getting nowhere so it was off to the Eli Bridge wheel (a 12-car portable version).  It gave some nice views of the area, but the unloading took quite a while because the op decided to do some sort of staggered departure that made no sense at all.  One more trip on the Genie and we headed over to Pavilion 8 for the dinner.  I want to say thank you very much to Lake Winnie’s PR dir. Tally Rhodes, who was nice enough to let me grab a meal even after I lost my meal ticket.  Thank you for that touch of kindness.  All of the employees serving us (and throughout the day) were quite friendly and it was nice to rest a short while.  But, I was not there to get fat so it was time to get some rides in before departing.  One more in the front seat of the Wild Thing (to me, the front gave a MUCH better ride), a ride in the back seat of Cannonball (our best of the day, due to the track warming up and a full train) and one last spin on the carousel to end the day.

          A big thanks to Tally and the Lake Winnie staff and Robert Ulrich for getting this event together.  And a big thanks to Atlantacoaster for letting me talk too much about coasters…after all, its what I do best.  So as I left I said goodbye to Bill, turned up Weezer’s Green album & the AC and hit the highway for home.

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Adam Sandy, Copyright 2001.