Whalom Park

I first saw images of Whalom on Roy Brashears Roller Coaster Weekend Two. This is one of those parks I have always known about but never thought I would visit (Lake Compounce & Canobie also fall into this category). (As a side note, if you do not own Roller Coaster Weekends One & Two, see if you can get them. They are my favorite coaster videos and I have watched each one more times than all 4 of the Goldhill videos combined.)

This colorful little scene is located towards the front of Whalom Park. The Round-Up is to your left (off picture), an old mural on a building is directly in front of us. In the distance we see the flying skooters and the Yo-Yo, while the Paratrooper is immediately to our right (off picture).

I have heard many different things about the park. Some people have described it as fun, some as a little run-down, and some as “a hole.” It was $14.95 for ride all day, although the overcast clouds and sprinkling rain made me wonder if the park would stay open long that day. The park has new owners and they are building new ticket booths and a new “official” front entrance, which should look nice. Hopefully they can get some paint on all the rides, continue the removal of cyclone fencing (which is slowly being replaced by painted wooden fencing) and give all of the rides some paint (esp. the coaster, which has been sitting half-done for quite a while).

Luck was on my side and the sun came out around noon and some families began to arrive at the park. The park itself was not as dirty as I would have thought, there was not a lot of trash around (which is my largest pet peeve at a park), although several trash cans needed to be emptied because they smelled pretty bad. The park is small and the main midway has many booths, games and food and a mini-golf course in the middle.

I started on the Whip, which many have called the best one in existence today. Since it is one of my three favorite traditional rides (along with the Flying Skooters & Cedar Downs) I had to start there. This is the first full-size Whip I have been on (the only other at Camden) and was a blast. It really moves and it never ceases to amaze me how fast the cars fly around the curve. Next to it were the first set of rockets which were fun (and the same style as at Canobie).

A large disappointment was the fact that the Tumble Bug was closed…so I still have yet to experience one (or any Traver ride, for that matter). So I rode the ferris wheel, the go-karts, the round-up, the Paratrooper (which needs some paint) and the Yo-Yo which did not tilt at all.

Whalom's Tumble Bug, built by Traver Engineering Company, is one of only four Tumble Bugs left today. It sat dormant the day I was there, but will hopefully be open during your visit- a ride that is sure to put a smile on your face.

My favorite ride of the day was the Flying Skooters & I think (with my limited experience) that these are some of the best out there. There was a huge wind, probably coming off the lake, and the skooters were allowed to move quite fast. The result were the best skooter rides I have ever had. In the past I have usually snapped once time or twice per ride…and was happy with that. After I got my groove here every ride was out of control and SO much fun. On almost every ride I was snapping every time I came down and went up. I think the ride op got a little tired of me but I was having so much fun I did not care. After going to Lake Compounce and Canobie, and being let down by both of their flying skooters, I was a bit disappointed with my New England skooter riding, but my skooter experience at Whalom more than made up for it.

The Flying Skooters at Whalom Park are the best in New England. Enjoy your flight, but be wary if you ride with someone who snaps...these things will go!

The other set of rockets were next, which were quite fun as this was the type that not only went up and down, but the center barrel itself tilted up at an angle so if you dropped to the bottom (as the ride turned you to the low side) you got some great g’s. Afterwards it was off to Whalom’s new ride (well, new to them, it already looks a little rough once you get on) the Sea Dragon. I sat in the back, got a long ride and was the only one riding, which was an eerie sensation. I felt like I was at Steeplechase in the 60’s, being the sole rider.

The rockets were bought (along with another, smaller set of rockets) from the now-defunct Mountain Park in Holyoke, Mass. They are a lot of fun...just make sure your rocket isn't one of the few where the hydraulics don't work.