Lake Compounce is one of the “hidden gem” parks of New England, and is officially the oldest park in America, celebrating its 175th birthday in 2021. To commemorate this massive milestone, the park has a large slate of changes and updates coming to the park. In March, we went on a construction tour of the park to see all the changes under construction, and we recently attended the opening weekend to see them brought to life.
Many of the updates are in the form of buildings, with most getting at least a repaint, and many getting a complete overhaul on the inside. First, the Parkside Diner underwent a complete revamp, and has become Timberjack Chowhouse.
The lights that hang from the ceiling are also new, and feature a very neat candle-flicker effect, which give the new restaurant a lot of character.
At Timberjack Chowhouse, guests are able to build their own custom burgers and enjoy a new menu. We tried out one of the barbecue bacon burgers, and it was a great choice. The food at Timberjack Chowhouse doesn’t feel like typical theme park food, and everything was very fairly priced.
There is also new themed and scenic elements being added to Saw Mill Plunge, the park’s log flume. The ride has also received a repaint on the flume sections.
The park’s Starlight Theatre is also receiving updates. It is the oldest building on property and opened in 1895, hosting acts like Frank Sinatra and Harry Houdini over the years. Lake Compounce was also where infamous pop group Milli Vanilli was caught lip synching, leading to the end of the group.
Many changes are coming to the waterpark area as well, including new VIP cabanas that will include fans, water bottles, and will be a private space for guests to reserve.
There are repaints happening on some slide complexes as well.
The park’s lighthouse area will most likely reopen next year, and is undergoing many renovations to the inside.
The park’s newest addition, the Venus Vortex waterslide, is well under construction, and is scheduled to open in the coming weeks.
There is also already some venus flytrap theming being put in place.
The pieces for Venus Vortex have been on site since last year, and construction has moved forward since we’ve been there, with Lake Compounce recently posting some videos of staff testing the slide.
Concept art and video shows the experience guests can expect on Venus Vortex.
The Bath House is one of the biggest renovations in the park, getting a completely new design and remodeled indoor area.
Some sections of Boulder Dash were retracked over the off season, but the ride was unfortunately not running during opening weekend.
Zoomerang, the park’s Vekoma boomerang, is receiving a more vibrant repaint, all done by hand! The reason for this being that spray painting with a crane actually uses and wastes more paint, and doesn’t come off as precise as a hand rolled coat.
Wildcat, the wooden coaster seen from the park’s entrance, has gotten chaser lights, which look great. You can see them clearly here on the lift hill.
The new paint job on many of the buildings is just stunning. Take a look at the renovations the park has made to main street.
Finally, the park’s entrance underwent a complete overhaul, featuring brand new paint, ticket booths, a virtual turnstile where guests will walk through a touchless laser beam rather than touching a bar, relocated security closer to the entrance, and a new paint job and redesign on the entrance tunnel, featuring the park’s new branding.
The old entrance compared to the new one:
What do you think of all the new changes coming to Lake Compounce for their 175th anniversary? Will you be making a trip to the oldest park in America this season? Let us know in the comments!
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