MORE Canobie Lake + York's Wild Kingdom + Palace Playland: My Bloated Coaster Con XXXVI Road Trip Report - Part VIII

Welcome back to Canobie Lake! I hope you guys are ready for a wild day of 3 parks!

Yankee Cannonball for breakfast!

Canobie is home to this delightful bouncy thing! It's wild enough to make you think you might just crash into the floor.

Every year, ACE inducts at least one roller coaster into the ACE Landmark Society. This year, Yankee Cannonball received the honor! Now that I've ridden it, I can't think of a more deserving ride.

Plaque-y goodness!

Time to take that train ride now! We snagged some seats next to Lace, Kevin, and Ray (who you'll be seeing a lot more of on the next trip! They're the trip organizers).

Similar to Six Flags Over Georgia, Canobie Lake features a water-park-less water play area. 

On the other side of the railroad is the lake, upon which several houses are situated. 

BosTeaPar is doing its thing.

Back to the station! More guests are eagerly awaiting their 1/2-hour train ride around Canobie.

The train station is near this random 50's area. :}

Ferris wheel time!  Robin & Co. have already beat us to the punch!

Christian & Co. are here too!

Hello, beautiful!

Canobie Lake has two full-sized car rides. The other is Antique cars. More on that later.

All I can say about Canobie's famous rooster-themed flyers is this:

ROCK OUT WITH YOUR FLOCK OUT!

Flock of roosters, that is.

Naturally.

:}

At one point in time, the Yankee Cannonball featured silhouettes of Civil War-era cannons on either side of the top of the lift hill. They've since been replaced with the LED shamrock.

I want this ride in my backyard.

Every grassy knoll needs a chaotic Huss Frisbee. 

Beautiful entrance plaza + Yankee Cannonball.

BosTeaPar hiding behind the trees!

The park's log flume is next!

This is one of the most efficient log flumes I've ever come across. Logs came down the main drop about every 30 seconds.

I take a lot of pictures of people I don't know, so it's always nice to see someone get into it every once in a while.

Canobie's log flume is also one of the most sprawling that I've ever seen. It covers more ground than any of their coasters!

Near by is a cute kiddie canoe flume. :}

Rounding out Canobie's excellent collection of rides is their dark ride, The Mine of Lost Souls!

Mission control!

We made our last rounds about the park before heading out.

Such a nice little ride!

Oh, they have a Dragon Wagon too! I rode this for all of my friends who count these as credits.

Gotta pass back through Bahstin!

An egregiously-large wave is in progress.

For Canobie Lake, a basic chair swing was not enough. Da Vinci's dream is a deluxe chair swing with Tuscan flair!

Here's those antique cars I was talking about. See? I delivered!

We came back to give Untamed a 2nd chance, and we appreciated it more this time around. The first ride on a Euro-Fighter always seems to be the worst. lol

Well, thank you Canobie Lake for being awesome. I cannot wait to come back here again.

As we got back on the road, the boys and I were discussing food. We were all craving a good seafood lunch since we were in the area. Michael Morris, who was about half an hour ahead of us on his drive, checked in at this place called Bob's Clam Hut in Kittery, ME. Michael had apparently done his research, because the place was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives & was EFFING AMAZING. 

CLAMS! :}

CLAM STRIPS!!

Jeff and Steve got lobster rolls & Dan got shrimp. Because we were from out of town, the waitress surprised us with a free order of their signature dish: fried whole clams!

Bellies full of fish, the boys and I got back on the road. We passed by signs for York's Wild Kingdom, which I had considered when originally planning the trip, but nixed due to time constraints. Because we were ahead of schedule, we decided it would be worth making the stop. 

Here we are! The grand entrance.

YWK is adorable. It's mostly a zoo, but they have a small collection of rides. I can't believe we almost drove right past this place. It's tiny and eclectic and boasts of some very unique attractions. 

STOP! Camel time! 

York's has two large funhouses; this one looks custom made.

The park's old walk-thru Haunted House is great!

Pretty legit.

Simple but effective: an asymmetrical checkerboard room with a strobe light.

Look who it is monkeying around in the funhouse!

It's Ronny, Richard, and Dave!

Dave carefully plans the execution of his walk through the barrel of fun.

Richard gingerly "hampster-wheels" his way through.

Ronny just waltzes through it like it's nothing!

York's has a Scrambler just chillin' in the dirt.

We're taking Dan's Wacky Worm virginity today!

Well, Wacky Mouse more specifically. This Wacky Worm has a Speedy Gonzalez theme! Credit #40 of the year!

Okay, so this is really cool. They have this really old crane game from the 60's that still works. I thought it was awesome! And the game operator was really nice. We chatted for a bit.  

He said that I could play a few rounds for free as long as I said good things about York's in the blog. I won a little light-up airplane keychain on my second try! :}

York's also has this miniature train, which is OMFG cute.

They have a larger, nicer gift shop than some parks that are 3x this size.

More vintage awesomeness! 

How many internet points do I get for all of these cats?

Hey, look! York's has dead things encased in acrylic for sale just like Heritage Square in Denver!

Well, York's Wild Kingdom was definitely worth the stop. If you're in the area, GO! It's sure to provide some nostalgia and laughs.

Bill got THIS at the gift shop!

Just kidding! It's actually a factory-direct Bollinger & Mabillard wheel for the next silent auction!

The last park of the day is Palace Playland, which resides in the heart of kitschy Old Orchard Beach, ME. I love these kinds of places. It definitely gave me a very Myrtle Beach vibe, but with better food. 

Here we are!!

Palace Playland strikes a balance between tacky and charming. Love!

Some of their food options.

Obligatory shot of the beach/ocean.

By the time we'd arrived, there were already other ACErs living it up!

I found Michael! And Ron! Michael looks delighted, but Ron looks traumatized. What went on in that funhouse?!!?

Excuse me for a moment.

After securing for myself some cheap Chinese beach merchandise, it was time for some rides!

Palace Playland has one of the nicest, most fun Troikas ever!

Unlike most Troikas, Super Star's cars swing wildly throughout the ride!

Time for a ride on the Ferris Wheel! Shout out to Steve and Evan Smith who saved me from the no-single-riders-policy that most Ferris Wheels have adopted. 

Palace Playland is made up of 2 halves with a road cutting through the middle. Here's half 1.

Here's half 2!

"Focus on what matters most to you in life."

#acemotivationalstatements

It may not be a Wildcat, but it's still a good time!

Jeff is excited about the funhouse!

Let's see if I can take pictures without busting my ass on the floor.

Smile, Jeff!

Jeff is very in touch with his inner child. :}

Thank you! :D

(Picture taken in the bathroom. I don't normally take pictures in amusement park bathrooms, but I couldn't resist documenting this. I'm sure worse things have happened in here....lol)

No bumper cars for me tonight, but they looked nice!

I'd much rather hit up Super Star again with the boys!

Everyone loves the Troika!

Next we hopped over to the other side of Palace Playland. It was a little too chilly for the log flume. 

Gayest. Slide. Ever. :D 

Lovely view of Galaxi from the gay slide.

Just as I was photographing the Orient Express, the firework show started!

Oddly enough, the Orient Express kiddie coaster here at Palace Playland once operated at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk! It hopped from one coast to the other!! Since I already had my credit, I decided to skip it.

This was my first time taking pictures of a firework show. It was a lot of fun!

They sort of remind me of deep-sea critters. :}

All of my ACE buddies are mesmerized by the fireworks!

This one kind of makes me thing of a steel mill or something. Sparks flying everywhere!

This one is like a cute li'l dancing guy under the sun! 

The grand finale!

Who's ready for Galaxi??

The Galaxi is.....well........a Galaxi. Credit #41 of my Year of 100 New Coasters!

I did a little stroll on the pier as I was hunting for food.

It's a model! I love models. :}

They have this really nice shooting gallery inside their video arcade, which I saw as I was walking back to our ERT.

What a wild & fun night! Goodnight, Palace Playland!

Tomorrow is the last day of Coaster Con, but the trip is FAR from over! We still have 5 more parks to visit before Christian and I call it a done deal! Tune in next time for Funtown Splashtown and some bonus culture credits in Lake George, New York!