North America 06/25 – Story Land + Santa’s Village
There’s the beach.
Heading further north it was time to put the Lake Compounce passes into practice.
Day 3 – Story Land
Which seem to be quite a rare thing, as they didn’t understand the concept of free parking for a non-home park. It’s not that far is it..?
A slightly drizzly day and being what appeared to be rather off the beaten track led to a rather pleasant outing, beginning with #1 Polar Coaster.
The walrus on the train is living his best life for this quirky little terrain improved romp.
The main draw was of course #2 Roar-O-Saurus, another baby Gravity woodie.
It was absolutely wild for its size, a real standout and testament to when they nail it, they nail it.
The layout reminded me most of an amped up Oscar’s Wacky Taxi, to the point that I had to do a little research to check for similarities. While they share the first drop, a curved tunnel at the back and the concept of twice out and back, the dino is rather more twisted.
It’s probably those laterals that add extra oomph to all the silly but amazing little pops of air it manages to extract out of 40ft. Feels redundant to say they pack a surprising punch at this point, but this one really, really does, potentially more than any other of the size. Loved it.
And that’s the park. They’ve got a train, some woods, story book dioramas and a chance to have tea with Cinderella. But it’s all about one thing and it’s worth the trip.
We had two more points of intrigue on the way up to Canada for the night, but only one of them involved coasters, so
Santa’s Village (Jefferson, NH) 2025
Initially the concept of a year round Christmas themed park, not least an American one, honestly sounded like hell on earth.
But it was fine, much like the previous park, just a chill family day out in some greenery, with friendly and enthusiastic staff. And with what was to come over the next couple days and weeks, easily one of the best of the trip.
First up was the shooty dark ride. Great Humbug Adventure originally opened in 2000, but was given a full overhaul and upgrade in 2020.
No ghosts this time, rather humbugs, who are giving old scrooge a hard time. Some good old-fashioned, but modern, shooty dark ride fun. Well done Sally, again.
A three-looper SBF spinner this time – how exciting for #3 Poogee Penguin’s Spin-Out Coaster
And to close out, they’ve got a shiny new Vekoma in #4 Midnight Flyer. The first of this layout to open, it’s already branching out to at least 4 continents, but as a shining example to the quality of their products these days. Glossy smooth and just the right amount of poke.
A successful day.