Lake Compounce – Win A Family 4-Pack of Tickets!
By some incredible stroke of good luck, a PR company working with Lake Compounce – the oldest amusement park in America! It’s historic! And full of charm! And quaint…itude! – found my blog and offered me 4 tickets to take the family and go check it out. Since kids 3 and under are free, I invited along Little Evan’s two best friends (and their mamas). I even talked E into taking a day off of work so we could avoid the weekend crowd – a very wise choice, because we had a GREAT time.
And if you live within a couple hours of Bristol, Connecticut, you’ll want to scroll to the end of this post so you can enter to win your own tickets!
It's all cute and old fashioned, but in the REAL way, not the Disneyfied way
You’ll have to excuse the terrible and/or highly edited photos. I didn’t know what to expect in terms of carrying stuff around all day so I brought the pocket-sized point and shoot instead of the Nikon. Also, the battery died half way through the day. And I was too busy having fun too care.
Caterpillar train was a HUGE hit
These were drums that went up and down. Another hit.
Swings! Do you see how my kid is the ONLY KID on them? It was awesome.
I was really doubtful that there would be much a 2 year old would enjoy at an amusement park. Maybe the Ferris Wheel (which, actually, was closed) and the trolley and some splashing in the water park (but with temps only in the upper 70’s we skipped getting wet). But the kid section was FULL of cool rides for small people and Little Evan was the bravest little daredevil ever. He even rode the kid-sized roller coaster with E with his hands up! I almost cried watching my kid ride rides by himself – who said he was allowed to be that grown up?! Why is this permitted? Isn’t someone going to yell at me for putting a baby on the motorcycle ride?!
Friend Tristan on the carousel in the kid's section
Riding the kid's carousel with Caroline. It was so nice to be able to do things even with a baby!
Friend Amelia choose a bunny instead of a horse
The weather was a little questionable – although after the 100+ days we’ve been having, a high of 78 with the occasional sprinkle felt FANTASTIC – so the park was not even a little bit crowded. We never waited in a single line and the kids were allowed to ride multiple times in a row without getting off.
I think the two most surprising things were that the park was super clean (despite the paper cups at all the free – FREE! – Pepsi fountains, I never saw a single one on the ground) and that the employees were crazy nice. Brainwashed levels of nice. DISNEY NICE. Where Lake Compounce found all those pleasant, polite, toddler-loving teenagers I have no idea, but I can’t even tell you how much nicer it made our day. They were helpful and patient and smiley and didn’t roll their eyes when we dragged a stroller onto the trolley (“Sir, you can put that up here by me in the front, there’s a lot more room”) or when I brought the baby onto the grown-up sized carousel (“Just hold on, it goes kind of fast!”). Maybe management puts Prozac in the free soda or something.
Splash Harbor and the actual Lake. It would be worth going back just to do the water park side.
Reasonably priced (about $7) lunch. The free soda (and water) made it seem extra reasonable.
There were also a LOT of places to sit down. Benches, stone walls, chairs, tables, loungers. I had no problem finding a quiet spot to nurse Caroline (three separate times) and never got a single LOOK for doing it. BTW, she was a doll the whole day, taking an afternoon nap in the stroller that gave E and I a chance to take turns on a few of the grown-up roller coasters. I would HIGHLY recommend The Revolution, even for non-roller coaster lovers. It might look scary but my friend Megan pronounced it “just like a baby swing!”
Helpful and friendly trolley driver on the super cute antique trolley
Megan and I also rode the Wildcat, an old-fashioned wooden coaster, and E rode the Zoomerang, which goes upside down and looked sufficiently terrifying. We unfortunately picked the one day all summer the great big huge award winning wooden coaster that goes up the mountain was closed (boo-urns!) but I’ve heard it’s awesome.
But I think the best ride all day was the antique carousel.
Don't let the face fool you - he cried when I tried to make him get off.
Whee?
This pretty much sums up how I felt the whole day
Reflecting (ba-dum-ching) on our day
Are you jealous of our trip yet? It was a really, really, really good time and I promise no one is paying me to say that. I imagine if it had been hot and crowded and I’d been dragging around a screaming, napless toddler this wouldn’t sound nearly as glowing, but because we picked a semi-rainy weekday and the kids were all on their very best public place behavior it was one of the most fun summer days we’ve ever had.
OK! Here’s where you win a chance at your own set of tickets. They come as a 4-pack and are good for anyone (although remember kids 3 and under are free) so you could bring extra hands to hold your baby while you rode The Revolution. Lake Compounce is located in Bristol, Connecticut, right outside Hartford and minutes from I-84. We spent 5 (FIVE!!) hours at the park and didn’t even do the water stuff, so I would say it’s definitely worth a day trip from most places in the tri-state area.
To win the 4-pack of tickets, simply comment on this post and include the words “I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!” I’ll be picking winners from people who use that phrase, so if you’re NOT local and CAN’T make the trip feel free to comment without it. Please be sure to use a real email or link to your blog so I can contact you if you win (although you don’t need a blog to win!). Tickets will be mailed to the winner directly from Smarter Social Media. One entry per person. I’ll pick a winner on Friday! Giveaway is now closed, and “I want to go to lake!” -er number 17 won: Christa, who lives in Bristol! How convenient! Have a great time!
Good luck!
Tags: Caroline, day trips, E, friends, fun, lake compounce, little evan, pictures, summer
The caterpillar train is adorable! And the kids in it are even more adorable! What a great place for a day out! I can’t believe E3 is old enough to ride alone!
Looks like a ton of fun. I haven’t been to Lake Compounce in nearly a decade (last time as a high school senior on physics day). I’d love to win the tickets – the Boulder Dash is calling my name so I’ll need to pick a day when it’s open for sure.
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
I want to go to the lake!
Looks like you guys had a great day! :)
That looks like so much fun – I love carousels! And free soda? Really? I’ve never heard of anything like that… I’m SO glad the heat broke!
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE! :)
I want to go to the lake!
I never realized they had so much for kids. Looks like fun!
I want to go BACK to the lake!!!
Thank you for a wonderful day!!! It was so much fun and the company was great!!!
I’ve never been and I’ve lived in CT/MA all my life. I didn’t think much of it, but you have sold me. I hope we win, since we never made it to Sesame this year and the impending birth of New Baby is going to make that impossible this year.
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
I wish I could go to the lake. It looks like you guys have an amazing amount fun. Sometimes I miss New England real hard.
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE! A trip to Lake Compounce would be super fun when we visit next month! Its been a few years since I went… well a lot of years!
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE! And I want to go on the same kind of weather day!
I didn’t know this place existed. You make it look so easy and fun! Free soda?! I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
Wow! You have just made an amusement park with a toddler look fun AND easy!!
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
OMG. Suzanne, you just solved a longtime mystery for me. We went there when I was 10, and I distinctly remember being terrified on the pirate ship, but I could never find any information about the place as I grew older, as I was always searching for Lake Compounds. El oh el.
Anyway, I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
I wWANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
I think I remember going there as a kid – and it sure looks like my crew would love it!
I want to go to the lake!! Even Matt wants to go to the lake-anything to get out of SECT for a day! It looks like you had so much fun, and what is not awesome about free soda???
I, too, want to go BACK to the lake!!! It was an awesome day. And, I will admit right up front that I was super skeptical of going to a small amusement park at all, let alone with a toddler (or really a crew of toddlers). But it was awesome, clean, and the staff was truly, truly wonderful–attentive, polite, safe, and ridiculously aware of how to talk effectively to children of all ages. I want to go back and check out the water park side as well. Thanks so much for an fabulous day!
How fun! As always, your pictures are amazing… kind of makes me feel like you brought us along!
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
Looks like fun – sure, I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE! Thanks, Suzanne!!
I live in Bristol, but have not brought my 2 and a half year old yet, because I figured she was too young. Your rave reviews really made me want to take her!
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
P.s. i love your blog!
As long as your daughter decides she likes the rides (one of our toddlers was a little slow to warm up) I PROMISE you’ll have a good time! I think we’re going to try and go back again before the end of summer!
We live under an hour from Lake Compounce and have never been. Your blog and pictures make us REALLY want to make the trip with our 3 year old son!
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE!
I WANT TO GO TO THE LAKE! We always have had a great time. Hoping to bring my kids again before school starts. Thanks.
[…] and I took Evan to Lake Compounce several years ago, back when he was Baby Evan, and had a great time then too. But I had a very tiny Baby Caroline and […]