The Gravity Group helps restore 1920s Wildcat at Lake Compounce

AT: Tim Baldwin

tbaldwin@amusementtoday.com

BRISTOL, Conn. — Opened in 1846, Lake Compounce has bragging rights to being the longest-operating amusement park in North America. At its center is a wooden coaster that serves as part of the park’s logo. Wildcat was originally built in 1927. Over close to a century, much of the ride has been rebuilt, but the park is addressing it as a major project.

General Manager Doug Hemphill started at the park at the beginning of the 2023 season. When Lake Compounce opened for the season, he was aware that Wildcat would not operate.

“I did a lot of diligence before I got here,” he told Amusement Today. “I went online and read articles about Wildcat. It seemed the ride needed to be enhanced because it was rough. I’ve talked to a lot of guests, and while they told me they loved the coaster, it was a little bit aggressive for them. When I got here, the ride was closed to undergo some assessment.”

“We put new trains on a few years ago, and that made the ride faster,” said Jerry Brick, director of construction and maintenance, Palace Entertainment. “This new track we’re doing is going to fit the train that’s on there.”

“It’s a historic ride,” said Hemphill. “We partnered with The Gravity Group, and they did a lot of assessment. We had meetings with them where they showed me a lot. Taking a look at the movement on that ride at every point and how the guests go through it — up and down, side to side and front to back in that coaster car — and from that analysis, we knew we needed to smooth it out to make it more enjoyable. But we wanted it to feel like a wooden coaster.”

“We are absolutely thrilled that Palace Entertainment has elected to use our Engineered Precut Track for the refurbishment of Lake Compounce’s historic Wildcat,” said Chad Miller, principal and engineer, The Gravity Group. “When we set out to develop our new long-life track system, we felt that it was imperative that it be made from wood. The wood track is the heart and soul of the wooden roller coaster. By taking a new, smarter approach to its design, we were able to create a product that is dramatically stronger and smoother than the traditional wood track, while maintaining the essence of what people love about the wooden roller coaster. The iconic and picturesque Wildcat is the perfect match for Engineered Precut Track, and we are excited to give this historic ride a new lease on life as it approaches its 100th year.”

“It was important to us to keep it a wooden coaster,” added Hemphill. “What hit for me is you come into the entry area of the park, and you have this historic wooden coaster sitting there — and it’s closed. I understood why, but it was important to do the right things to get it open for 2024.”

Brick said a new braking system from Velocity Magnetics should improve the ride as well. “When we were running two trains, it was coming into the station too fast and would trip sensors,” he told AT.

In the previous off-season, Titan Track was installed in troublesome spots on the park’s Bolder Dash coaster. Supplied by Great Coasters International, that was the logical solution for challenging, hard-to-get-to areas on the sloped hillside.

“We like what the Titan Track did for Bolder Dash,” said Brick. “But with conversations with the park team, we wanted to keep Wildcat a true wooden coaster. We want to stand by that. Over the years, the work we’ve done on it has mostly been retracking. But we do have a new design here. It will be all wood, but there will be changes.”

Brick explained that trouble areas from the original design will be tweaked to make them smoother transitions, particularly with peaks and turns. Some of the ledgers have been raised to make transitions cleaner.

In 2014 and 2015, the two “fantail” turnarounds were rebuilt. In 2017, the lift was done. Great Coasters International and Martin & Vleminkx were involved in those changes.

Hemphill isn’t concerned with the challenge of re-educating guests that it will be a newer, smoother attraction.

“A lot of that started months ago with going to our media markets,” he said. “I’ve been out there quite a bit talking about Wildcat. To that end, I’ve probably done no less than 20 media tours. I’ve explained the Engineered Precut Track and stressed that it was important for us to maintain it as a wooden coaster. There were a couple of directions we could have gone, including what we’ve done with Boulder Dash here. With the history of it, to maintain it as a wooden coaster, we are going to continue between now and opening day 2024 to go out and talk about it.”

Both Hemphill and Brick point out it is phase one of a two-phased project. The majority is being done in the first phase, which will address about two-thirds of the track.

The Wildcat restoration is one part of the park’s investment for 2024, but other projects are undisclosed as of yet. 2027 will be the coaster’s 100th anniversary. More work from GCII will take place on Boulder Dash with Titan Track on high spots on the mountain.

Other 2024 projects for Palace Entertainment include a reimagining of The Underground roller coaster at Adventureland in Des Moines. The park is working with Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Inc. to rebuild the original train. Trackwork and a new roof were done this past season.

Raging Waters Los Angeles is receiving a makeover along the lines of the chain’s Sandcastle water park. “We’re going to focus on when the guest arrives,” said Brick. “We want the guests to have that great first impression.”