Lake Compounce Amusement and Water Park is readying for Opening Day

By Nancy Sasso Janis

Lake Compounce Amusement and Water Park is readying for Opening Day on April 27

At the 2024 Season Preview held on Tuesday, the press was given a tour of the park and invited to see what is in store for the upcoming season at America’s First Amusement Park. The park leadership team presented an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at all that’s new three weeks away from opening and still somewhat a work in progress. “Amazing things happen in these last three weeks,” General Manager Doug Hemphill told us. The parent company has done a lot of investment in the park and Hemphill reported that hiring has been going well.

Hemphill, who was appointed last May, said, “First and foremost, we’ve added a lot of members to our leadership team with a vast amount of experience in the theme park industry, the amusement park industry and also areas others.” Meg Forno, the Marketing Director who organized the backstage tour, comes to the Lake with an extensive amount of marketing experience.

Megan Major Assistant General Manager showed off the new Guest Experience Center inside the park. Speedy Pass, the all new virtual queuing system, will be available at this spot, allowing guests to wait online on their cell phone instead of standing in line and thereby saving up to 90% of the wait time. Guests can also upgrade their day pass to a season pass at the Guest Experience Center rather than waiting in line at Guest Relations outside the park.

Mark Murrans and Libby Dolman told us about the food and beverage offerings in the park. The brand new coffee shop is 1846 Coffee Company, a nod to the Lake’s founding in 1846. The shop will sell traditional coffee shop offerings. There are also plans for limited time offerings like Wildcat chicken fingers, street corn and Fruity Pebbles shakes.

The Lake will celebrate their 178th season with new ride experiences on both Wildcat, which will be added to the Speedy Pass system, and the classic Boulder Dash.

Blake Braswell, Senior Manager of Events & Entertainment, told us that entertainment will include the return of the popular Kids Fest in June, with unicycle riders and jugglers. There will be meet and greets with favorite characters like Bluey and Bingo, Pete the Cat™, and more. A Kowabunga Crew roaming, beach-themed, interactive drum band will roam the park and the waterpark from Memorial Day weekend. Braswell, with experience at Universal and Disney, will build the entertainment department.

The Summer Concert Series and fireworks will be back in July. At the concerts, park goers will be able to enjoy the sounds of nationally touring tribute acts with a beach party theme that are followed by a spectacular fireworks show.

New in August will be Beach Bash, when the party continues with DJ’s taking the floating lake stage for a family-friendly beachside bash.

Some new houses are promised for the Phantom Fall Fest and Holiday Lights will also be back.

The press was given an exclusive look at the all-new track added to the nearly 100-year-old Wildcat Roller Coaster. In press materials, the management team said, “Within the first phase of a two-year re-tracking project, more than 800 feet of the coaster’s track have been completely replaced with a vertically stacked track by Gravity Group.” This will smooth out the ride, although the experience is also affected by the temperature and weather. Did you know that roller coaster speed is measured in time and not miles per hour?

Check out the video on the Lake Compounce website.

We also had the chance to view the award-winning Boulder Dash roller coaster and take a look at the new Titan Track section using “iron wood.”

The bumper car building towards that rear of the park has been converted into a shaded seating area. A “sister” shaded seating area will be added in a pavilion in the Kiddie area. Three renovated horses will be reinstalled on the beloved carousel in partnership with the Bristol Carousel Museum.

The revamped and relocated Emporium Store, offering park souvenirs, will serve as the park’s new exit and there will be a brand new toy store stocked with stuffed animals and toys.

The tour was led by park leadership staff including Doug Hemphill General Manager, Meg Forno Marketing Director, and Megan Major Assistant General Manager.

Along the tour, we met Mark Murrens, Director of Revenue, Michael Forbes, Director of Maintenance, Libby Dolman, P&O Director and Jerry Brick, Director of Construction & Maintenance.

Opening weekend at The Lake is scheduled for April 27-28.

All photos by Nancy Sasso Janis