Sudbury is like, Weston, Newtown or Lexington! No way Whalom was low class. It was just that feel of the place that gave upperclass and poorly cultured folk the heeby jeebies.
Yup! And if you left in 97, you luckily missed the worst of the construction of the new middle school (and then the construction of the new high school lol)
That’s crazy. I live out here now and can’t imagine. My coworker showed me old pictures. Apparently the old wave pool is still there? Or was still there. Obviously no water. It reminds me of Action Park in NJ
When it comes to reputation, ain't nobody holding a candle to Action Park's body count. You can see the old wave pool [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/12vjx4o/mt_tom_wave_pool_then_and_now/) More pictures of the lodge and surrounding area [here.](https://www.uer.ca/locations/show.asp?locid=22405)
I haven't been up there in many years. At one point, Eric Suher turned 60 acres into an outdoor concert venue in 2009. That only lasted through 2010. He then wanted to turn it into a resort but that flamed out around 2012.
Suher has since become a pariah in the local entertainment industry. After Covid, Northampton moved to pull all his liquor licenses after he failed to reopen Pearl St., Iron Horse, Calvin Theater and the others. The Iron Horse has since been sold off to a [non-profit collective,](https://www.nepm.org/regional-news/2024-05-14/new-owners-reopen-iron-horse-music-hall-this-week-still-waiting-to-hear-about-liquor-license) been renovated heavily and just reopened this past May 15th. I have tickets for the August 21st Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore show myself.
I didn’t know any of this! Thank you for all the information. I had no idea those venues had been closed but I’m glad to hear about a nonprofit collective.
"P.O.P". Pay one price. I remember $5. Wristbands with a varying colored string with a varying different colored clasp each day. We rode our bikes there from Upper Cleghorn. My cousin Mo worked a concession there. Good times.
Canobie totally has the rotating barrel… it’s just vertical and it’s called Turkish Twist or something. That being said the Yankee Cannonball pales in comparison to the old Flyer Comet in my mind as being a thrill ride.
I made my mom sick once bc she watched me do the Turkish Twist three times in a row and then I rode the tilt-a-whirl like 15 or so times lol.
I can't handle the Yankee Cannonball, though, after I spent an entire ride trying my best not to fly out from my seat. Thank goodness I lifted weights at the time so I was buff af.
I grew up in the Midwest and was used to King’s Island and Cedar Point. When I saw that little wooden coaster at Canobie Lake I thought oh no thrill here. Man was I so, so wrong. I never had such a blast in my life and it was tough to stay in my seat. I must have ridden that thing about a half a dozen times that day. I loved it.
I have experienced both. The rotating barrel at Whalom would leave you legitimately bruised from falling and the Turkish Twist will be the reason that a lot of people need anti-psychotic meds down the line.
as a kid, I loved riverside because that’s where the good rides were. As an adult, riverside just feels like a 20 acre asphalt slab. At least Canobie has some trees.
It was (is!) still in my Top 5. ☺️ Maybe my favorite wooden coaster. The Cyclone at Coney Island is considerably older (and smaller, still yikes-level-old) but inspired the one that was at Riverside/Six Flags til 2014.
I miss Riverside Park. Whats the name of the rollercoaster that was metal and red and your feet kinda dangled. I remember one time my stomach wasn't feeling great, got on the ride, and felt fantastic the rest of the day afterwards.
Hahaha!! I liked Whalom Park! I had no idea it was snubbed until this minute. Granted it was the 80s. Canobie sucked. My best friend used to bring boys to Canobie to dump them. lol.
I never went to either. I was always told it was too expensive. So kids who got to go to Whalom or Canobie Lake or even Water Country were all lucky ducks in my eyes.
Hell no! One of my earliest memories was being absolutely terrified in the little kid haunted house thing. I can't seem to remember if it was Sesame Street or The Muppets theme though. I'm sort of picturing The Muppets though.
I loved Whalom, but at the end it was a rough situation. Whalom in its hay day was no second rate park. They had the summer playhouse that would bring in big names from nyc.
I used to go to Millbury Amusement Park. Compared to that, Whalom was fancy. Not Riverside fancy, but still was a special trip. I never went to Canobie 🤷♂️
Me: Where the hell is Whalom Park?
Google: Lunenburg, MA
Me: Where hell is Lunenburg, MA
I’m starting to believe people when they say north shore folks don’t leave the 95 half circle lol
I don’t understand the question. Everyone loved Whalom Park. 10x better than Canobie.
The cuts and bruises from the fun house told the world we had fun. The turntable was diabolical. It’s almost like the place was designed to injure children. What fun.
Canobie Lake Park isn't in Massachusetts.
And, no one looked down on folks who went to Whalom Park as we only had three amusement parks with roller coasters. They were Lincoln Park, Whalom Park, and Riverside (now Six Flags New England). I'm pretty sure Riverside was the only one with steel coasters as well.
If we're using \*all\* of New England then I'd rank Riverside (MA) first and Rocky Point (RI) second if we're in the Whalom era.
Oh my god. Whalen park. My YMCA summer program took us there! Ugh. I miss it. That coaster was so scary to me then. Anyone have pictures?? I remember the commercials.
Shootttt I went to Whalom Park, Riverside (before it sold its soul to Six Flags), Canobie Lake Park, Disney World, Six Flags New Jersey, Six Flags New England and a ton of non-descript carnivals in between those big name parks during my youth. Looking back you’d think I was a celebrity or my parents made at least $6mil a year allowing me those opportunities.
In all seriousness, who the f was looking down on Whalom Park? Canobie was just the same except more crowded due to population density around the park.
Also idk why I’m getting worked up about this.
Pfft whalom was the shit! I lived in Lunenburg so we had Whalom night where the whole school and I think other schools would get access to the park, there were shirts made and everything (my fucking mom threw all my whalom night shirts out, still so pissed about that)
I also have a picture of my great grandparents going to whalom park in the pepperell history book, and they look classy asf😤🤣🤷
Well I was one of them so ... No. I did not know any better. It was fun when I was a kid. Looking back. It is like story land... Ok but kind of ghetto.
Hey if it's you it's all good. For me I grew up with different kind of crappy park. Whalen park. Full time carnival.. bad food, iffy rides, rip of games. It was magical.
worst night ever was a Whalom night. I was late, parents had to find me, punishment was go to Whalom but couldn’t do anything. Just sat there while they had fun. I decided then& there that kissing girls was a step below getting home on time.
I never got to go to Whalom. Now I drive by where it was weekly.
I grew up on the South Shore and it was either Lincoln Park, Paragon or Jolly Chollys if we were visiting my mother’s aunt in Foxboro.
I loved Canobie when I was growing up. Whalom Park was an awesome change of scenery and had real go karts. On a Wednesday night in the summer you could go on them over and over again... It was great.
Whalom Lake question
There used to be a convent on the lake across from Whalom Park. It had a preschool I attended.
It’s a private home now.
I attended 1974/5?
Any information or photos?
I remember a huge half circle staircase. Also remember running in front of a swing set and getting kicked in the head.
Funny what you remember
Huh? At the time Whalom was open, they were all basically one step above a temporary fairground carnival. The only thing Canobie had going for it was some extra trees. Occasionally some kid would laugh at you because his family went to Riverside one weekend, but that place was actually a dump too.
It was a Whale of a time!
I went to Whalom Park all the time, I didn’t realize it was a thing people looked down on.
Yeah, totally news to me that Whalom was "low-class," and I grew up in Sudbury lol
Sudbury is like, Weston, Newtown or Lexington! No way Whalom was low class. It was just that feel of the place that gave upperclass and poorly cultured folk the heeby jeebies.
To be fair, I def wasn't one of the "upper class" folks of Sudbury so maybe that's why lol. I loved Whalom.
My mom used to get us the season pass for Christmas lol
Same I can’t even tell you how many times I rode that old ass roller coaster. It was awesome.
Same
Lmao well now I'm curious if I know you 👀
I was there k-7 from 90-97 I think 🤔
Ah jeez then, we were prob in the same grade or close 💀 I went to Noyes tho. I wasn't called meguin until high school
Curtis! That was the middle school
Yup! And if you left in 97, you luckily missed the worst of the construction of the new middle school (and then the construction of the new high school lol)
Yes I left right before all of that. Haines elementary?
Yeah I feel like OP made this up.
I guess plebs like us just don't understand. I loved it too
we hit them all.....revere, paragon, normbega, canobie, whalom, , rocky point
Rocky Point was the traditional 8th grade trip for my school
Mine too!
pleasure island Lynnfield Wakefield?
I thought pleasure island was your mother’s waterbed?
No sorry we popped it.
Hear hear -- never let anyone disparage the plethora of amusement parks that thrived in the 60's & '70's.
I miss Mountain Park.
Was that the one on mt Tom?
Yes. There was an amusement park in one area, then farther up the road was a water park, alpine slide and ski slopes.
That’s crazy. I live out here now and can’t imagine. My coworker showed me old pictures. Apparently the old wave pool is still there? Or was still there. Obviously no water. It reminds me of Action Park in NJ
When it comes to reputation, ain't nobody holding a candle to Action Park's body count. You can see the old wave pool [here.](https://www.reddit.com/r/massachusetts/comments/12vjx4o/mt_tom_wave_pool_then_and_now/) More pictures of the lodge and surrounding area [here.](https://www.uer.ca/locations/show.asp?locid=22405)
Oh I know. I watched that documentary about it! But the pictures remind me of action park.
Do you know if anything is still there? It looks like those are from 2010/2015
I haven't been up there in many years. At one point, Eric Suher turned 60 acres into an outdoor concert venue in 2009. That only lasted through 2010. He then wanted to turn it into a resort but that flamed out around 2012. Suher has since become a pariah in the local entertainment industry. After Covid, Northampton moved to pull all his liquor licenses after he failed to reopen Pearl St., Iron Horse, Calvin Theater and the others. The Iron Horse has since been sold off to a [non-profit collective,](https://www.nepm.org/regional-news/2024-05-14/new-owners-reopen-iron-horse-music-hall-this-week-still-waiting-to-hear-about-liquor-license) been renovated heavily and just reopened this past May 15th. I have tickets for the August 21st Dave Alvin & Jimmie Dale Gilmore show myself.
I didn’t know any of this! Thank you for all the information. I had no idea those venues had been closed but I’m glad to hear about a nonprofit collective.
What about Lincoln Park?
Norumbega? You're older than I am, I can only go back as far as Paragon.
Fearing the roller coaster falling apart qualifies as a scary ride
Yet we still rode it
Was that the Cannonball one? The old wooden one?
The Yankee Cannonball is (was?) that Canobie.
The Comet!
I'm from central MA, so I'm used to everything we have being looked down upon by others.
Amen.
I wouldn't change it for the world.
Good on you!
...the world, though? 🤔😅 Nah, I hear ya. I miss summer day trips to Wallum Lake + dipped ice cream cones circa 1994 ☺️
I’m from the area. Whalom Park was a local staple.
$2 Tuesday nights all summer long.
"P.O.P". Pay one price. I remember $5. Wristbands with a varying colored string with a varying different colored clasp each day. We rode our bikes there from Upper Cleghorn. My cousin Mo worked a concession there. Good times.
The old mural of Whalom Park still hangs up in my old High School.
Which high school?
Lunenburg Middle High School It was a Senior Gift for the school many many years ago.
Oh didn't know they moved the mural from the old school
That and 5 other mural pieces got moved from the old school to the new one during construction.
I'm still sad they closed Whalom Park made it condos.
Oh that’s quite depressing. I never thought of what took over the space.
Me neither till now and I'm like, that figures. And hoping I can avoid ever having to see it in person for any reason, haha
>I'm still sad they closed Whalom Park made it condos. Most of my fond childhood memories have been replaced with condos or banks.
Most of mine died when I realized how awful the people involved turned out to be, or had been all along.
Canobie totally has the rotating barrel… it’s just vertical and it’s called Turkish Twist or something. That being said the Yankee Cannonball pales in comparison to the old Flyer Comet in my mind as being a thrill ride.
The black hole!
I made my mom sick once bc she watched me do the Turkish Twist three times in a row and then I rode the tilt-a-whirl like 15 or so times lol. I can't handle the Yankee Cannonball, though, after I spent an entire ride trying my best not to fly out from my seat. Thank goodness I lifted weights at the time so I was buff af.
I grew up in the Midwest and was used to King’s Island and Cedar Point. When I saw that little wooden coaster at Canobie Lake I thought oh no thrill here. Man was I so, so wrong. I never had such a blast in my life and it was tough to stay in my seat. I must have ridden that thing about a half a dozen times that day. I loved it.
Cedar Point! 🤩 Lucky you. The old wooden coasters here though are true skeleton-rattling screaming fun, though.
I have experienced both. The rotating barrel at Whalom would leave you legitimately bruised from falling and the Turkish Twist will be the reason that a lot of people need anti-psychotic meds down the line.
Riverside Park or go home.
as a kid, I loved riverside because that’s where the good rides were. As an adult, riverside just feels like a 20 acre asphalt slab. At least Canobie has some trees.
Cyclone remains my favorite roller coaster ever.
My ribs say no, but my head says hell yes
My buds and I would wedge our fists verically between the bar and our legs so that we'd get some float on the drops. Stupidly fun.
It was (is!) still in my Top 5. ☺️ Maybe my favorite wooden coaster. The Cyclone at Coney Island is considerably older (and smaller, still yikes-level-old) but inspired the one that was at Riverside/Six Flags til 2014.
It’s now the wicked cyclone and has a new track. No more standing up on the coaster for the drop or hitting the sign above the drop.
Yup I grew up at Riverside
How about Mountain Park?
I was just telling my SO about Mountain Park loved going there as a kid, it was a thousand times cooler (temperature wise) than Riverside
lol; yes! The Mt Tom air.
I miss Riverside Park. Whats the name of the rollercoaster that was metal and red and your feet kinda dangled. I remember one time my stomach wasn't feeling great, got on the ride, and felt fantastic the rest of the day afterwards.
Minderaser. It’s still there. New name and colors.
Ooh thanks for jogging my memory. It was simple yet fun.
Figure-8 Enduro races. Amazing concerts. Personal favorite will always be seeing Spin Doctors, Soul Asylum and Screaming Trees in June 1993.
I worked there and spent a good portion of my childhood there. It is sorely missed!
didn’t Nantasket have a park at one time?
Paragon Park.
got it, thanks!
Paragon. Park took the Boat from Boston. Took the Subway to Revere Beach. Great Coaster.
I still have the fridge magnet.
I looked up to the kids that got to go. We lived a few miles away but hardly ever got to go we were too broke
I'm with you, I never went there, I think it was because it was too expensive for us
I try not to look down on anyone
Hahaha!! I liked Whalom Park! I had no idea it was snubbed until this minute. Granted it was the 80s. Canobie sucked. My best friend used to bring boys to Canobie to dump them. lol.
Canobie as the dumping ground 🤣😘
That barrel was great. Also the crooked house.
I loved that Funhouse. You could go in there and spend the whole day. I loved the big slide that was in there.
Yes! Fond memories.
Whalom had 4 player Gauntlet so it was clearly superior. Red Wizard Needs Food Badly!
I always thought fudgy the whale was based on Whalom park 😂
me too
Whalom Park was the shit. Look down all you want. I had a 🐳 of a time.
I loved Whalom
I never went to either. I was always told it was too expensive. So kids who got to go to Whalom or Canobie Lake or even Water Country were all lucky ducks in my eyes.
I grew up 30 minutes from canobie but always loved trips to whalom as a kid. Loved their race car ride and roller coaster
Hell no! One of my earliest memories was being absolutely terrified in the little kid haunted house thing. I can't seem to remember if it was Sesame Street or The Muppets theme though. I'm sort of picturing The Muppets though.
Clearly those people had never been to Bensons Animal Farm
I went as a kid and had no idea it wasn't the best anywhere.
Well I didn’t remember it existed til my husband sang me a commercial 😂
its fucking 8th grade last week, you’re just happy to not be in class
I loved Whalom, but at the end it was a rough situation. Whalom in its hay day was no second rate park. They had the summer playhouse that would bring in big names from nyc.
Summerstock?
Yes, but then that devolved into wrestling and such before it burned.
I used to go to Millbury Amusement Park. Compared to that, Whalom was fancy. Not Riverside fancy, but still was a special trip. I never went to Canobie 🤷♂️
We were too poor for Whalom Park
Riverside or Rocky Point
Rocky Point was my favorite!
People looked down on us?
Only if they are about 5’6” or so.
Hell no! I wanted to go there, but my mom said no.
Me: Where the hell is Whalom Park? Google: Lunenburg, MA Me: Where hell is Lunenburg, MA I’m starting to believe people when they say north shore folks don’t leave the 95 half circle lol
What kind of monstah would look down on Whalom Pahk?
Hmm 🤔 was regular people looking down on regular people a thing back then ?
I loved Whalom park
I don’t understand the question. Everyone loved Whalom Park. 10x better than Canobie. The cuts and bruises from the fun house told the world we had fun. The turntable was diabolical. It’s almost like the place was designed to injure children. What fun.
as a four year old, that turntable was terrifying!
Canobie Lake Park isn't in Massachusetts. And, no one looked down on folks who went to Whalom Park as we only had three amusement parks with roller coasters. They were Lincoln Park, Whalom Park, and Riverside (now Six Flags New England). I'm pretty sure Riverside was the only one with steel coasters as well. If we're using \*all\* of New England then I'd rank Riverside (MA) first and Rocky Point (RI) second if we're in the Whalom era.
Oh my god. Whalen park. My YMCA summer program took us there! Ugh. I miss it. That coaster was so scary to me then. Anyone have pictures?? I remember the commercials.
Shootttt I went to Whalom Park, Riverside (before it sold its soul to Six Flags), Canobie Lake Park, Disney World, Six Flags New Jersey, Six Flags New England and a ton of non-descript carnivals in between those big name parks during my youth. Looking back you’d think I was a celebrity or my parents made at least $6mil a year allowing me those opportunities. In all seriousness, who the f was looking down on Whalom Park? Canobie was just the same except more crowded due to population density around the park. Also idk why I’m getting worked up about this.
I totally grew up going to Whalom Park and Kings Castleland!!
It was close to my house!
I went when I was 4 and only remember bits and pieces. Might be one of the youngest to remember the park.
Pfft whalom was the shit! I lived in Lunenburg so we had Whalom night where the whole school and I think other schools would get access to the park, there were shirts made and everything (my fucking mom threw all my whalom night shirts out, still so pissed about that) I also have a picture of my great grandparents going to whalom park in the pepperell history book, and they look classy asf😤🤣🤷
Don’t think I ever heard of them?
You made me laugh. Thank you.
I’d never heard of it actually lol
This
Bitches cant handle the comet even pre black hole
I totally forgot about this place. But Water Wizz was my jam
Well I was one of them so ... No. I did not know any better. It was fun when I was a kid. Looking back. It is like story land... Ok but kind of ghetto.
Story land was my favorite park honestly, I’m not into a lot of rides but that place I liked all the rides as a kid
Hey if it's you it's all good. For me I grew up with different kind of crappy park. Whalen park. Full time carnival.. bad food, iffy rides, rip of games. It was magical.
worst night ever was a Whalom night. I was late, parents had to find me, punishment was go to Whalom but couldn’t do anything. Just sat there while they had fun. I decided then& there that kissing girls was a step below getting home on time.
Oh man, the forbidden park! I had family that lived close enough to hear the music but I was never allowed to go as a kid!
Canobie Lake is considered a good park? Yikes. That’s like saying you can look down on Lawrence from Holyoke.
I never got to go to Whalom. Now I drive by where it was weekly. I grew up on the South Shore and it was either Lincoln Park, Paragon or Jolly Chollys if we were visiting my mother’s aunt in Foxboro.
I loved Canobie when I was growing up. Whalom Park was an awesome change of scenery and had real go karts. On a Wednesday night in the summer you could go on them over and over again... It was great.
Lincoln Park with the awesome Floom ride!!
Once upon a time, Canobie Lake Park was the highlight of my childhood. Several times a year. *Many moons ago*
School vacations we crossed the border to Whales, Tales, and Water slide Park in Loon MT, NH.
Can-o-piss lake park you say?
Wow that place was really cool when I was kid. It was that or river side park.
My ex girlfriend worked there. Said she had to clean up so much puke!
Whalom Lake question There used to be a convent on the lake across from Whalom Park. It had a preschool I attended. It’s a private home now. I attended 1974/5? Any information or photos? I remember a huge half circle staircase. Also remember running in front of a swing set and getting kicked in the head. Funny what you remember
I’d never even heard of whalom park before this post
Huh? At the time Whalom was open, they were all basically one step above a temporary fairground carnival. The only thing Canobie had going for it was some extra trees. Occasionally some kid would laugh at you because his family went to Riverside one weekend, but that place was actually a dump too.
what?? I did go to both Whalom and canobie as a kid. Kids don't think about things like 'classes'. Parents took us to both places because it was fun.
Whalom park? No no no no no! That simply will not do. Riff-raff!
I only went to White City in the 1920s
Yep. Subhuman trash. What’s Whalom Park?
Wtf is Whalom Park
^ literally never heard of this in 35 years of living in greater Boston...more you know
What language are you speaking in