Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce (CT)

Date Ridden: July 4th, 2008. Times Ridden: 3 including a ride in the front seat at the very end of the night in pitch black darkness.

I absolutely love coasters that offer a unique experience. The more I ride, the more I find myself preferring coasters with what I call "character". as opposed to gigantic steel coasters with loops and huge drops. For that reason, woodies now take up approximately 75 percent of my top 20 and Boulder Dash is a perfect example.

I had read the reviews and watched the videos so I knew this was a "terrain coaster". using the wooded area on the other side of the lake as part of the overall experience. However, I really did not know this thing was actually built on the side of a mountain!! The lift hill takes you up that mountain. As you rise, you look over and can see the ground not 2 feet below you despite the fact you are rising approximately 100 feet. This is a true "mountain". coaster. However, this is definitely not just a gimmick ride. There is a great first drop, unbelievable airtime on the trip out including some serious ejector at one point, and the ride back to the station featuring the triple-up and insane drop where your picture is taken. I think this is the most complete wooden coaster on the face of the earth. There are no steel supports, no pre-fabricated wood, and this thing was not built back in the 1920's. It is a good ride simply because it is well-designed, long, unique, and fun. I would have to look but I think this is the ride that dethroned Raven's 5 year run at the top of the Golden Tickets back in 2004.

Lastly, all three of my rides were from the middle of the train up. The line breaks in half at one point with half going to the back and half going to the front. We intended to ride the back first, but there was a line there and an empty seat toward the middle so we jumped on there. We then intended to ride the very front car but once again we walked into an empty third car and dove on. Our final ride, we waited a little extra for the front and it ended up one of my best experiences on a coaster ever. It was fast, out of control, and crazy with the total lack of lights anywhere on the track.

It has been said that the back is a little rough and that Boulder Dash runs much better after the track has warmed up. Well, we caught it exactly right. As the most "complete, all-wooden, non-prefabricated" coaster I have ever ridden, it gets a perfect score.

Overall score - 10

Ride Boulder Dash below.