New England Worlds of Adventure is an amusement park located on the Massachusetts-New Hampshire border in Townsend, Massachusetts and Mason, New Hampshire. The park opened in 1974 on a site of a former missile test range.
History[]
New England Worlds of Adventure opened in 1974 as Radisson's Worlds of Adventure, a theme park owned by the Radisson hotel chain. It was built on the site of a World War II missile test range, the Rutherford B. Hayes Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site, which was the site of protests by hippies during the Vietnam War. It was sold at government auction to Radisson in 1972, who began building the park following professional radiation cleanup.
In 1985 Raddisson sold the park to Group W (Westinghouse Amusement Division) and renamed the park as New England Worlds of Adventure. In 1991 Group W exited the amusement park division and New England Worlds of Adventure was sold to Cedar Fair.
Rides[]
Roller coasters[]
| Name | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Bombraider | 1976 | An Arrow Dynamics looping roller coaster. This was one of the first looping steel roller coasters in the world. |
| Cape (Cod) Fear Coaster | 2017 | A B&M giga roller coaster. |
| Dominator | 2002 | A B&M floorless coaster. |
| Galaxi | 1977 | An SDC Galaxi roller coaster model. |
| Loch Ness Monster of New England | 1986 | A Schwarzkopf looping roller coaster with the same layout as Tsunami. |
| Mantis | 1997 | A B&M inverted "Raptor" roller coaster model. |
| Skatepark Spin | 2008 | A Gerstlauer 420/4 spinning roller coaster model that was meant to compete with the "Tony Hawk's Big Spin" roller coasters at Six Flags owned parks. |
| Steel Screamer | 1992 | An Arrow Dynamics hyper coaster. Has the same style trains as Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point. |
| Thunderhawk | 1974 | A PTC wooden roller coaster. |
| Woodstock Express | 1998 | A Vekoma family roller coaster. From 1998 to 2017 it was the park's only Peanuts themed ride. |
Water rides[]
| Name | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Little Loggers | 1989 | A kiddie log flume ride. |
| Snake River Falls | 1975 | An Arrow Dynamics log flume ride. |
| Whitewater Rapids | 1983 | An Intamin river rapids ride. |
| Thunder Canyon | 2000 | An Intamin shoot-the-chutes ride. |
Flat rides[]
Thrill[]
| Name | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| The Bat | 2006 | AN S&S Screaming Swing ride. |
| Demon Drop | 1995 | An Intamin drop tower ride. |
| New England Twister | 2016 | A Huss Top Spin. Relocated from Dorney Park. |
| Ocean Motion | 1985 | A Huss pirate ship ride. |
| Ranger | 1984 | A Huss Ranger ride. |
| Ripcord | 2000 | An extra charge Skycoaster ride. |
| Spinsanity | 2005 | A Huss Giant Frisbee ride. |
| Wicked Witch's Wheel | 1974 | A Schwarzkopf Enterprise ride. |
| WindSeeker | 2012 | A Mondial WindSeeker ride. |
Family[]
| Name | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Crash Course | 1974 | A bumper cars attraction with "disco" lights and music. |
| Flying Falcon | 2013 | A Larson Flying Skooters ride. |
| Hurricane | 1984 | A Mack Sea Storm ride. |
| New England Ferris Wheel | 2001 | A 200-ft tall Ferris wheel. Currently the tallest Ferris Wheel in the Northeast. |
| Pirate Ride | 1974 | An enclosed boat ride with a pirate theme. |
| Shogun Palace | 1974 | A Japanese themed dark ride. |
| Space Spiral | 1974 | A 350-foot tall observation deck. |
| Turnpike Cars | 1974 | A guided track ride with antique cars. |
| Wave Swinger | 1974 | A Wave Swinger ride. |
Kiddie[]
| Name | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Charlie Brown's Wind Up | 1998 | A Zamperla Lolli Swing ride. Formerly known as "Circus Swings" (1998-2017). |
| Flying Ace Balloon Race | 1989 | A Zamperla Samba Balloon tower. Formerly known as "Balloon Race" (1989-2017). |
| Kite Eating Tree | 2018 | A Zamperla Jumping Star ride. |
| Lucy's Tugboat | 2018 | A Zamperla Rockin' Tug. |
| Peanuts Pirates | 1998 | A Sartori kiddie pirate ship. Formerly known as "Junior Buccaneer" (1998-2017) |
| Peanuts Road Rally | 1989 | A Zamperla Convoy ride with monster trucks. Formerly known as "4x4 Kiddie Trucks" (1989-2017). |
| Sally's Sea Plane | 1998 | A Zamperla Crazy Bus themed to a submarine. Formerly known as "Deep Sea Adventure" (1998-2017). |
| Snoopy's Rocket Express | 2018 | A Zamperla Monorail ride. |
| Snoopy vs. Red Baron | 1989 | A Zamperla Mini Jet ride. Formerly known as "Magic Wing" (1989-2017) with cars themed to dragons and elephants. |
| Snoopy's World Wheel | 1974 | A miniature Ferris wheel. Formerly known as "Space Chase" (1974-2017) and themed to outer space. |
| Woodstock Whirlybirds | 1998 | A Zamperla Mini Tea Cups ride. Formerly known as "Twist 'n Shout" (1998-2017). |
Defunct rides[]
Roller coasters[]
| Name | Year Opened | Year Closed | Description |
|---|
Flat rides[]
| Name | Year Opened | Year Closed | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahoy, Maties! | 1974 | 2017 | A Hampton umbrella kiddie ride with boats. Replaced with Kite Eating Tree. |
| City Chasers | 1974 | 1988 | A Hampton kiddie umbrella ride with taxis. Replaced with Peanuts Road Rally. |
| Dragon! | 1985 | 2017 | A Zierer Flying Carpet themed to a flying dragon. Replaced with Lucy's Tugboat. |
| Ferris Wheel | 1974 | 2000 | A 150-ft tall Ferris wheel. Replaced with the New England Ferris Wheel. |
| Fire Trucks | 1974 | 2017 | A carousel-style kiddie ride with fire trucks. Replaced with the station for Snoopy's Rocket Express. |