PLEASE NOTE: This post was written in 2015, and while it should still give you a good overview of the experience, it is also possible that it may contain some outdated information. Please check their website for the most current information, especially about things like schedules and pricing.
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2015 Post:
Cut to the chase. Take me to the Momsense.
Disclosure: Thank you to Quassy Amusement & Waterpark for providing me and my family with complimentary access to the park. All opinions expressed here are 100% my own.
In 1908, an amusement park opened in Middlebury, Connecticut along the shore of beautiful Lake Quassapaug. 107 years later, my family and I stopped by to check out this historic Connecticut destination and enjoy an amazingly fun family day at Quassy Amusement & Waterpark!
My kids and husband absolutely LOVE amusement parks. Seriously. They are four peas in a pod (does that saying even work?) when it comes to things that go fast and fly in the air. I have yet to see an amusement park ride they didn’t like (and my four-year-old tried the adult roller-coaster on this trip!) And while amusement park rides aren’t really my thing, I am more than happy to join them on these types of outings. Actually, given that I don’t ride many of the rides at parks we visit, Quassy is a really great destination option for me because I don’t even have to pay to get in! (more details on that a little later in the post)
Quassy Amusement & Waterpark has a lot to offer its visitors. The park is made up of a variety of amusement rides including several “kiddie” rides, plenty of family rides, and quite a few thrill rides. It also has a separate water park which includes a beach area for the lake, a spray pad for the little ones, and a large waterpark area for the older visitors.
There is a lot to see and do here, so to get us started, the map below might be helpful. If you want to see a larger version of the map, go here.
The really nice thing about Quassy Amusement & Waterpark is that it isn’t huge. It isn’t small by any means, but it isn’t so large that you feel overwhelmed when you arrive. Parking is located right near the entrance and then the entrance flows right into the amusement park area.
As you pull into the parking area you come across this booth where you need to pay your parking fee. The cost is $7, cash only, and if you are a season ticket holder, parking is included.
Right before the main entrance is the building below which is the only restroom area in the park (outside of the waterpark area). It contains men’s and women’s bathrooms along with two family restrooms. If you have a baby in tow, note that only the family restrooms have a baby changing station.
The park is mainly open from Memorial Day to Labor Day with a few weekend openings before and after those dates. During the peak summer hours, it is open Sunday through Thursday from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm and Friday and Saturday from 11:00 am to 10:00 pm. The waterpark closes at 7:00 pm every day.
As with any amusement park, visitor’s height comes into play at Quassy. Here your height not only determines which rides you can go on, but also how much you need to pay. Kids 45″ and under can purchase an all-day ride and waterpark pass for $22.50 and adults and kids over 45″ pay $26.50.
But the really neat thing about this park is that you don’t actually have to pay anything to go inside. In theory, you could walk in, grab dinner by the lake, take in a magic show and head home without spending a penny (except to buy your meal of course!).
The way the park works is that you only need to pay to ride the rides or go into the waterpark area. So as a parent (like me!) who isn’t too thrilled with going on the next thrill ride, you can just bring your kids to the park, let them ride on all the rides they want and head on home. If you decide you want to ride on a ride with them, you can always purchase a single ride ticket. And if you want to go inside the waterpark area, the cost is $16.
The other great thing about this park is that they offer several opportunities for reduced-priced admission. Visit their site for all of the details, but a few of them are below:
- Season Pass: Purchase it and receive unlimited entry and parking at Quassy for the season
- Monday & Wednesday Bargain Days: Pay $22.50 for the all day ride and waterpark pass.
- After 5:00 pm Ride & Splash Pass: $12.00
- 50 Cent Fridays: After 5:00 pm from May 22 – September 4, rides, hot dogs, and a small soda is just 50 cents each.
- Car-load Saturday: Each Saturday from 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm (May 23 – September 5) pay $40 and you can park for free and receive a ride and waterpark pass for everyone in your car for just $40 (10 person limit)
On the day we visited, we arrived at the park right at noon, so lunch needed to be our first stop. There are a few eating venues in the park including the Quassy Restaurant, Pizza and Fried Dough Stand, and The Dog House.
We chose the Quassy Restaurant for our afternoon nourishment.
Here you order at the counter and then wait to bring your food to the table.
We purchased an array of hotdogs, french fries, and hamburgers for our lunch and enjoyed our food on the restaurant deck overlooking the lake.
It was quite a pretty view.
At Quassy you can also bring in your own food to the park and we saw many families sitting out on the deck that had done just that. The only rule related to outside food is that you can’t bring anything in a glass container.
While we ate, we were entertained by the passing paddle boats and pontoon. These rides are not included with a park pass and require an extra fee. The paddle boats start at $6 per hour and the pontoon is $3 per person. Both activities are cash only.
After lunch, it was time to quickly decide which ride the kids wanted to go on first. It became somewhat of a big debate, but eventually my three munchkins settled on the helicopter ride as their first stop.
In the same area were two other carnival-style rides (and a beautiful view of the water).
We also stopped by the Quassy Zoo where the kids could burn off some energy climbing all over the variety of structures. This attraction was the most attractive to me because it had a full wall of benches where I could get a chance to sit for a few minutes.
Our next stop was the brand new Kiddie Bumper Cars which were a hit with my little ones. While we made our way to the bumper car location we passed right by another one of their newest attractions, Frantic. This thing goes completely upside down! We tried to convince my husband to go on, but he rejected that idea. Of course you won’t be catching me on this ride anytime soon, but I’m sure it is quite a lot of fun for any thrill-seeker!
Um. My kids are obsessed with bumper cars. They rode this four times (and it isn’t a short ride!)
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Then we made our way right next door to Kiddie Land. This area included a small roller coaster, a boat ride, and a jet fighter. Quite a lot of fun for all of my little ones!
And then it was on to the train station. I actually went on this ride too! The whole family boarded the train and we took a quick spin around one section of the park.
And right next to that ride was the Grand Carousel. For this ride an adult can actually accompany a paying child for free.
And right after that we checked out the magic show which was taking place at 1:00, 3:00 and 5:00 that day. This guy cracked me up
But what cracked me up even more was the fact that my four-year-old daughter decided to accompany her father on the Golden Warrior Roller Coaster. She’s four! I won’t even go on and I’m. . . Well I’m much older than four.
Here she is post-ride. It took her a few minutes to recover 🙂
Sparkles actually passed on the next ride we checked-out because she was having flash-backs to her first roller coaster. Ha! Brave little Sweetheart went on the ride by herself!
But before long her siblings joined in for the entertaining Frog Hopper.
Oh and I have to include this one. Another ride I tried out, the Giant Slide. Sweetheart and I rode together and it was a blast.
And we couldn’t leave the park without trying out all that is offered at the Splash Away Bay Waterpark.
As I mentioned before, this is the only section of the park that requires payment to enter. If you purchased a wristband for the day, access to the waterpark is included. If you didn’t purchase a wristband, then entrance here is $16.
Right inside this area is lockers and dressing rooms. The lockers are $10 with a returnable $5 deposit. The dressing rooms are just that, places where you can change. The women’s dressing room had a baby changing station, but one thing none of the dressing rooms had was restrooms. There are plenty of signs in this area reminding visitors that there are no restrooms here, but I’m giving another reminder just in case. If you want restrooms, they are located in the back of the waterpark area.
This area has several water elements including the Fish Pond (a spray pad), the Quassy Beach, Saturation Station, and several water slides.
There is also a snack bar in this area if you need a little something.
Here is the beach with lifeguards available. Floats are not allowed here, but you can bring Coast Guard Certified flotation devices (like our favorite, the Puddle Jumper).
And here is Saturation Station. You don’t have to look hard to figure out how it got its name. The area is loaded with fun water activities for kids of all ages! My kids (and my husband and I) tried out all of the slides and enjoyed playing in all of the water features. So much fun!
But like with any fun adventure, this one eventually had to end. Everyone got changed into their regular clothes and we made our way back to our car. We stayed at Quassy Amusement & Waterpark way longer than I originally expected and had such a fun time that it was really hard to leave. But I’m sure this non-thrill ride seeker will be bringing her thrill-ride seeking family back to this park very soon!
Quassy Amusement & Waterpark
2132 Middlebury Road, Middlebury, Connecticut
Phone: (800)-FOR-PARK or (203) 758-2913
Email: info@quassy.com
Find them on Facebook and Twitter
Hours:
Hours vary seasonally and by attraction. Check here for the most up-to-date information.
Peak season for the park is Memorial Day to Labor Day, though it is open for some period before and after those dates.
Pricing:
Below is the pricing for the 2017 season. For the latest pricing information visit here.
- Wristbands:
- Kids (under 45″ in height)– $24.99
- Adults (over 45″ in height)- $28.99
- Senior Citizens and Military – $24.99
- Individual ride tickets are $2.50
- Parking is $7.00
- Season Passes are available.
- Specials and Discounts:
- A variety of discounts are available at Quassy. You can find all of the details here.
Details:
- Stroller Friendly: YES. Strollers can be used throughout the property. They also have strollers available for rent.
- Coffee Mug Friendly: YES. Outside food and beverages are welcome on the property as long as they aren’t in a glass container.
- Restroom: YES. There is a restroom located near the park entrance and another restroom located in the waterpark area.
- Baby Changing Station: YES. In the main park the baby changing stations are located in the family restrooms. There are also baby changing stations in the changing areas in the waterpark along with the waterpark’s restroom.
- Parking: YES. For general visitors, parking is $7, cash only. For season pass holders parking is included.
- Food for Sale: YES. There are three eating venues and a few snack bar options. The Quassy Restaurant, the Pizza & Fried Dough Stand, and the Doghouse. Details can be found here.
- Outside Food Allowed: YES. Feel free to bring a picnic, just nothing in a glass container!
- Cash Required: YES. Credit cards are accepted for park admission and individual ride tickets but parking and other activities like the boat ride, and the paddle boats require an additional fee.
- Dress Code: YES. See notes below fromQuassy.com
- Splash Away Bay Dress Code – Swim wear is required in Splash Away Bay. Swim wear with exposed zippers, buckles, rivits or metal ornamentation is not permitted. Diaper-age children must wear swim diapers in the beach and waterpark.
- Quassy Amusement Park Dress Code – Proper attire including shoes, shirts and appropriate dress (slacks, shorts, skirts) are required in the amusement park.
- Age Recommendations: This adventure can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
- Evening/Weekend Hours: YES.
- Discounts: YES. See the PRICING section above for all of the details.
- Birthday Party Venue: YES. Find all of the details here.
- Other Details:
- Smoking is not allowed on the property.
- Floats are not allowed in the waterpark but Coast Guard Certified floatation devices are allowed.
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