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This is a pretty old one, but Valleyfair does hire as young as 14. (Depends on birthdate as well.) They follow the labor laws set by the state of Minnesota. You may be able to work at 14 years old but will have restrictions (Some may be silly, but it's the law.). I worked for the park for 5 total seasons and loved every year. Was in rides for two seasons as a ride operator at Steel Venom, then made a change to admissions. In admissions I started as an associate my first year then promoted to Team lead then again to supervisor my 2nd year. Last season was my last season for the park and was a supervisor of admissions (Guest Services / Call Center). Loved my job and have thought about going back, but I am looking for more advancement opportunities elsewhere currently. Mikxy, you will have a great time in admissions. I know when I was there, I tried to have fun and make the job enjoyable. Even on the not so nice weather days at the park. If you ever have any questions or need some advice, I am available to help out and give my suggestions. Make sure to read the manuals for the positions that you are trained in. (I revised them and wrote quite a bit of it since it wasn't done in years.) They really are there to help you and give you the best way to get the job done. Also be sure to use your Team Leads. They have all worked the positions before and know what they are talking about. I am sure you will have a great summer and might just see you at the park. (I still am good friends with all the leadership in admissions and plan to stop in a few times this year.)

^ Since you are an associate at the park. Next time you see that. Please let a rides supervisor know ASAP so we can take appropriate action. That is definitely a safety concern which should be addressed.

^That area of the park will not see any real expansion. It’s on the flood side of the dyke that protects the park. It takes a lot for the city of Shakopee to approve anything to be built down there because of flooding. I for one am not opposed to the removal of Excalibur to make room for waterpark . Really it’s up to Rob Decker and the guys in planning and design to come up with the best way to use that space.

I think they are just going along with the name of the rides model name. Thats why they are marketing it as a “coaster”. The general public will love it and thats what really matters in the end. We might know it’s not a coaster but the general public doesn’t, nor do they really care. They get a fun new ride to enjoy!

It definitely does feel similar but definitely something needed. I think we are definitely due for a large thrill ride and major park investment. The past years has driven away the thrill seeker market in our area. I am definitely a fan of general park improvements though to make everything look more inviting and pleasant. As silly as this sounds though I still think the park needs some infrastructure work. The parking lot is terrible and just isn’t designed for a modern amusement park. It’s cluttered and a mess. Something definitely needs to be done about it. Especially for those days that toll gate gets backed up onto 101. I am sure Shakopee and the state patrol does not like this much. The building at the front gate need some work as well. At least from an interior point of view. They are extremely old and outdated and could use work to make things more streamlined. Anyway, I think that this is a great plan and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out next season!

I completely agree. I respect you ValleyfairFan, you are a fan of Valleyfair and the Cubs so that must be tough. Every year around August you usually have to utter the mantra, “There is always hope for next year..." for both of those interests. I have to say this post made my day. Hopefully they will spill the beans soon. Though knowing Valleyfair, they like to be the last to announce stuff. I know though area 1 is going to see some nice changes being they seem to be focusing on it again this year.

Basically yes, However I know that on Steel Venom this is not the case. I have noticed as well that depending on the maintence crew, the attachment that the belt fastens to the shoulder harness can either swing back and forth freely or is very tight. If the attachment point can move freely then you will get about a quarter inch more of belt.

The placement of where the buckle is placed depends on the dynamics of the ride and how tight Intamin requires the restraint to be. I worked Steel Venom at Valleyfair for two season. The restraints will lock in any position so intamin has to change the tightness of the belt to fit how far down the harness needs to lock. I hope this makes sense. Remember the park is not responsible for how tight the harnesses are, it is the manufacturer that requires them to make changes when needed.

Well Clubhouse will not be used for the 2013 season for anything that I know of. There was talk about it becoming an area for Employees to go on break in for Area 1 but not sure if that will be put into place or not.

So I just realized I should post some of these photos that I took in the dells this past weekend. The park was OPEN. Well, at least the indoor park was open and one coaster and go-kart track outside were open. Thank you Mt. Olympus management for little ally saying “Yeah we don’t care if you walk in the construction area and take pictures of it!” The things you can do at that park is a little scary. Almost wants to make me start a amusement park safety and security consulting firm someday. Anyway, here are the pictures. Enjoy! Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 Hades 360 It’s actually running very well! Re-rode it a few times! Here are a few Panoramas. Hades 360 Hades 360 (All images taken on iPhone 5)

I am definitely looking forward to seeing this coaster start making its first test cycles. I would love to go to media day but we will see if I have the money and time to do it. Also, it’s great to see you back on the blog Tony! Hope to see you on the midways this season when I make my trip out there!

I think that the park could leave the wave pool and gut the rest of the water park and start over. I have always thought that the water park didn't flow (no pun intended ) and have wasted space. Now that the catering is being moved they can take out that building and add more water park. That is exactly what I would like to see. Though the cost of doing that is definitely not in the budget. I could see it being a multi-year project. I think we could definitely see something happen to IMAX and Looping in the next few years though to start.

Since when has Cedar Fair purchased a Vekoma SLC.. Never? Yeah I don't think it will happen. Remember, Cedar Fair takes pride in their investments and they want attractions that are proven to work and provide a good ride experience. I will just say right now that a SLC will not happen. It’s just something Cedar Fair does not do. The only time they have done anything with a Vekoma coaster is moved them from location to location which is just fine to do. So lets just stop all this silly SLC talk since it won’t happen. We all know a B&M has been on the drawing boards for years but keeps getting pushed back for many reasons. Waterpark expansion is one area I think we need to focus on a little more. It’s time to completely re-think the current waterpark to make it better. There is plenty of potential there.

All signed up for Valleyfair once again this year! Lets show that Valleyfair can raise a ton of money like the big parks can! http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/alanjohnsrud/Valleyfair2013

I love how deceiving this is. The park currently sells 3/2 tap beer though out the park and they sell full strength beer and other drinks in the waterpark at Beach Bites. So I am sure this means they want to expand their liquor license to a full options license. I for one support the possibility. I just hope the prices are not terrible.

That's hilarious! How do they react? Do they know you're joking, or do most think you're being serious? I don't actually say that because I could get in trouble, but I do look at the and make them like they are stupid because well.. they are.. ha

Being I work for a Cedar Fair park I can tell you that us employees like to play games with riders because well. It’s fun. Believe me You see a lot of stupid park guests as an employee. I see guests all the time try to sit down in the seat at Steel venom with the shoulder restraint already down and locked because I didn't make it to the seat before the guest did. Every time I want to tell them that they failed the ridership test and could not ride because of their fail.

From what I understand IMAX and Looping Starship will more than likely be removed for waterpark expansion... So you are definitely on the right track with this.

Yeah because Morgan got purchased by Chance quite a few years ago. An inverted coaster from B&M would be probably be the best bet if quality is a characteristic you want. Flyers and Wing Riders may offer a more modern concept/design, and may look cooler, but that's about all they have on the inverts. They’re inferior in every other aspect, and it's not even close. I wouldn't call them inferior at all.. They are built by B&M they have reliability and quality even if the design is newer. That is what B&M is known for. Wing Riders and Flying coasters are great if that is what the market wants in that area, or It’s what would spark that market. Here in Minnesota I think people would really be impressed with a giant invert though it probably will be a few more years before we see that. Though the only downside to Wing Riders and Flying coasters are their cost. They really do cost a lot. Inverts I think have a better bang for their price.

New trains on Wild Thing will never happen. The ride runs like it was designed to do and the park is happy with it. Though it does like to have It’s hissy fits from time to time. Coaster Count I have a feeling that we will see some changes over by the Dining Patio and Mad Mouse are in the next few years.

Coaster Count, one major reason WindSeeker is a walk-on at Cedar Point is because the ride is a capacity hog. It can hold a lot of people at once. Same with MaxAir as it hold 50 people per ride cycle. What was said at Coaster Craze was more for this year with the whole picnic area 2.0 installation. Mainly the things I have heard are for waterpark expansion. I heard ideas of Excalibur being removed for waterpark expansion but after this past season I wouldn't want to see it go. It had 11 days of 2 train operation and one of the highest ridership numbers in years. It was a great year for Excalibur. (Party thanks to Tim and myself for doing a few days of re-ride marathons. Basically, they want to prepare the park itself for a major new attraction. Right now there are many basic infrastructure things that need to be upgraded and fixed to handle a large attendance spike. I really look forward to the next few years for all the improvements the park will make from both an operations point of view as well as how the parks image itself improves.

^ Don’t expect that for 2014. I have heard there are other plans for 2014 that does not include a new ride. (Yet again…) As far as a new coaster goes I think we are looking at more of a 2015-2016 opening if anything.

I would say yes to counting it as a new credit. It's a new name as well as a major redesign of the turnaround so I would see it as a new ride.

From what was said in the interviews with both Gravity Group and Nick himself they are going to be doing a lot of re-tracking as well. Their goal is to make the ride feel brand new with the new trains, lots of re-tracking and redesigned turnaround. Though I am sure there will be parts that are untouched but lets hope its only areas that did not have problems like the station and brakes area.

The Dinosaurs themselves have already been delivered and installed. You can see them while walking past the attraction. I have also heard that Mini Golf is going to finally see demolition starting next week.