RCjunkie

So Hydroblaster has been removed for sure?

If we find something in the site that needs to be fixed during 'testing' do you want us to post it in this thread or some place else?

Two new entries from VF on their Twitter feed: "Bring your next group event to Valleyfair. Picnic Point is expanding for the 2014 season to accommodate groups of all sizes." - Being right next to the new Route 76 area this should be interesting to see what they do expanding that space. "Exclusive Update: Valleyfair's Ferris Wheel is getting a new look for the 2014 season. Want to take a guess on what is happening?" - My guess is that it will get LED lights on the ride like they are doing with the Tilt-O-Whirl and Scrambler for Route 76 which will look cool at night. Any other thoughts or insights TPR community? Please opine if you would.

Wow, very cool to see a prototype in action like this. Thanks for sharing video footage and pictures of the ride and the S&S shop, TPR comes through again. But now that I have seen a coaster operate in 18 degrees with people having fun on it there is NO reason CF cannot open VF on weekends in the winter. Fire up Renegade, Steel Venom and Wild Thing pronto! We have jackets, hats, gloves and were hearty people who are used to the cold and could handle it. Dear Mr. Quimet...... I am writing you today about...

I could easily live with either one, both pages are improved and would be welcomed. I just liked version #1 better.

Looks like another smart addition by Quimet and company for the chain.

I like option #1 better. With the bigger picture it is a cleaner and more 'inviting' look. With the Social Media window at the top right of the page and ALSO the social media icons right above that window seems to be a redundant use of page space. But that is me, I only visit social media sites as my last place to look for information so I am probably biased. I really like they way you separate out the THEME PARK NEWS for quick reference too.

Glad you took advantage of the light rail from the airport to MOA, let this be a lesson to anyone with a layover at MSP. If you thought 18 F felt like a freezer your lucky you left because it hit minus 21 F Monday night and that is without the wind chill factor. This is why NU is my 'winter theme park'.

Nope. 2015 will be it's 40th operating season. Your counting the years between 1976 and 2016 without including the 1976 operating season.

With the removal of the IMAX theater I expect a water park expansion. The question I have is how big of an expansion? Will they just use the old IMAX area? Or will they go bigger, use the IMAX space and relocate the Looping Starship for more space? Will they use the adjacent Hydroblaster area as part of the expansion as well? Too bad they will not mark the anniversary with a new coaster, maybe 2016.

When I am done laughing my a** off I will let you know what I think of your trip report.

All parks deserve a new coaster but with that being said, MiA for sure followed by Valleyfair and Adventureland. The upper mid west needs some love from the coaster gods.

All parks deserve a new coaster. With that being said, MiA for sure followed by Valleyfair and Adventureland. The upper mid west needs some love from the coaster gods.

Just YouTube for me. I am one of those weird freaks who likes privacy and anonymity. The only time I visit your Facebook or Twitter sites is during IAAPA to get the up to the minute updates.

Here are two pictures of my home park favorite Renegade. Full shot The turn that goes under the lift hill.

^ If VF gets a new coaster in the back of the park that would allow them to address that area of traffic flow with a needed redesign. My guess is that if VF adds a coaster they will also remove one. If they remove Excalibur the back of the park could be redone to add a new coaster and change the walking path. Almost any change back there would be an improvement, it's just not a well designed area of the park.

I agree that it will happen in the next five to ten years as they add/move attractions. And VF does have one funky layout which really affects the traffic flow of people so it is welcomed. They fixed the kiddy area with the Snoopy expansion and it will be interesting to see how Route 76 turns out. The water park expansion has the ability to change the walking path from Mad Mouse all the way to the entrance of Soak City and that is the biggest bottle neck in the park so I am looking forward to that.

Thanks for letting us know. That summary almost makes me want to register at SeekingAlpha to read the whole thing. If you find the entire transcript somewhere online please let me know. Some other interesting comments from the summary that play in Valleyfair's favor. "The two sold water parks were not because they weren't making money, instead they realize that spending capital on new rides at water parks pays off much less than using that capital at even the smaller amusement parks. In that idea they had the chance to sell those two, and jumped on it." "After really studying the capital spent at parks over the past seven years, they've learned that while it is nice to really spread out capital and put something in new at each park each year, that method really doesn't pay off. Instead, having a couple rather large additions, some smaller, and some parks sitting 'out a year' makes the most financial sense." Like I have indicated before I would prefer to sit out a couple extra years if it means a bigger investment down the road. It's great news for VF that CF sees the park as one that can provide revenue growth for the company. This should bring some nice investments behind it.

They shifted the usual schedule one week so they could be open for Halloween and added the opening day Friday as a 'bonus' which works for me. Being open on Halloween should be big if the weather holds. The last day this year it was 57 F and sunny on October 28th. It will be interesting to see if we can get weather like that in November. The schedule also shows they will be open from 10 am to 10 pm for the first two weekends when the last few years it was noon to 8 pm. Below is a shot that VF posted today of Renegade. Something about snow and coasters. Think GCI has a 'snow mode' operation feature?

Great shots of the castle at sunrise and the empty Main Street shot. Two cool things I have never seen so thanks for sharing and getting up early.

Thanks for braving the cold and posting this Goliath update, great to see it go vertical. Nice shot of the future drop tunnel too, it will be fun to compare it to the finished product. Did they share any information about Goliath that you didn't already know?

^ Exactly.

Yesterday Valleyfair posted the picture of the final design colors for Nothern Lights. Much more colorful than the red, white and blue colors in the original artwork rendering. I personally like these colors better. All the new colors.

This is what I would love for CF to do. Not go on the cheap and actually try to make this park stand out in the upper midwest. Bring a unique, and more importantly, fun ride to the area. The closest 3 parks are SFGA, Mount Olympus and Adventureland which have nothing like a B&M floorless coaster. I would not mind a B&M Invert either but a floorless I think would be better.

I bet your right on this and it would be a welcomed addition to the water park for sure.