Valleyfair (VF) Discussion Thread

[prozach626]

That's a nice looking splashdown. 

[mikeykaise]

^ lol that's what I was thinking put some Diamondback scoops on it and make it another splashdown just like Diamondback.

[djoles]

So Cedar Point announces another big coaster having not even gotten this years coaster to work for more than a few days and Valleyfair gets nothing, this may be the future as Six Flags 

[prozach626]

Valley Fair and SFSTL... unite.

[CaptainUnknown]

So I'm working ValleyScare this year in the CarnEvil scare zone. Be sure to stop on by, I'll be pleased to m-eat you!

[prozach626]

No pun intended, right? .....

[CaptainUnknown]

Hey, I just met you. 

And I am crazy.

So I will eat you. 

You're so delicious. 

[DATman]

Was there Saturday night, great scare zone!

Honestly ValleyScare was really impressive this year - I’ve never seen the park this busy, and the mazes had great sets and scares! We had such a blast.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

We're looking into going to Hockey Day in January. Prepared for nothing to be running (although winter has been weird here the last couple of years, who knows?). This will be our first Hockey Day we've ever been to. Has anyone been? Any insight on what rides are most cold resilient?

[Nrthwnd]

^Pardon my memory burp, but ....

I did ValleyFair in 1976.  Yep, I was there in late June of 1976. One month after it had just opened .

The first lesson I ever learned about theme park visiting, was at ValleyFair, and it involved the sacred " exit/re-enter hand stamp." I was waiting outside for my ride, hadn't gotten the stamp, and then had 'that feeling,' and had to talk my way into a park washroom, while a staff member accompanied me for the journey. Very embarrassing, but I definitely learned from that event. I always get my hand stamp at parks, even if i don't come back .... 'cause ya never know, hmmm?

[prozach626]

On 11/30/2024 at 6:56 PM, ytterbiumanalyst said:

We're looking into going to Hockey Day in January. Prepared for nothing to be running (although winter has been weird here the last couple of years, who knows?). This will be our first Hockey Day we've ever been to. Has anyone been? Any insight on what rides are most cold resilient?

My MCL hurts just thinking about it.

[C.P.A.Guy]

Went to Valleyfair this past weekend for Opening Day.  Park looked clean as always.  Ride operations were slow with new staff, but that is to be expected.  There was a group of kids from Owatonna that kept getting away with using the Fast Pass lane and didn't have Fast Passes, which was kind of annoying, but whatever.  Small issues...

Retracking of High Roller did wonders on the second hill drop!  So smooth..  While riding High Roller on the turn around, I did notice there was some trees removed and have red X's spray painted on the stumps in the old Antique Autos/Dinos Alive area.  I would usually start to get my hopes up, but I've been a season pass holder for over 20 years, so not going down the roller coaster hope road ever again until there is an actual announcement...

There are some areas of the park where a new ride just seem obvious:  1) slide complex at old Looping Starship 2) roller coaster at old Dinos spot 3) games midway always just feels empty and a waste

Other Notes & Rambles:  Power Tower is looking rough.  25 years old now that I think of it.  Wild thing paint job looks great!  Looks like they turnaround up to the brake run.  Hope the lift hill/return hills/station area to complete it this next offseason! Renegade kicks ass as always!  Could envision Steel Venom exiting the park's line up in 5-10 years with a coaster replacement in that corner of the parking lot too.  It is pretty rare to see that ride batting 1.000 on the day, but I know they just put some money into it with the holding brake repair, so probably safe for awhile. 

Looking forward to another good year at the park with the family!  

[CaptainUnknown]

With the 2025 season now underway, just wanted to give a couple thoughts on the state of the park and what could happen in the future. I visited on Passholder preview on Saturday 5/10.

Park president at enthusiast events has stated that a new coaster is a "when," not an "if." Park needs infrastructure improvements before that happens. While he hasn't elaborated, I'm guessing this includes in part: the entry experience (parking tolls/parking lot/park entrance), dealing partly with the Flood Plain, upgrading certain facilities such as restrooms, and food service upgrades. I didn't see that much noticeable work on any of these during my visit. And it's worth noting how many closed--as in, shuttered, food service locations there are around the park.

Ride signs for select attractions could be updated. Renegade's sign is extremely faded. Wild Thing could use new sign to go with its paint job. The starflyer and Disk'O only have the ride safety sign and could use a logo sign.

Per maintenance: No titan track planned for Renegade. Wild Thing MCBR unlikely to ever turn off/down--final brake run too short.

Park pres wants more limited time events a la Grand Carnivale, though none are currently scheduled. I remember getting a survey on this a couple years ago.

Park pres is excited for the park's 50th anniversary. While the park opened in 1976, it didn't open at all in 2020. Either 2026 or 2027 could be used to celebrate. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a 2 year celebration.

The Skycoaster has been removed from the park. The footings for the arch have been removed. The back spike footer still seems to be there. The op booth is still up. The concrete path has been torn up.

I picked up a Worlds of Fun Mamba hat in a gift shop. It was tucked in among Wild Thing hats.

[Donomike05]

Looks like a  Soak City Expansion is the plan for 2026. Millennium Operations LLC just filed for a trademark for “Superior Shore Waterpark”. And the City of Shakopee is reviewing two applications for slide tower footings and lagoon area. I’m guessing a rebranded waterpark is the 50th year celebration addition. Pretty Lame.

[CaptainUnknown]

Water Park additions usually have a higher ROI than roller coasters. It's a cheap way to get a lot of people into the park. Also, 2027 would be the park's 50th operating season since it didn't open during 2020.