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Valleyfair (VF) Discussion Thread


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Looping Starship was a guilty pleasure of mine, always a walk-on, fun to watch people’s reactions, and I got to work the ride a few times, but I look forward to seeing whatever replaces it (probably a waterpark attraction).

Edited by VF15
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I'm thinking 2021/2022 will be huge years for Valleyfair. 2023 a new flat. 2024, another huge year.

 

3 huge years in 4 years? I think your dreaming! But I hope your right..

 

I would say it wouldn't be unrealistic to think the water park expansion could happen in 2021 and then perhaps a $10-15 million investment in a coaster in either 2023 or 2024. But if you're thinking a $50+ million multi-phase investment like Carowinds is on the horizon, I think your dreaming..I'd pull back to maybe $25-$30 million-ish, if there is such a multi-phase investment planned. Hell, I'd take a $5 million dollar investment at this point, since I don't think we've even come close to that since 2015.

 

And yes, I know the whole "growth" park argument..

 

I was never a fan of the Looping Starship since if you didn't have short, chicken legs it was rather uncomfortable. Delirious was a huge upgrade as far as that type of ride goes and maybe why they even opted for a Larson Loop knowing Looping Starship was on the way out a year later.

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I'm more referring to the berm getting completed. Excalibur removed. New parking lot, new entrance and waterpark expansion. This will still leave a sizable amount of space for other attractions. But I'm hoping that in the midst of all of this we get another coaster and thrill ride.

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Well waterpark expansion it is

 

Dang, to me this is actually fairly disappointing because I am one of those people that actually likes the Looping Starship as it is a strong 2nd place or possibly best flat ride in the park for me. I understand that Delirious is fairly similar, but to me, it just isn't the same as there is way less hang time, and it gives less of a feeling that you are about to get stuck upsidedown. I just hope that if they expand the water park there, that they don't put some pointless slow-paced tornado or toilet bowl slide in, I hope they put in a good fast slide complex or a fast-paced larger slide.

 

I also wonder what will happen with next year's sales of season passes for 2020 will be. With the two consecutive years of no new rides, I think the sales will go down for a fairly obvious reason. I have heard many people say already that they probably will not get a season pass next year, or the next year if there is nothing good. So if they are adding a water park expansion it will need to be pretty big as people will likely not be very attracted by a small thing after two years of nothing.

 

Anyways, RIP Looping Starship, and likely Excalibur soon

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This could mean a couple of things:

 

A) They just want to get rid of an old, probably maintenance intensive, ride and we'll have grass there for a while

B) They want the land as part of the grandiose waterpark expansion to the back

C) They've permanently dropped plans for the grandiose waterpark expansion and want the land for a minor expansion.

 

A mat racer slide is an obvious waterpark staple that's missing that doesn't require a lot of staffing relative to it's capacity.

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I think your right on with the mat race slide coming to that location. Worlds of Fun is adding one next year and I think Carowinds is as well. Would be a nice addition to the water park!

 

I would put that as the favorite in Vegas for what Valleyfair's 2021 addition will likely be, whether the large parking lot/new entrance expansion comes along with it or not.

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Valleyfair is becoming the incredible shrinking park, at least for now.

With Dinosaurs alive going away, RipTide gone with no replacement, losing the Looping Starship is another "hit".

Granted Delirious has better seating restraints, but the Starship has longer (slowy goodness!) hang times, is smoother, quieter and taller. I'm not blaming them- Looping Starship has been showing signs of significant age/wear, and when they installed Delirious I figured Starships days were numbered....though Looping Starship is also one of my favorite rides at the park.

(I personally place it on par with replacing Wild Rails with Mad Mouse....slight grudge)

 

But this does highlight two flat rides that are higher on the "thrill" scale, being removed.

 

Then there is the question of Excalibur. Would they also really want to remove a roller coaster- even a small one- with no replacement of yet another dry thrill ride?

One of the BIG benefits of Valleyfair is the water park and regular park is the same admission.

If they expand the water park in the Starship area and keep the single admission....then put in place something "big" where the dinos are/were.... as a whole, that would put them in a better overall position to compete with Mall of America's upcoming expansion in my opinion.

Once a few dry rides are in place, then further build out the water park.

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It seems lately a park adds a slide complex, it gets a 1% increase in attendance..

 

A park adds a $25,000,000 coaster, it gets a 1% increase in attendance..

 

If it's your checkbook, which are you choosing more often then not with those trends? The slide complex is the cheaper, less risky solution for a company that is drowning in debt. And if attendance isn't declining significantly, no need to worry how long it has been since a coaster was last installed at a particular park.

 

I think this is the trend in the amusement park industry the last few years and why Cedar Fair seems to be trying new cheaper ideas (Grand Carnivale) in terms of generating attendance increases besides adding an expensive coaster at every park.

 

I don't know exact attendance figures the last 10-20 years, but the south metro area has grown like crazy during that time and I have to think that Valleyfair's attendance has increased in correlation with it even without very many large investments.

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Just got home from the park. I didn't notice any damage to the Superior Stage, but I wasn't really looking. Could of swore I saw it intact.

I saw police cars and firetrucks rushing towards the front of the park, and was told by one of the head security guards that the Superior Stage had burned down. However, I didn't actually see the stage myself.

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I stopped by Valleyfair on the way to work this evening got there around 6:30pm the main lot was near capacity. It took me ten minutes through tolls and ten minutes through security and when I went up to guest services to get my fast lane it took five minutes. Once I got in the park it was a mad house. Everything had a hour wait plus food buildings and lines with food trucks. I did ride North Star x1, Renegade x3 with Mike. When I headed out there were lines of traffic all the way to 169 bridge and to hwy82 past Excalibur. The field by the dorms at 7:45 pm was near capacity. I’d say this is one of the most busy days I’ve seen Valleyfair in years Saturday October 19, 2019 it’s nice to see the park this full. Does anyone know what the attendance has to be before they can’t let anyone else in? Everything had over hour waits.

Edited by Lightning Rod
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^It was also crazy last night. When we tried to get to the park, we had to wait in traffic for about an hour to get in and traffic didn’t die down until about 9:30 PM. The lines for the mazes weren’t that long, however, but the rides were. We went back right at opening this morning and got in a few rides before we had to leave at 1:30 and it was definitely starting to get busy again.

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Here’s what the traffic looked like at 7:30 pm this evening coming from hwy 169 close to the bridge and traffic coming from west bound past the rail road tracks at the stop light. I have been coming to Valleyfair for years I would say this has to be the busiest night I’ve seen in a while other then adult night. The main lot was near capacity when I got there at 6:30 pm and when I left around 7:30 pm the field by the Valleyfair dorms was almost full. Would anyone know what’s going on with the field at the end of the main lot by the river it’s not suitable for parking any more? I’m also curious if Valleyfair set a haunt attendance record for one day?

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This past weekend was CRAZY!! With Saturday being probably the busiest day in Valleyfair's history! I'm in Dark Harvest and it was a continuous congo line through the maze but all the Scare Actors did an amazing job. All I heard all night light was laughter and people having fun, and of course screaming! Park Ops also did a fantastic job. Us actors had to adapt our methods and it worked really well. Of course the very still night created massive fog banks which really played well for us. I heard that the lines for Dark Harvest, Berzerkers and Undertakers stretched all the way back to the Dino's bathroom near the turnaround for High Roller. That kind of crowd really boasts well for Valleyfair! I heard no reports of any major issues. When we were leaving for the night they were using the access road to the north of the park and having guest use the employee exits as an alternative to just using the main exit. Valleyfair really made a good argument as to why they need and additional parking lot.

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(I personally place it on par with replacing Wild Rails with Mad Mouse....slight grudge)

 

That was never a fair replacement. Wild Rails crushed Wild Mouse for overall ride experience any day. But Wild Mouse is a solid kiddy ride and addition to the park so no complaints but I would love to have Wild Rails still operating. I doubt the coaster would have made it this long though.

 

Then there is the question of Excalibur. Would they also really want to remove a roller coaster- even a small one- with no replacement of yet another dry thrill ride?

 

Why not? If they drop it in 2020 they can replace in 2021 or 2022. CF has never taken more than two years to replace a coaster after it was removed at one of their parks. Of course there is always a FIRST....let's hope it is not VF setting a new precedent this way.

 

Once a few dry rides are in place, then further build out the water park.

 

Water park is the smallest in the chain and the biggest opportunity to drive more visits for families. Long overdue and the plans are in place so CF has done their homework and know where there dollars are going to get the biggest bang. Whether they follow through we will have to wait and see.

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(I personally place it on par with replacing Wild Rails with Mad Mouse....slight grudge)

 

That was never a fair replacement. Wild Rails crushed Wild Mouse for overall ride experience any day. But Wild Mouse is a solid kiddy ride and addition to the park so no complaints but I would love to have Wild Rails still operating. I doubt the coaster would have made it this long though.

I found out earlier this year that Wild Rails is actually still operating as Wildcat at Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Ocean City, Maryland. While it was in storage for many years, it is nice to see the ride alive and well in a new home.

https://rcdb.com/12205.htm

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I would love to have Wild Rails still operating. I doubt the coaster would have made it this long though.

 

Actually Wild Rails has been operating since 2009 per Google Earth Photos. It was moved to Jolly Roger Amusement Park as Wild Cat - https://jollyrogeroc.com/attraction/wild-cat/

 

Wild Mouse was a replacement and also a decision to make it a more tame ride, not because they couldn't keep Wild Rails running.

 

 

 

Then there is the question of Excalibur. Would they also really want to remove a roller coaster- even a small one- with no replacement of yet another dry thrill ride?
Why not? If they drop it in 2020 they can replace in 2021 or 2022.

 

That's fair. But then it's also a replacement! They would likely announce something like that.

 

Water park is the smallest in the chain and the biggest opportunity to drive more visits for families. Long overdue and the plans are in place so CF has done their homework and know where there dollars are going to get the biggest bang. Whether they follow through we will have to wait and see.

 

I'd support a water park expansion, it's just when and how. If they build it out as planed in 2015 it will have separate park entrance and fees. Effectively two parks instead of the one it currently is.

While that may make sense in the long term, if the dry part of the park keeps losing it's thrill rides and shrinks, it will also lower attendance at the water park in my opinion. The thrill rides is what sticks in peoples mind more, even if they go to the water park. Though I would like to know at other parks, how many people buy tickets for only the water park section, never going to the dry side.

 

On another post it was said they could add a $25 million coaster and only get a 1% increase in attendance. I think that's extreme. Valleyfair has never done that- closet ever being Wind Thing for half that price in 1996. And they are still living off the rewards. When they were building it, the police started giving tickets to drivers because so many slowed down or stopped on Hwy 101 just to look at it!

Granted that was 23 years ago, but you get the idea.

 

If they build something big, something different, they could get more people to show up for that, and then stay for the water park, even at an additional price.

 

Also as I've said before, Minnesota has a short outdoor swim season. Here they have to attract people without water to keep them coming over a longer time of the year.

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Actually Wild Rails has been operating since 2009 per Google Earth Photos. It was moved to Jolly Roger Amusement Park as Wild Cat - https://jollyrogeroc.com/attraction/wild-cat/

 

OOPS- I was wrong. Looking closer at the photos they replaced another similar coaster in 2015!

 

But I stand by what I was saying that for Valleyfair, it is an example of a loss of the more thrill rides to tamer versions.

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