Adventureland (IA) 2008: Adventure Island

[steel]

Finally, Adventureland is doing something with that enormous space behind Outlaw.

 

From http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071107/ALTOONA01/711070402/1144/ALTOONA

 

"Adventureland Park will be the place for visitors to cool off next summer.

 

A water feature is being planned at the previous circus site.

 

"It's an all-age attraction," said advertising and public relations director Molly Vincent. "The whole area will be called Adventure Island. It's an entirely new area to the park at the south end."

 

One feature is a shallow pool area called Kokomo Kove that will feature play equipment.

 

Vincent said, "In the water play area there will be seven different slides and 90 play features. There are hundreds of ways to get wet."

 

Although not a "water park," the area offers a way for guests to relax and cool off on the hottest summer days when visiting the park.

 

With over 250 lounge chairs, the shallow pool and concrete deck will accommodate up to 1,000 people.

 

"We're excited about it," Vincent said. "It's something we've never done before and I think it's a neat direction."

 

In addition to the water feature, plans call for the addition of three buildings to the new section of the park, including space for retail and food vendors, a locker room and changing area.

 

The 1.5-acre area will have an island theme with thatched roofs.

 

"I think it's the biggest addition to the park since Outlaw Gulch," Vincent said. "There's 50,000 square feet of concrete."

 

Work recently started on the new area. Vincent said they hope the water feature will open by Memorial Day in 2008.

 

"It will be a great reason to come to Adventureland and rest and cool off on a hot summer day," Vincent said."

 

I think this is a fantastic idea for this park. It isn't the B&M invert I keep hoping for, but it'll certainly do. The construction site is right next to a road, so I will try to get pictures periodically.

[coaster05]

^In related news CF is suing for the term 50,000 square feet of concrete as a copyright infringement.

 

Seriously this is cool news for one of my favorite parks.

[SharkTums]

^In related news CF is suing for the term 50,000 square feet of concrete as a copyright infringement.

 

Seriously this is cool news for one of my favorite parks.

 

OMG!!!!

 

FUNNIEST THING ON THE BOARDS THIS WEEK!!! I LOVE YOU RICH!!!

 

And yes, I visited this park for the first time this year and was blown away! It was great!

[Airtime&Gravity]

Adventureland sounds like a great family run park, and with this new area, it will only get better. Hopefully this area will be expanded, and maybe in a few years it will be a whole water park.

[steel]

I wish that could happen, but there really isn't enough room. It's a very confined plot of land. One side has Outlaw, one side has the park's boundary, one side has the road, and one side has Tornado. There's a huge field on the other side of said road, but I can't see Adventureland ever buying it.

 

The other great thing about this addition is that guests will finally be able to see the back side of Outlaw without riding it.

[Airtime&Gravity]

If they can't expand, then I guess it wasn't as good as I thought. I have not been by the park since 05, so I don't know how big the area is, but is there not even enough room for even something along the lines of Whitewater Country? (Valleyfair's water park)

[coaster05]

Thanks Elissa glad you enjoyed my wit.

 

Rich "Missing you guys in Indiana" Bitner

[steel]

I have not been by the park since 05, so I don't know how big the area is, but is there not even enough room for even something along the lines of Whitewater Country? (Valleyfair's water park)

This isn't the greatest video, but gives you an idea of the amount of space there is to work with.

Central IA Coasters 011.mpg

Tornado is to the left of the shot and the end of the park is to the right. It's more than big enough for a "water feature," but not nearly big enough for a water park. I suppose if they took a leaf out of Holiday World's book and built around Outlaw, they could just barely fit something in.

[knottslover77]

This is a great additon for the park, I can't wait to see wat it looks like when it's completed.

 

--Jay

[cycamps]

^I agree. It's nice to see the park expand.

[BarryH]

Cool!

 

CF is suing Adventureland, but I don't see AB Entertainment suing Adventureland for naming their water park area the same name as a water park in Tampa, FL!

[youthink?]

Yay! I might have to go there next year, since I live only about an hour and a half away! Although they do need a new steel coaster, Dragon is just... Outlaw is pretty good though.

[cycamps]

Why is CF suing?

[coaster05]

^Seriously the thread has 12 posts. I think you could have read it all and discovered I was joking.

 

^In related news CF is suing for the term 50,000 square feet of concrete as a copyright infringement.

 

Seriously this is cool news for one of my favorite parks.

 

People take this Hobby WAY to seriously.

[Shockwave]

Well until a few of you went there this year, I didn't know much about this park. But it seems like a pretty cool place to visit, and this new construction will hopefully be a success when it opens.

[steel]

Yes, I definitely think Adventureland is under-rated. Probably not as much as some others, simply because I do visit all the time, but I think it does deserve more attention than it gets. Dragon is truly awful, and Tornado isn't quite was it used to be, but the feel of the park is very cozy, they have amazing mini-donuts, and Space Shot, Sidewinder, and (especially) Outlaw are fabulous rides. And it's got a Bingo parlor. Who doesn't like Bingo?

 

On another note, I once heard that Mike Boodley helped design Outlaw before GCI. Am I insane?

[coaster05]

They do deserve more credit. Their staff is fantastic and I believe it wipes the floor with what HW or CP deliver. the responses at those parks are so "from the training manual". Where Adventurelands seem Real.

[steel]

Yeah, I agree. A large portion of Adventureland's staff is retired. It has its fair share of high school and college students, but most of them are senior citizens.

[nickbuol]

I just bought my season passes on Dec 31 (to save a few bucks). My kids love this place, of course it only takes us about 7 minutes to get there from our house, so we can just "stop in" for a couple of hours and hit the rides we want to without feeling like we need to make a full day out of it.

 

I agree 100%. The Dragon just stinks! I LOVE loops, corkscrews, and all the smoothness of a steel coaster, but the Dragon is terrible. Just last week I was at Silver Dollar City in Branson for Christmas and rode their 3 main coasters in the nice warm (HA!) weather. Two we rode during the day when is was about 42F and the other we rode at night in 35F temps. It was cold, but they were great coasters, and didn't seem to take up a lot of landscape. Why not dump the Dragon and put something else in there? Well, I know why.... Money, but still... Get something to attract some of the coaster riders.

 

Hopefully the water feature addition will do well and draw more people in.

[Airtime&Gravity]

^I could see a Volare, euro-fighter, spinning coaster, or possibly a half pipe going in soon. There seem to be a few open areas around the park that might be big enough to hold a small compact coaster.

 

 

I forgot about this project...

 

So this is just going to be a participatory water play area like Skull Island(SFog/SFGAM)? An addition like this should be great for attendance as even something this small will be big for Iowa.(yes I've been to a "major" water park in Iowa, so I can say that) Adventure land looks like a great family owned park(and a pretty big family owned park), and something like this will only make the park better.

[steel]

My understanding is that it will be like that in part.

What waterpark is that? Wasserbahn out in the Amanas? Only thing I can think of.

 

I suppose they could use the area behind the flat ride midway and Raging River for a coaster. There really isn't much room in the park as it is now.

[nickbuol]

From their website (updated just yesterday).....

 

New for 2008 - Kokomo Kove!!!

 

“Kokomo Kove” Fun Facts Sheet

 

An All New Water Play Structure for 2008!!

 

 

· Built by “WhiteWater West” out of Canada.

 

· Approximately 65 feet tall at its highest point

 

· The “Kokomo Kove” area will be approximately 30,000 square feet

 

· Over 200 lounge chairs for sunning and relaxing

 

· 7 waterslides of varying lengths and heights

 

· 123 different water jet features including water guns, tipping cones, hose jets, and umbrella jets

 

· 91 different play features, including net bridges and climbs, crawl tunnels and pull ropes

 

· Hours of fun for kids of all ages!!

 

I've seen areas where a nice coaster could be put in without even removing anything (despite my opinion that the Dragon should just go away). Maybe in 2010...

[nickbuol]

I'm going to try to take some photos in the next day or so of the construction of the area. It is starting to look like something now, which is more interesting than photos of the cement and plumbing.... I'll post what I can.

 

 

In the meantime, here is a video of what it should look like when it is done:

Kokomo Kove Preview Video

[steel]

Yeah, sorry about this. I sort of failed at getting construction photos. Not that there's much to speak of right now. I was out there about two weeks ago and all that was done was land clearing.

The attraction is set to open in June.

[haydawg149]

I think last year of two years ago they added a top spin, which never has its jets on. The park looks good from outside, but looks kind of run down on the inside. don't get me wrong the park has a select few great rides, including sidewinder, outlaw, and space shot, but Dragon is killer anywhere you sit. They haven't had another coaster since the 90's! They seriously need to make a call to Stengel, and pronto! I feel no need to take the hour and a half drive out there. There's nothing special to the park and I as an enthusiast get bored after a few rides on outlaw, which is the only coaster I ride.