Photo TR: Adventureland, page 2

[coasterer]

My sister is going to be a senior in high school, and still doesn’t really know where she wants to go to college. So, this MN and IA trip was my mom’s last ditch attempt to get her to at least have a little broader of a base when it comes time to make her decision. Naturally, I had to tag along, seeing as how one can’t let all those parks go to waste. So, I wasn’t so much along for the ride, as along for the rides (haha...).

 

We got to the Mall of America Saturday afternoon, my sister and I, and just decided to wait til 5 to get the cheaper tickets. In retrospect, I don’t think there was any reason to stay for more than that. I mean, it was a really nice place, and an amazing find in a mall, but it wasn’t a place you would need to spend all day at.

 

I really enjoyed the place. For what it was, I thought it was an amazing use of a fairly limited space. The coasters were really nicely integrated into a really compact, interactive, organic layout, and I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The lines were about 15 minutes or so for everything, and we were able to get 6-8 rides on both the Orange Streak and Spongebob.

 

The fairly odd coaster – was that the first Gerstauer Spinning model? I find it hard to believe that a clone was able to fit that well into that space. The ride was rather enjoyable, pretty much just like all the other models. Except in a mall.

 

The half pipe was kind of nifty, I’d never been on one before, and I did like it a lot. You don’t spin too much, and it’s neat being able to see the park sideways from the ceiling. I liked how you were able to see the other people on the other seat circle.

 

The Pepsi Orange streak was a nice, relaxing ride. It was a cool tour of the place, and a good way to just enjoy the area in its entirety.

 

Spongebob was pretty fun, and smoother than I was anticipating. It’s neat how much they are able to fit in such a limited space. I’ve only been on Mystery Mine, in terms of the 97 degree Gerstlauers, and in my opinion, there really isn’t much that can beat that one and a half barrel roll into hang time, from the fire engulfed super-vertical plunge. But Spongebob did have a nice, refreshing layout. It was fairly forceful, and there was hangtime in the barrel roll.

 

Also, the log flume was rather enjoyable, and we didn’t get too wet, and the drop tower had a nice long cycle. I really enjoyed the place overall, and was honestly pleasantly surprised with how enveloping the atmosphere was. Now for the pictures. Valleyfair will be up some time tomorrow morning. Como Town and Adventureland to follow. Thanks for reading.

And I'll leave you here overlooking the place, Orange streak doing what it does best. Thanks for reading, Valleyfair coming soon

It's pretty hard to photograph the Orange streak from anywhere except from up aboe. Here's the majority of the first half

It really surprised me, how cool this place looked.

They had a lookover area with a bunch of different restaurants. It was pretty to neat to eat overseeing the entire park.

Spongebob from up above

This kind of gives you an idea of how chaotic the place was. It really is pretty cool

Oh yeah.

Laying on your back isn't my first choice as to how to get to the top of the lift hill. I find vertical lifts just a little uncomfortable

I liked the sign.

This log flume was pretty fun. Not the wettest of the log flumes, but certainly more on the nifty side of things.

Just like a halo. Fitting.

My sister

A little blurry, but still. Very very blue. You alllllmost feel as if you're underwater. At least more so than you usually do

Coming out of the break run. It really was a lot smoother than I was anticipating

This is the majority of the ride. The only thing I wish they had done was integrate it into the park like everything else. But I can understand how that might have been tough

So, I don't know how many of you know too much about the show. I never cared for it

SPONGEBOB!

I like how Avatar is partially built into the floor.

Avatar Airbender across the way

A shot from the queue. I mean, I think these things are pretty enjoyable

My sister and I. Ready for some fairly odd action... (wait, that'd disgusting)

For whatever reason, this park managed to somehow make the orange-green color scheme work really really well

Yes. Yes, that's right.

Our first stop was that Fairly Odd coaster, an impressive coaster, if only for the reason they managed to fit it into the space they did.

Mall of America was pretty incredible. The fact that any building could have a themepark in it is pretty remarkable. The fact that there is a world's biggest mall in the same building... pretty darn neat.

[sfmmrules!]

I sort of miss that place! Last time I was there was 1999 so I'm long overdue in going there! So they didn't retheme the log ride after all? I hope they didn't!

[steel]

Great TR! Good to see the deep Midwest getting some love.

 

So, I don't know how many of you know too much about the show. I never cared for it

For a long time, I thought you were talking about the show the Spongebob ride replaced, and I kept thinking, "How on Earth does he have an opinion about Mystery Mine Ride if this is his first time at MOA?"And then I figured it out, lol. But I loved MMR. It was hard to see that go.

 

To answer your other question, yes, FOC was the first spinner.

 

So you are probably doing Valleyfair and Adventureland, but are you also doing Como Town and Arnold's Park? Fun stuff.

While you're in Iowa, you should try to visit Luther College in Decorah. But that's probably way out of your way.

[sfger]

Nice and Wonderful Photos. I like there. How can I get there ? How much fee will be needed ? Anybody can tell me , thanks!

[sfger]

by the way, my name is alien. Nice to meet allof you.

Modeling Stress Ball

Aluminum Alloy Carabiner

Zinc Alloy Carabiner

[coasterer]

Thanks for the comments so far.

 

^^^Everything except Arnold's park. Just didn't fit into our schedule. After all, I was the one tagging along, and it was jussssst a little too inconvenient.

 

^^MoA is in Bloomington, MN, and tickets will range from $20-30, depending on when you go and if you have a discount.

 

 

 

part 2 - Valleyfair

 

We went to Valleyfair on Sunday. My sister had all her college tours set up for the weekdays, so we got the day off to just enjoy the park. My mom opted to go back to the mall.

 

Valleyfair was a nice place. Although there wasn’t much of a valley about it at all. Just kind of a long strip that ran the entire length of the park, winding it’s way from ride to ride, ranging from concrete slab to midway to a paved path leading out back way farther than was practical. I prefer my park layouts to be in more of a circle, so that it doesn’t take as long getting to where you want to go, should the best coasters happen to be placed at opposing ends of the park.

 

That being said, Valleyfair IS more than a slab of concrete. There were some really nicely laid out sections of the park, and I was pleasantly surprised by some of the greenery and attention to décor, as well a lovely little lake under corkscrew.

 

We got into the park a couple minutes after park opening, and decided to get Steel Venom done first because it was closest, way out of the way, and because we didn’t want to have to wait for it later since we had V2 in our home park. We were able to get three rides without getting off, and worked our way back up, heading to Wild Thing, never to visit that lower section of the park again. Steel Venom was nice, smoother than Wicked Twister, and still had the hold on the back spike, which caught me off guard the first time, even though I had known beforehand that it was there.

 

Wild Thing was next. It was fairly large, a bit green and nice to look at. Supposedly it had the longest single moment of airtime in the world. If I hadn’t known beforehand, I would have thought nothing of it. I do not mind the Morgan Hypers. There is nothing particularly wrong with them. They may be a bit forceless, true, and don’t hold a grain of salt to any of the B&Ms or Intamin hypers, but they are nice, pleasant and refreshing: nothing to complain about. We took 3 rides without getting off, then left, returning later in the day for a total of 11 Wild Thing rides. The line remained about a 2 train wait throughout the day.

 

Mad Mouse was on the way to Renegade and we decided to hit it then wo we wouldn’t have to wait for it. It was actually the least pointless and forceless wild mouse I can remember riding. It looked terrible though, the color scheme is not only repulsive but pealing as well.

 

Renegade was about a 15-20 minute wait throughout the day. I don’t know, but I was surprised at how forceful it was. It’s been a while since I’ve ridden Thunderhead, but I reckon they are around the same level of intensity. Compared to the power of Renegade, Prowler indeed does feel like more of a family ride. Renegade however, was a little rougher, and didn’t have as much airtime I didn’t think. But it was still really close, I have a really hard time ranking GCI’s against each other and against other rides. They all kind of blur together, and it’s difficult to sort out the levels of intensity, power, airtime, and smoothness that lend to ranking them against each other. Renegade was right up there though. The first drop was unfortunately only really cool in the back – I felt like it could have made that directional change a little faster - and there was little theme or integration into any scenery or greenery. Also, it was impossible to photograph. Pity. But the way it rode was nothing to feel sorry about it. We got 8 rides throughout the day.

 

High Roller wasn’t bad at all! It looks like it might be a dump, but it was surprisingly smooth, and had that old, enjoyable nostalgia that I’m beginning to appreciate more and more in old wooden coasters. It was a little slow in spots maybe, but really, not bad at all.

 

Corkscrew wasn’t that bad either, and the location was really nice.

Mild thing was a no go.

 

Excalibur opened late, around 11:30 I think, and it was one of the strangest coaster experiences of my life. With the structure the way it was, it looked like a wreck. It looked like someone had built in someone’s back yard, and it was all just very strange. Some parts felt like they were taken too fast, some parts were too rough, some spots felt like they shouldn’t be happening quite the way they were, some parts were extended flat stretches, and there was one moment of extreme ejector airtime if you sat in the front. It wasn’t really bad, it was just really strange. I don’t know, we rode it a few times, and it just wasn’t for me.

 

Anyways, the lines were pretty short, and we left at about 5 with just under thirty laps. All in all, it was a pretty nice park. This is another one of those parks that would have felt really empty if it didn’t have the GCI, so that was a really smart addition on their part. Now for some pictures.

The view from the parking lot. Even though they may meander a bit, I love how the Morgan hypers look so imposing

And one last parting shot of Renegade's awesome first drop. So long Valleyfair! Next stop, Como Town

It started getting a little foreboding around late afternoon, and my mom was calling saying she was tired, so we took off shortly thereafter, still with a buttload of rides under our belt

Oh yeah, workin the family photo

I like how this turned out a lot

Last little shabang before hitting the break run. Great ride

This is where it heads over the queue, and takes your picture. This is also where some girl threw up.

So back to Renegade we went.

I don't know if anyone else has this impression, but it kind of felt like something somebody put together in their back yard. It was just really out there for me

Excalibur was a little odd for me.

Wild thing from the queue. We got quite a number of rides on this thing. It's great to just sit down on and feel the wind in your hair

Two trains, wow. Definitely... was an accident.

I don't know exactly what's in between me and the coasters, but it sure does look nice

Too bad I failed to capture the fact that it was built over a beautiful lake! That's ok, this'll do

Corkscrew looking lovely this morning

High Roller was surprisingly nice and reridable. Too bad... we didn't reride it

tearing towards the station

I was surprised how much force this thing had. Maybe a little lacking on the air, relatively speaking, but man, it sure knew how to fly

Too bad it's built off in that direction. You can hardly get any decent pictures

"Hey Lora, look like a Renegade!" "okay" *snap* ... "Wait, what's a Renegade?"

Back in the park heading toward Renegade

This wild mouse actually rode much better than it looked! I'm not sure I've ever had that happen to me before

Early morning coasters make me giddy

I like the art deco style used in conjunction with the Morgan design. It really works well

I enjoyed these things. I mean, there's nothing bad about them. They certainly don' live up to some of the other hypers, but they don't have to

Love that turn.

You make my heart sing

I love how they still have the hold on the back spike, unlike V2 at SFGAm

[coastersrule85]

Great TR. I visited Chicago and the Dells this summer, and I'd hoped to make it to Minnesota, but my traveling companions didn't want to make the extra drive. I'm now kicking myself for not pushing harder to get them to make the trek.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[KGA29]

Great TR so far! When you mentioned how VF would feel empty without their GCI it reminded me of CGA. I really hope that if CGA does finally get that GCI, it will change the feel of the park.

[renegadeboi99]

Weird! The day you were at Nick Universe, I was at Valleyfair, and when you were at Valleyfair, I was at Nick Universe!

[coasterer]

part 3 - Como Town

 

The following day, that Monday, my mom and my sister had an admission meeting and tour at St Olaf. Not really wanting to sit through all that college stuff again, I took the car in search of Como Town.

 

Now, I’m a pretty big whore, but still at a relatively young age, there are plenty of well established parks with plenty of good coasters for me to get to, without having tour the country in search of dragon wagons and wacky worms. But since I had the day off anyways… why not.

 

I have stolen children before, I have gotten weird looks before, I have been turned down before for being too tall, and it has never really phased me. But driving this 40 minutes out of the way to catch a kiddie coaster where there was nothing else in the park was a really weird feeling. I now fully understand what people mean when they say, “feeling dirty” about getting kiddie credits. I felt dirty anywhere within twenty minutes of that place.

 

The place itself was kind of seedy, like a young, run down carnival. Everything was in the grass, connected by a paved path in between. I did my best to kind of wander around with other families, trying to maintain that balance between not weirding out the family I was following, and not looking like a college student, alone, there to actually ride something. I almost turned around actually, not sure if it was really worth it. If you are above the age of ten, I’m really not sure you would find much to do in Como Town.

 

That being said, the coaster was… just a kids ride. I did get the credit. I hopped in line right behind two younger kids, hoping it would look like I was with them. I think it might have half worked, but the ride op still did a slight double drop when she had to look up to meet my eyes. Oh well.

 

Credit grabbed. The banking was really weird. She sent it around three times, and at the top of that curved lift, you felt like you were gonna tip. It wasn’t the most comfortable experience of my life, but it wasn’t really built for anyone of my particular stature either. I left immediately after.

But I did it. Credit #168. Absolutely 100% worth it.

It bumped you around quite an impressive number of times, seeing how innocent it looks

Thar she blows. I honestly was almost considering just turning around and leaving. I have never felt even close to this whorish.

World's best playground. (the playground would cost $3.25 of non-package-purchased tickets. What a rip off)

The midway. Impressive, yes, they got quite the lineup

I did not ride that. But it looked like it would be a grand time

the entrance plaza. Gosh, just going in, I felt like the entire world was judging me

[coasterer]

part 4 - Adventureland – I have a lot to say about this park.

 

Monday night, after my sister had seen both St Olaf and Carleton, we headed down to Iowa for my sister to see Drake, and then Grinnell the day after. Conveniently enough, Adventureland is only a half hour out of Drake.

 

I didn’t have that high of expectations, but it really was a charming place. More people need to get out here if you haven’t, it’s too bad this park’s in the middle of Iowa.. The whole place was really well kept, and nicely landscaped. The paths wove around, ducking under large sections of trees, and around small lakes, and the park had a really nice small park, family-owned feel to it.

 

I was expecting nothing but a traditional old out and back from Tornado, the park’s biggest coaster. I walked right there, and wasn’t really followed by anyone actually, it was kind of weird. Being the biggest in the park, and the closest to the entrance, I thought it would be the big rush to point. But I walked right up to the front, was sat down and locked in, and was sent off on my own in a matter of seconds.

 

I don’t really know what it was about this ride. I’ve been on old rides before, but the charm this thing had – the skid brakes, the gateless queues, the amazing, genial, elderly ride op, the fading paint, the hearty shuffling as it bottomed the hills, and the uncanny pop off the turn around – was unreal. I don’t know what it was about this thing, but I seemed to be greeted by every single one of the long years the Tornado had been standing, hit full force by the thick air of nostalgia, and I tell you, I have not loved a coaster as I loved that first ride in all my years of coaster riding.

 

It was fantastic. Not the greatest ride, technically speaking, but history means a lot, and I’m sure a lot of people here will agree with me there. And the thing I loved about it, by the third ride, people had joined me, including an elderly gentleman, probably along in his sixties, who took the row two in front of me. And he and I rode there for another six laps, not needing to change seats, not needing to say anything, just absorbing everything the Tornado had to offer. I would watch him as I rode, his arm across the seat back of the empty seat next to him, his other hand loosely holding on to the lap bar in front of him, just letting the ride take us.

 

And each time we came around, the ride op, Elmo was his name (easily the most amazing, entertaining, congenial man I had ever met) would walk slowly up to us, muttering something or other how we would be headed around yet again, or how he was glad we hadn’t disappeared that last time, or muttering something that you couldn’t quite make out, but couldn’t help smiling over anyway. And then he would bend down slowly, reaching to test the lap bar, saying how by now he good and well hoped we were locked securely down in there. His name tag said he’d been working there 12 years, and once I saw that, it only added to the ambience. It was just wonderful, I really haven’t felt a connection like that on a coaster ever before, and it kind of makes you glad you’re around to take the time out of life to appreciate things like that.

 

I got off after my tenth lap – it was only 10:40, and for the first time in my life, the ride op came up to shake my hand, looking up at me and thanking me for riding. It really was one of the greatest experiences I’ve had at a park.

 

Underground was next, and they have you wait out of the station behind a closed door, as there is a small preshow before you ride. This little old lady greeted us at the door, smiling widely, ushering us in, bustling about making sure everything was in order. She was terrific as well. I couldn’t really hear the preshow. It was given by this miner type animatronic that looked like it had seen better days, and I was on the other side of the room.

 

The ride itself was cute. Nice and old-fashioned, something you could enjoy with someone who understood older theme parks on the same level you did, or at least appreciated them, and a nice little roll through really old animatronics and old-school mine theming. There were two short lift hills, but that was just to keep it moving along. I don’t recall there actually being a drop, but I might be wrong. I don’t know, I enjoyed it. It reminded me of Blazing Fury at Dollywood. Just kind of a fun, neat, old fashioned trip down the way things used to be.

 

Dragon really wasn’t that bad. The loops were forceful enough, certainly, I definitely grayed out. And the final helixes really weren’t that rough at all. I mean, it still sucked, but I’m alive. I even considered riding it again later in the day, but… didn’t.

 

Outlaw kicked some pretty big butt. It’s kind of stuck way back in the park, only accessible by one, out-of-the-way path, but it’s definitely worth the trek. It’s only 67 feet tall, but it reminded me a lot of Cornball Express. It had that same sort of fun, out of your seat intensity. The setting wasn’t nearly as great, but it was still a ton of fun. Nice and forceful, a bunch of pops of air (especially on the turn after the first drop if you’re toward the front of the train. Watch your knees, I still have a bruise), but the whole thing was just kind of built in good humor. I personally feel it should be way higher on Mitch Hawker’s poll.

 

The ride ops were great here too. There was Linn, an older gentleman who checked the back, and Zachary, a younger guy up front. Both were incredible. They were efficient, on the job, and just great to talk to. I was able to talk to Zachary a lot, and it was just a really nice, friendly environment that you don’t get at too many other parks.

 

And I really like the rules they have at this park. With the buzz bars, the allowed reride policy, and informal nature of checking you into your restraints, they were still able to maintain a really efficient and safe operational air, while letting the rider have a little more freedom, without the sometimes overbearing and unnecessary scrupulousness of other park operations. And every single employee was miles more friendly and amiable than just about anyone else I’ve seen at any other park. Really, I’ve heard that this place had amazing staff, and every single word of it is true. They were able to get the job done, and still had time to smile at you and strike up a conversation, if you so desired. Definitely the best park staff I’d ever seen, and I’ve never even really felt to look for things like that before. It was really refreshing.

 

The whole day was really nice and relaxing. I left around 3 or 4, and had 15 rides on both Tornado and Outlaw, and just had a really nice time at the park. It’s a shame this place doesn’t get more traffic, it’s one of the most deserving parks I’ve seen. I urge anyone even remotely near the area to give this place a chance, and I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

 

And now for some pictures. The onride pictures were taken with permission. Thanks for reading, I had a really great time.

Here we go, last park on the trip

And finally, heading home over the log flume. Really it was a great park, and a great trip. Thanks for reading

The first drop was pretty good, but that kick coming up on that first turn around was out of control

Some more Outlaw

Entering the body of Outlaw

The rest of the park from the top of Outlaw. Both Tornado and Outlaw were great rides, and it would be nice to see them get a little more love from the world. Good stuff

This is what your life looks like right before that tunnel

They allowed on ride pictures, so why not?

Here's a better look at Outlaw's layout

And then back to Outlaw, where the line was a little shorter

Tornado heading off. Really, I already miss that thing

One more of Dragon

Dragon doing it's thing. Expect to gray out on those loops

This is Elmo. Easily the greatest ride op I've ever seen. Zachary and Linn, you were right up there. The staff here was second to none, and it wasn't even close

The Tornado's entrance area

Across that lake again

The park's major coaster selection. Not the best, but it's definitely enough, for what the park is

Some first drop action. It reminded me alot of Cornball Express

Really the only sign I could find for this thing

This is where the layout kind of gets hard to visualize...

Then way in the back of the park, Outlaw

I dunno, just playing around

Soooo, it wasn't as bad as I was expecting, to be fair

Beautiful place

Across the park's lake

The Underground was nice, kind of similar to Blazing Fury.

The more I was here, the more I fell in love with the place

Dragon from Tornado's exit queue

These first 10 rides really were the perfect way to start the day

Hands down my favorite older coaster. That guy in the corner there, in the blue, is the one I was talking about in my long spiel

First stop: Tornado

I mean... Food out of a pig's butt. It really doesn't get any better than that.

I wasn't really expecting anything from this park, but you can tell right off the bat it has a great small park atmosphere

[MrX8991]

I did enjoy your trip report, but I have something to clear up.

 

 

The ride itself was cute. Nice and old-fashioned, something you could enjoy with someone who understood older theme parks on the same level you did, or at least appreciated them, and a nice little roll through really old animatronics and old-school mine theming. There were two short lift hills, but that was just to keep it moving along. I don’t recall there actually being a drop, but I might be wrong. I don’t know, I enjoyed it. It reminded me of Blazing Fury at Dollywood. Just kind of a fun, neat, old fashioned trip down the way things used to be.

 

There's one problem with your Underground review: it was built in 1996. It's not that old. I still remember being a kid and seeing all of the commercials for the underground. They made it seem like the ride was the most thrilling ride on the face of the planet.

[tedten]

I really enjoyed reading about your experience with Tornado. I've marathoned a few woodies without having to re-que. It's always a great experience and it sounds like yours was even more magical!

[Philrad71]

Great report!

 

I remember going by Adventureland every summer as a kid when we would drive to Las Vegas (we had relatives in Omaha/Council Bluffs/LV). I always wanted to do this park and begged my parents to stop, but we never seemed to have enough time. Nice to see it getting some love - looks like a really nice park!