Michigan's Adventure (MiA) Discussion Thread

[codeGR]

I ride Hydroblaster with my street clothes/shoes. Usually I get a little spray of water, but last time I rode it the raft hit a big splash of water which caused my shorts to get a tad wet.

 

As for ST, I love back seat.

[grsupercity]

MIA has a good water park. Mammoth River and Mine shaft are very fun. Snake pit is also fun. They have 3 wave pools and a lazy river. The body slides are meh. Fit funnel of fear first because it can grow a massive line. ..... As for the dry side, Loggers run is a solid Log Flume. Grand Rapids is a weird but good rapids ride. Wolverine Wildcat with a short line is well worth a ride. You must ride ST in both the front and back seat. They have been taking very good care of the ride and it rode great last year for a old CCI. Sea Dragon has a cool setting surrounded by water. Lake side gliders are loads of fun. Zach's Zoomer has old school simple PTC trains that are neat, and Mad Mouse is worth a credit if the line is down. Thunderhawk is amazing. Hold your head forward to avoid banging and its the most intense ride in the park. Enjoy your trip

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I was looking at Sea Dragon. It kind of stands out on Google Maps, being out in the middle of the lake. Do you know the model? I ask because I find Zamperla ones make me queasy, but I love the Chance models. I'm not really sure what the difference is, but I've been on a lot of swinging ships, and the only ones that make me sick are Zamperla.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the advice! This is very helpful, since there's not a huge amount of information out there about this place.

[Philrad71]

I recall the Mine Shaft water ride being much better than your standard large raft type of water ride. Again...the only thing that sucks is lugging that huge raft up the stairs. But the stairs for this one are built into a hill versus a huge platform so at least they are not really steep....although it seemed like it took forever to get to the top.

[Coasterguy21]

I was looking at Sea Dragon. It kind of stands out on Google Maps, being out in the middle of the lake. Do you know the model? I ask because I find Zamperla ones make me queasy, but I love the Chance models. I'm not really sure what the difference is, but I've been on a lot of swinging ships, and the only ones that make me sick are Zamperla.

 

Thanks to everyone for all the advice! This is very helpful, since there's not a huge amount of information out there about this place.

 

You're in luck! Its a Chance model

 

I recall the Mine Shaft water ride being much better than your standard large raft type of water ride. Again...the only thing that sucks is lugging that huge raft up the stairs. But the stairs for this one are built into a hill versus a huge platform so at least they are not really steep....although it seemed like it took forever to get to the top.

 

Yeah, carrying the tubes is the only downside of the waterpark, but the tube slides are certainly awesome. Mine Shaft and Funnel of Fear particularly.

[whatabeast]

http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2016/04/michigans_adventure_sewage-gro.html#incart_river_home

 

Not sure if this means anything to us, but if the park is allowed to discharge more water... does this point toward more waterpark expansions? I, for one, would love to see one of those trapdoor slide complexes here, I think they're loads of fun.

[thrillrider]

The water park is already great! What the park needs (Imo) is to build up the amusement park side.

[whatabeast]

I mean, I wholeheartedly agree. But it's been a while since we've seen a new slide complex, too, and we know which side of the park management tends to favor...

[grsupercity]

Now they can in the future build more restrooms.

 

 

If they were to ever get rid of the onsite sewage treatment plant, that would clear up a lot of room for future speculation lol

 

 

I also think they made a mistake putting ripcord and the pavilions where they did. They cornered off the water park. Now they only way I can see expanding the water park is to the north. They can move the maintenance building and warehouse north, and move the employee parking lot north. That would clear a nice amount of room north west of cyclone zone. Only other option I can think of is using more of mine shafts hill.

[codeGR]

I'm certainly no expert, but I'd imagine much of the water used in the water park is just recirculated.

[MIAfan88]

At the pace the park is expanding or lack there of, I don't think you have you have to worry about the water park running out of room anytime soon. It's weird that the water park is so good, but it is just a bunch of run off the mill rides. Nothing high tech or revolutionary.

 

On a side note, I saw on the park's Facebook page for Throwback Thursday that they had a Spider. I never knew that, how long did they have it for?

[thrillrider]

At the pace the park is expanding or lack there of, I don't think you have you have to worry about the water park running out of room anytime soon. It's weird that the water park is so good, but it is just a bunch of run off the mill rides. Nothing high tech or revolutionary.

 

On a side note, I saw on the park's Facebook page for Throwback Thursday that they had a Spider. I never knew that, how long did they have it?

 

Michael Jackson actually bought this ride off of Michigans adventure for the neverland ranch.

[grsupercity]

They should put a building over drummer boy. A lot of teacup rides have enclosures, and that would be a step in the right direction and lose that carnival feel.

Not enclosed

Photo theme park archive

Would be nice with a building overhead. Would look nicer then a small flat on the concrete midway

lagoonisfun.com

[Coasterguy21]

The water park is already great! What the park needs (Imo) is to build up the amusement park side.

 

I mean, I wholeheartedly agree. But it's been a while since we've seen a new slide complex, too, and we know which side of the park management tends to favor...

 

The trap door complexes that have been going in across the chain would do great at Michigan's Adventure. The only issue is where to put them. With the new Employee Center opening up on the plot of land that they bought north of the Employee lot , I wouldn't be surprised if the parking area would bend a little bit (but that require taking out a few more trees sadly). And then the waterpark can expand slightly towards the water tower. A nice slide complex could go in there.

 

Now they can in the future build more restrooms.

 

 

If they were to ever get rid of the onsite sewage treatment plant, that would clear up a lot of room for future speculation lol

 

 

I also think they made a mistake putting ripcord and the pavilions where they did. They cornered off the water park. Now they only way I can see expanding the water park is to the north. They can move the maintenance building and warehouse north, and move the employee parking lot north. That would clear a nice amount of room north west of cyclone zone. Only other option I can think of is using more of mine shafts hill.

 

I don't think they will (near-term). They like having the on-site treatment and that's what they have been fighting to keep. They've been spending lots of money on infrastructure as of late and some of that infrastructure was probably based on them operating their own treatment area. With that said, there is a lot of opposition in the county and townships. They may be forced to hookup to the line eventually. And then there is room for expansion.

 

As for RipCord and the Pavilions. They are in good locations. I think we will see the northward expansion of the waterpark in time.

 

At the pace the park is expanding or lack there of, I don't think you have you have to worry about the water park running out of room anytime soon. It's weird that the water park is so good, but it is just a bunch of run off the mill rides. Nothing high tech or revolutionary.

 

On a side note, I saw on the park's Facebook page for Throwback Thursday that they had a Spider. I never knew that, how long did they have it for?

 

The waterpark itself is one of the only major waterparks to go to in the area and it is largely underrated. Michigan is known as a beach resort state and the waterpark helps fill that for out of town visitors. For the local season pass holders, one of the reasons they have season passes is mostly for the waterpark (and waterpark expansions, such as Carowinds at the present time, is for trying to grow the season pass base). The waterpark, when it opened, eventually ended up being the reason that Pleasure Island (just south of the airport in Norton Shores) ended up closing. Even then it was offering significant competition.

 

At the pace the park is expanding or lack there of, I don't think you have you have to worry about the water park running out of room anytime soon. It's weird that the water park is so good, but it is just a bunch of run off the mill rides. Nothing high tech or revolutionary.

 

On a side note, I saw on the park's Facebook page for Throwback Thursday that they had a Spider. I never knew that, how long did they have it?

 

Michael Jackson actually bought this ride off of Michigans adventure for the neverland ranch.

 

It was literally right after he bought the ranch too. The ride operated through 1987. He purchased the ranch in 1988 and immediately began purchasing rides. One of which was the Spider.

[MIAfan88]

Hooray, a construction update.

 

[codeGR]

I'm excited for the season to start. Just another month or so.

[The Geek Mojo]

Dang! This park's operating schedule sucks! I was going to visit this park three years ago while I was at Cedar Point but it just didn't work out. So, I thought I would plan a visit again this year, but the park is only open for like three months. June, July, and August. Does the weather suck that bad to only get three months of operation? It'd be nice if it was open in October when I visit Cedar Point again...But no. No wonder this park never gets anything.

[DILinator]

October in Michigan can be pretty crappy! As for May, CP doens't even open until a couple of weeks in, typically (they're only doing a preview weekend earlier this year), so MiA only opens a couple of weeks later than them. And yes, being a little further North, it does stay colder up here later than Ohio, usually... Consider that even the difference between North Ohio, and South Ohio results in KI opening a couple of weeks earlier than CP!

[CoasterMateo]

Actually, CP opened the 8th of May last year. This "Preview Weekend" is just a thing for publicity.

[codeGR]

But the difference is once CP has been open, they're open daily all summer. With the Preview Weekend, this year, they are closed during the following week.

As for Michigan's Adventure's schedule, it really is too bad. They close so early those first few weeks too that it doesn't make sense to drive there after work from GR.

[MIAfan88]

I've always found it weird that ValleyFair is open more then MiAd. They have a Haunt event and Minnesota's weather isn't any better in October.

[Coasterguy21]

The issue with MiA is getting employees to stick around past the first few weeks in September, especially with the majority of the seasonal work force being college students.

[MillenniumFangirl]

Michigan's Adventure is sort of like the Six Flags America of the Cedar Fair parks; it's okay, but not great. Both Michigan's Adventure and Cedar Point are about 2 1/2 hours away from me, and it's very rare that I choose to go to MiA instead of CP when I have the option to. I really hope they add a new coaster within the next few years.

 

But yeah, it is kind of strange MiA isn't open all that long, but Michigan's weather is very unpredictable in October. It could be snowing like there's no tomorrow or it could be 80 degrees and sunny. You never know.

[livai]

Michigan's Adventure is sort of like the Six Flags America of the Cedar Fair parks;

please no

[DILinator]

Michigan's Adventure is sort of like the Six Flags America of the Cedar Fair parks; it's okay, but not great. Both Michigan's Adventure and Cedar Point are about 2 1/2 hours away from me, and it's very rare that I choose to go to MiA instead of CP when I have the option to. I really hope they add a new coaster within the next few years.

 

Yeah, I'm in the same boat... It's about an hour longer for me to go to CP, vs. MiA, but I have a Platinum Pass this year, with many plans to go to CP, but I'm not sure I'm even going to bother with MiA, even though it's "free" at this point. I just went last year, so there's really no need to go again...