Michigan's Adventure (MiA) Discussion Thread

[MiABeta]

This just in! New ST

!

Im Sorry

[codeGR]

^ Damn you! As I was clicking on the link, I happened to notice what day you posted that. That being said, ST doesn't need new trains.

[Coasterguy21]

An original April Fools joke too...Gotta love those -_-

(Rick Rollin will be celebrating its 10 year anniversary soon, the song even longer)

 

Speaking of trains. If possible, a second on Wolverine Wildcat would be nice!

[codeGR]

That would be nice, but it would certainly be a very radical change. Not sure how tight space would be.

[Lareson]

It's plausible, but it'd require a major overhaul of everything.

 

- The brake run in the tunnel would have to be extended to give enough space to safely (and comfortably) stop a 2nd train in all weather conditions.

- Some sort of transfer track would have to be installed, although a vertical one in the station would probably work the best in the tight space and there's plenty of room below the station for it.

- An entirely new control system would be the biggest expense. It would need the same amount of work as a new coaster installation since there's essentially nothing to work off of.

- And not to mention, purchasing 4 brand new 3-bench PTC cars.

 

It's possible and I could eventually see it happening, especially if attendance reaches near the 750K mark in the coming years. There'd be no way a single train with a 2:30 ride time would be able to withstand that heavy of a guest flow and not have the line ridiculously long a majority of the days. Give the park another major coaster, a couple more flat rides, and another water park expansion, and attendance could easily reach that mark.

[DoinItForTheFame]

This just in! New ST

!

Im Sorry

 

I fell for it... again...

[MiABeta]

This just in! New ST

!

Im Sorry

 

I fell for it... again...

 

Haha sorry I fell for it on the CP forum and it brought my inner troll out.

 

It's plausible, but it'd require a major overhaul of everything.

 

- The brake run in the tunnel would have to be extended to give enough space to safely (and comfortably) stop a 2nd train in all weather conditions.

- Some sort of transfer track would have to be installed, although a vertical one in the station would probably work the best in the tight space and there's plenty of room below the station for it.

- An entirely new control system would be the biggest expense. It would need the same amount of work as a new coaster installation since there's essentially nothing to work off of.

- And not to mention, purchasing 4 brand new 3-bench PTC cars.

 

It's possible and I could eventually see it happening, especially if attendance reaches near the 750K mark in the coming years. There'd be no way a single train with a 2:30 ride time would be able to withstand that heavy of a guest flow and not have the line ridiculously long a majority of the days. Give the park another major coaster, a couple more flat rides, and another water park expansion, and attendance could easily reach that mark.

 

Between Wolverine and Mad Mouse, they both can boast having some of the longest line times in the park. You're completely right about the control system as it still manually controlled, that is braking wise. The break run in the tunnel I believe should be long enough, as they usually only use about 1/8th of it to actually stop the train. I still think it would be worth it because I've even seen/waited for one hour during a weekday!

[Lareson]

*Duplicate*

Edited April 4, 2016 by Lareson

[Lareson]

Mad Mouse has its own reasons for having a really long line. Hopefully the IOE-upgraded control system that was installed last fall at Valleyfair will eventually make its way to the other 2 in the future. We'll see how well it performs with an entire season under it this year and could possibly see it coming this way in 2017.

 

Actually, now that I think about it, I completely forgot about the trim brake before the final turn that was installed a couple years ago. If that was tied into the new control system to automatically slow the train down enough so then the brake run could safely stop the train with enough distance and also have it stop comfortably, then yeah, it's 100% possible as it is right now. I also keep forgetting that the brake run was originally designed for skid brakes so there was already plenty of braking room for it. Also as a bit of trivia, that's also why the brake run is covered. Had to prevent the skid brakes from getting wet in the rain somehow!

[codeGR]

Why does Mad Mouse have so many block brakes? Seems like they could be running more cars at once.

[Coasterguy21]

For the Wolverine Wildcat second train, I was just thinking of someway to keep that line down. That line gets hefty during the summer with one train operation. Whether the track extends a bit back to accommodate a brake or something, I don't know. That line just sucks during the crowded days.

 

Why does Mad Mouse have so many block brakes? Seems like they could be running more cars at once.

More cars and less blocks doesn't sound like a great idea. Especially on a coaster like Mad Mouse where the wind can really make a difference. If two coasters are past the chain lift and one gets stuck and the other is moving with no blocks in between, then its a PR nightmare and potentially dangerous situation.

[codeGR]

I do understand the dangers of running too many cars at once. I'll have to study it this summer to see how it runs.

[grsupercity]

I think were closer to the million mark for attendance, not 750K. Plus someone mentioned VF's Mad Mouse upgraded computer system. It was already running an older system then MIA's and CGA's. I do believe that VF's mad mouse will be the only one to receive it. Wildcat doesn't need a second train, it only gets a long line on Saturdays. Now if ST were to get upgraded to new trains, its old trains could get passed down. Then a new brake system and transfer track makes sense because there not buying an additional train.

[Coasterguy21]

^How so? Thunderhawk had them break the 500,000 mark the first time in 2008 according to news reports. Not much has been stated since but I'm not sure how close the million mark is.

 

As for that second Wolverine Wildcat train. The less time people stand in line, the more chance they will spend money somewhere. Lines are also causes of complaints (though, if you come to a park, especially on a busy day, you better expect lines. I have never really understood the complaints there. If you really have to complain and you have the money, just buy FastLane). I went on a warm Tuesday (and the waterpark was packed all day), and some of that packing spilled over into the amusement side and I waited over an hour for WW. People were leaving the line because the wait was so long.

[grsupercity]

^How so? Thunderhawk had them break the 500,000 mark the first time in 2008 according to news reports. Not much has been stated since but I'm not sure how close the million mark is.

 

As for that second Wolverine Wildcat train. The less time people stand in line, the more chance they will spend money somewhere. Lines are also causes of complaints (though, if you come to a park, especially on a busy day, you better expect lines. I have never really understood the complaints there. If you really have to complain and you have the money, just buy FastLane). I went on a warm Tuesday (and the waterpark was packed all day), and some of that packing spilled over into the amusement side and I waited over an hour for WW. People were leaving the line because the wait was so long.

 

They Hit 500,000 in 1998. I believe they were closer to 750,000 in 2008 when Thunderhawk opened. Let me do some digging and I will find the press releases.

 

Big issue with WW lately is staffing. They haven't been staffing both sides, leaving one person to check both sides.

[Coasterguy21]

^All the articles I have been reading from the past few years throw out "More than 500,000": http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2011/04/michigans_adventure_optimistic.html

 

Here's the article saying that 2008 (Thunderhawk) was a record breaking year and that it brought more than 500,000 people to the park.

 

All the news stories at the end of the year that come out consistently point out "record breaking years" so I guess it's safe to assume that attendance is growing rather steadily since 2008.

[grsupercity]

Yea I cant find the right article, but either way its been up every year and thats a good thing

[Lareson]

All from what I've been hearing is that attendance still hasn't hit the 750K mark yet. Still hovers in the 500-600K range in the past couple years, so it has essentially plateaued since 2010. And I can tell you, no way have they came close to hitting 1M yet. Of course the chain won't ever release specific numbers per park, but there's still a lot of expansion needed before the park has the potential to reach 1M. Mind you, that's around Valleyfair's average attendance, if that gives you an indication on how much the park still has to go.

 

And I can tell you, Mad Mouse's system was slightly upgraded, shortly before Arrow went bust I believe, but it's still running a very old and outdated version of the ArrowVison program that's very hard to troubleshoot and is super buggy, mainly because it's hard to get ahold of tech support for a company that no longer exists. Plus, Cedar Fair has been trying to unify the operations in the chain for all of their rides, (also why we're seeing some of the older wooden coasters getting "upgraded" trains, i.e. Thunderhawk at Dorney and High Roller at Valleyfair) so having a different way of operations for a coaster that they have 3 of the same models doesn't fit that bill. If this new system improves capacity and efficiency, then it'll be a no-brainer to upgrade the other 2. And not to mention, the old ArrowVision system does not have any newer safety requirements, such as a control panel power lockout.

 

And the person that asked why so many block brakes, has to be able to safely stop 8 cars in any of the positions around the course. Yes, they were designed to run 10, but both Arrow and the parks that installed them, found out that it doesn't really improve efficiency. So the other 2 cars are used for backups if something goes wrong with one of the other cars.

 

And trust me, as someone who visits the park often in the summer, the lines have gotten quite long on everything the past couple years even now during the week in July/August, both amusement park side and water park side, especially if the weather is nice.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Michiganders and Michigeese!

 

I am planning a stop by Michigan's Adventure on the way home from Coastermania. This would be on Saturday 6/4, and I will be travelling alone. I am most interested in Shivering Timbers.

 

There really aren't any rides there of a type I haven't been on before, so priority will go to the ones of highest quality. Besides roller coasters, I really enjoy water rides. I will skip a bad to mediocre roller coaster to ride a good log flume or rapids ride. Other than Shivering Timbers, what are the best rides?

 

The waterpark looks skippable to me except for Hydro Blaster. The photo looks like the people are wearing street clothes, and it's not in the waterpark section of the website. Am I correct that it's a part of the dry park then?

 

I'm also curious about food options. It looks like basically burgers and pizza. Is the family buffet any good? Worth the price? Or should I just plan on eating before I go and then getting dinner in Muskegon after I leave?

[ytterbiumanalyst]

.

[WOFanatic]

Michiganders and Michigeese!

 

I am planning a stop by Michigan's Adventure on the way home from Coastermania. This would be on Saturday 6/4, and I will be travelling alone. I am most interested in Shivering Timbers.

 

There really aren't any rides there of a type I haven't been on before, so priority will go to the ones of highest quality. Besides roller coasters, I really enjoy water rides. I will skip a bad to mediocre roller coaster to ride a good log flume or rapids ride. Other than Shivering Timbers, what are the best rides?

 

The waterpark looks skippable to me except for Hydro Blaster. The photo looks like the people are wearing street clothes, and it's not in the waterpark section of the website. Am I correct that it's a part of the dry park then?

 

I'm also curious about food options. It looks like basically burgers and pizza. Is the family buffet any good? Worth the price? Or should I just plan on eating before I go and then getting dinner in Muskegon after I leave?

Be sure to ride Zach's Zoomer because it has my name in it.

[Coasterguy21]

Michiganders and Michigeese!

 

I am planning a stop by Michigan's Adventure on the way home from Coastermania. This would be on Saturday 6/4, and I will be travelling alone. I am most interested in Shivering Timbers.

 

There really aren't any rides there of a type I haven't been on before, so priority will go to the ones of highest quality. Besides roller coasters, I really enjoy water rides. I will skip a bad to mediocre roller coaster to ride a good log flume or rapids ride. Other than Shivering Timbers, what are the best rides?

 

The waterpark looks skippable to me except for Hydro Blaster. The photo looks like the people are wearing street clothes, and it's not in the waterpark section of the website. Am I correct that it's a part of the dry park then?

 

I'm also curious about food options. It looks like basically burgers and pizza. Is the family buffet any good? Worth the price? Or should I just plan on eating before I go and then getting dinner in Muskegon after I leave?

 

Yes, Shivering Timbers is a must ride and I recommend getting numerous laps in on that. A few other rides that may be of interest to you:

 

-Thunderhawk is one of the smoother SLC's out there, so you can ride that if you want.

-Wolverine Wildcat is a fun woodie that is loosely based on the design of Phoenix (Knoebels). It can have a long wait during the summer though.

-Zach's Zoomer is a nice junior coaster from CCI. It's design is the exact same as Woodstock Express at Kings Island. So skipping that is up to you, but it generally is a fun ride.

-Big Dipper & Mad Mouse can be skipped, unless you really want the credit.

-Corkscrew can be indifferent for many people. It is definitely one of the more interesting classic Arrow models out there and is the shortest of the existing original Corkscrew coasters. If you're one for nostalgia, then grab a ride, but lines can get pretty long here.

 

In terms of other rides. Yes, HydroBlaster is on the dry side of the park and usually swim suits aren't required. Adventure Falls is your typical Shoot-the-Chutes type ride. Grand Rapids is your typical Intamin Rapids ride and is the most popular water ride in the park. Definitely fun. If you like the older Arrow log flumes, then make sure you ride Loggers Run.

 

Otherwise, with the exception of Lakeside Gliders, everything else is fairly run-of-the-mill. Ride whatever flat fits your fancy.

 

The waterpark is really great, well at least for the area. But if you decide to skip it, I recommend more laps on Timbers.

[Philrad71]

A few more things to add to the above poster...

 

Wolverine Wildcat typically only operates one train, hence the long wait mentioned. The amusement park area was dead for the most part when we visited, but we still waited almost an hour to ride this due to the one train op's. Better try to get to this one first before the line gets long. And to clarify...it is somewhat similar to Phoenix's layout, but rides nowhere near the way Phoenix does. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't worth the long wait that we waited for it either.

 

Do not...and I repeat, do not miss a front seat ride on Shivering Timbers! We rode in the front and 2nd row and the difference was like night and day. A top 5 woodie for me in the front....but not so much in the 2nd row.

 

The water park is actually pretty nice although the lines can get long in the summer. Also get ready for a workout if you choose to do it as some of the slides require you to haul the big-azz tubes up the long flights of stairs.

 

For food, we had a fruit bowl and slice of pizza in the water park and both were very good. I was actually surprised at how fresh both were considering we were in a Cedar Fair park!

 

And don't forget the beer garden overlooking the lake near the Lakeside Gliders...it's a nice way to chill out and have a nice, cold beverage (although it's a bit pricey).

[ytterbiumanalyst]

Cool, lots of great advice, and quickly too. Thanks!

 

I tend to get up early naturally, so I'll drive from Sandusky that morning. Hopefully I'll make it by opening or shortly thereafter. It sounds like I should go to Wolverine Wildcat first, then Shivering Timbers next and ride in the front row.

 

It's good to hear Thunderhawk is relatively smooth. The only SLC I've ridden is Gauntlet at Magic Springs. I liked its Batman level of intensity, but it rattled too much. Without the rattle, I think I'd enjoy it.

 

All four water rides look like they would be worth it. How is capacity on those? Any of them get hour lines? I'll be there early June, but on a Saturday, so I may need to do those right after Wolverine Wildcat and Shivering Timbers.

 

Regarding clones, I'm one that will ride Batman in every park I go to. I've ridden it at SFStL for 20 years, but it's good, and it's good everywhere. Zach's Zoomer and Corkscrew sound like they fall into that category. Mad Mouse would be an "if there's time" ride. I like the non-spinning variety, but this one doesn't look too special. I don't have any interest in the Big Dipper.

 

I do like waterparks, but I'm stopping by Kentucky Kingdom on the way to Cedar Point (it's a long drive for me, so I'm breaking it up both ways), so the waterpark at MiA isn't a top priority. I would do it if there's time at the end of the day. I see they've got a ProSlide Tornado, so if I do go to the waterpark, that would be a must. I love those things. What other slides are worth the time?

[Coasterguy21]

^Loggers Run usually gets long lines. Grand Rapids usually has long lines but is relatively newer (2006) and can handle the capacity flow. Adventure Falls runs a single boat and the line usually backs up there on hot days too. HydroBlaster is hit and miss. Its location confuses a lot of people so some days when the park is busy it'll have no wait, others it will have a long wait.

 

Mad Mouse is a decent ride if you're into that type of thing. Its your run-of-the-mill Arrow Mad Mouse (the same one you can find at Valleyfair and California's Great America). Always found it funny that only 4 of them were ever built and the remaining 3 are all in Cedar Fair parks.

 

Water park is definitely fun! Towards the end of the day though, it usually becomes packed (people usually start on the ride side and then move over, unless they came just for the water park). Funnel of Fear (the ProSlide Tornado) usually has the longest wait, and you have to carry the tube up with you for that one. Snake Pit is a fun, enclosed single person tube slide. The wait there varies. Mine Shaft & Mammoth River usually have decent waits too (tube has to be carried up). The body slides are your run-of-the-mill slidewinders and non-trap door body slides. The Slidewinders body slides sometimes have a wait but the speed slides usually never do.