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So this news just broke:

 

Dinosaur exhibit new Valleyfair attraction in 2013

 

Shakopee amusement park Valleyfair on Thursday announced that a $3.5 million multi-sensory and interactive dinosaur park will be added next summer.

The nearly five-acre attraction will be located near the front gate, and the park will add a new catering area as well.

The dinosaur park, called Dinosaurs Alive, will allow guests to experience the sights and sounds of over 30 life-sized animated dinosaurs. Each dinosaur is made to replicate nearly every feature of the mammoth creatures that roamed the Earth 120 million years ago, said the park.

The seven main scenes found along a 2,837-foot path spread over nearly five wooded acres tell the story of what the dinosaurs ate, when and where they lived, how they protected themselves and adapted to their world.

The highlight of Dinosaurs Alive is the Ruyanogosaurus, standing at over 39 feet tall, 72 feet long and 11.5 feet wide.

Some of the dinosaurs will have interactive consoles that allow gests to guide the dinosaurs’ movements. Other highlights include a children’s paleontological dig site where kids can uncover prehistoric fossils and a dinosaur-themed gift shop.

With the addition of Dinosaurs Alive, Valleyfair’s catering will be relocated to the area currently occupied by Adventure Golf. This three-acre expansion will provide all-new catering facilities, picnic pavilions and amenities to accommodate groups.

 

Source: http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/dinosaur-exhibit-new-valleyfair-attraction-in/article_e8bbda15-e300-54a8-bdc4-e35cd49649b3.html

 

Sad to officially hear that the Mini Golf is on it's way out, but the Picnic Area will be a welcome addition. They are currently using two facilities, one outside the park and another near the waterpark. This will allow them to expand the waterpark and hopefully expand the park on the Minnesota River (North) side.

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So, wait. Will DA use the antique auto area AND the current pavilion area? I realize DA requires a substantial amount of land, but you'd think there'd be at least some mention of the cars being removed, especially since the removal of the mini golf is also brought up. I understand that the antique cars are already closed, but you still have to wonder how much of that space will be devoted to DA, or if any will be left over for other future developments.

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one that school groups can use without paying for admission

 

But that defeats the purpose of the attraction.

 

Park Admission

 

I know what you meant but I remember reading an article awhile back talking about Dinosaurs Alive they went on to say they started doing it to draw school groups to the park. If they can gain access with out park admission (Plus the $5 on top) than thats alot of lost revenue.

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See, charging the group rate of $30 per person plus another $5 to walk through the actual exhibit absolutely will not draw any school field trips. Plus schools usually like to stay at the park until 4-6 o'clock which really messes with bus schedules and is a pain for parents. Almost all schools save their VF visit for the last day of the year as an incentive for students, and this will draw them for another visit.

 

They make much more revenue offering the $8 standalone DA ticket for school groups, than without it.

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See, charging the group rate of $30 per person plus another $5 to walk through the actual exhibit absolutely will not draw any school field trips. Plus schools usually like to stay at the park until 4-6 o'clock which really messes with bus schedules and is a pain for parents. Almost all schools save their VF visit for the last day of the year as an incentive for students, and this will draw them for another visit.

 

Having this exhibit will definitely draw some more school field trips. I have seen quite a few school groups at the park with not only physics packets but other work they have to do while at the park. With Dinosaurs Alive this gives the teachers another subject to work with. I am sure the park will work with the schools to offer a different group rate that will also add Dinosaurs Alive to their ticket.

 

As far as the Picnic Grounds I love the idea. This definitely frees up the dining Patio area for future Waterpark expansion. Plus the area they are going to put this is giant and will have a lot more room for groups as well as added revenue though the catering service.

 

I look forward to seeing everything completed. The park is definitely preparing itself for a major investment down the road as well as upgrading its image as a whole. I see good things in these next few years for the park!

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http://www.valleyfair.com/article/media-center/Valleyfair-Announces-2013-Expansions

 

Valleyfair announces the biggest thing to walk the face of the Earth in a nearly five-acre attraction located near the front gate, plus an all-new catering area to better serve our Guests within the Park.

 

Visitors to Valleyfair will now have an opportunity to step back in time with the addition of Dinosaurs Alive! A multi-sensory and interactive dinosaur park that will allow Guests to experience the sights and sounds of over 30 life-sized animated dinosaurs. Each dinosaur is made to replicate nearly every feature of the mammoth creatures that once roamed the Earth 120-million years ago.

 

The seven main scenes found along a 2,837-foot long path spread over nearly five (5) wooded acres tell a compelling story of what the dinosaurs ate, when and where they lived, how they protected themselves and adapted to their world.

 

The highlight of Dinosaurs Alive! is the Ruyanogosaurus, standing at over 39-feet tall, 72-feet long and 11.5-feet wide Other animatronic dinosaurs include; Tyrannosaurs Rex, Triceratops and Stegosaurus.

 

Some of the dinosaurs have interactive consoles which allow Guests to guide the dinosaurs’ movements. Other highlights include a children’s paleontological dig site where kids can uncover prehistoric fossils and a dinosaur-themed gift shop.

 

“Dinosaurs Alive! Is a perfect addition to Valleyfair’s extensive list of rides and attractions that are suitable for all ages”, Valleyfair Vice President and General Manager Dave Frazier said. “These life-like dinosaurs will bring science and technology together to not only entertain but educate our Guests.”

 

With the addition of Dinosaurs Alive!, Valleyfair’s catering will be relocated to the area currently occupied by Adventure Golf. This three-acre expansion will provide all-new catering facilities, picnic pavilions and amenities to accommodate groups.

 

“Valleyfair is excited about the opportunity to better serve our Guests”, says Robin Stinnett, Director of Marketing and Group Sales, “This new catering facility is located in an area that will allow easier access for our Guests to stay within the fun atmosphere of the Park.”

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Dinosaurs Alive is pretty small as far as expansions go. It wouldn't be unrealistic to think we can finally get that B&M Invert,Floorless,Standing,Wingrider, Dive, or whatever coaster that many including myself have been hoping for in 2014. The park is very due for a major new ride. Then again, we've been due for a major new ride for a while...

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^ Don’t expect that for 2014. I have heard there are other plans for 2014 that does not include a new ride. (Yet again…) As far as a new coaster goes I think we are looking at more of a 2015-2016 opening if anything.

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What possible plans for 2014 have you heard? I heard they were looking to do something to the path between steel venom/challenge park and the rest of the park. This was from some Q&A someone had with valleyfair higher ups months back. I think it was coaster craze or something.

 

I'd be pretty happy if they added good flat rides to that area. Windseeker (as long as it's not SBNO) and a giant Frisbee like MaxAir at CP would be welcome additions. I'm sure there are other smaller flats that could work too.

 

I really want to see something get done with the amphitheater site. That thing has been standing around unused for years now. I'd much rather see it get ripped down and turned into something else than upgraded and available for concerts. Then there are the Go-Kart tracks which are possible to get removed. If those are gone then Challenge Park will get reduced to just being Ripcord.

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TBH, a B&M invert would be pretty outdated whenever it is installed. I'd welcome it like I would anything else new, but I would much prefer any other type of B&M.

 

I've always really wanted to see a Giant Inverted Boomerang on the amphitheater site. I've always heard better things about GIBs than most B&M Inverts. At least a GIB looks like it'd be better than Silver Bullet at Knotts or Patriot at WoF. I think it would look really cool there standing among Wild Thing and Steel Venom.

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And a GIB wouldn't have -too- crap capacity if it was at a park like VF. If they run it right and have good operations (like Silverwood's Aftershock) then it would be a very good addition. It also wouldn't leave Corkscrew the loner looping coaster at the park.

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Wind seeker, are you serious? After riding it at Cedar Point I was less than excited with it. Go up in the ain't 300 feet, spin around a few times and back down.

 

Honestly this ride has zero rerideability for me and a few others I have talked too. Lady season at Cedar Point on a Friday the park was busy and yet Windseeker was nearly a walk on ride, that tells me something as well.

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Coaster Count, one major reason WindSeeker is a walk-on at Cedar Point is because the ride is a capacity hog. It can hold a lot of people at once. Same with MaxAir as it hold 50 people per ride cycle. What was said at Coaster Craze was more for this year with the whole picnic area 2.0 installation. Mainly the things I have heard are for waterpark expansion. I heard ideas of Excalibur being removed for waterpark expansion but after this past season I wouldn't want to see it go. It had 11 days of 2 train operation and one of the highest ridership numbers in years. It was a great year for Excalibur. (Party thanks to Tim and myself for doing a few days of re-ride marathons.

 

Basically, they want to prepare the park itself for a major new attraction. Right now there are many basic infrastructure things that need to be upgraded and fixed to handle a large attendance spike. I really look forward to the next few years for all the improvements the park will make from both an operations point of view as well as how the parks image itself improves.

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