Visionland Article..hooray!!....oh wait.

Visionland to open with new rides: log flume, three-loop roller coaster

Monday, April 04, 2005

MICHAEL TOMBERLIN

News staff writer

 

Visionland amusement park opens its 2005 season to the public on May 8 with two new rides, park officials said.

 

A new log flume ride and a triple-loop steel roller coaster are scheduled to be operating by opening day.

 

The rides are part of a $5 million investment that owners Southland Entertainment Group are making in the park for the 2005 season.

 

"These are the two things our visitors have told us they would most like to see," said Kent Lemasters, Southland's president.

 

The previously unannounced log flume is being built on the site of the old log flume. That ride was left inoperable when Southland purchased the park out of bankruptcy in 2003.

 

Name that flume:

 

The new log flume promises to be bigger and better than the previous one, Lemasters said. A contest to name the log flume will be announced soon, he said.

 

The seven-foot-long logs can hold up to four adults, sending them on a 1,180-foot ride that lasts for two minutes. They send riders plunging from 26 feet up at a rate of 13 feet per second.

 

For the real thrill seekers, a triple-loop steel coaster that goes forward and in reverse will be operating this season.

 

The coaster, known as the Zoomerang, was imported from Australia and took several weeks to transport and construct.

 

Mothers will be admitted to the park free on Mothers's Day. The park will be open on weekends May 8 until May 25, when it will begin opening daily.

 

Season pass-holders will have a "Sneak-A-Peek Weekend" April 30 and May 1.

 

This year, Visionland is offering three kinds of season passes.

 

A silver pass will give admission to both parks and a 20 percent discount on food and merchandise. It will cost $65.95 if purchased by April 17, with the price increasing after that date.

 

A gold pass includes the same benefits as the silver but also includes free parking. It costs $110.95 if purchased before April 17.

 

The platinum pass has the same benefits as the gold pass but for $120.95, it adds a free locker rental and a free tube rental at the water park.

 

General admission price will be $29.95 for both parks for one day and $34.95 for both parks for two days. Parking is $7 per vehicle per day.

 

In addition to the new rides, Visionland's Celebration Street will have new shops, games and food carts.

 

E-mail: mtomberlin@bhamnews.com

http://www.al.com/printer/printer.ssf?/base/news/1112606354318460.xml

$45 just to upgrade to a parking pass Christ! Any park charging for a tube rental doesn't work for me either. No thanks Visionland.

So does it seem right that Visionland is $34.95 for both parks, when someplace like Dorney is only $32.95?

I think I'd much rather ride Dorney's selection of coasters and water slides over Visionlands!

I really think Visionland is WAY over priced.

--Robb "Just a thought...." Alvey

Not even a thought, it is overpriced. I guess they can get away with it though as they have little competition in the area. Still, charging that much and then charging for things like inner tubes is insane.

^ Is SFOG too far away? For $15 more than a one day ticket to Visionland you can get a SFOG season pass.

If I recall it takes about two hours to get from Visionland to SFOG.

I mean, SFMM is two hours away for people in most of Los Angeles due to traffic!

--Robb

No SFoG isn't too far away, atleast for me. (I go down there for my season pass instead of SFStl.) But I'm sure they are banking on the locals just biting the bullet and paying a high price not to drive an hour or two out of the way, even if the competition can be cheaper and offer a product much better than Visionland is offering.

The three-loop roller coaster part sounded interesting until I saw they were talking about a Boomerang. I thought at first they meant it was something like a Schwarzkopf 3 loop coaster (or something similar)