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PHOTO TR:Michigans adventure


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So we decided to stay kinda close to home this holiday weekend, and that meant that the only two parks we could hit were cedarpoint or Michigans adventure. Since we are doing coastermania next weekend at cedarpoint, we chose Michigans adventure.

 

We arrived at Michigans adventure around 1pm, and headed to shivering timbers. When we got to the ride, it was a walk on. Only a 1 train wait for the front car. So I decided to wait for the front seat....good thing I did.

 

The ride is not running like it did last year. The first drop looked like a washerboard. Not a very good ride. I tried my luck in the other train, and it was no better. This is a bummer, because this is one of my favorite coasters. It does not look like they did any track work over the off season, except for replacing some of the catwalk of the coaster.

 

Not much else has changed in the park except for the new water play structure "Beach party". I took a few shots of the new attraction, and it looks very nice. It's going to be a hit.

 

A few other changes I noticed....

 

You no longer have to go into park operations to show your platinum pass...you can now use your pass right at the gate.

There is a new small gift shop/hut right across from the old time photo.

 

We were able to hit all the coasters and several flats in just over 2 hours. The park was dead. About then, a storm was rolling in and all rides were closed. So we decided to go a half hour north of the park to silver lake. Silver lake is a sand dune. I would recommend checking it out if your in the area, it was really cool. It looked like a desert. They had dune buggy rides that are a blast.

 

On our way home, we shot back into Michigans adventure for the last hour of the night. The park was a ghost town. There were maybe 15 cars in the parking lot. We were able to do all of the coasters in under an hour, and a few flats as well. Also, they have to have the worst bumper car ride I have ever been on, as the car maybe went a max of 1mph.

 

Onto the pictures....

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We headed west on 69....yeah....69

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While on 69, you can visit the "lions den".

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A long, boring drive.

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We have arived.

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We were greeted by this.

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The peanuts have invaded Michigans adventure.

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Since it was a walk on, we decided to do the mouse coaster first.

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Next up was the falling star. I am really bummed because they only run it in one direction now.

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Thunderbolt had a lame ride program as well.

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I believe this is new this year. They really were not selling anything much inside.

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Log ride.

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Wildcat was running well.

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As you can see, the park was packed.

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My daughter was enjoying having the park to herself.

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Corkscrew doing it's thing.

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Not the worst one I have been on, but not the best eather.

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This is the parks car ride.

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It is theamed to the 50's

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Merry go round.

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Now, the moment you have all been waiting for.........WINKIE THE WHALE!!!!

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A closer look.

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Another view.

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A close up of the gray whale.

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And the blue one as well.

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My daughter was freaked out by the drummer boy ride.

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The park has an all you can eat picinic. They do not have the bbq ribs like it says on the website though.

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The parks arcade

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Now, let's take a look at the new attraction for 2011....beach party.

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You can find this new slide complex in the waterpark.

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The entire area looks great.

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It's got a huge bucket water drop.

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Great theaming

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Michigans adventure has a really nice waterpark, with several differant slides.

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Funnel of fear.

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They also have pizza paradise.

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Looks like paradise to me.

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I see you thunderhawk.

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These are the swan boats that used to be at cedarpoint.

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Sorry acers......

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Ripcord.

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Thunderhawk had the longest line of the day. A 2 train wait.

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It's one of the better hang and bangs I have been on.

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The park has a great looking raft ride.

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Again....the park was packed.

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Future expansion.

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About this time, rain started comming in so we headed to silver lake sand dunes.

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You can eather rent, or drive your own dune buggy on the sand

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The sand dunes are next to the lake

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This place was huge.

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My daughter had a blast running down the hills.

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After the rain cleared out, we headed back to the park.

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This is what the parking lot looked like.

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Gift shop

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Giant wheel.

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The backside of the park from the ferris wheel.

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The park was just packed for a holiday weekend.

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Slow ass bumpercars.

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It was weird being in an empty park.

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The landscaping at the park looked amazing.

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Believe it or not, the park is open.

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Look....people.

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Zombieland?

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A cedarfair staple

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My daughter got a solo ride on zacks zoomer.

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One last look at the park.

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The long and boring(rainy) ride home.

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You know, I think Michigan's Adventure is actually a really good fit for Cedar Fair--because it didn't have any charm for them to strip away whilst adding bigger rides.

 

Having said that, MA is only one of three places in the world to get my Arrow Mad Mouse fix! (Totally being serious, by the way. I love those things!)

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Every time I see a TR from this park I can't help but thinking it seems like the Elitch Gardens or Darien Lake of Cedar Fair. Not necessarily a park that should be shut down, but a park that definitely doesn't seem like it needs to be owned by a large corporation like CF. Does this park really pull in much of a profit for CF, I mean why haven't they sold it off yet? I feel like it could do a lot better for itself as a privately owned park. Anyone agree or am I just rambling?

 

Regardless, this was a really nice TR. It's always pleasant to get lucky and hit a park when it's empty like this.

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Every time I see a TR from this park I can't help but thinking it seems like the Elitch Gardens or Darien Lake of Cedar Fair. Not necessarily a park that should be shut down, but a park that definitely doesn't seem like it needs to be owned by a large corporation like CF. Does this park really pull in much of a profit for CF, I mean why haven't they sold it off yet? I feel like it could do a lot better for itself as a privately owned park.

 

While I don't know what the exact figures are, CF reported in one their conference calls that MA broke its annual attendance record last year so I imagine they are doing alright for a park their size.

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Holy crap that park was empty! I went to Canada's Wonderland Saturday, and it was packed! Our holiday was last weekend (May 21 to 23). I guess everyone else went to Cedar Point. That place must have been a nightmare.

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The park sure has improved a lot since I was there last, which was the year CF first bought it and I think Be Bop Blvd. was under construction. While CF doesn't have to worry about sterilizing it - it was already that way.

 

Regarding CP Rules' comment, I don't understand why CF has kept it either given the attendance but at the same time what would Michigan's Adventure be like today if they didn't own it?

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I knew it! I thought I saw you yesterday right before the park closed. I was up at Zoomer doing some training and thought I saw you down by Mini Enterprise, but was too busy to go down and say hi. Oh well, I'm sure I'll catch you again sometime this summer!

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Great report, Shivering Timbers looks so amazing, sorry to hear it wasn't running well.

 

I've always thought MA was the batard step child of Cedar Fair, the one they hide in the basement; in a cage. If I recall correctly at some stage, the park didn't even have a sewer line or something, I think the joke at some stage on another site was that next years attractions will be fully functional toilets.

 

Gotta love those quiet days though, I was on the bus from Springfield to SFNE years ago, and I overheard an employee say that they only got 43 people the whole previous day, and I bet they were all riding Superman.

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This was yesterday(saturday).

 

There was only a passing shower that lasted about an hour or so. The forecast was for a scattered shower, but by no means a washout.

 

To extrapolate on this, that storm missed MA by an insane margin, most of western Michigan got smoked.

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Every time I see a TR from this park I can't help but thinking it seems like the Elitch Gardens or Darien Lake of Cedar Fair. Not necessarily a park that should be shut down, but a park that definitely doesn't seem like it needs to be owned by a large corporation like CF. Does this park really pull in much of a profit for CF, I mean why haven't they sold it off yet? I feel like it could do a lot better for itself as a privately owned park. Anyone agree or am I just rambling?

 

Regardless, this was a really nice TR. It's always pleasant to get lucky and hit a park when it's empty like this.

 

Actually, from what I've read 2010 was the best year MA has ever had. It certainly seemed busy when I went.

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The water park is the main attraction at the park so with the weather being less than stellar I'm not too shocked about the crowds. I've been there on a busy weekend in the middle of July and the coasters will be walk-ons because everyone is in the water park. It may be a holiday weekend but having grown up just north of Detroit on weekends like Memorial Day nearly everyone heads up to their cottage "up-north."

 

I don't think it is a terrible fit for Cedar Fair. Photos don't make it seem great but it isn't a terrible park and it can stand on its own two feet. Wasn't there talk for a while of an indoor water park being built (though the park never did get the 215 foot hyper the original ownership had penciled in)? None the less I think this park was bought, in part, as a way to control the competition. It was bought around the times SFO/WOA was growing fast and Kinzel kept saying publicly how he regretted not buying Geauga Lake when he had the chance pre-SF. I'm sure Kinzel/CF didn't want to lose MiA to another chain. I know from my old house about 20 miles north of Detroit that MiA was only 30 mins farther away than CP. A few big-ticket rides and some good marketing by a competitor could've have turned some people away from CP.

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I knew it! I thought I saw you yesterday right before the park closed. I was up at Zoomer doing some training and thought I saw you down by Mini Enterprise, but was too busy to go down and say hi. Oh well, I'm sure I'll catch you again sometime this summer!

 

Yea, I was looking for you.

 

My daughter was on zacks zoomer riding solo when you must have been up on the platform.

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We went on Father's Day a few years ago and the park was pretty empty. My kids must have rode Zachs Zoomer 20 times in a row. I rode Shivering Timbers about a dozen times in a row and mostly in the front seat. Everything was a one train wait.

 

MA is one of my kid's favorite amusement parks. I think they like it more than Cedar Point.

 

Jim

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That's too bad about ST as I was seriously thinking about going just to ride it as long as I have my PP this season. That coaster looks like it (along with Mean Streak) could REALLY use the Rocky Mountain treatment. However, it looks like the water park is nice and we love those, so it wouldn't be a total waste of a trip should we decide to head up there this summer.

 

I also have to agree with others that seeing the park that dead on a holiday weekend must have been somewhat of a shocker to guests and ever more so, to the management & employees. Wow!

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^I don't think it needs the whole NTAG treatment. It was a top 3 woodie 7 years in a row per the Mitch Hawker poll. It's a good coaster, it's just getting rough. Topper track would probably suffice.

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I went to MIA afew years back in Summer 2009, ST is rough I admit but honestly it's still a good ride. It's one of the hidden gems, crooked away in a less-visited amusement park in the American Midwest. I've been to MIA twice, 2007 and 2009 and both time ST delivered a fun and thrilling ride while being somewhat bumpy.

 

This park is perfect for the demographic of people it reaches to in Western Michigan. Sure, it's not a crazy-insane amusement park like Cedar Point is, but it still serves it's purpose and does well on where it's located.

 

I'll probably get back to MIA in a year or two, I usually have the tendency of trying to go back every 2-4 years.

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Good TR, thanks for sharing!

 

Michigan's Adventure looks a nice park, but it could definitely use some more people! I feel kinda bad that it's so ignored by Cedar Fair, though with the lack of crowds, I'm not surprised.

 

I think selling the park off to be privately owned would be a win-win for both Cedar Fair and Michigan's Adventure. Cedar Fair would not have to worry about maintaining a park with such low attendance, and the new owners of the park could focus on quality, theming, and originality. The new owners could probably charge lower prices for food and admission as well.

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