Adventureland (Iowa) Discussion Thread

I’m hating this top spin genocide.

So am I. I love Top Spins, and they to pretty much be all gone now, except for GAdv...

Sure, lets get rid of all the good flat rides in U.S parks.

I will say this, that did not offer as enjoyable of a ride as the Huss versions. Out of the 3 days i visited Adventureland, it was only open for half of a day. Not only that, but it seemed to break down about every other cycle with many break downs occuring mid-cycle. So I'm sure unreliability and maintenance issues played a big role in it's removal (much like dragon). So I'm not too upset about its removal seeing that this gives them an opportunity to replace it with a better flat.

Still a Mauser top spin in Chattanooga, TN at Lake Winnie.

^ The one at Lake Winnie and Adventureland were both closed when I visited the parks.

I suspect they're a maintenance nightmare. Isn't that the same reason so many Arrow log flumes are disappearing? It had very little to do with popularity with guests, but they're tough to maintain.

Wow I totally called it lol

I'm glad they're making an homage to the Dragon with the next ride's name. I like the idea of keeping the double loop, but you don't see many of those with modern coasters. It's definitely gonna leave a weird vacancy in the park for the upcoming season. Not so much from Dragon Island (I'm assuming they'll keep the show building for now), but from the rest of the park. Like someone said, as a ride, it was okay, but the picture it made in the park was really nice. I'll miss that.

I'm still hoping for a water ride, but a new coaster would be able to take advantage of the Dragon's large footprint.

As far as the Splashover, it's definitely not a surprise. That ride was the definition of a long time coming. I can't remember the last time the water was on. I'm looking forward to whatever new flat they choose to put in there. I don't have any guesses for that.

I drove down the road alongside the park yesterday, and the loops and the lift hill still remain.

I suspect they're a maintenance nightmare. Isn't that the same reason so many Arrow log flumes are disappearing? It had very little to do with popularity with guests, but they're tough to maintain.

I don't think that they're "tough", but rather "expensive", to maintain. Parts availability is always an issue on older / discontinued models too.

We know that European showmen and other big European theme parks continue to maintain their Top Spins, though there are still some bad apples (Walibi's comes to mind).

Adventureland posted on their Facebook that they have been given clearance from the State of Iowa to open next week. They will open for season passholders June 3rd and 4th, and open to the public on June 5th at 50% capacity. The waterpark will remain closed for now.

Watching that video of the new Vekoma Suspended coaster at Tripsdrill has me thinking more and more how it would be a perfect replacement for Dragon..

Just saying...

^I think anything from "new Vekoma" would work wonders at Adventureland - whether that be the new inverted coaster or a standard sit-down like Lech Coaster.

http://www.midwestinfoguide.com/?m=1

I love this site so much. In their most recent post, the they were able to spot some supports for the new coaster!

If it ends up being a S&S 4D like people are saying, I think that would be a solid addition for a park like this. They are quietly starting to compile a decent collection of coasters.

^^ Honestly as soon as I read that, I also thought that it could be a 4D Free Spin. Like whenever I saw those supports, I actually thought they looked similar to Free Spin supports. I do like Free Spins and I do think this would be a good ride for park like Adventureland, but I'm hoping for a ride that's a little longer than a Free Spin.

These photos are from Reddit user SwuaraeC, who visited Adventureland yesterday.

I’d say this is pretty irrefutable evidence of a free spin. I’m a little disappointed, considering this seemed like an opportunity for Adventureland to add something unique that would really put it on the map (like one of the excellent new Vekoma loopers), but I suppose it will be more fun than Dragon. Still, I hate losing a big custom coaster to a small clone you can find at most Six Flags parks.

^While I do think that it will be S&S, I can't help but wonder why coaster parts are already showing up. And while I have my doubts that what I'm about to talk about will come to fruition, I think it does bear mention. Could it be an Axis coaster?

The park posted a gif of that Dragon Slayer image rotating horizontally on social media.

With track showing up already, construction can begin soon-ish on a prototype--which will need some extra testing.

Didn't S&S say that they already sold one or am I thinking of something else?

Concept art of the Axis coaster shows similar support style to the Free Spin (I'm aware concept art is just that and things do change constantly).

Again, take all this with half a grain of salt.

If you look again at the first photo, there are two connector supports extending from the cross beam, each with a flat end to connect to a piece of I-Box track. This is consistent with a free spin but not an axis coaster, unfortunately.

Sigh, as excited as I am for this park to grow and add a new, fantastic ride. I am still bummed I will have to wait longer for some new Vekoma goodness to reach America.

Also, personally I am not a fan of Freespins, just not my jam. Great for the park, great for the market to get a new ride, just not my jam lol. But I will make an effort to visit this park either in 2021 or 2022 when that other park in Iowa is supposed to open (Lost Island?).

Thanks for sharing my photos. It was pretty cool to actually be the detective for once!

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but a free spin will only take up a small amount of land. They’ll have plenty of space for later attractions. (Maybe even another coaster, but who knows)

Could still be a custom layout. You never know

I do like Free Spins, but I would be a little disappointed if it does turn out to be a 4D Free Spin. I mean it'll be the only ride like it in the state and the closest one is in Chicago, but I was hoping for a bit of a longer ride. The biggest disappointment for me is that it won't really utilize the lake setting. Even though I did hate Dragon, there was something pretty cool about dropping over the pond and bunny hopping back into the tree line. I was hoping to see something like that again on a ride, just smoother.

^ The free spin wouldn't use all of Dragon's old footprint, so they still would be able to possibly use the rest of it for another addition.

As an enthusiast, a free spin may not be as impressive as a custom coaster, but for a majority of the locals who have never ridden one, this is a highly marketable ride. And I do genuinely enjoy them.

I do actually love riding them, especially the wild ones like Batman: The Ride at both DIscovery Kingdom and Fiesta Texas. I just wish they were a bit longer. I wish more parks would go with the ten element version. I'm hoping this park gets the ten element version.

They will have a pretty well rounded collection. I'd love to see them add a small kiddie coaster and maybe an airtime focused coaster.

It's probably not what everyone wanted, but it is definitely eye catching and marketable, and affordable. Makes perfect sense to me. It will really add to the skyline along the lake too.

Full credit to MidwestInfoGuide (seriously love this site for their Adventureland, SDC, and Six Flags St. Louis content), but now we know that it's an S&S 4D Free Spin. Seeing the color of the track, I've grown on more to the idea of a Free Spin here. I just hope it doesn't turn out like Joker at Great Adventure, New England, Great America, and Over Texas where it mainly feels like it's just rocking back and forth rather than flipping crazily like both Batman: The Rides and Arashi.

Now here's real question: is it going to be a custom version of the Free Spin? I know that sounds crazy, but from the looks of the construction updates on the MIG site, it almost seems like they plan on retrofitting the old station to house this ride? Maybe they will place this ride on the other side of the lake with a queue line going over the pond, but I just don't know how they could reuse the station.

Last thing, I think it's funny to think about how they had a twenty year coaster drought, and then in a matter of five years, they will have added three major coasters.