Michigan's Adventure
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Location | Muskegon, Michigan |
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| Website | www.miadventure.com |
| Owner | Cedar Fair Entertainment Company |
| Opened | 1956 (Deer park Funland) |
| Previous names | Deer Park Petting Zoo, Deer Park Funland |
| Operating season | May - September |
| Rides | total
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| Slogan | Two great parks, one low price! |
Attendance - 550,000 in 2005 ( 18% from 2004) |
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Michigan's Adventure is an amusement park in Muskegon County, Michigan, about halfway between Muskegon, Michigan and Whitehall, Michigan. It is the largest amusement park in the state and has been owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. since 2001.
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[edit] Michigan's Adventure History
The park was originally founded as the Deer Park Petting Zoo in 1956. In 1968, Roger Jourden purchased the park and began to transform the land into an amusement and water park, renaming it Deer Park Funland.
In 1988, Jourden added the Wolverine Wildcat roller coaster. At this time, he changed the name to Michigan's Adventure. In 1991 he opened WildWater Adventure, a water park. The park was bought by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. in 2001[1] and has become a major Michigan attraction. Michigan's Adventure is one of the only surviving thrill parks in the state of Michigan. (Boblo Island park, west of Amherstburg, Ontario near Detroit was closed in 1993) The park features six roller coasters including the critically acclaimed "Shivering Timbers", a high speed wooden behemoth, and one looping coaster the "Corkscrew".[2]. The park also includes a large number of "flat rides" such as the "Scrambler" and "Flying Trapeze". [3].
[edit] WildWater Adventure
The water park, WildWater Adventure, opened in 1991. After the addition of the WildWater Adventure, the slogan for the park became "2 parks for the price of 1" since the regular gate admission of $24 allows full day usage of both the amusement and the water park, rather than a separate fee for both.
[edit] Cedar Fair
In 2001, Cedar Fair, the owner of Cedar Point, purchased the park from Roger Jourden. His daughter, Camille Jourden-Mark, was demoted from General Manager, a position she had occupied since 1988, and replaced with Larry Mackenzie. Mackenzie later left for Valleyfair! at the end of the 2001 season. Camille Jourden-Mark was then reinstated as General Manager where she has remained since.
[edit] Attractions
[edit] Roller Coasters
- Shivering Timbers
- Shivering Timbers is a wooden roller coaster developed by Custom Coasters International with trains by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. It towers 122 feet in the air, reaches a top speed around 65 mph and the first drop is at a 53.3° angle. The ride is critically acclaimed within the industry and has been ranked as one of the best wooden roller coasters each year since its debut in 1998 and was ranked #3 in 2005.[4]
- Wolverine Wildcat
- The Wolverine Wildcat is a wooden roller coaster designed by Curtis D. Summers and built in 1988 by the Dinn Corporation. It is 85 feet high and reaches a top speed close to 55 mph.
- Zach's Zoomer
- Zach's Zoomer is a family oriented wooden roller coaster that opened in 1994 named after the owner's grandson, Zach Mark. It was designed by Custom Coasters International (the same company that designed Shivering Timbers). It's targeted to a younger audience and allows them to experience the sensation of a wooden roller coaster without the extreme drops, air time, and sharp turns inherent on a full blown wooden roller coaster like Shivering Timbers. This ride is named after the current General Manager's son named Zach.
- Corkscrew
- The Corkscrew is a steel sit-down roller coaster (portable with some effort) developed by Arrow Dynamics. It has been operating at the park since 1979. It tops out at a height of 70 feet, reaches a top speed of 45 mph and has two corkscrew inversions.
- Mad Mouse
- The Mad Mouse is a steel sit-down roller coaster developed by Arrow Dynamics. Operating since 1999, the minute and a half ride consists of sharp turns and sudden drops, characteristic of any wild mouse style roller coaster.
- Big Dipper
- The Big Dipper is a family oriented steel sit-down roller coaster designed by Chance Rides.
[edit] Other Rides
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 Corkscrew roller coaster, which incidentally is now painted orange |
 Wolverine Wildcat wooden coaster |
 Zach's Zoomer wooden coaster |
[edit] Chaos Incident
See Incidents at Cedar Fair parks
[edit] New for 2006
Significant improvements debuted for the 2006 operating season, including:
- Grand Rapids a new 1500 foot long river rapids ride simulating a whitewater rafting adventure in a canyon setting complete with waterfalls and geysers. Costing $5 million it will be the most expensive ride ever built at the park.[5]
- Expansion of the Timbertown Railway with additional track and a new station.
- Coaster's Drive-In restaurant, which is a feature at other Cedar Fair parks including Cedar Point.
[edit] New for 2007
- Improvements with the water in the park. Now with city/community water in the area, improvements for 2007 includes a water tower near the rear end of the water park by the human resource building. The park anticipates saving money for the project.
[edit] Trivia
- One of the rides was damaged after the Southern Great Lakes Derecho of 1998 storms which took place during Memorial Day Weekend, the traditional start of the summer tourist season. The ride destroyed was Mutley's Putt Putts, and a new entrance opened on that location the following year. The storm also leveled many of the taller trees in the park, leaving shade a rare commodity for the next few years until transplanted trees could begin filling out.
- The Chaos ride broke and left passengers stranded for several hours in 2001. Other parks that owned the same ride were encouraged to replace defective parts immediately. Several other incidents on the rides (manufactured by Chance Rides) were reported during the 2005 summer season. Michigan's Adventure removed the ride shortly after the accident.
- The park hosts Timberfest, a festival targeted at ACE members, featuring early admission and extended ride time. Season pass holders are also eligible to attend.
- The park also hosts Rock the Coast, a Christian music mini-festival, in May. It is organized by Alive on the Lakeshore, the organization which created the Unity Christian Music Festival.
- The 2006 operating season marks the 50th anniversary of the park, dating back to its time as the Deer Park Funland.
- Michigan's Adventure is the largest operating amusement park in the state of Michigan as of 2006.
[edit] Logo
The original Michigan's Adventure logo featured a cartoon lion.
When Cedar Fair acquired the park in 2001, they replaced the lion with Snoopy from Peanuts, who appears on the logos of other Cedar Fair parks.
The logo was changed again in 2007 to reflect Michigan's Adventure's part in the Cedar Fair chain.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ page at RCDB site, accessed December 17, 2006
- ^ ibid
- ^ Coaster Gallery Michigans' Adventure page
- ^ Amusement Today trade article accessed 17 December 2006
- ^ New Attractions page on Michigan's Adventure corporate site, accessed December 17, 2006
