Adventure City, 11/21/09, First and last visit

I finally went to Adventure City in Anaheim for the first time today. I was only there from 2:00-3:00. It is a tiny park which is basically only meant for kids, but I have wanted to try the Tree Top Racers for a while and finally decided to go. In fact when I walked up to buy my ticket the cashier told me that they don't let adults in without kids. I told her I just wanted to ride the coaster and she asked me if I was an ACE member. I told her that I am not an ACE member but I am a CoasterBuzz member and she let me buy a ticket anyway. I rode Tree Top Racers, Freeway Coaster and Drop Zone twice each. After I got in it was pretty obvious why they don't let adults in by themself.

Tree Top Racers was a fun mouse coaster with some quick drops and sharp turns. It has very unique cars which are somewhat like the Matterhorn Bobsleds but smaller, individual, and look like Soap Box Racers.

Freeway Coaster, not much to say about this one. It's a run of the mill kiddie coaster except that the first drop was fairly forceful and I got slammed into the left side of the seat. Each car has a sign on it which says the larger person should sit on the left side. If you had a kid on the left and an adult on the right the kid would get squashed.

Drop Zone was a 45 foot drop tower which goes up and down 5 times and drops as soon as it reaches the top. Not the tallest or most exciting drop ride I have been on but it was fun and had a small amount of air-time on each drop.

I will probably never be back, but the few rides I went on were fun, the employees were very friendly and talked with the people in line and it is a good alternative for people which have young kids and/or cannot afford to go to a bigger park.

Add one to the coaster junkie list: You ride the kiddie coasters just for the credits.

A few other parks or Family Entertainment Centers also have the rule of not letting adults in without kids and I don't understand it. If someone is willing to pay to enter, I would have though the business would want their money.

Same with kiddie coasters that you can't ride if you are over a certain height unless you have a kid with you, if it is safe to have an adult ride with the kid, why not let anyone ride?
I have been on a clone of Treetop Racers at Playland in Ocean City, NJ and it was a little scary with no lap bar or seatbelt but was fun and I liked the helix at the end.

YoshiFan said:
A few other parks or Family Entertainment Centers also have the rule of not letting adults in without kids and I don't understand it. If someone is willing to pay to enter, I would have though the business would want their money.

I actually fully understand this rule and appreciate it. It reduces the chance of people who want to harm children from going there where it would be easy to find prey.

Re: Adults at a small FEC

Lord Gonchar said on July 16, 2007:

We were off again just before 4pm and stopped by Sir Goony's - yet another FEC with go-karts, mini-golf batting cages and a handful of kiddie rides. No one felt like ponying up the cash to ride (one ride on the kiddie coaster was $3.50) - so the kids played a few arcade games and I snapped some pics. I apparently wigged out a few patrons - which is totally understandable in hindsight - a lone guy walking around a park full of small children taking pictures and the staff actually questioned me. I explained my situation and they were extremely cool. Some really nice people and the fact that they showed concern says a lot.

Yoshi, the Tree Top Racers did have a seat belt, but it was pretty loose fitting and barely noticeable. I thought the helix at the end was the best part.

As far as adults without kids, I was going to say what Carrie said, but she beat me to it. The crowd at Adventure City was probably 80%-90% children. It looked like most of them were in large groups with maybe 1-2 adults watching them. I got the definite impression that the only reasons I was allowed in was that I said I wanted to ride the coaster and I was in a roller coaster club. I thought this rule was strange at first, but after I got in I thought it was good that the park was protecting the kids as much as they could, and not putting a few extra dollars ahead of a childs safety.

Carrie M. said:

YoshiFan said:
A few other parks or Family Entertainment Centers also have the rule of not letting adults in without kids and I don't understand it. If someone is willing to pay to enter, I would have though the business would want their money.

I actually fully understand this rule and appreciate it. It reduces the chance of people who want to harm children from going there where it would be easy to find prey.

Which I suppose makes things easier for the predators who are married and have kids, as they would appear to fit right in.

Probably.

There is no way it can be foolproof. They are doing what they can. The park can't ban families from visiting.

Seems to me like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. I suppose there aren't many adults who would go to a park to ride kids rides without a kid, but I can't imagine there are that many people going to do sexually inappropriate things either.

I would've thought it was a capacity issue at most parks. The lines for the kiddie coasters (between the one train multiple lap operation, the small train, and junior not being able to figure out if he wants to go and how to load) can get really really bad.

I don't know about other parks, but the day I was at Adventure City the small parking lot was near capacity and there were still only 1 cycle waits on most rides. When I rode Drop Zone and Freeway Coaster they were both walk ons and Tree Top Racers was about a 10 min wait, mainly because there were adults and older children in line. The smaller kiddie rides were also walk ons and this was on a Saturday. I can't imagine that capacity is ever much of an issue at this park. At this particular park there is almost nothing for an adult to do and I think the admission policy is reasonable.

^^Totally agree....but even so, I'm not out to spend all day riding, for instance, Little Titans at Mt. Olympus. But I did have to request of Mr. Laskaris that he inform the operators that we WERE allowed to ride that day (coaster event). The line was pretty long, actually, and no one was interested in "taking over" the kiddie coaster. Not everyone that wants to ride kiddie coasters is a pedophile...

I think it really comes down to the expectation that aprents can "sort of keep an eye on the kids" when they go someplace like Adventure City without fear of some predator keeping an even closer eye out...

edit: Added another ^arrow^ to indicate I was responding to Andy... ;)

rollergator said:
Not everyone that wants to ride kiddie coasters is a pedophile...

Obviously.

But on the same note, I don't think it's wrong to take notice of someone who does.

Because, face it, outside of the niche coaster community, it's a little weird.

^I'd say it's a LOT weird....outside the coaster community. Inside the coaster community, it's weird to NOT want to ride the kiddie coaster....and that's one of the reasons I find it more than a little insane to REQUIRE adults to ride with a child...

I don't think it is "weird" at all. I guess I am just used to it. ;) I see adults riding kiddy rides all the time, and not just at events. I always thought adults who loved kiddy rides or coasters actually ENJOYED the rides. I know plenty of people who enjoy kiddy rides, and they are not all enthusiasts.

What amazes me is why the word "pedophile" ended up in this thread to begin with. Heck, I would be more comfortable taking my kid to an amusement park than my local church, mall, or grocery store.

I didn't know Adventure City had a "no adults unless you are with kids or you are a coaster club member" policy. I guess I never picked up on it. The first time I was there was during an ACE Con and the second time was with a bunch of friends, who just happened to be coaster enthusiasts. I think we told them we were from all over the country. I don't remember being asked if we were coaster enthusiasts. I just remember everyone being "blown away" by us wanting to visit their park. They were a LOT more appreciative than some of the other parks we visited that the last time I was in CA. And we were there because we LOVED the park, not because we were looking for credits. :)

To be really honest, I didn't even know the park was still around. I thought they closed? I don't keep up on things like I used to. :)

I have nothing but positive memories from my visits. They were some of the nicest people I have ever met. :)

-Tina

rollergator said:
....and that's one of the reasons I find it more than a little insane to REQUIRE adults to ride with a child...

Well, I think the idea is that those rides aren't meant for adults. They're generally called kiddie rides for a reason. The only reason an adult should probably be on one is to accompany a smaller child in a parent/guardian situation.

Seems like a variation of the Adventure City admission rule - there's gnerally no reason for an adult to be there unless they're accompanying a child.

I guess the point is that, as usual, the coaster enthusiast is the exception. Going to the kiddie park or wanting to ride the kiddie ride...yeah, you're getting weird looks...and not in a good way.

I'm going to open a kiddie park, and let everyone but coaster enthusiasts in. :)

I'm going to open a kiddie park, not let any kids in and charge enthusiasts $50/ride.