Any Michigan's Adventure news?

I'm not sure where you are located Jeff, but, I have lived in Michigan all of my life, a majority of it, within 45 minutes from Michigan's Adventure, and I have also lived in Muskegon, only 15 minutes away. And if you choose to believe it or not, the west Michigan coastline is Chicago's playground. And, many of the people who go to Michigan's Adventure are from Chicago, in fact, a lot of new Michigan residents are from Chicago. I also belong to a campground, and almost 70 percent of the campers are from Chicago.

Why do you ask? Because the people in Chicago are tired of the Chicago lifestyle, and the huge crowds at Great America, so, they go east to Michigan. Almost every city along the west Michigan coast has some kind of tourist attraction geared to the Chicago crowds. The town of Saugatuck, ( just a short drive from Muskegon), sees hundreds of thousands of Chicago visitors every summer, and the city of Holland is full of former Chicago residents.

So, Apollo Andy is correct, when I was referring to the size of the potential market, and not actual customers. Also, as some other people have mentioned, Cedar Fair no longer reports actual attendance numbers on their parks, so the 800,000 number you have my be low. Still, 800,000 x 26 = $22,400,000. Just on admission, and dosen't include any other money they take in for anything else. With little or no improvements to the park to show for it. Kinda sad.

But, the only reason I responded to this post was to comment on MA's new fastlane. Only $35.00 on Saturday, or $30.00 during the week. Go to the MA website and check it out. http://www.miadventure.com The first thing I noticed in their scrolling ad...A roller coaster that is NOT at Michigan's Adventure, and a log flume that is NOT at Michigan's Adventure. Why do they do that?

Not going to read your post, because Chicago has Great America, and anything else you have to say is irrelevant and tired fanboyism. My point stands that comparing your park, which has comfortably peaked and generates an outstanding margin, does not have the growth potential that Holiday World had enjoyed the last decade, and continues to enjoy.

Fanboyism? Are you saying I'm a fan of Michigan's Adventure? Because if you are, I'm certainly not. I used to like it, but now I am more commenting on a park that I used to like that is become a money sponge for it's new owners.

Parks I do still like. Cedar Point, and Great America. Because I have never felt that I am paying too much, and hardly ever disapprove of what they are doing. Great America often has buy one get one free admission offers, or, buy one day get the second for just $2.00. Michigan's Adventure has never done anything like that. Not since Cedar Fair anyways, I think the only discount on daily admission is $1.50 off a one day admission if you buy your ticket at Meijer. And, Meijer also sells Cedar Point tickets. They used to sell Great America tickets as well. I know because I worked there for 15 years. Or, every once in a while they will have $3.00 or $5.00 off with a pepsi can. (Used to be Coke) But, they haven't done that in a long time.

And so what if Chicago has Great America. For the people on this board, if you live in a major city like Chicago, with an amusement park near by that you've been to a zillion times, and can go to any time you want. Would that stop you from driving a few hours to go someplace else? especially to a park that is less crowded? Millions of people live near Disneyland in California, but that doesn't stop them from going someplace else. Why would anyone believe that everyone in Chicago just wants to go to Great America.

I also know people who live in Grand Rapids, and Muskegon who have never been to Michigan's Adventure, nor heard of it. But, they have all been to Cedar Point. So, for someone to think that they draw the customers from a centralized location, is not 100 percent accurate. People go where they want to go. Michigan's Adventure is an hour from me, but that doesn't stop me from going anywhere else. Even 14 hours away by car to La Ronde in Montreal. So, whatever.

I like waffles, do you like waffles?

Or was it pancakes? It's been so many years I can't remember anymore.

This guy is the poster child for TL;DR.

We liked pancakes, but I'm not opposed to liking waffles too... Waffles with lots and lots of brown gravy.

Timber-Rider said:

The first thing I noticed in their scrolling ad...A roller coaster that is NOT at Michigan's Adventure, and a log flume that is NOT at Michigan's Adventure. Why do they do that?

To piss you off?

Timber-Rider said:

...the west Michigan coastline is Chicago's playground.

...many of the people who go to Michigan's Adventure are from Chicago...

...a lot of new Michigan residents are from Chicago.

...almost 70 percent of the campers are from Chicago.

...people in Chicago are tired of the Chicago lifestyle, and the huge crowds at Great America, so, they go east to Michigan.

...hundreds of thousands of Chicago visitors every summer, and the city of Holland is full of former Chicago residents.

Would you mind citing your references for the above information?

Timber-Rider said:

And so what if Chicago has Great America. For the people on this board, if you live in a major city like Chicago, with an amusement park near by that you've been to a zillion times, and can go to any time you want. Would that stop you from driving a few hours to go someplace else? especially to a park that is less crowded?

If there's a better, closer park, people will go there first. Period.
Especially if their friends/family don't swarm around a coaster forum all day; aka, amusement parks in groups (1-day trips) are generally more typical.

Convenience is a factor you're forgetting. There's a big difference between a group of people doing a weekend camping trip, vs a group of people doing a trip to a small theme park. The difference is probably a couple of "0"s

Raven-Phile said:

This guy is the poster child for TL;DR.

Have you not met Aamilj?

Oh yeah, I forgot about him. Those 2 are like the Abbott and Costello of TL;DR.

Timber-Rider said:

And if you choose to believe it or not, the west Michigan coastline is Chicago's playground.

Keep in mind that Wisconsin is also an area where many Chicago people go. Especially Wisconsin Dells, with all of their water parks and such. We visited both western Michigan (including MA) and the Dells a few years ago and the latter seemed way more tourist oriented.

Is it a destination for some Chicagoans? Yes---that side of the lake is pretty popular, because you get sunsets over the water. But, the "west coast" of Michigan stretches a LOOOONG way, and Muskegon County is one small part of it.

But, rather than guess at the numbers, let's look at what they really are, shall we?

According to the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (and reported by the Muskegon Chronicle just this past Sunday), Muskegon County generated a bit more than $260M in leisure spending in 2010, putting it at #12 in overall leisure spending in the state.

http://www.mlive.com/opinion/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/05/viewpoint_t...conom.html

A couple hundred million isn't trivial, but it's not as much as you'd think. Overall leisure spending in the entire state of Michigan was $12.6B in the same year. So, if my math is right, Muskegon County represents only about 2% of the tourism dollars in Michigan.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2011/05/25/medc-michigan-tourism-jumps-in-2010/

In contrast, the Wisconsin Dells area generated north of $1B in 2010.

http://www.wisdells.com/media/facts/economic-impact.cfm

Spencer County, IN generates a bit less than $170M, so smaller than Muskegon. (This press release appears to have been published in early 2010, so I assume these are either 2009 or 2008 numbers)

http://www.indianasabelincoln.org/press-releases/former-state-touri...ism-vision

But, in Spencer County, the attractions are pretty much the only reason to visit. Muskegon and the Dells both have natural features (the coastline and, well, the Dells, respectively) that help generate spending. A lot of people go to the Michigan coast or the Dells just to "be there". I bet that's not as common in southern Indiana, though I could be wrong about that.

As an aside, if you're looking for a place to crash in Muskegon, we were pleasantly surprised by this:

http://www.shorelineinn.com/

Waterfront. The rooms are well-appointed, though not all have water views. The restaurant is right by the marina, has an outdoor patio, and makes good drinks and decent appetizers. We spent a night there before picking up our kids at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp last summer. This summer, we're going to upgrade the room to one with a view, and spend a couple nights...

I liked your post Brian Noble. It proves that I am not crazy when I say that Michigan does draw a lot of people from the Chicago area. As for Muskegon county being the #12 draw in the state. Did it say why? But, I can probably guess. Michigan's Adventure, Summer Celebration, and a recent Bikefest which drew over 60,000 people last year. There is always something going on. The National Coast Guard festival in Grand Haven is another big tourist draw. A lot of the cities that have the big festivals are less than an hour from Michigan's Adventure. So I wouldn't be surprised that they might get some of those visitors. It's too bad that Michigan's Adventure isn't open during Tulip Time in Holland. That draws people from all over the world. But, not my thing, too crowded, and kinda boring. Windmill Island was nice though.

Windmill Island was only 30 miles from where I used to live, and last summer was the first time I had ever been there. Which proves that, just because someone lives close to a park, doesn't mean they want to go there. I live less than an hour from Michigan's Adventure, and I would rather go somewhere else. Would love to go to the Dells, or Holiday world. I would even go to Dollywood if I thought my car would make it.

As for the rest of the state, I wonder how much of that leisure spending could be related to the Casinos, and Mackinac Island. The Traverse City area is also a big vacation spot. I went there last summer, and drove by the Great Wolf lodge, which is probably one of the biggest buildings in northern Michigan. Well, the Grand Hotel is pretty big too, but not that big.

The weird thing is, we rarely hear what is going on with the east side of the state. Almost everything on that side of the state is centered around the city of Detroit, and sporting events. I wonder how much of the leisure spending could be located there. I would bet a lot, especially with all the big concerts, and 3 major casinos there, like the MGM Grand.

Also the Wisconcin dells, isn't really in the same scope as Michigan's Adventure. The Dells is made up of many different attractions, which are all very close together, each one having a different appeal, and they have more indoor waterparks then anywhere else in the country. Where as MA is in the middle of nowhere, and the nearest attraction it is an out of the way county park, and Lake Michigan, which really isn't that popular at all. So, where the dells has many draws in it's location, Michigan's Adventure stands alone.

I would bet that if Michigan's Adventure had just a fraction of the attractions the dells has, the amount of visitors would be enormous. So, to compare the two, really isn't the same.

Never thought I'd say this but I think I just might have to admit that you're Gonna get credit for the points you make in your last post.

Give credit where credit is due, I will. Screw it. I'm just trying to Rick Roll

You anyway.

Up there in your post, you say something about how you

Never go to Michigan's Adventure anyway so why are you

Gonna continue complaining?

Let it go already, please.

You haven't read this far, so I'm not even going to continue writing

Down below this line.

Honestly, I have to side with Timber-Rider's original post. While I feel MiAdv is a nice little park, Michigan's Adventure has the potential to be something more.

The main draw obviously is the water park. It has been that way ever since they installed it. While I can see the reasoning behind not installing something new every year, they could at least throw a bone out every other year or every 3 years even? I'm not even talking a big bone either... haha.

Take for instance, the removal of the Falling Star this year. That ride was perfect for a park the size of MiAdv. I'm sure age and maintenance was the reason for removal, but why not replace it with something else? (Well I guess they did add a new price increase... so they did add something new this year).

MiAdv would be the perfect park to include rides that might not work at some of the larger parks due to capacity. Why not throw some unique low capacity rides in?

Rides that you would never see at Cedar Point or Kings Island due to capacity?

Why not take care of some of the little annoyances through out the park? Here's an example of a couple of small bone's they could throw out:

Instead of having the children's rides scattered far apart, why not simply relocate them all to the same area? Maybe even add a new children's ride?(Camp Snoopy/Planet Snoopy area)

How about fixing some of the midway dead ends?

How about adding a seperate entrance for the waterpark side? I bet the majority of the guests would park near and use that entrance.

How about adding a show? It's been done before CF purchased the park. Since the waterpark gets alot of attention, I can imagine an outdoor show located near the waterpark that would probably draw a crowd.

What's with the lonnnng boring walk from the ride side to the waterpark? Either add a transportation ride (Sky Ride, Train, ect) or spice up that midway a bit?

Add me to the Timber-Rider lunatic fanboy of MiAdv if you must, but I personally feel more could be done each year to improve the park.

Detroit Basketball said:

Instead of having the children's rides scattered far apart, why not simply relocate them all to the same area? Maybe even add a new children's ride?(Camp Snoopy/Planet Snoopy area)

How about fixing some of the midway dead ends?

2 birds with one stone: Camp Snoopy on midway between ST and TH.

Also, it kinda amuses me how much of a MiA hater Jeff is. He even objects to Thunderhawk, which was the perfect move - hand-me-down coaster that filled the glaring omission in the attraction list.

decil76 said:

How about fixing some of the midway dead ends?

2 birds with one stone: Camp Snoopy on midway between ST and TH.



I like this idea. However, what will they do with all the "dead" space from taking the kiddie rides out of their current locations and putting them there?

^ I was thinking if they relocate big dipper and that ride that always attracts bees in the corner by the entrance, that would be a good spot for a dark ride. They only have like 4 kiddie rides and they are all in spots where you could replace them with landscaping and never notice the difference.