Cedar Fair to acquire Michigan's Adventure

"They did remove some of the old rides that I thought should have been preserved."

That's a point, though. Really, what is there at Michigan's Adventure to keep? There's no classic dark rides, no historical flat rides, and no woodie from the 20's.

I still think this park has nowhere to go but up now.

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Matt Lynch
Co-Webmaster, Kennywood Boulevard
http://kennywood.coasterbuzz.com

I agree with Lynch. MA is a nice small park, but CF will have to remove some attractions if they want to bring it to the next level. Luckily, none of MA's attractions have any great history behind them. My best guess is that the Big dipper will go,as this is not a top tier ride, ean for a kiddie ride. Possibly ZZ will end up part of a Camp Snoopy area in the future.

Indeed, Lynch. Nowhere but up. While I love ST, the park itself is bland at best. It's more like a bunch of flat rides set up on a parking lot. There's virtually no landscaping or themeing. But there is a ton of space - and, I believe, a ton of people that would gladly give up driving to CP or SFGAm and go to MA instead, provided it has enough "big time" thrills.

I, for one, believe this is a great thing for MA.

GREAT! Another Corkscrew that will run 3 trains! I'm sure you all know that would be suicide. Glad to see my 100th coaster is going to fall into great hands.
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www.angelfire.com/oh4/tk173
An unnerving stillness in the woods of southern Indiana beckons for you on May 11th.....

I knew it! I've had a feeling that this would happen for a little while. It just seemed to fit too well.

YAY!

I'm sure that Cedar Fair will do wonders with this park like they have with all of their other parks. Kudos to Cedar Fair!

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"Johnny Rotten shot me with his BB-gun."

I don't think CF will touch a great ride like the Timbers. I can't wait untile the coming months to see how this shapes up.

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Rollercoasters are the secret of life!

http://www.woodencoaster.com

"I think that was a good move. Why not have one of the top-rated wooden coasters too."

But how long will it be a top-rated wooden coaster? CF LOVES trimming their woodies to death!!!

What better amusement park chain to purchase this property? Imagine Shivering Timbers under the control of Six Flags! Can you say trim brakes?!

What are you talking about themeparkne? Ever ridden Hercules and Mean Streak. Can you say the ultimate trim brakes?! Out of the 4 CF parks I've been to, there are only been 2 great woodies. That's one great woodie for every two parks. Compare that to SF. Which parks don't have a great woodie(based on others opinions)? SFWoA-Villain, SFStL-The Boss, SFMW/SFA-Roar, SFKK-TS/TR, SFNE-Cyclone, SFoT-Texas Giant, SFGAm-AE... The only ones with no greats are SFMM, SFEG, and SFGAdv. That's all that comes to mind for now.

I don't know whether to be glad or not. How about CF service and SF coasters? Or draw the line in the middle and go with Paramount. Good service and equally takes care of all parks. I still don't think this was smart for CF, but if MA needs it to survive, ok then.
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PKI-Wooden, Helix, and Kiddie Coaster Capital of the World!
And I LOVE CP, so Get Up Out of My Azz About It! :)

When I saw this news it sent a great chill down my spine, like when you see the MF for the first time! I can't wait to see what CF has in store for this park, I went there the past two years and Shiving Timbers is easily the best woodie around, and best coaster out there in most people option! We in Michigan could use a great park like CF has done with all their others!!!! GREAT MOVE CF I LOVE YOU!!!!!!

I heard there considering a new coaster, or footers were already added or something? Does anyone have any information?

This is great, there is so much room to expand, it's rediculous. A few ride operators told me last year (Aug 2000), that their new steel coaster for 2002 would be about a 220ft first hill (Workers knew this coaster was coming back in 1999 when I was there). With CF to contribute, this park will finally meet it's destiny, it's been coming for a long time now. MA already has a decent water park to add to the mix on top of it.

MA pix at: http://www.rollercoasterking.com/1MichAdv.htm

I noticed the trim brakes that Cedar Fair added to Hercule's after they bought Dorney Park. Not one but 2 of them. Most noticable being the one at the top of the biggest drop. It ruined the best part of the coaster. Nothing is really impressive about it except that first drop. They change things alright. Better go and ride the ST before they put the breaks on. =) I don't think they would do it to that coaster cause of its reputation. Hercules was never hailed as being a great coaster. *** This post was edited by Coaster Fantom on 5/8/2001. ***

That is good news. When it comes to large companies, Cedar Fair is the best. They make all the right moves, put in great rides and even preserve the tradition that we love in our parks. They have done a great job with KNotts. I have reason to believe that this will be no different.

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Home Park: Knotts Berry Farm!
but also Disneyland and DCA

Here's my synopsis:

Why Cedar Fair likes Michigan's Adventure:

Gives them a presence on both Detroit and Chicago, completing a ValleyFair - Michigan's Adventure - Cedar Point - Dorney influence bloc.

This squeezes both sides of Detroit, hurting SFWoA, as well as removes a lot of the west side of Michigan from SFGAm -- especially if they throw in a hyper. Unlike Knotts, Michigan's Adventure has a *ton* of room.

A Lot of room. Check any satellite pic. =) It's good a large parking lot and close access to a semi-major highway (US-31) with decent routes in and out. It's near a semi-major population center - Muskegon / Holland / Grand Rapids, and is on a major tourism coast. It has easy access from Chicago. (94 - 31) It's friggin' huge!

Better yet, it can run on autopilot for the next few years with no problems. It has 3 coasters built in the last 3 years (Shivering Timbers, Mad Mouse, and Big Dipper). It has a functional children's area, as well as a nifty family wooden coaster. (Which won't be removed, if the owner has anything to say about it) It has enough flats to be interesting. It has a flume and a rapids ride. It has an inverted (Corkscrew). It has 3 woodies, which is more than... any other CF property, I believe.

Why you won't see a wholesale removal of flat rides or some coasters:
A Trabant, a Chaos, and a Yo-Yo. All well-run, all functional, all popular. Yo-yo fulfills the wave swing concept. The Falling Star might go, but everythign else is popular and has a small footprint. They have a Giant Wheel, which is popular. They have a Scrambler. A Frog Hopper. All do well. Some of the kiddie stuff might be consolidated into an Oceana Midway type thing.

Big Dipper has a tiny footprint, and nicely fulfills the 'Junior Gemini' task, and Zach's Zoomer does an admirable job as a Woodstock's Express type ride. A few Peanuts rides and themes couldn't hurt. Also, all the flats and such are wedged into a corner, and take up almost no space. It's very efficiently arranged.

The Corkscrew might see a transfer track and a second train, though. Couldn't hurt. God willing, so will Wolverine Wildcat.

My fears - separate admission waterpark and high seatbacks on the PTCs. Except ZZ's, which don't have room...

At least there is already alot of concrete (and not many trees), so it will seem like a Cedar Fair park (just like Concret Point).

I sure hope they do this park good. The main thing is that they don't screw up STimbers. I rode this a few times the day it opened and it was a totally insane ride!

Well from some trip reports I heard this is an ok park with one great woodie. Sounds a lot like Riverside before Six Flags took it over. Anyway, SFNE is twice the park that it ever was and I agree that is what Cedar Fair will make this place into.
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sigh, SFNE goes "tiny" for 2001

I think this is great! Although the Jourdan's will be missed... I live in Monroe, Mi., between Detroit & Toledo, on lake Erie. Went to ACE's Spring Con the day S.T. opened- the wait for the first ride on that monster was long, but well worth it! Travel wise,from here it is appx. the same distance as PKI. As a huge Point fan and Season Pass holder, I can't wait to see what's in store for us near Muskegon!

plus you can now go to both CP and MA on your season pass....Shivering Timbers, Raptor, Talon, Millennium Force, Magnum, Steel Force, Ghostrider......what other park chain can boast all these world class rides.....?

Clarkbar, to answer your question quickly, Paramount(Beast, SOB, HXLC, FOF, Top Gun, Stealth), Busch(AC, Alpie, Montu, Kumba, Gwazi), Universal(The Hulk, DD, DDRRF, JPRA, MIB, T2), Six Flags(Nitro, RB, Goliath, Titan, Medusa), and Disney(RnRC, CS, TZToT, SoC, SM). That's just to name a few rides at each. Have you not been to any of the others? But if you're talking about exact copies of those rides, of course not.

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PKI-Wooden, Helix, and Kiddie Coaster Capital of the World!
And I LOVE CP, so Get Up Out of My Azz About It! :)

I WISH Six Flags had gotten it. Why you ask?

Case in point: Thunderhawk at Dorney Park. Has
anyone ridden it lately? It USED to be a great ride..
:(

Case in point 2: Look what Dorney, WoF, and Valleyfair have gotten in the past five years.

Now compare that to what SFNE, SFWoA, and
SFA have gotten in the past THREE years.

Case in point 3: RIP- Knott's Shack, GR's original
first drop, Dorney's Sky Ride, Rocket Ships, Bucket
o' Blood, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Speedway, etc, etc ad nauseum. Cedar Fair'll tear out rides and replace them with garbage cans and ''landscaping'' all in the name of ''progress.

Not to mention the ''Boot Camp'' policies and strict, nazi-like, operations. Sure, Six Flags operations are
far from perfect too, but at least they don't have a stick up their up*****when it comes to safety devices and rules and such.

In the words of the immortal Harry Henninger,
''We're only an AMUSEment park...let's not take
ourselves too seriously...''