If I ever needed to find a name for a ride, I just went on the Internet. When I opened my new wooden coaster in South America, I went to Yahoo! and searched "mountains in South America".
Yes you bumped. You posted that response a couple of days ago, then deleted it, then reposted it so the topic would "bump". I know those tricks. ;) No harm done.
No, I was talking about Visionland retheming the park to actually have representations from every continent all over the world.
Visionland draws 15,000+ guests on Mother's Day, that's right Mother's Day, which makes this not only the busiest Mother Day in the park's history, but the largest one-day crowd Visionland has ever seen. Even bigger than the debut VIP night in 1998 of 10,000+.
Here's the Headlines:
Visionland goes on a Rampage, Mother's Day opening draws a big crowd Forget flowers or brunch: One Mother's idea of a great Mother's Day is sitting by the Visionland wave pool with her two daughters and five granddaughters. "It's just something my kids wanted to do for me - this is their favorite thing to do," the Birmingham resident said. "We look forward to it every year."
Read more http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/news/1115630134324100.xml?birminghamnews?nmet
The park wasn't designed very well at all. The rides are way too spaced out and even though you could literally throw a rock from the que line of Zoomerang and hit Rampage the walk between the two is pretty long. The Space Shot is off by itself on a hill. The Tidal Wave swing ride is off by itself. The Pirate ship is off by itself. You have to hike quite far to get to the Wild River Gorge. They need to put a few small flat rides in between these long hikes between the major attractions just so it doesn't seem like you're hiking all that way just for one ride. Hopefully they'll fill it out a bit before they start to expand outward anymore. Maybe if these season is as big a success as it looks like its going to be they'll have the resources to put in a few more flat rides in the next few years while planning their next coaster.
Rampage is running better this year than it has in a long time. Its running faster than last year and is still pretty smooth for a woodie. Zoomerang was already having problems but its due to human error, not the ride itself. They weren't loading it properly and it was slowing down way too much in the loop which caused it to not make it up the hill far enough and it would roll back. It did that at least two or three times and each time it looked like they had a whole bunch of people loaded in the back and no one in the front. I don't know if thats the reason but it seemed that the train didn't have enough weight in the front to pull all the people in the back through the loop fast enough to make it up the hill. Other than that it ran fine. I love the low ceiling on the station that give you a nice head chopper effect. They need to do something about the theming. They said it would have lots of themeing but all it really has is a small sign that you almost don't even notice. I have several pictures and will post them as soon as I get a little free time.
Hey Godsentone, when will you be out there again? We're planning on going back this Saturday at least for a few hours.
Kryten6000 said:
The park wasn't designed very well at all.
I have said the same thing. It makes the park seem empty, though it also leaves future installations with more options, so there are a few benefits to it. I would rather see them closer myself, but I'll take the positives as well.
If either of y'all could tell me where I could get cheaper tickets, I woudld consider going this weekend for that warm-up. When I went at night last year I didnt get any photos, which stunk. I had originally planned on going to Busch Gardens this weekend, but SheiKra still isn't open, so I thought of doing this instead (Ive only been out of school for 5 days and am already bored...). I honestly still don't feel as if the park is worth $25 :(
Visionland will continue to do well now that it is being properly run. The park itself is maturing nicely. The trees and shrubs are now large enough to make an impact on the visual concept of the park. Also the waterpark continues to be the major draw. Hopefully the two new additoins will help distribute the crowds.
My only complaint about the park is that the restaurants do not accept credit cards. Cash only. You can use credit for park admission and souverners, but not food.
I wish the park much success. It is about time the BHM area had a nice park.
Kryten6000 said:
They weren't running two trains yet. Attendance is still not very high . . . I really like that but I wish the lines would get a little longer just so the park will make more money and be able to expand more in the future.The park wasn't designed very well at all. The rides are way too spaced out and even though you could literally throw a rock from the que line of Zoomerang and hit Rampage the walk between the two is pretty long. The Space Shot is off by itself on a hill. The Tidal Wave swing ride is off by itself. The Pirate ship is off by itself. You have to hike quite far to get to the Wild River Gorge. They need to put a few small flat rides in between these long hikes between the major attractions just so it doesn't seem like you're hiking all that way just for one ride. Hopefully they'll fill it out a bit before they start to expand outward anymore. Maybe if these season is as big a success as it looks like its going to be they'll have the resources to put in a few more flat rides in the next few years while planning their next coaster . . .
Zoomerang was already having problems but its due to human error, not the ride itself . . .Other than that it ran fine. I love the low ceiling on the station that give you a nice head chopper effect. They need to do something about the theming . . .
Hey Godsentone, when will you be out there again? We're planning on going back this Saturday at least for a few hours.
The second train will be back on the tracks before or by Memorial Day Weekend.
Actually attendence was very good according to the news reports. As a matter of fact it was a record day--around 15,000 attended that day.
Don't worry about the crowds, it will pick up. You will learn to appreciate the less-crowded days when it does. It's good that you are genuinely concerned with their future success, though.
Visionland was purposedly designed to be a spacious beautifully landscaped park, so it has plenty of room to scroll around. Now that Zoomerang is in between Space Shot and Rampage, that opens up more land for more rides to go in. Don't worry about all the other rides being spaced out, the space will be used adequately in the future.
I'm jealous that you got to experience the first GP rides on Zoomerang before I did, but it's good to see it will be open for full operation this weekend.
I will be there bright and early Saturday Morning around 9:00 AM CST. Hope to see you there. I will have my camera as well. Also, if you don't mind, please post your Mother's Day experience at Visionland in the Trip Reports section.
*** Edited 5/11/2005 2:24:30 PM UTC by Godsentone***
Jophish said:If either of y'all could tell me where I could get cheaper tickets, I woudld consider going this weekend for that warm-up.
Don't you still have the passes Bob Morgan emailed you?
To show our appreciation we have included a "Buy One Get One Free" coupon and a "1/2 Off Admission for One in June" coupon so that you or you and a friend can be among the first to ride the NEW Zoomerang when it opens in May. Click on coupons for printable version.
Here is the paragraph explaining the coupons. If you don't want to buy one and get one free, then it looks like you can get 1/2 off admission in June or its that for May? Not sure. I'll see what other discounts I can dig up.
*** Edited 5/11/2005 2:30:59 PM UTC by Godsentone***
Steve Perry said:
The Rampage alone is worth the price of admission.Visionland will continue to do well now that it is being properly run. The park itself is maturing nicely. The trees and shrubs are now large enough to make an impact on the visual concept of the park. Also the waterpark continues to be the major draw. Hopefully the two new additoins will help distribute the crowds.
My only complaint about the park is that the restaurants do not accept credit cards. Cash only. You can use credit for park admission and souverners, but not food.
I wish the park much success. It is about time the BHM area had a nice park.
Yeah, I feel pretty confident about Rampage, too. Multiple Rides in every seat especially front and back would definitely be worth the price of admission.
Yeah, Steve, I said the same thing about the trees. It seems that shade is only minimal at the peak of the day when the sun is directly above, but as the day goes on, you can tell that the trees have grown and their shadows now block the sun. You can bearly see Rampage's pathway from a distance, when before it was visible easily. I wish I could see a before and after of the park. I'll search for pictures though.
I will address the payment mode issue in the Food areas.
Yes, Visionland is not only great for the Bessemer-Birmingham area, but the entire state. Maybe after Bo Bice wins on American Idol, he and Ruben can come do a concert or something. That would really bring in the crowds. I will work on that for the future.
Read the article here!!!
http://www.al.com/search/index.ssf?/base/business/1115889684192721.xml?birminghamnews?bnews
In News Related to the Name-the-Log Flume Contest:
The contest is now over! A Winner will be announced soon!
Anyone going to Visionland this weekend?
*** Edited 5/20/2005 4:25:46 PM UTC by Godsentone***
Rip Roarin' Rampage-June 4th, 2005 only at Visionland in the Bessemer-Birmingham, AL area. I-20/59 Exit 110 on Visionland Parkway.
A park official, who I email back and forwards on a regular basis, had these words to say about Visionland:
A PA system for the Zoomerang, scenery to hide admin., and a barrier from the walk way and the drop off are all in the works. There is no timetable for this due to everything else we have going on. I was in the park today and the other rampage train is on the track and looks incredible. I was truly amazed with the job they did on it. And last but not least, the Rampage merchandise will be in by Saturday June 4. I have seen the samples and it is also is very nice. The logo on the front of the new train is on some of our shirts we ordered.
Great News huh? So good to know that you can have a behind-the-scenes view of what's going on at the park without actually being there right? Maybe they should start this off season with a Web Blog like Holiday World or something. [;)]
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