miadventure.com posts 2003 schedule

Today the site was updated with the operating schedule for next year. Opening/Closing are the same, with little change throughout the season. Count me in for those on the disappointed side; the park doesn't operate for any more days than this year, nor does the park stay open any later in the summer. Bah humbug.
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Kara (car-uh)
1024 Laps
621 in '02
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer
Proud Co-Founder of the CoasterBuzz Street Team

*** This post was edited by ST chick on 9/17/2002. ***

You MiA folks do get shafted on the length of your season. Does the park draw enough people late in the season to warrant being open longer???

Or is this incentive to make a late season trip to CP?

I've been upset about the same thing at Indiana Beach. They tried to stay open until mid September once, but I guess it didn't work out. Who knows? Maybe things will change someday.

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Guide to Indiana Beach

I actually was discussing this with the management the other day. Closing day we had 500 people in the park, which is really low. The other "extended days from last season" also had low attendance. However, I brought up that MIA in September is no different than the rest of the season...that if we would try something such as a Halloween event it would give people more incentive to make it out to the park. They agreed, and gave me the impression that this would be attempted sometime...but obviously not this year :(.

Another possible reason is that staffing after colleges start is very, very difficult for MIA.

Maybe it's me being selfish, or the fact that I am going through the MIA is closed-withdrawl thing this week, but it just doesn't seem fair. I mean, they made the decision not to extend the operating schedule a mere couple of days after closing. Why not think this out more...explore solutions to the problems? I think the fact that they were testing midway lighting and the park actually stayed open unofficially until ten a couple nights this season got my hopes up. I guess we can hope for next season.

Oh, and parking went up a dollar...understandable with the expansions they've been doing in the past few weeks.

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Kara (car-uh)
1024 Laps
621 in '02
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer
Proud Co-Founder of the CoasterBuzz Street Team

Expansions? Did I miss something?

scott taylor said:
Expansions? Did I miss something?

"If we go any faster, we'll blow apart for sure!"

Um...PARKING expansions;). They added a new road that branches off the original. They're going to place the little parking booths over there. Basically, it will keep traffic away from the main road and keep things more organized...for instance, when exiting the park one won't have to drive back through said parking booths. Eh, I think you kind of have to see it to understand.

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Kara (car-uh)
1024 Laps
621 in '02
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer
Proud Co-Founder of the CoasterBuzz Street Team

I understand. But parking and/or leaving the park had not been a problem (for me) this or last season. Not a problem at CP either, but we camped at CV the last 2 years so it was unnoticed. MI ADV needs a campground and/or hotel!

And of course a new ride... :)

I think she means a more defined, better looking and organized exit/entrance system. Anything will be better than the slabs and umbrella system. I'm all for a longer operating schedule and later closing times. I thought the getting the midway lighting was for this purpose, not to just have it and not use it. Oh well, what can you do? Hopefully they will be nice and give us a new ride at least.

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“If you give a enthusiast a footer.......He’ll want a coaster!!!"

Man, I wanted night rides on Timbers. Oh well.

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All I need is 4.5 million bucks and a half a mile long sliver of land and maybe someone could build me my very own Shivering Timbers. ;)

Kara, do you think the locals might be against the park staying open later in the evenings? I thought about that when I saw the dragstrip as some of the small strips we've been to have noise restriction limits and cannot run past sundown.

And I can see MiA having trouble with staffing, especially after employees were complaining about having to work for such a small crowd on Sunday. I was also surprised to see them taking flags down and hauling trash cans away at 3 pm!!

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I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead

Thunderbird Raceway just down the road races at night. It is a dirt short track. This makes me really doubt it's because of noise restrictions. If a race track isn't too loud then nothing is.

-Brent (Who has spent quite A few nights at Saturday Night Short Tracks)

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All I need is 4.5 million bucks and a half a mile long sliver of land and maybe someone could build me my very own Shivering Timbers.

*** This post was edited by MagnumForce on 9/18/2002. ***

"Count me in for those on the disappointed side; the park doesn't operate for any more days than this year, nor does the park stay open any later in the summer. Bah humbug. "

I'm sure if attendance, length of stay and overall demand were there they would have added days to the season as well as hours. Certainly at the very least if the park had really shown the demand for it, they'd have spent the cash to make the park stay open till 10. Of course staffing, as mentioned, is a really big factor in extending seasons.

I'm sure all these changes will happen in the future - but it seems as if this year didn't show the need for the changes right now.

I also find it rather interesting that the admission price has not gone up for 2003. There is a very distinct relationship between new rides/attractions and raising admission prices at Cedar Fair parks.

Hmmm, maybe 2003 at MiAdv isn't as interesting as those in the "know" have led us to believe.

Mike

It's been my observation throughout the season that attendance at MiA didn't pick up very much. I can think of only two occasions that I went when it was crowded. Typically, the park seemed rather empty, especially on the ride side of the park. The changes made by FUN this year were significant and will have an effect soon. However, I think this year people still identify with the park's history of being an ugly family owned park. In my opinion, the park would benefit more from improvements such as an air conditioned restaurant than another coaster.

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a hotel either. A campground would make more sense. There are not enough customers during MiA's short season to justify the costs of adding a hotel.

If I were to add only one ride to the park, I would make it an S & S tower ride. They have enough coasters for a park of it's size. I would probably follow up with a coaster and then a Camp Snoopy area.

Oh boy....another S&S tower.

Well, no one can say they didn't see it coming. I don't doubt that it will.

Personally, I'd love to see a Master Blaster at MA before any more coasters. But there's no avoiding another Supreme Power Scream Tower either sometime in the future.

-'Playa

(who's just gotta get back there with the kids)

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

Seems to me a Camp Snoopy would being in more families [and increase spending] than an S&S tower, but I could be wrong. I still stand by my speculation that the new train that went in by Timbers will eventually run the perimeter of a Camp Snoopy.

Moosh

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"Mmmmm....forbidden donut!" - Homer Simpson

List of things I would like to see at MIA.

1. An entrance bathroom

2. Restaurants, at least a sitdown one

3. Camp Snoopy

While a new coaster would be nice I just don't think it is going to happen. At least not on the scale of a hyper. Maybe a small invert would work. A smaller version of Talon perhaps.

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All I need is 4.5 million bucks and a half a mile long sliver of land and maybe someone could build me my very own Shivering Timbers. ;)

MagnumForce, you can mark #1 off of that list...we got one put in about a month ago :).

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Kara (car-uh)
1024 Laps
621 in '02
BuzzCon Frequent Flyer
Proud Co-Founder of the CoasterBuzz Street Team

MagnumForce said:

Maybe a small invert would work. A smaller version of Talon perhaps.

Let me assure you that is never gonna happen. Never ever ever.

If VF can't get one with triple the annual attendance, it's not gonna happen. That doesn't sound bitter, does it? I don't sound bitter, do I? Okay, I'm bitter. Sue me. Whatever.

On the other hand, Morgan hypers don't really cost $10 million. For VF, a hyper, a ripcord, employee dorms and a few other accoutrements cost $10 million total. A hyper is more likely to get built than a full-circuit invert...or for that matter, even an Impulse.

The closest thing MA might see to an invert is a Vekoma Invertigo.....which really isn't a bad way to go. In fact, I'd trade you VF for MA and an Invertigo any day.

-'Playa

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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.

"For VF, a hyper, a ripcord, employee dorms and a few other accoutrements cost $10 million total."

First off - excellent use of the word accoutrements. Vocabulary is fun. Secondly - while Wild Thing didn't really cost the full $10 Million, that was also 1996 pricing. Granted you can shop manufs. to get the best price, but with a project like that at a park of MiAdv's size - you'd probably need over $10 Million to handle that type of expansion today.

I'd have to look to find the article, but I'm pretty sure Witherow said they're looking in the long-run to get MiAdv to the 6-700,000 a year attendance level - well below any of the CF parks that receive large rides like those mentioned.

But yeah, I'd be rather surprised to NOT see a S&S tower of some sort and a Camp Snoopy go in - both of which seem like a perfect fit for the park from my limited perspective.

Mike