Michigan Adventures Memorial Monday Madness

I was told by tekwardo that Michigan Adventures would be packed on Memorial Monday. Well, that was false. I walked on every ride I rode, left after 4 hours, had a 40 minute break during the day, and still rode 25 rides.

I started off the day with a 2 hour Shivering Timbers marathon. I rode it 17 times in a row to start the day. Even when there was barely anybody in the station, the ride ops wouldn't let me re ride. I had sprint around.

My first ride on Shivering Timbers was awesome because I sprinted to it on park opening. I was 200 yards ahead of the next person when I got to the station. That was my dad. Then behind him was about 15 yards of space, then the pack. I had to sit in the train until 1/2 the train was full. Oh well. I rode it 17 times in a row, and it was from 11 am-1 pm. 19 times total.

Timbers was running good. It had floater air time. The ejection air time wasn't as good as hoped for, but the first hill was a lot smoother than last year. I got a bit worn out mentally and physically when I was getting to about the 15th ride in a row. Oh well.

I also rode Wildcat, Loggers Run, and Shivering Timbers again after the 17 marathon. Then I went and settled down a bit. I rode the hydroblaster slide ride. (I needed to ride a slide since the water park was cold. Hydroblaster is in the dry park.) I rode the swan boats, the old cars, Timbers again, and Mad Mouse to end the day. Only 4 hours at the park, but a great day. Thunderhawk was broken down for awhile. I skipped it. 25 rides in all.

Tekwardo will also tell you an invert is going in at Kings Island, so see? Not to be trusted. ;-)

So what was the weather like? Anything to keep holiday crowds away? And I'm curious to know why you needed a good drenching with cold water.

Your little legs must be like rubber bands what with all the sprinting and then swan boats? Sheesh.

Overall a good trip report, it sounds like you had a great day, and thank you. 25 rides? Reminds me of my younger days. Oh, and btw, it's Michigan's Adventure.

Moved from General Buzz.

The weather was overcast with no rain. There was 3 memorial day parades in nearby towns though. Traffic was awful on the way home. There were only about 128 cars in Michigan Adventures parking lot at 1 pm.

The most stressful thing to my body was adjusting to taking 17 beatings in a row. Timbers was rough on everything but the first drop. I'm still shaking.

25 rides in 4 hours with a 40 minute break is great pace for me. Maybe even too fast.

By the way, Lakeview Gliders is really fun. It's medium speed, but your swings twist and turn very accurately to your control. It's more intense than it looks and position too close to the beer gardens.

Tyler Boes said:

There were only about 128 cars in Michigan Adventures parking lot at 1 pm.

So oddly specific. But it's Tyler. Par for the course.

Aw, Mike, ya beat me to it.

Anyway, he said "about" 128 cars, which isn't too specific if you ask me.

My dad counted it exact while he was up in the air on a ride. It probably was between 100 and 150 cars because I don't know how accurate it was. It's amazing how much unnecessary parking spaces Michigan Adventure has.

So now we know.....

Tyler Boes said:

There were only about 128 cars in Michigan Adventures parking lot at 1 pm

.....

My dad counted it exact while he was up in the air on a ride.

Gregor Mendel just gave that a +1 from the great beyond.

The fact that you believe yourself to have been misinformed about the expected crowds on Memorial Day is a testament to why you need to stop asking questions that have no definitive answers. Is ride X scarier than ride Y? Is blank day a good day to visit the park? No one can answer these questions for you.

Please stop asking them. Especially if you intend to point out how the answer someone was kind enough to humor you with was wrong.

Tek's crystal ball must have been broken that day, and he was just guessing based on past experiences, which could be different from future experiences of another person.

Well, because of the many parades in the area, memorial Monday will be a very good day to go always.

Tyler, Tyler, Tyler. You're young so it's understandable, but attendance cannot be accurately predicted because so many factors affect it.

Michigan's Adventure is not a resort destination like CP, WDW or Universal. Weather (particularly forecasts) affects attendance a lot. Memorial Day Weekend is just the beginning of Michigan's Major Tourism Season. Michigan is a very big tourist state, but most don't travel just to hit up that park (don't get me wrong, it's my home park and I love it...but it is the truth). Many people will plan on adding their park to their agenda when in state for vacation and then the rest is just in-staters and maybe some from adjacent states. MiA is barely in the Chicago & Detroit markets with Grand Rapids & Kalamazoo acting as its largest market area actually. While both markets are growing (especially when dealing with beer) they don't have the major pull for amusement parks that the other markets do.

At any rate, Memorial Day does tend to be VERY busy (for Michigan Adventure standards), but that generally is in-state people again as tourism season is just beginning. However, yesterdays weather forecast was not the best. I know there was a chance of rain everywhere in the state basically. Plus, it was very cold. Truthfully, guests get the most bang for their buck when the waterpark is open. I know that down state, we never got out of the 50s yesterday and when the clouds and rain moved in, our temps actually dropped. We finally are above 60 now thanks to a warm front moving in. I see that yesterday Muskegon only got up to 61 degrees (right around what the forecast stated and way below average this time of year). Therefore, the waterpark was never going to open and people stayed away. Plus, the rain chances probably kept people away as well.

Michigan's Adventure CAN be busy sometimes, but it's not on the level of "busy" as you'd see at many other major parks. It is usually for those around here and added to the agenda for those visiting there. It isn't like Florida where there are so many theme parks in a general area where you can visit them all. The only other "major" amusement/theme attraction close to Michigan's Adventure is the AIR ZOO which is about an hour and a half south in Kalamazoo/Portage. Sure the lake helps with people up near Muskegon for the park, but not on a day like yesterday.

In addition, the park was pretty busy with Rock the Coast going on this past weekend and then with all that happening and yesterdays cool temps, it probably inhibited a lot.

Either way, attendance is hard to be predicted. You can go off previous experiences and what people say. But once weather is thrown into the mix, it is a whole new ball game.

Going beyond "attendance". Did you enjoy the park despite the weather? Was it your first time? Great TR otherwise.

You, and MI Adventure lucked out on the Memorial Day Weather.

I was camping all weekend down in Saugatuck, MI, which is about an hour and half south of Muskegon. The weather on Saturday and Sunday was sunny and up in the low 70's. But, it was freezing cold at night, with frost advisories out for the northern counties. (Counties north of Muskegon)

I was supposed to continue camping memorial day, and return home today. But, the weather was so cold and rainy, that everyone at the campground was pretty much gone before noon. And it was barely 50 degrees at 1 p.m. I packed up, and drove home in one rainstorm after another, and it was raining in Grand Rapids as well. So, you lucked out, by missing out on the nasty weather to the south. Probably why the park was so quiet.

Once you got north of Grand Rapids, it was pretty much like you said. The rain stopped, and it was just overcast. It was actually warmer 74 miles north of Grand Rapids, then it was in Saugatuck. And, that rain was very cold.

So, you really lucked out tyler. Kind of bummed too, because the local weather channels were saying that Monday and Tuesday would be the warmest days of the week with sunshine, and 80 on Monday, and 81 today. So far they have been WRONG!! It has rained all day today, and barely made 60. We had to turn the heat on in our house to stay warm!

If the weather was like they had predicted, I'm sure the park would have been packed. Have been there on a nice Memorial Day, and it was quite busy, though Saturday would have still been the busier day.

Glad you got in those multiple rides. But, I'll bet it was frickin cold!!

RCMAC said:

Anyway, he said "about" 128 cars, which isn't too specific if you ask me.

That's actually a very nice round number for approximating...if he were counting in base 2.

Timber-Rider said:

You, and MI Adventure lucked out...

So, you lucked out...

So, you really lucked out tyler...

So I guess your point is that Tyler lucked out? ;)

It was actually 55 degrees and humid. Not very cold.

I have a 2010 MA park guide in front of me, and it says that none of the water attractions would be open, unless the temp was 65 degrees or higher. So, I am kind of suprised that you got to ride hydroblaster.

Was Adventure Falls and Grand Rapids Open? Not that I would want to go on either on a cold day. With pretty much half the park closed, you should be very glad that it did not receive it's typical holiday crowd, or lines would have been really horrible. Add, a broken Thunderhawk, and it would hardly be worth the price of admission.

Hope you have a season pass, and didn't have to pay for tickets.

So, yes LostKause I will say tyler lucked out again.

Totally know who I'm going to contact the next time I want to know what the weather in Michigan was the day before.

The WATERPARK is closed if it gets below 60. Hydroblaster isn't in the waterpark. Adventure Falls and Grand Rapids were open also.