Michigan's Adventure - 6/10 - Timbers Marathon!
Associated parks:
Michigan's Adventure, Muskegon, Michigan, USA
A friend of mine from over at PointBuzz met me at my apartment at 8:30 AM to make the 2 hour trip up to MiA. The drive wasn't bad except for a few spots of construction. We got to the park, and got the car parked, and were relieved to see Timbers cycling. I always have a fear that I am going to drive the 2 hours just to find out that Timbers is down for the day. We got our passes swapped out for regular tickets at group sales and headed into the park. We waited near Coasters Restaurant until the security guard let us head back into the park at 11.
We went straight for Timbers and got in seat 2-1. This ride is just as good as I remember from last year, and is actually better in spots. From what I understand, there was some re-tracking done on the second hill, and it was obvious as it was very smooth. The first hill should probably be next as there is a bit of a bounce near the bottom. In addition, the part of the ride that caused me so much pain last year (the ramp out of the turnaround) seems to have been re-tracked as well as I never noticed any of the painful stuttering I felt last year. The ride is aging well, and as the day heated up it got faster and faster. We discovered that we really enjoyed seat 3-1, as it gave a very good amount of airtime, without much jarring, but I still like 1-1 the best. As we rolled into the station it felt like it took for-ever to come to our final stop. The brakes grabbed us and stopped us at least 6 times in the station alone before the ride came to its final stop. I didn't remember this from last year, but ignored it for the time being.
After 6 consecutive walk-on laps (I said there were no crowds) we decided to give our internal organs a rest and hit some of the other rides. Wolverine Wildcat was next, and it was it's typical boring self. However, the crew on the platform was very entertaining, and one guy in particular was delivering CP quality spiels! In fact, many of the ride crews were doing very well today compared to past years. Dispatch Clears were fairly obvious and it was announced every time air gates were being opened. In addition, they were calling "ready" on Timbers as the train came into the helix, and you could see the ride hosts hustling to try to hit interval. This was quite impressive to see at a smaller park like MiA.
After WW we hit the Falling Star, which is pretty good at MiA, but not as good as the one at Indiana Beach. It was my friends first Falling Star, and the fun factor of the ride caught him off guard. We passed Mad Mouse because it was closed and headed back to Ripcord. My friend had never been on any Skycoaster, and I had never been on MiA's, so we both dished out the cash and took a flight. I really enjoyed the extra height on the tower compared to Cedar Point's, but wish the flight went as close to the ground as the CP one does. After Ripcord, we decided to get some lunch.
We picked Family Grill due to the "All You Can Eat" appeal, and for the fair price of 8.95. After pit-stopping at an ATM since they don't take credit, we got our tickets and headed to the grill. The service wasn't exactly helpful, and the fact that we were the only guests in the huge picnic area didn't help. I walked up to the grill and the man working it just stared at me. I actually had to say "Um, How does this work?", since I had never been there. The food was mediocre at best as the grilled meat had clearly been sitting around for awhile, and the buns were very stale. The only high point was the Macaroni Salad which was quite tasty. Overall for the price, and the filling you get, it's an ok place, but I wish the quality was a bit higher. In addition, it was during lunch that I saw the only poor employee performance. The man collecting money did not know where an ATM was in the park, and he didn't seem too interested in helping. Later in our meal, we found the same employee taking a nap in clear guest view near the soda machines in the picnic area.
After lunch we went back to Timbers (still a walk on) and did another mini-marathon of 8 more consecutive laps. (The first few were a bit rough on account of the Mac Salad ;) ). During those rides we met up with another PointBuzzer and ended up riding with him for the rest of the day. One thing we did notice were some full-time employees looking at the airgates and seeming concerned with how easily someone could get pinched or caught in them. After they left, in addition to saying that the gates were opening, the ride hosts also said "Please watch your hands and fingers as the gates are now opening." Gotta love it. After our 15th ride on Timbers for the day we headed back to Falling Star for 2 more rides, and then to Mad Mouse, which was still down, but looked like it had hope. After about 25 minutes of testing it finally opened, and we got our fun little ride on the green mouse. We followed that ride with a lap on the Corkscrew, and then decided to do 2 more laps on Timbers and call it a day.
It was during these 2 rides that we found out why the train seemed to take so long to come to a final stop. The ride host told us that it was implemented this season after the incident at CP with Magnum. They have programmed the extra braking for rainy situations. With this, and the "no running in the rain policy", it's clear that Cedar Fair has taken many steps to prevent another train bump on account of wet trains/brakes. I can understand it to a point, but I think it's a bit excessive.
After our last 2 laps on Timbers it was time to call it a day. Our bodies were aching from the power riding, and my friend had to drive an additional 3 hours back home after we got back to South Bend. I really hope MiA gets another signature coaster in the next few years to make it a more frequent park of mine. I know they have a great water park, and just added Grand Rapids, but I'm not much of a "water" guy myself. Regardless, overall it was a great day with the lower crowds, good rides, and the picture perfect weather.
Ride Summary:
Shivering Timbers - 17
Wolverine Wildcat - 1
Mad Mouse - 1
Corkscrew - 1
Falling Star - 3
Ripcord - 1
Total Hours in Park: 5.75
Total Rides: 24
*** Edited 6/11/2007 12:07:22 AM UTC by Josh M***
Josh M.
AV Matt
Long live the Big Bad Wolf
I haven't really traveled outside of Ohio Parks till this trip, so The Beast is really the only real World Class Coaster I have had my hands on. Shivering Timbers was absolutely excellent, love the airtime in all parts of the train (except the 4th car). The spine cruncher after the 3rd hill always caught me off guard, even after 17 rides. The only part that I could have done without is the Trick Track, but other than that, this coaster alone is worth at least one trip a year for me. Now I just have to get my butt too Holiday World, The Dells, and Vallyfair (Parks I plan on visiting this year) so I can have more to compare Timbers too.
My first Sky Coaster was a good experience, and I really like the Falling Star. If only they could make a 300ft version, haha. Thanks again for the great trip, it was a nice way to kill a another boring Sunday.
"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us."
-Joseph Campbell
Good Trip Report
Bolliger/Mabillard for President in '08 NOT Dinn/Summers
Great TR, sounds like you had a great day!
I'd rather be riding Roller Coasters....or baking.
Chuck, who says it's consistant no matter what the weather conditions.
I would LOVE to ride Shivering Timbers at least once! Ever since I saw pictures of this ride, I wanted to go to MiA.Great TR, sounds like you had a great day!
Then go to MIA and ride Shivering Timbers. BTW it's the best coaster ever.
Timbers crew 08
Kyle Says: Diamondback was a lot of fun! Made his first time at Kings Island worth it all!
Timbers is a good ride, but not as good as I remember it being when it first opened. It seemed to be as smooth as glass when it first opened. Although it is running better than it was right before Cedar Fair bought it. I felt like my internal organs had been through a blender after a ride then.
Josh, I will say thanks for suggesting the falling star. That was far better than I ever thought it could be.
I will say, the best spealer I ever heard there was, the year Timbers opened. Telling us Timbers would soak us, but the ride went so fast we'd be dry by the time we got back.
You must be logged in to post
