Michigan’s Adventure: Future?
It has been announced that Michigan’s Adventure will be closing for the season on Labor Day, September 1st, right after forcing out its longtime GM Camille Jourden-Mark in June. Anyone who’s worked in the industry knows this park is profitable, unlike many of the legacy Six Flags parks. The question has to be asked, what is transpiring with MiA that they would close a well performing park early? Has FUN decided to offload more parks to double down on their failing business plan?
This article is a great reminder of the history of Michigan’s Adventure. I especially appreciate towards the end of the article Camille speaking out on how she was forced to “retire” or to be terminated.
Bleak.
At least TimberRider won't have to park Mid-Timbers much longer.
The park had always closed on Labor Day up until 2023 when they experimented with a family friendly daytime Halloween event. An event that, if I recall correctly, didn't even go through Halloween proper but wrapped up in early or mid October. They did it for two years and it likely didn't perform the way they wanted.
If Michigan's Adventure was the only park that lost a GM and/or if they had an established Halloween event that had been wildly successful for a decade or more, then I'd say it would be time to take pause. But I think this is just nothing more than, what was it, cost synergies.
Tourist traffic in that corner of the world is driven by Lake Michigan. Labor Day is not a bad time to close up shop---particularly because the wet side seems to be a better draw than the dry.
For the record, it takes an average of 3-5 years for a special event to develop and mature so they didn’t even give MiA a chance. Again, professional people with experience know these industry standards yet FUN corporate office is now knee-jerking to the multitude of issues they themselves created according to what I’m hearing.
Also, for what it's worth, I live in Grand Rapids and didn't see much marketing of the fall event. I've commented in a few other places that it takes a lot to screw up fall in Michigan, but they seem to have found a way. Apple orchards, pumpkin patches, corn mazes, haunts, etc all do VERY well around here on weekends. I question whether the market even knew the park had an event taking place...
-Matt
For FUN It’s better to cost cut for short term propping up of the financials, than invest long-term in an event that they bring in good revenue.
they have no plan for growth and are actively chasing off customers with their cost cutting. It’s not going to be a good ending.
Dang, right as I’m moving to Michigan. Sure going to miss having Great America as my home park. Corkscrew here I come.
Everything in this business is cyclical. They will probably try again with this event in a few years, but not with the current board dynamics at play.
The real question is how much the land is worth, because that is a major driving factor in the SFA and CGA closures.
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
The best alternate use is probably farmland. It's ~10 miles from either the Lakeshore or the nearest town (Muskegon).
BrettV:
The park had always closed on Labor Day up until 2023 when they experimented with a family friendly daytime Halloween event.
That's not exactly true. For several years in the 2010s they had one additional weekend after Labor Day. During this final weekend, the dry park would be open but not the water park. This was my favorite weekend to go as the weather was often nice and the crowds light. I am not sure what year they started doing that but it ended by 2020.
I am in agreement with your overall point, though. In the 2000s they always had Labor Day as their closing day, and this is just a return to that. They only did the Tricks and Treats thing for a couple of years and it was kind of a half-assed (charitably, "experimental") event. Although I was hoping it would go the other way and they would expand it, I'm not surprised they ended it either, and I don't see its closure as signifying anything much for the park besides a return to the much-lamented status quo.
It is sad to mark the end of the Jourden family involvement with the park.
There was a period where it felt like the parks that didn't receive the semi frequent investment were the ones that went away. I find it interesting that Michigan's Adventure seems to do just fine without them spending a single dollar on new 'stuff' for multiple consecutive years.
In the ten years between my two visits, I think they had scrapped their Huss Rainbow and added a Flying Scooters. Since then they have added four kiddie rides (and nothing for the past four seasons) and I think, could be wrong - nothing to the water park for 15 years.
I guess it just works for that location.
Nothing to see here. Move along.
Michigan's Adventure's Rainbow was actually a Chance Falling Star, I think. The other thing that happened in those ten years you were gone is that they put in a petting zoo called "Funland Farm" in the area where the Falling Star had been, then closed it again a couple years ago. In keeping with the recent trend of trying to whip up nostalgia about old park attractions, the new petting zoo was promoted a lot on social media as "the return of deer to Michigan's Adventure" (as the park used to be Deer Park Funland). I believe the actual deer were only there for one or two years, though. The rest of the petting zoo lasted until 2023. I have mixed feelings about its departure. It was a nice shady spot to walk around and I enjoy watching animals, but the rabbits often looked terribly hot (rabbits are very susceptible to heat) and would sit hunched in the exact center of the enclosure as it was the only place out of people's reach. In general I'd rather not see animals at amusement parks at all, even though I'm torn because part of me enjoys it.
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