Michigan's Adventure Future Plans
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I pray that the next coaster @ CP will be an Arrow 4D
Methinks HersheyPark's model was about $8 million. I could be wrong. I do agree a Super Saturator would be perfect--but of course you must recall my pro-waterpark bias.
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That price sounds a little high. Carowinds' Flying Super Saturator only cost $2,500,000 in hardware, and had a total cost of $4 million. The other $1.5 million was spent on themeing, water features, water cannons, etc on the ground. I would think MiA would be able to build one for around $3.5-4 million without the rugrats theme. It would be a definate family attraction, and something that would be fun for adults as well.
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I pray that the next coaster @ CP will be an Arrow 4D
ST chick said:
We need to make budget this year, lets just hope for that right now. Not making budget last year is hitting hard :(
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Kara (car-uh)
Magnum Crew '03
1024 Laps on Timbers
621 in '02
Yes, that was the one catch they talked about. We MUST meet budget. We hafta.
I really don't think it will be a hyper. For some reason a multi-looper, like an Intamin 10 looper, would be my guess...
Dunno. More news later this season.
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Guess who's back... MIA JON!
Alexander C. Curavo said:
That price sounds a little high. Carowinds' Flying Super Saturator only cost $2,500,000 in hardware, and had a total cost of $4 million.
Can you link us to a reputable news source for this cost breakdown? As far as Hersheypark's costing $8 million, here ya go.
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
As for HP's $8M, I'd say that's the price tag for the whole thing, lock, stock and barrel, as they say....
Of course, IMO *every* park should have one of those things....they're awesome!!...:):)
Your mileage may vary.
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
Last year I finally made it back, and rode Shivering Timbers for the first time. I was blown over by how great it was, and plan on heading back this year simply to ride that ride like there's no tomorrow.
Before this thread even popped up I had been considering at great length what kind of additions MiA needed to spark some interest in the nice, but small park. CF has had a few years to spruce the place up, and they have done a good job. But it's time for something bigger and better, and I think they (CF) realize that.
When you're premier, make that only, steel coaster is the underwhelming Corkscrew, you have a problem. People here have written about how the attendance is not high, and it has leveled off in recent years, but what do you expect when you have only 1 world class coaster, and 3 non-kiddies total. It's a simple fact that in order to make money, you have to first spend money. Sprucing up the park and putting in glorified kiddie coasters and flats isn't going to make the park any more money, or cause a spike in attendance.
I live between 1 and a half and 2 hours away, and still make the 3 to 3 and a half hour trip to Cedar Point umpteen more times than MiA each year. Why? Because there are attractions and rides there that make the trip worthwhile every time. There is very little to draw me to MiA.
However, were they to add a few new coasters, and actually start to make that park a viable contender with others around the country, I would certainly make more trips out there than I do now, and probably not as many to CP. Consider that I'm only one person, and I'm sure there are many others just in the Michigan area that probably would do the same thing. Now you are talking about a boost in attendance already, just from local people.
When you factor in the surrounding areas, Chicago and the other border states, you will have a large contingent that will want to go check out this park just up the way, even if it's just for a change of pace from their usual amusement park destination.
What's more, you'll have the enthusiast factor, in which people like all of us say "We've got to get over to MiA and check out those new rides, and add them to our track record". That's another whole boost there.
None of these three above mentioned things would happen if they just add flats or a small coaster. That's why you won't see a boost in attendance or interest in the park until you add a few more marquee attractions. CF knows this, and has just been biding their time, sprucing the place up, bringing it up to CF caliber, before they begin their major investment into the park.
Don't think that CF purchased the park just to have a small little family park that hardly anybody from out of state goes to. They are all too well aware of the physical constraints on their crown jewel CP, and that building anything major there will become more and more impossible before long. Along with MiA, they aquired a lot of room to grow, with even more land possible to purchase. MiA is their Ace in the Hole, that will allow CF as an entity to continue to be the leader in record breaking, world class coasters.
While the park is a little out of the way, it is still in the midwest, which is a great area for an amusement park due to it's centrality. What's more, it isn't very far from CP, which will enable it to be like a CP West, and attract many of the same people who make CP an attendance smash every year.
I actually have conceptually designed a couple of coasters potentially for MiA, that would immediatly put it on the amusement park map as a force. If they are record breaking coasters, people will come. That is just a fact. If CF would have built TTD at MiA this year instead of CP, you would be seeing a mass flood of people decending on MiA right now. People will go where the latest and greatest in thrills are, and where they can get a lot of thrills for their money, not just one or two.
No, MiA will not remain a small little family park, and although I'm sure there are those who will miss it being that way, in ten years they will be glad to have one of the better amusement parks around in their backyard.
So in closing, I believe what MiAJon says, because it makes all too much sense when you look at it from the standpoint of CF as a money making, thrill giving empire. You have to invest, to reap, so it's only a matter of time before MiA explodes, and in a big way. I know a lot of you won't agree with me, but I think in a year or two we will see all this bear out. And all the people in here decrying that this is ever going to happen will be among the first there when MiA does take off, and they'll be glad they were wrong! ;-).
Take care all, and God bless!
CoastaPlaya said:
Alexander C. Curavo said:
That price sounds a little high. Carowinds' Flying Super Saturator only cost $2,500,000 in hardware, and had a total cost of $4 million.Can you link us to a reputable news source for this cost breakdown? As far as Hersheypark's costing $8 million, here ya go.
-'Playa
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
Sure, you want proof, look right here: http://www.rcdb.com/installationdetail598.htm
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I pray that the next coaster @ CP will be an Arrow 4D
*** This post was edited by Coaster Bob 5/27/2003 11:13:01 PM ***
MiAJon said:
Trust me, there WILL be a steel coaster next year. I've been asured this twice now, as I was at the park earlier today too, and talked to yet another reliable employee. This one said that they WERE leaning toward a hyper.Wolf, I was trying to figure the same thing out, where ARE they purchasing land? Supposedly they're already starting some purchases.
Well, Jourden Sr. still owns that chunk of failed gas station across the street, right? That would be available, and I see nothing but assorted scrub trees beyond it for miles. The only stumbling block seems to be the intermediate parking lot and street, and the neighbors in the corner.
CoastaPlaya said:
Who needs teens for a hyper? Your average 6 year old boy is tall enough to ride. That has nothing to do with it.Again, I'm not ruling out a Morgan hyper. I can't shake the impression that the management there is gunning for one, too. I just wish they'd consider the alternatives, too--some incremental steps that would generate solid growth.
-'Playa
Well, they are, really. A Morgan would probably be in there now, scuttlebutt says, had Cedar Fair not bought the place.
As for ROI... Shivering Timbers cost $4.5M in 1998. (http://www.rcdb.com/installationdetail478.htm) Do you think MIAdv, circa 1998, got a two year return on it? They did on their waterpark, that much seems solid. But Jourden was growing that place pretty fast. ST got them on the map w/ enthusiasts. A hyper would've gotten them on the map w/ GP. A hyper draws Detroit and eastern Chicago. The other thing to remember is this: MIAdv has already got clearance for >200'. They arranged that back in 2000 or so. Now why would a park that only had a 125' ride do that...
CPLady said:
The park was pretty empty on Saturday, and this is Memorial Day weekend when the Muskegon area should have been crawling with weekend campers. The waterpark is a big draw for MiA, and it was too cool to open.
I was there. Three reasons it was dead...
1. It was cold and overcast. Has been last couple of years. For a park that gets a big boost from its waterpark, that hurts.
2. Memorial Days are typically dead. Not sure why.
3. Early in the season. This was their first full week, I think. It's still pre-season for one of the northernmost parks in the US.
coasterdude318 said:
coasteroid said: They do that now. I live in SW MI and I see a LOT of people from Illinois that just want to get out of Chicago. MIA is a great place to go to escape from the city. Many people from my area would rather go to MIA than SFGAm just because they don't want to drive through Chicago (The two parks are equal distances away too).Oh please. MIA the same distance from Chicago as SFGAm? Obviously you've never driven it. Just for fun, though, I plugged in "Gary, IN" (a stretch to call part of Chicago anyway, but it's closest to MIA) into Mapquest to see how far it is from SFGAm and MIA. While it's a full 70 miles to Great America, you're looking at more than *twice* that to Michigan's Adventure. From the city of Chicago itself, you're looking at three hours to MIA while SFGAm is only an hour tops. Do you honestly think people are goingn to travel that much further to Michigan when the closer park is one of the biggest in the nation?
As CoastaPlaya said, the tourism areas for Chicago residents are usually north into Wisconsin. Clearly there are some that go south (Indiana Beach serving that) and east (which MIA could grab), but not even the majority of residents take summer vacations like that, and you're splitting that between three areas. MIA absolutely does *not* have an $8 million population base to draw from, because SFGAm takes care of that quite well.
Gary, IN, you'll note, borders the state of Illinois. He said he lives in SW MI. I live near Benton Harbor, MI, and the drive time to MIAdv is usually 30min less than the drive to SFGAm, even though Great America is, I believe, slightly closer distance-wise.
And there certainly are enough Illinois tourists in SW MI, as evidenced by the infection of IL license plates on I-94 and US-31, all the way up to and through Holland.
We're also assuming that people visit only one park. That's debateable, really. You'll note 3 parks grab a strong Chicagi basis -- Dells, Indiana Beach, and SFGAm. I know SW MI *can* support one, because Saint Joseph, MI had a park until 1971 that was primarily Chicago-money. It closed due to the crime problem that w/ it.
I think it was stated that Mich Adv had a 5M population base. In the summer, I'd believe it, as the west coast of Michigan, from Traverse City down to New Buffalo is a major tourist draw. You also have the Grand River stretch [Grand Rapids -> Grand Haven], Muskegon, TC, Holland, etc. That should be good for 1M+ in residents, not counting tourism. You draw some from mid-state [Lansing, K-zoo] and some from Indiana as well. You could get 5M. I would say the population base is as big as Kansas City's, anyway.
CBuzz instructions: Read the frappin' thread, comprehend it, post.
For most other people, this is simple enough...
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
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I pray that the next coaster @ CP will be an Arrow 4D
Wolf said:
I would say the population base is as big as Kansas City's, anyway.
Blather, blather, ponti-fecate, ponti-fecate and walk straight into a wall!
Kansas City (with a much, much larger local population) is the home of a CF park that got a hyper and was never granted a budget that large since.
Is that what you want? One 'big' ride that's actually smaller than rides at the competing parks and nothing larger than a spin-and-spue or Boomerang for the next who-knows-how-many years? Talk about your short-sighted thinking.
-CO
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The CPlaya 100--6 days, 9 parks, 47 coasters, 2037 miles and a winner.....LoCoSuMo.
Wolf said:
Gary, IN, you'll note, borders the state of Illinois. He said he lives in SW MI. I live near Benton Harbor, MI, and the drive time to MIAdv is usually 30min less than the drive to SFGAm, even though Great America is, I believe, slightly closer distance-wise.And there certainly are enough Illinois tourists in SW MI, as evidenced by the infection of IL license plates on I-94 and US-31, all the way up to and through Holland.
We're also assuming that people visit only one park. That's debateable, really. You'll note 3 parks grab a strong Chicagi basis -- Dells, Indiana Beach, and SFGAm. I know SW MI *can* support one, because Saint Joseph, MI had a park until 1971 that was primarily Chicago-money. It closed due to the crime problem that w/ it.
I think it was stated that Mich Adv had a 5M population base. In the summer, I'd believe it, as the west coast of Michigan, from Traverse City down to New Buffalo is a major tourist draw. You also have the Grand River stretch [Grand Rapids -> Grand Haven], Muskegon, TC, Holland, etc. That should be good for 1M+ in residents, not counting tourism. You draw some from mid-state [Lansing, K-zoo] and some from Indiana as well. You could get 5M. I would say the population base is as big as Kansas City's, anyway.
Hey, cool you live near Benton Harbor? i live in St. Joseph! St. Joe did have a park back then, Silver Beach, it closed before I was born, but from pictures I've seen it seemed to be a pretty nice park (had a John Allen woodie). It has now been cleaned up a lot and turned into a very nice beach. But still many people from Illinois come to it, lol.
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"Scream early because once you reach 420 feet, no one will hear you!"-TOP THRILL DRAGSTER
Cedar Point RCT2 recreation-http://games.coasterbuzz.com/filedetail.aspx?GameFileID=2302
I would rather go to PKI or even Kennywood because they both added something new, making the trip worth the drive. I really don't care to go see some new bathrooms and a concession stand, so for me to make the long trip to MiA again would take a bit more.
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-Bob, from Toledo
CP Visits: 2
Dragster Trials: 1
Closed topic.
