Park 2: Valleyfair

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Day 4: Valleyfair

Sunday night we decided to go to Valleyfair to get our fix of 4th of July fireworks, mostly since we weren’t familiar with the area and had no idea where else we could go, and also because we knew that they would have a solid fireworks display. We headed to the park around 9pm on Sunday night, only to find than once again our Platinum Passes did not scan correctly. This time we had to stop into Guest Services and tell them our story and get a supervisor involved to print out the correct tickets. I don’t really mind taking this extra time to deal with our situation, I just wish Cedar Fair would take care of a known issue! Anyways, Lisa was very nice, helped us get into the park, and then we were on our merry way.

As I walked through the gates, I was hit by a brick of happiness. I literally smiled ear to ear as I walked into the park, seeing the amusement park lights, hearing the sounds of rides and games and people laughing and having a good time. The ambiance was perfect, and I loved it for every second. We had about an hour or so before the fireworks started, but instead of riding anything we decided to take a tour around the park, scoping everything out and trying to get a feel for the park so we could attack at full force the next morning. The layout was very similar to Cedar Point: Valleyfair is basically setup as a big loop with rides scattered throughout. There is even an extension off the back of the main loop that hosts a few other rides.

To watch the fireworks, we found a nice bench at the front of the park in the middle of the Wild Thing figure-8 where we thought we would have a nice view of the fireworks. It was a nice display, and we were even positioned to get a shot of a Wild Thing train the foreground of some fantastic firework action.

Early Monday morning we were back at the park, where we got to experience their parking free-for-all. People parked wherever, however, whenever, and empty spots were left all over the lot. I’m not sure if it’s because Valleyfair is a smaller park or if they still operate on their own without a lot of corporate input, but I am not a fan of the disorganization. They even had a row of parking for season pass holders, which I think is just plain silly. Oh well. Once we parked, we stopped into Guest Services again to talk with our friend Lisa so she could print us tickets and refund our parking. After we made it past the entrance, there was a fantastic photo opportunity for guests in front a large Valleyfair sign, which is really nice for those lasting memories

A quick history lesson, if you’re interested: Valleyfair is one of the two original Cedar Fair parks. It opened in 1976 and was purchased by Cedar Point in 1978 to form Cedar Fair L.P.

I expected Valleyfair to be a miniature version of Cedar Point, and after walking around my expectations were more or less proved to be true. The layout was nice and easy to navigate, and after one time through we were pretty much were able to find what we wanted without too much confusion.

We started the day riding Steel Venom, a twisted impulse coaster manufactured by Intamin AG. Steel Venom is nearly identical to Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, but instead of two twisted towers, Steel Venom only has one, and on the second time up the straight tower the brakes are applied briefly. The “brake check” (as I call it) holds the train in place for a split second making you wonder what the heck is going on, and offering a little bit of a scare. This litter jerk at the top of the straight tower can really freak you out if you’re not expecting it, and to quote my wife, will make you wonder “what the frick was that?!” It certainly gives the ride a different feel than Wicked Twister, and makes it really tough to pick a favorite since each offers a slightly different ride experience.

Valleyfair’s version of Power Tower is nearly identical to Cedar Point’s, except there are only three towers instead of four. Two down and one up. As far as I could tell, the only difference between Xtreme Swing and Skyhawk is the name. The Valleyfair version of Corkscrew is a bit different from Cedar Point’s…it still has the same three inversions but gives a slightly longer ride that is still pretty short for a coaster.

The Minnesota Valley Railroad gets some bonus points because it actually transports passengers between two locations in the park, versus simply taking riders on a quick trip around the park like the train at Worlds of Fun.

In the back of the park we found Renegade. Before we stepped onto the ride, Abi commented that the trains looked the same as the trains on Prowler at Worlds of Fun. Having my iPhone handy I checked it out using Wikipanion. Indeed, the trains were the same as was the manufacturer of the ride itself: Great Coasters International. The trains are actually called Millennium Flyers, and once again they offered a feel similar to a La-Z-Boy recliner in your living room with plenty of cushioning. We had very high hopes and expectations once we realized that Renegade should provide a ride similar to Prowler. After we got off the ride we were not disappointed. High speed and high-banked turns are specialties of Renegade. At one point the train does a flyby around the loading station, which is pretty cool for both those on the ride and those waiting and watching from outside the gates. Renegade quickly moved to the top of our favorites at Valleyfair and near the top overall for the trip.

Since we got to the park so early, we were able to ride all seven coasters before lunch. After lunch we decided to put on our swimwear so we could check out a couple of the water rides both in the park, and in Soak City. On our way back into the park it started sprinkling a little, which wasn’t a big deal. The weather was supposed to be cloudy most of the day, and there was only a 10-20% change of rain so we figured we were good to go. We rode Riptide, The Wave, and Hydroblaster in the sprinkles, but on our way back to Thunder Canyon the rain really started to come down. We managed to get our ride in on Thunder Canyon before the lightning started…once that happens everything gets shutdown. We hung out in the rain for a little while watching some people slip and slide in a grassy area in Soak City, but after a while we got tired of standing in the rain and headed back to the car to figure out what the heck we wanted to do. We never actually made it on an Soak City rides, but I was actually surprised at how small the water park was. We held out for a little while in the car while we warmed up, and finally the rain stopped so we could head back in and ride on.

Even though Valleyfair is owned by Cedar Fair, there were some noticeable differences between Valleyfair and the Cedar Fair parks that we have seen so far. One obvious example at Valleyfair is the missing children’s area known as Camp Snoopy. Snoopy and the Peanuts gang are completely nonexistent. However, even though the name is missing, there still are a ton of rides that are for kids only, including Mild Thing (which is a play on the adult ride Wild Thing. It is very similar to Gemini and Jr. Gemini at Cedar point), a kids only roller coaster. We also saw some crazy character dude dressed in a costume walking around the kid’s area…no idea who he was but I’m sure the kids love him!

Valleyfair was loaded with a ton of the classic midway games: skeeball, hit the balloon with a dart, the water pistol game, you name it, just like any other amusement park you’ve ever been to. Trying to have a little fun we decided to play the game where the object is to throw a ping pong ball into a bowl floating in water. Utilizing the beer pong skills I learned in college, I successfully threw a ball into a bowl on my first try to win Abi a purple monkey, whom she named PANky, for pancreatic cancer awareness. (I won’t mention that I missed the next three shots). Yes, I’m sure my mother and Abi’s parents are extremely proud!

Valleyfair is a fun park, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves while we were there. The rain in the middle of the day was a pretty big drag, but I like to think it cleared everyone out so we could do what we wanted in the evening. I was surprised that there were no Snoopy characters to be found…a pretty big disconnect between corporate Cedar Fair and a sister park. While there were only seven coasters [for adults], there were a number of other rides and attractions we were able to check out to keep us busy all day long. Our day at Valleyfair was another HUGE success, and I look forward to visiting Michigan’s Adventure today!

Ride List (* indicates roller coaster)

• Antique Autos
• Bumper Cars
• Carousel
• *Corkscrew
• *Excalibur
• Ferris Wheel
• Flying Trapeze
• *High Roller
• Hydroblaster
• Looping Starship
• *Mad Mouse
• Minnesota Valley Railroad
• Power Tower
• *Renegade
• Riptide
• *Steel Venom
• The Wave
• Thunder Canyon
• *Wild Thing
• Wheel of Fortune
• Xtreme Swing