Michigan's Adventure
Muskegon, Michigan
By Nate Kohlrusch
August 18, 2000
Note: I use the Griswold rating scale of �3 to +5, with 0 being slightly favorable
THE PARK: General Impressions: +3
This is an odd park, indeed. It's quite small, and I'd hate
to see it on a crowded day. It�s also very lacking in the landscaping department, with not much for trees or gardens, just large open areas of grass. The park has a decent selection of flat rides,
and a few water rides as well. The coaster selection is good, but the
park desperately needs a good solid steelie. With a few more intense
flat rides, a good steelie, and a river rapids ride (and maybe some
landscaping) this park would be doing well. It seems like it is
gradually being converted from a small park (like a pay per ride) to a
seasonal amusement park (like the Cedar Fairs parks).
The common rumor is that the park would like to add a hypercoaster.
There certainly is enough room, but I don't know if the park would have
that kind of funding. They have a good thing in Shivering Timbers, especially since it's recognized in the enthusiast community as one of the best
woodies out there. With a solid steelie (a hyper?) this park could
really start drawing the crowds. It was virtually empty the night I was
there (thankfully, for I only had 4 hours to spend there) so I can't
comment on the usual summer crowds, but it seems to me like it never gets
all that busy. There is also a pretty solid-looking waterpark, which is
another thing the park has going for it, and that may help to draw the
crowds. In either case, it looks like the park has really been expanding
lately - Shivering Timbers, Chaos, Mad Mouse, and the Snake Pit
(waterslide) are all pretty new, and a Morgan car ride was under
construction. If this parks owns all the empty land that I think it does
(all that to the left of Shivering Timbers), this could be one hell of a
complex. I enjoyed the park, but it has a ways to go.
ZACH'S ZOOMER - 1994 CCI double out and back junior woodie. PTC trains.
+3
This is a fun little coaster. There are some nice laterals even a few spots of minimal airtime. I prefer this to the other CCI
junior I've ridden (Pegasus). And though I did like it, I still left
feeling with a little more to be desired. It wouldn't kill to have some
heavier airtime on a junior coaster; I don't know why CCI is holding
back. It's obvious the hills were designed to intentionally not
produce the maximum amount of airtime. As long as it isn't violent, they
should include airtime hills. But that's my opinion.
CORKSCREW - 1979 Arrow corkscrew (2 corkscrews). +0
Classic painful Arrow, though this one
wasn't as painful as, say, Cedar Point's. It's built right in an open grass
field, so it loses location points there. And the station has got to be one
of the ugliest out there; I wish I had the picture of it scanned to my
site. Also, personally I hate when parks paint their coasters all
white. I don't know why, it's just ugly.
WOLVERINE WILDCAT - 1988 Curtis D. Summers double out and back woodie. PTC
Trains. +2
For such a beautiful coaster, it does so little. The tunnel before the
lifthill is nice, and there's some nice (though cheap) lighting effects
in there. The first drop is fun, but it dies from there. The laterals
are bad (shuffling) and all the spots that look like they should produce
airtime don't. Overall, the ride is pretty blah. And the fact that they
only have one train on the circuit really backs up the line. I said
earlier that it's a beautiful coaster, and it really is. It's built
right on the shore of a little lake, and reminds me a little of Darien
Lake's Predator. Curtis D. Summers sure could build beautiful
Rides - too bad they don't do anything.
SHIVERING TIMBERS - 1998 CCI out and back woodie. PTC trains. +5
All I can say is wow. This ride is absolutely amazing. I can't even
begin to describe how massive this coaster is; if you haven't seen
pictures, you definitely need to. This ride alone is worth the trip to
Muskegon. The first drop is incredible, and is followed by two more
massive hills, each of which provide almost standing air. There are six
hills on the out run and six on the back run, and all twelve produce some of
the greatest airtime I've ever felt. You can feel the intensity in the
final helix - this is a fabulous coaster! The laterals are all there,
though the helix is a bit too shaky. I think Shivering Timbers was the
first CCI to include a trick track, and the one on ST is very
effective, most likely because it's about twice as long as the rest.
This was my 100th coaster, and I couldn't have asked for a better one.
The back seat is good, but the front is where you'll really feel the
power of this ride. After one ride, I headed to the Arrow Mad Mouse
(just for the count) then I was back at Shivering Timbers for the rest of
the night. I love CCI - count me in for Timbers Fest!
MAD MOUSE-1999 Arrow wild mouse. +2.5
The usual. I've ridden this at Valleyfair, and I'm still not impressed.
The cars hanging over the edge thing is neat, and the first half (hairpin
turns) is nice. Then the ride becomes painful (it's an Arrow, so you knew
the pain was coming). The problem with these rides (and I've said this
before) is that it seems Arrow didn't take the riders' position into
consideration when they constructed the hills, and thus they're much too
steep. I do enjoy the little trick track here, but that's the only part
of the ride I like. They're not as bad as I once thought, but they're
most certainly not my favorite.
-Nate
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