Park Review
|
Panama City Beach, Florida
Place: Miracle Strip Park For some reason, many of the enthusiasts I have talked to have not been to Miracle Strip Park. I perused websites and could find few pictures and nary a trip report. Yet the few people who had been there called the park a little jewel stuck in the middle of Panama City Beach. While looking at when we would leave for spring break, I had to finagle things so that I would be able to stop by while it was operating. The park has limited hours during March, so it was a toss-up as to whether I would get to stop by. Luckily, we left early on Friday and drove to Nashville, which meant we arrived in Panama City around 6 p.m. on Saturday, and I got to the park around 7 (only a few short blocks from the hotel). The park had a good number of cars in the parking lot, and the lights and screams from the rides were abundant, so we had no problem paying the $15 admission fee. We began at what many consider the park's best billboard, the Wave Swinger. It sits on a raised platform near the street and gives riders great views of the area while enticing passers-by to stop in. Our cycle was decent, but things would have gone a touch smoother had there been more than one person operating the ride. There were a ton of pre-teens there running around, and I am sure they were more than a handful for ride ops. In fact, one girl almost hurt herself. We were sitting in the part of the ride where the op had her back to us, and one kid decided to get out and jump from one seat to the next. The ride literally lifted off a second after she plunked her butt in the seat. I am glad for the park's and the op's sake that no one was injured, even though it would have entirely been the girl's fault. We checked out the Starliner coaster, whose line appeared pretty long for one train operation, so we ambled down the midway. The park has some nice neon advertising the arcades, giving a retro-fifties feel to the park at night. Under the palm trees, we walked by a Paratrooper, and I saw the Abominable Snowman. The virtues of this scrambler have been extolled to me several times, so I was very interested in finding out what the ride had going for it. To begin with, the theming is very well done, and the large snowmen are better theming for a flat ride than I have seen at many of the big parks. The ride itself is great! An older Eli Bridge scrambler is slowly set in motion and picks up speed as some lights flash and music plays. The fun really kicks in when the strobes are engaged. It is hard to describe, but this was the most intense scrambler experience I have had, and the strobes actually get me guessing where we were going, even though I have been on these things countless times. Kudos to Miracle Strip for such a fun ride and a long ride cycle to boot. Walking straight ahead, we passed an Eyerly Loop-O-Plane, saw the log flume (which, sadly, was not working, as the lift belts appeared to be removed) and followed the lights to an ARM Ltd. Skymaster called Shockwave. I have not been on tons of upside down rides, in fact the only two of "boat" rides I have been on that go upside down were the Phoenix at Busch Gardens (Intamin) and the Time Warp at Six Flags New England (Vekoma Air Jumper). The lighting on this one was pretty neat, as the bottom had strong spotlights, which traced the ride's path. Of course, I went for the front, but was disappointed as it had a big piece of off-white hard plastic on it that was not conducive to great visuals. The restraint system was a little bizarre; it featured OTSR's that came down, but had several inches of give and were stopped by a large lap bar that connected with the side of the car that opened. The ride experience itself was not that great. The engine powering the ride was not as strong as it should have been, and I could feel the ride straining to get us over the top when we finally got upside down. One problem was that there were no counterweights opposite the cars, so the ride's looping motion was not constant and varied in speed throughout the loop. It was interesting to do once, but being caged to go upside down in a non-thrilling way is just not that much fun. I am guessing this style of ride hit the circuit in the early-to-mid 80's, because the ride and restraint technology seem badly done. The park would be wise to sell it and pick up either a Zamperla Hawk, Vekoma Air Jumper or even a Huss Ranger if they want another looping ride in addition to the Loop-O-Plane. What would be great, though, is a Zamperla Wind Shear or Power Surge, a Huss Frisbee or Top Spin, or a Mondial Splash-over or Top Scan. All of these could fit in the footprint (with a little adjustment into the parking lot) and serve as a high capacity ride that attracted even more people to the back half of the park. I am sure that is a lot on their budget, but may be something to consider in the future. (To see a picture of the Skymaster, visit Joe Schwartz's PNE Playland page: http://www.joyrides.com/pne_playland/full/skymaster.htm). We passed the Dungeon, an enclosed Tilt-a-whirl, and got in line for Dante's Inferno. They appear to like the enclosed rides here, which is fine with me, as Miracle Strip does them well. I hope the folks who protested the Banshee name never visit here, as you enter this ride by walking on the well-detailed tongue of Beelzebub himself, which is surrounded by one of the scariest ride entrances I have seen. After a short wait, we got in and I realized it was a Trabant, painted black like the Scrambler. Being inside made a so-so ride great. Several times I felt like we would hit the ceiling, which alternated between small white lights, colored lights and strobes. We went forward and backward, again getting nice, long ride time. The only complaint here (and it is a small one) is that there was too much smoke used. They need to cut down some, because the smoke does not add anything to a dark ride and only left a bad taste in my mouth. The coaster was still calling me, so we headed to the fun entrance of the Starliner. It has an awesome entrance (Jim Westland's site, The American Midway, has a great picture: http://www.americanmidway.com/pictures/MiracleStrip/starliner2.jpg). The line started just beyond the said entryway and, unfortunately, they were only running one train. On our way up, I noticed a nice little PTC plaque on the side that talked about PTC building/designing the coaster, but no credit was given to John Allen at all. In his book Rollercoaster, David Bennett said that PTC had a company-centric mentality, and I guess this helps reinforce that belief. The coaster was built in 1963 and opened with the park for its first season, but did not look half that old. The only thing I did not like about the coaster was the fact that there were queue gates, but you still could not choose your own seat, as they let a trainful of people in at a time. Aarrrgghh! The station is curved (ala Canobie Lake) and looks nice without appearing dated. The trains are PTC three-car, three-bench with seat dividers, no headrests, seat belts and single locking lap bars. The cars are stopped and started by handbrakes, and the electric release and locking mechanism for the lapbar is found on two of the brake handles. I managed a backseat ride with a stranger for my first trip. [Author�s Note: This paragraph talks about a surprise or two along the coaster's course, so if you want to be surprised when you visit, skip it.] The handle was lowered, and we eased out of the station, picking up a nice bit of speed into the lift hill (which could explain the trim brake right in front of the lift). We headed up the 70-foot hill, slowly pulling away from the park. Around us a clear night air hung around, the beach crashed behind us and stars hung lazily in the sky. My view was quickly averted to the 65-foot drop as we cruised down the first hill. After that, it was a smaller second hill (kind of a scaled-down version of the Screamin' Eagle's hill number two) and a nice third hill, which dropped us into the retro tunnel that looked like a Dragon's Mouth. I got a surprise here, as there is a bunny hop inside the tunnel that caught me off guard and gave great airtime. A nice little turnaround changed our direction, and it is here that you can definitely tell Allen cut his teeth under Herb Schmeck. The transitions here are banked at very unique angles (reminiscent of Schmeck's Thunderhawk at Dorney). On the way back to the station, riders are treated to several good bunny hops (about four) before the bell rings and the light goes in the station, telling the operator to slow you down on the brake run. The ride gets good care and is in great shape for a seaside coaster. This coaster was part of the growth Allen experienced as a designer in the 60's, and is representative of his work in the period as he transitioned from junior coasters to full-sized rides (1960 - Skyliner, Lakemont Park; 1963 - Starliner, Miracle Strip; 1964 - Blue Streak, Cedar Point; 1966 - Swamp Fox, Family Kingdom Amusement Park; 1967 - Cannonball, Lake Winnepesaukah), before he helped re-ignite the coaster arms race of the seventies. After an enjoyable trip on the Skyliner, we rode the park's Music Express (another long cycle at good speeds) and the Paratrooper. This version is a good example of the ride, as the hydraulics are well-kept so the 'trooper has some great side to side and up and down motion to the cars. This ride tied with Knoebels for my favorite Paratrooper. My friends went on the Snowman again while I got some pictures of the rides and then we headed over to the Eyerly Loop-O-Plane. This was my first experience with one of these rides (I did a Roll-O-Plane last summer), and if I learned anything from that experience, it was that Eyerly's rides pack a very nice punch for their size. My trip was fun and full of some great g's as we flew around the bottom. I would take this over the Skymaster in terms of thrills and comfort any day. My only complaint with the park in general was one I had with Knoebels - permanence. I have no problem with a park buying a portable ride. But if they choose to do that, I think they should be willing to put a little money in and add permanent queues and landscaping around a ride to help the park look better. The feelings of security and comfort can never be underestimated as important feelings for customers to have in a park, and I think that when a park works to make a ride a "part of the park" it only helps itself. We headed back towards the other end of the park, passing the carousel and Big Eli wheel, getting a ride on the Sea Dragon (Chance?) and one more on the Zierer Wave Swinger. This one was spectacular, easily a five-minute ride cycle - my longest swing ride ever. Few things are more enjoyable than a swing ride at good speed while sitting back, breathing in that salty sea air and watching the world pass by. My last ride of the night was on the Starliner. I go to ride in my favorite airtime seat - last bench in the first car. Boy did this thing deliver. I got much more air than in the back seat. The tunnel was heaven, the turn around had some nice g's and the bunny hops were how John Allen intended them. What a great way to end a great day at the park. On our way out, we got some pizza (very cheap price for the quality) and Cokes. As we walked back up the strip where underage people tried to master the art of drinking and t-shirt shops hawked ****, I wondered how a nice little place like Miracle Strip has managed to stay such a fixed point in a changing place. I think it has something to do with the low prices, friendly employees and long ride cycles. But that could just be the sentimentalist in me talking. If you are in the area during late Spring/Summer, visit Shipwreck Island Water Park. It is across the street, very well-kept and owned by the folks at Miracle Strip. Also, be sure to visit Goofy Golf, only a block west of Miracle Strip. It was built in 1959 and is one of the oldest courses out there. It is very cool with a dinosaur, sphinx and a replica of a statue from Easter Island. The Easter Island statue is easily 25 feet tall, and you can go up in it for a nice view of the area. The other course has a great grotto with black lighting straight out of dark rides. If you like classic dark rides, you will appreciate this place.
***************
|