Valleyfair
Shakopee, Minnesota
By Nate Kohlrusch
May 20, 2001
I never got in one last trip to my now former home park last season, so
it was nice to make Valleyfair one of my first park trips of this season.
The weather didn't look good when we left for the park, and it rained on the car ride
there. Thankfully, the rain ceased just before we arrived and kept clear
until mid-afternoon. The crowds were extremely light; there were maybe
500 people in the entire park (and that's a high estimate). The longest
wait of the day was three minutes for the front seat of Wild Thing - if only
I could ever get a trip to Six Flags Great America like this! We were on and off every
coaster within the first hour, and spent the rest of the day hitting up a
few flats, cringing on water rides (that's what I get for taking my
little bro with), and taking spins on Wild Thing.
As always, I use the Griswold scale of -3 to +5, with 0 being slightly
favorable.
THE PARK: General Impressions. +3
The park looks nice this year; it'll be awhile
before the landscaping is in full bloom (I mean that literally) and many
flower pots look quite empty, but the place should be looking nice in a
month. The park bought some new fountains for the middle of the
Corkscrew pond and near the Power Tower bridge, and although I prefer the
old ones over these sporadically spouting ones, they look decent. There
still aren't any trees near the Wild Thing station, something I've griped
about for years. Landscaping near Mad Mouse is still pretty much absent.
The Power Tower area looks like crap; the once wooded center of the park
is now a large open space. While I used to argue that Corkscrew looked
wonderful between the pond and the wooded island, it's now ugly and open.
The park continues to cut down trees near and around Excalibur, so it
will never be Beast-like in nature (like it should be). The small stream
that runs from near the High Roller station to the Bernstein Bears river
is finally finished and looks nice, but that general area (behind the
little kids play area) is now one big mud pit. Hopefully they plan to do
something with this. Thunder Canyon was still closed from the flooding,
as was much of the parking lot. I don't know about admission changes
this year, but parking went up a dollar. The Cedar Fair "heavy on the
brakes" policy seems to have really kicked in this year, but I'll get to
that in good time. The park is still as clean as ever, something I've
always been impressed by. The park is lacking in major thrills, though,
and could certainly use the much-rumored B&M inverted coaster and a
couple good flat rides. Staff was nice, but not overly friendly (maybe
I'm spoiled by the early Holiday World trip). I didn't enjoy the park's
excuse for no new attractions ("It's our anniversary, so we're just going
to celebrate"). I can't wait for the Screamscape "We sat on our ass and
did nothing all year" award. On to the coasters (in the order we rode):
Corkscrew - 1980 Arrow loopscrew. +2.5
Well, the last couple of years certainly have taken their toll on this
thing. It's gotten rough - not to the point where it hurts (yet), but
it's certainly not nice. I really enjoy the first drop and vertical
loop, but from there it seems to bang around the course. I still like
the corkscrews over the pond, but unfortunately the ride loses it's bonus
point because of that ugly tower area behind it. The helix is still
nice, and I enjoy the head/hand choppers with the small pine trees. The
ride got new seats this year (and new OTSRs) but it's no improvement
(except they make the train look a tad nicer). Maybe they got these last
year - I don't remember. In any case, what once was a nice little looper
in a great location has now become a typical looper in a typical
location. Thanks, Cedar Fair.
High Roller Coaster - 1976 IAD "L-shaped" out & back woodie with IAD
trains. +1.5
Is is the case with most of Valleyfair's rides, what once was a great
coaster is now almost a piece of junk. The trains have been modified countless
times and they now have unnecessary seatbelts. The ride is in desperate need of a
paint job. It's gotten quite rough at the bottom of the first couple of
drops, but nothing unbearable. The major problem here is that the brakes
after the turnaround are on extremely heavily, and any airtime on the
"back" run is killed. Even the once great final bunny hop under the tree
is ruined, and provides only minimal air (compared to the standing
ejector air you used to get). I thought taking a ride in the rain would
help speed it up a little, but not even that helped. High Roller is flat
out boring, and I'm growing increasingly more afraid for Cedar Fairs two
CCI woodies.
Wild Thing - 1996 Morgan hypercoaster. +3.5
How do you create a 200+ foot tall family coaster? Call up Morgan and
Cedar Fair to do it for you. I enjoy the first drop; there is a
wonderful pullover in the back seat, and the second hill hives some
fantastic floater air. The turnaround isn't all that bad; the first few
turns are a bit boring. When the ride is running well, the helix works well
and the g's run on high (like in the rain). Other times, it simply putts
through the curves. Then it hits the loooong brake run and practically
comes to a dead stop. None of the bunny hops provide anything but
minimal floater air. I enjoy the long drop after the second hop, and the
tunnel is still effective. But all in all, the ride leaves something
major to be desired. After the first drop and second hill, the thrills
are over (unless you luck out and get a speedy ride through the helix).
Yet another ride destroyed by overbraking. I haven't adjusted my top ten
list yet, but Wild Thing has taken quite a fall.
Mad Mouse - 1999 Arrow wild mouse: +0
Parts of this ride are somewhat enjoyable, but on the whole it's a sad
replacement for the old Schwarzkopf wildcat. I don't really care for
wild mice; I don't enjoy getting slammed back and forth in the "hairpin
curves." But while some are fun because of the drops, Arrow seems to
have failed to calculate the hills correctly, and thus they're way too
steep. I would venture to say they are still designing their rides
around the center of the cars, as this ride would be much more
comfortable if it were designed around the riders (the tiered seating
causes you to sit much higher than the center of the cars). The overly
steep hills give painful ejector air (ala Magnum) and as typical with
Arrow, the cars seem to bang through the course. At least the little
"trick track" is fun.
Excalibur - 1989 Arrow steel freeform with wooden structure: +3
If it weren't for it's extremely short course, this would be a point
higher than Wild Thing. The ride is rough, but it seems to fit with this
ride and if you've ridden it enough, you know when to brace. The first
drop is killed by brakes running half way down, but from there it's just
plain fun. The tight helix near the ground (and I'm talking inches here)
is fantastic, and the hill that follows gives great air. The rest of
the ride slows considerably (damn those first drop brakes), but I
couldn't imagine that tight helix without them (ho-LEY!!). If those
brakes were removed and the ride was slightly modified (and lengthened),
this could make it in my top ten (which would be a first for Arrow!). Do
you think it's too late to get an "I love Cedar Fairs....and their
brakes" shirt?
-Nate
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