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Adventureland 9/3/16

Let us know how your day at the park was.
Postby [jonrev] on September 8th, 2016, 12:25 am
Drove out to Davenport for a car show this past weekend, so the next day I went the extra couple of hours west to Adventureland before heading home. Worth noting that it's a good-sized park, impressively clean and well-kept, beautifully-landscaped, and the rides were largely-staffed by people in their 50s-60s or so - which is the first I've seen of this, and they were all very friendly.

First-up was Tornado, an out and back wooden coaster. Should note that everything except Monster was running one train, which surprised me considering it was Labor Day weekend and the parking lot was getting pretty full, but they did move fairly quickly. You don't get a choice of seat any any of the coasters which kind of sucks. Line was a straight-shot to the station, but about 15 minutes in somebody either chundied or got a bloody nose, so it was shut down for cleanup. Chatted for a bit with a lady and her kid who grew up in the Chicago area, in the interim. Ride re-opened and was seated in about 10 minutes. Not much air, but the turnaround is fun. It seemed rough, however the padding is at least 2-3 times as thick as American Eagle/Viper/CP Blue Streak, etc., which made it enjoyable. Solid, simple wood coaster - would recommend.

Next was to pop my Gerstlauer cherry with the new Infinity coaster: Monster. Full queue, three trains seating just eight... not the nightmare scenario you think, actually - they were really good at preventing stacking. Got through the line in less than an hour. No loose items on this one, period - even the sunglasses had to be shelved. You get good ejector air cresting the lift, the elements are plenty-intense on the end seat, the hangtime is great in the loop - overall it packs a punch and is probably up there with Twisted Colossus for my favorite first-time ride, this year. Go, if only for this one... I imagine it's even more nuts at night.

I putzed around a bit and found myself over at Dragon... a steel looper built by Hopkins - better known for building water rides that included SFGAm's former Splashwater Falls. 15 minute wait, seated mid-train. Station-to-lift has a couple of fun hills but the turn before the lift sucks. Boring drop, two loops, a decently-intense figure-eight, and a long straightaway before the brakes. Shitty ride that is in dire-need of paint, and has a pretty lame layout. As FParker accurately puts it:
dragon is a ultra low rent od Hopkins clone of sfot shockwave


I went looking for the other wood coaster, but wound up at Splash Over - the park's newer Top Spin. Not sure who made it, but damn does it have a program that kicks your ass. Actually felt a tad nauseous after this one, which is a first for me. Proof King Chaos' program still blows.

I finally found Outlaw beyond a game stand near Dragon. 15 minute wait, lucked out with front row on this one. I expected some pain but it was actually decent - props to these guys for maintaining their wood. Good first drop, average twister layout beyond that, but pretty fun ride.

I started trying to hit everything a second time before leaving, but only got as far as regretting a second ride on Dragon before rain began moving in. Not wanting to drive the nicer car on wet roads, I bailed. Definitely want to go back as this place has a really nice flat collection I barely got to experience. Place is solid and I highly recommend hitting it... it's a 5-hour drive from Great America - you could leave at dawn, do all the coasters before lunch, all the flats before dinner, and be home before midnight.

I didn't take any pics due to time constraints.
Last edited by [jonrev] on September 8th, 2016, 2:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Guy_With_A_Stick on September 8th, 2016, 12:42 am
Believe me, night rides on Monster are magical. They made the lights work in such a way that while on the ride, you're still getting an average night ride with minimal lights(obviously besides the track you already passed), but on the ground, you're witnessing a light show. The ride was in my lower 20s, upper teens for day rides. At night, it shot up to #12. There really isn't anything that sticks out about it aside from the hangtime and the lights, but it is just a god damn fun ride.

Dragon was awful though. It makes Demon look like a B&M.
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Postby RollingCoasting on September 8th, 2016, 5:09 pm
Guy_With_A_Stick wrote:Dragon was awful though. It makes Demon look like a B&M.


You used the words "Demon" and "B&M" in the same sentence 8) :wink:
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Postby [jonrev] on September 8th, 2016, 5:21 pm
...and he isn't wrong.
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