Michigan's Adventure Website Links For
Adventure
 

Information About

Michigan's Adventure




  Caption Michigan's Adventure logo
  Location Muskegon , Michigan
  Homepage miadventurecom
  Owner Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
  Opening Date 1956 (as Deer Park)
  Previous Names Deer Park, Deer Park Funland
  Season May - September
  Area
  Rides 52
  Coasters 6
  Water Rides 15
  Slogan Two parks for the price of one!
  Footnotes Attendance - 550,000 in 2005 (18% from 2004)


Michigan's Adventure is an Amusement Park in Muskegon County, Michigan , about halfway between Muskegon, Michigan and Whitehall, Michigan . It is the largest amusement park in the state and has been owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Co. since 2001.


HISTORY

The park was originally founded as the Deer Park, a petting zoo, in 1956. In 1968, Roger Jourden purchased the park and began selling off the deer and purchasing attractions, eventually renaming it '''Deer Park Funland'''.

In site, accessed December 17, 2006 and has become a major Michigan attraction. Michigan's Adventure is the only surviving thrill park in the state of Michigan. ( Boblo Island park, west of Amherstburg , Ontario near Detroit was closed in 1993) The park features six roller coasters including the critically acclaimed "Shivering Timbers", a high speed wooden out and back roller coaster, and one looping coaster the "Corkscrew".ibid. The park also includes a large number of "flat rides" such as the "Scrambler" and "Flying Trapeze". Coaster Gallery Michigans' Adventure page.


WildWater Adventure


The Water Park , WildWater Adventure, opened in 1991. After the addition of the WildWater Adventure, the slogan for the park became "''2 parks for the price of 1''" since the regular gate admission of $24 allows full day usage of both the amusement ''and'' the water park, rather than a separate fee for both.


Purchase by Cedar Fair

In 2001, Cedar Fair , the owner of Cedar Point , purchased the park from Roger Jourden. His daughter, Camille Jourden-Mark, was demoted from General Manager, a position she had occupied since 1988, and replaced with Larry Mackenzie. Mackenzie later left for Valleyfair at the end of the 2001 season. Camille Jourden-Mark was then reinstated as General Manager where she has remained since.


Ride malfunctions

  • One of the rides was damaged after the Southern Great Lakes Derecho Of 1998 storms which took place during Memorial Day Weekend, the traditional start of the summer tourist season. The ride destroyed was Mutley's Putt Putts, and a new entrance opened on that location the following year. The storm also leveled many of the taller trees in the park, leaving shade a rare commodity for the next few years until transplanted trees could begin filling out.


  • The parks Gondola Wheel once malfunctioned prior to Cedar Fair ownership, and an aerial truck from the White Lake Fire Authority had to rescue people from the top compartments of the ride.


See also Chaos Incident


New for 2006

Significant improvements debuted for the 2006 operating season, including:
  • Grand Rapids a new 1500 foot long river rapids ride simulating a whitewater rafting adventure in a canyon setting complete with waterfalls and geysers. Costing $5 million it will be the most expensive ride ever built at the park. New Attractions page on Michigan's Adventure corporate site, accessed December 17, 2006

  • Expansion of the Timbertown Railway with additional track and a new station.

  • Coaster's Drive-In restaurant, which is a feature at other Cedar Fair parks including Cedar Point .



New for 2007

  • Improvements with the water in the park, including a new water tower located near the corporate offices. Now with city/community water in the area, the park anticipates money saving investing with this project.

  • 3 Point Challenge, a new game featured at several other Cedar Fair parks.

  • Smoking Policy - smoking will only be allowed in designated areas throughout the park.

  • The coaster Zach's Zoomer now has a ride photo booth.

  • Antique Photos, a store near Shivering Timbers

  • A $10 and Under shop near Mad Mouse

  • A new midway connecting the games area to Falling Star



ATTRACTIONS



Roller coasters


  • Shivering Timbers

  • :Shivering Timbers is a wooden roller coaster developed by Custom Coasters International with trains by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters . It towers 125 feet in the air, reaches a top speed around 65 mph and the first drop is at a 55.5° angle. The ride is critically acclaimed within the industry and has been ranked as one of the best wooden roller coasters each year since its debut in 1998 and was ranked #3 in 2005. Amusement Today trade article accessed 17 December 2006


  • Wolverine Wildcat

  • :The Wolverine Wildcat is a wooden roller coaster designed by Curtis D. Summers and built in 1988 by the Dinn Corporation. It is 85 feet high and reaches a top speed close to 55 mph.


  • Zach's Zoomer

  • :Zach's Zoomer is a family oriented wooden roller coaster that opened in 1994 named after the owner's grandson, Zach Mark. It was designed by Custom Coasters International (the same company that designed Shivering Timbers). It's targeted to a younger audience and allows them to experience the sensation of a wooden roller coaster without the extreme drops, air time, and sharp turns inherent on a full blown wooden roller coaster like Shivering Timbers. This ride is named after the current General Manager's son named Zach.


  • Corkscrew

  • :The Corkscrew is a steel sit-down roller coaster (portable with some effort) developed by Arrow Dynamics . It has been operating at the park since 1979. It tops out at a height of 70 feet, reaches a top speed of 45 Mph and has two Corkscrew Inversions .


  • Mad Mouse

  • :The Mad Mouse is a steel sit-down roller coaster developed by Arrow Dynamics . Operating since 1999, the minute and a half ride consists of sharp turns and sudden drops, characteristic of any Wild Mouse style roller coaster.


  • Big Dipper

  • :The Big Dipper is a family oriented steel sit-down roller coaster designed by Chance Rides .