Category: Rides

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Dragon and Splash Over going away. Dragon Slayer coming.

The big for 2020 was when Adventureland post this on May 17, 2020 to their Facebook page:

Mary 17, 2020 Facebook teaser.

The image of a knight slaying a dragon immediately started speculation that something would be happening to the double-loop Dragon coaster.

Two days later, on May 19, the park posted an animated GIF that has the same image rotating in to view with the text “The Dragon Slayer” above it:

May 19, 2020 Facebook post.

Facebook group member Alec Rushford posted that SkyHigh Coasters LLC had reshared the teaser on their Facebook page, with Tag Gable following up with a post saying that they were the ones that did the build job on last year’s Phoenix roller coaster.

Also on May 19, local TV station KCCI posted an article that included drone footage of the Dragon being dismantled at the park:

https://www.kcci.com/article/adventureland-posts-another-clue-about-possible-future-ride/32600337#

On May 21, Joe Paul, a member of our Adventureland Iowa Fans (Unofficial) Facebook group posted a screen shot they took from the Facebook page of SkyHigh Coasters LLC showing the Splash Over being dismantled as well.

May 21, 2020 Facebook screen shot.

That post was quickly removed from the page, but said a zoomed photo taken off property confirms this was actually happening.

As of this posting, it looks like the park will have two rides less for the 2020 season, with something new to replace the Dragon next year. Nothing has been announced about a replacement for the Splash Over (though some have speculated maybe it is just being disassembled to be refurbished and will return).

More tidbits when we have them…

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Adventureland shares construction photo of new Phoenix coaster

UPDATES:

  • 2019-04-12: Added WeAreIowa.com news store.

Over on the official Adventureland Facebook page, they shared a construction photo of the new Phoenix roller coaster:

The news was also covered by the local ABC TV Channel 5 website:

https://www.weareiowa.com/news/local-news/construction-underway-on-new-adventureland-coaster/1917705585?fbclid=IwAR1kaSS2P4V4MALPp_J2hdMGG-0suW5fN9PfB7p6wV7HJnr348N67Lbt6O8

This might explain why there was a sharp spike in activity to this blog yesterday. The top search results that people are looking for when they end up here are “maps” and “season pass” information. Frankly, I’m surprised they can even find this site buried in all the hundreds of travel sites that have Adventureland entries.

Welcome, new visitors! Be sure to check out my Adventureland Wiki for some neat park history.

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Original ride area entrance and Der Flitzer location.

Recently several very old Adventureland post cards popped up on eBay that I had not seen before. One in particular showed “The Moat’ which was the original entrance to the ride area of the park. I knew that the location was the bridge at the end of Main Street, but I’d never seen a picture of what was there. I guess in my mind it was someone just taking tickets or something, but it was actually a ticket building of some sorts:

The Moat (entrance to the ride section of the park). Behind it: Der Flitzer.
Back of post card for “The Moat.”

I believe that is the original bridge that was still in the park in 2017, but was rebuilt between the end-of-season and that year’s Oktoberfest. If you notice, there is fencing along the left of the photo, which would have kept visitors from going past the end of the Main Street buildings.

Also, middle right of the photo are the old one-way exit turnstiles like the park used to have at the entrance. That would have been where ride visitors would have exited back to Main Street.

Behind it appears to be Der Flitzer. That roller coaster (originally called Rallye Racers) sits about where the Splash Over is today. This clears up something I’ve wondered about.

On the Roller Coaster Database entry for Der Flitzer, it says it was replaced by the Giant Sky Wheel.

The roller coaster was located in the “Alpine Village” section of the park and the Giant Skywheel (100′ tall Ferris Wheel) operates in its spot today.

– Roller Coaster Database entry for Der Flitzer

Apparently this is incorrect, since this post card shows it’s location further down, towards The Boulevard. Also, we found a photo of the Sky Ride that had the coater in the background, and the coaster in that picture matched the description of Rallye Racers. My wiki entry notes:

It was located somewhere around where Tea Cups is. This is based from seeing it in an old photo of the Sky Ride that was taken in 1975. It shows a coaster matching this description in the background. (Thanks to Johnathan C. for pointing this out.)

http://adventureland.parkhopping.com/wiki/index.php/Rallye_Racers

If Rallye Racers were there (down from the Tea Cups) and the post card shows Der Flitzer in the same location, then the notes about it being relocated may be incorrect.

Does anyone know if Rallye Racers was just rethemed and renamed in the same location to become Der Flitzer?

Fun stuff. I love these old post cards.

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Tornado and G-Force updates…

On Saturday, July 1, 2017, the Tornado was closed:

Tornado closed on 7/1/2017.

At first, I thought this was because it was too windy. I have been told they close the ride on windy days because too much wind can keep the coaster from making it one of the hills. Later I found out that the coaster had been down for awhile.

Also during the day, G-Force was still being worked on:

G-Force repairs on 7/1/2017.

Later in the day, folks posted in the Facebook Group that both of these rides have returned to operation. Huzzah!

The Underground also was down for awhile during the day, but I was told this was because Bad Bob had finally blown up the mine shaft. The ride would be resuming as soon as they got the rubble out of the way 😉

The Underground, closed.

If you are planning a visit to the park for a specific ride, be sure to contact them first before driving out.  Otherwise, you can check on the sign at the front entrance – it clearly lists any ride not operating that day:

Front entrance sign.

Get well soon, rides!

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G-Force update.

In the Facebook group, Joey Hayes reports that work is being done on the G-Force ride today. He submitted this photo:

G-Force being worked on, 6/30/2017. (Photo by Joey Hayes.)

According to a member of park management, it sounds like this is just routine maintenance that needs to be done every eight years or so.

G-Force was added to the park in 1997. It was originally located outside where the Scrambler currently sits. After the side of Main Street burnt down in 2010, the park rebuilt it and moved the G-Force indoors. You can read more about it on the Adventurelandians Wiki:

http://adventureland.parkhopping.com/wiki/index.php/G-Force

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A look at the Monster’s dinosaurs

As noted earlier this week by Dee and Anna on the Facebook group, two dinosaurs have appeared on the grounds of The Monster roller coaster. They are very difficult to see from ground level.

You can see this velociraptor (?) near the corner of Chicken Shack:

Velociraptor (?) at The Monster.

Seeing it behind the barbed wire seems very Jurassic Park-ish.

If you go down a bit further, you can catch a glimpse of this triceratops (?):

Triceratops (?) at The Monster.

To get a better look, Dee and Anna took photos from the nearby Storm Chaser:

(Photo by Dee and Anna.)

The Sky Ride is probably an easier way to see them, so that’s what we tried. Traveling from the County Fair station, you can see them as soon as you get near The Monster.

Dinosaurs at The Monster, as seen from the Sky Ride.

Here’s a closer look.

Hello, dino.

And he has a friend…

Hello, other dino.

He’s ready for his close-up.

Marvelous!

Coming from the other direction, or by doing a technique called “turning around,” you can see his better side.

Is this your good side?

Yep. It’s a dinosaur alright.

Here’s a look at both of them.

Twice the prehistoric fun.

A friend of mine, Kevin, who works with magician Ben Ulin posted that he heard these dinosaurs were in storage at the park for awhile, and they just decided to set them out.

The Monster zooms by…

Very neat.

What other surprises are lurking in the park this year?

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Raging River gets more rage

Facebook group member Joey Hayes  posted an update on Monday about the Raging River. This white water rafting ride recently opened for the season after a rehab. When it first opened, it was reported that some of the waterfalls were not yet turned on.

Waterless fall, earlier this week. (Photo by Joey Hayes.)

Today, Joey confirmed that they are back…

Waterfalls falling. (Photo by Joey Hayes.)

Waterfalls sorta falling. (Photo by Joey Hayes.)

I have ridden many white water rafting rides over the years, including the very first one that ever was built at Astroworld in Houston, Texas. I have often been quite lucky at staying dry while all the others in my raft got drenched… but these waterfalls put an end to such “luck.”

Thanks, Joey, for this update.

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Dinosaur spotted at Adventureland?

When I just saw a reference to dinosaurs at Adventureland, I immediately thought of the Sinclair gas station dinosaur that used to be in the park near where the Frog Hopper is today.

Sinclair gas station dinosaur mascot in 1998.

But apparently that is not what was meant by Facebook group posters Dee and Anna.

They posted a photo today that would make a cryptozoologist giddy. It showed the twisted track of the Monster roller coaster with what sure does appear to be a dinosaur of some kind deep inside of it…

What do you see? (Photo compliments of Dee and Anna L.)

Is it April 1st again?

They took a ride on the Sky Ride Storm Chaser to get a better look.

(Photo compliments of Dee and Anna L.)

(Photo compliments of Dee and Anna L.)

It looks like we need to send out an exploratory team to see what is going on.