| Valleyfair | |
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| Valleyfair logo | |
| Location | Shakopee, MN, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Address | One Valleyfair Drive Shakopee, Minnesota 55379 |
| Website | http://www.valleyfair.com/ |
| Owner | Cedar Fair Entertainment Company |
| Opened | 1976 |
| Operating season | Daily Memorial Day through Labor Day, some weekends in May and September. Also, Valleyscare in October. |
| Area | 125 acres (0.51 km2) (0.5 km²) |
| Rides | 75+ total
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Valleyfair, sometimes stylized Valleyfair! is a 90 acre (0.5 km²) amusement park located in Shakopee, Minnesota, USA and is currently the largest amusement park in the Upper Midwest United States. It has over 75 rides and currently operates 8 roller coasters, one of the most popular being Wild Thing. Valleyfair also has a water park, Soak City (Formerly Whitewater Country - Changed with Addition of Breaker Bay in 2009), located completely within it.
Valleyfair opened in 1976 and was originally themed as a Coney Island-styled turn-of-the-century amusement park, which leads to some jarring contrasts with modern-style rides like the steel roller coasters Corkscrew and Wild Thing.
The park is owned by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company. Valleyfair and Cedar Point are the two original Cedar Fair parks and the Fair in the Cedar Fair name comes from Valleyfair.
Valleyfair’s normal operating season runs daily from Memorial Day through Labor Day and some weekends in May and September. There is also a "ValleySCARE" event near Halloween.
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History
Valleyfair! opened in 1976 featuring 20 rides and attractions on 26 acres (110,000 m2), with the roller coaster High Roller being the main attraction. The carousel in the park came from Excelsior Amusement Park which was closed many years earlier. It is the oldest ride in the park. In 1978 in an effort to increase investment capital for continued park expansion, Valleyfair was acquired by Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio and placed under the management of Cedar Fair Limited Partnership. The park continues to grow every year with new rides and attractions. Since 1976, Valleyfair has invested over $96 million into the park, and today the park has over 75 rides on 125 acres (0.51 km2) of land. A height restriction was imposed in the year 2001 with the building of Power Tower. After negotiations with the FAA and the nearby Flying Cloud Airport, the FAA restricted the building height of Power Tower at 275 feet (84 m) due to its proximity to the airport. Power Tower's original plan was to be a height of 300 feet (91 m) and to take riders to 275 feet (84 m). [1]
Attractions
Roller coasters
Although not as well-known a "coaster park" as some other parks like Cedar Point, Valleyfair does have many popular coasters and is known widely for them.
- High Roller - Wooden Out & Back (1976). An ACE Coaster Classic.[2]
- Mild Thing - Steel Kiddie Coaster. (1976) Hershell. This classic Little Dipper was renamed and repainted to match Wild Thing in 1996.[3]
- Wild Rails - Steel Wild Mouse. (1979) (decommissioned 1998) Schwarzkopf. Formerly known as the Wildcat and operated at Cedar Point from 1970-1978.[4] Relocated to Jolly Roger Amusement Park in Maryland.[5]
- Corkscrew - Steel Looping (1980). Arrow Dynamics Features three inversions, including a loop and double corkscrew.
- Excalibur - Hybrid Wood-Steel (1989). Arrow
- Wild Thing - Steel Out & Back (1996). Morgan, D.H. Features a 207 ft (63 m) lift hill with a 198 ft (60 m) drop and the longest stretch of negative-G track in the world.
- Mad Mouse - Steel Wild Mouse (1999). Arrow Dynamics
- Steel Venom – Steel, Inverted, Launched (2003). Intamin AG
- Renegade - Wooden (2007). Great Coasters International, Inc. Its features include a twisting first drop, a near-ground high-speed S-turn and a high-speed station fly-by. The ride is 3,113 feet (949 m) long and 104 feet (32 m) high, with a 91-foot (28 m) drop.[6]
Challenge Park
Challenge Park is located on the southeast corner of the amusement park. Challenge Park is a separate charge attraction and requires an additional fee to participate in activities. Challenge Park features four different attractions: RipCord, Adventure Golf, Go-Karts and Bumper Boats. RipCord is a Skycoaster where 1-3 individuals are harnessed, raised to a height of 161 feet (49 m), and one of the riders must pull their own cord to release them to a swinging freefall. The Adventure Golf is semi-mountain themed with a waterfall and ponds, making a rather picturesque entrance to the park. The go karts travel beneath the figure-eight of the park's hyper-coaster, Wild Thing.
Soak City Waterpark
Soak City is a water park located within Valleyfair. It is a no-additional-charge attraction open to all Valleyfair visitors. It includes five high speed, single-person water slides, a lazy river, a fast single person rapids ride, a large family raft ride, and a children's area. In 2009, Breakers Bay, a large 350,000 gallon wave pool was added in addition to a new bathhouse, restaurant, and cabanas.
Shows
Valleyfair hosts several performance venues with a wide variety of live entertainment at no additional charge.
- The Amphitheater is a large outdoor venue that has hosted country music tribute shows, battle of the bands competitions, acrobats, and even a dog show. The venue is not currently being used.
- The Galaxy Theater is an indoor, air-conditioned theater, fully equipped with professional lighting and sound. Originally, it was used to stage musical revues, but in recent years, The Galaxy has played host to various comedy and magic acts, such as Ed Alonzo and Chipper Lowell. This year's, as advertised by Valleyfair, is comedy magician Rudy Coby.
During the Halloween Haunt at Valleyscare, The Galaxy usually presents a kids magic show during the day anda more adult, horror magic show at night.
- The Gazebo Stage is an outdoor stage with a covered bandstand which presents a musical revue of classic and contemporary hits. The Gazebo always features a 7-piece live band (keyboard, bass, guitar, drums, trombone, sax, and trumpet), setting it apart for most other "tracked" theme park shows. The venue features numerous covered picnic tables and close proximity to many food service locations, so park guests can enjoy their lunch or dinner while catching the show. This year's production, entitled "Shout!", features sequences paying tribute to contemporary, reggae, and Motown styles, with a special tribute to the music of Stevie Wonder.
- The Kidworks Stage is an outdoor venue that appears on the loading dock of the Foam Ball Factory in Kidworks. It features limited bench seating, and a lot of room for the interactive entertainment. The Kidworks Stage is the current home of The Squiggles, a 5-piece band that plays song that kids (and parents) and dance, sing, and play along with.
At the Halloween Haunt, The Boogie Monsters take over the Kidworks Stage, performing Halloween and spooky-themed songs for the trick-or-treaters on the nearby Trick-or-Treat Trail
Halloween Haunt at ValleySCARE
ValleySCARE is a Halloween event put on by Valleyfair starting in 2006. Originally, Valleyfair operated Halloweekends until 2000 and changed the name after it reinstated the event with more theming and haunted areas. The first event featured 3 indoor haunted houses, one indoor/outdoor haunted house, and one scare zone. The following year (2007) the haunt expanded with one more scare zone. In 2008, the haunt expanded once again with the addition of Mr. Cleaver's Bloodshed, a brand new maze located in the 2nd game warehouse behind Cool & Creamy. Along with Mr. Cleaver's Bloodshed, Hellside Farm received a major upgrade, and Chateau Du Damne received a new ending.
For the 2009 season, there are no new haunted attractions being added. However, a few live shows will be added to the Live-Entertainment lineup including the live show "Fangs" that originated from 'Knott's Berry Farm' in 'California', a new "Gory Comedian", as well as a spookified band. "Hellside Farm" has also been relocated due to the recent construction of "Breakers Bay".
Haunted Attractions
Here is a list of the Haunted Attractions found at the Halloween Haunt at Valleyscare.
- Chateau Du Damné - You are cordially invited to dine (or be dined upon) at the Chateau du Damné. The Baron and Baroness look forward to…meating you.
Come experience first-hand the many rooms of this nightmarish renaissance castle including the Baron’s throne room, the Baroness’ reception area and finally her “bedroom”. If you survive the visit, you’ll make your way outside to the fabled gardens. The Baron hopes you partake in the delights of his fauna. From there the gardens exit to the entrance of the Chateau’s graveyard and mausoleum where you can meet other visitors who never left. If you’re lucky, perhaps you may leave to live another day. If not, the Chateau always has room for more.
- CarnEvil in 3D - The clowns are no longer funny or happy but psycho, demented and over the top.
Plenty of shrilling laughter will be heard as they entice you to be part of their world under the Big Top Tent, but beware, you may never exit the world of the killer clowns! CarnEvil is a 3D attraction.
- Mangler Asylum - Over a century of torture and pain live within the walls of this defunct facility that housed one of America’s most notorious sanatoriums, the Mangler Asylum. At the turn of the century, Dr. Frederick Mangler conducted numerous dreadful experiments on the local unfortunates. Within these halls, his hideous endeavors opened the door to the evil nature of man and his most disturbing nightmares. Some say the wicked doctor unlocked the barrier between reality and nightmare.
With lack of funds and Dr. Mangler’s mysterious passing in the 1970’s, the asylum staff abandoned the facility, leaving the building and grounds unsupervised. Most patients died of a slow miserable death, but some still linger living off the decaying corpses of the dead. The doors of this evil place will now unseal. Guests will be invited within the bloody asylum walls, which house a collection of living fears and phobias waiting to wreak havoc on innocent souls. They could venture, if they dare, into the unholy depths of the building where Dr. Mangler conducted his most bizarre experiments...that is, IF THEY MAKE IT.
- Mr. Cleaver's Bloodshed - Within the depths of the slaughterhouse, innocent mortals will witness a gruesome massacre as murderous butchers and maniacal plant workers lacerate the tender flesh of their human victims. “Slice and dice” will take on a whole new meaning inside this brutal meatpacking plant.
- Carnage at Crimson Isle - The pirates of Crimson Isle, though long dead have sworn to protect its precious treasure. Now that the infamous pirate Captain Tack Gallows has gone after the treasure for himself, the isle has become a black and bloody battleground of shock and horror. Rare be the ones who make it through the Carnage at Crimson Isle.
- Blood Creek Cemetery - Blood Creek Cemetery was closed at the 20th century after reports that the local undertaker, Damien Tedrow was cutting up cadavers before burying the bodies, preventing the dead from entering the afterlife.
Valleyfair unknowingly constructed on the abandoned cemetery and has operated ever since. One night as the fog thickens, the dead rise looking for souls to take in order to enter the great beyond.
- Hellside Farm - From the outside, Hillside Farm appears to be a simple abandoned farm with equipment and fields left long forgotten. However, when the sun sets, it quickly becomes apparent that this farm is not entirely abandoned as Hillside turns into Hellside and the demented residents of the farm begin looking to harvest their next victim. Will you be next?
Accidents
- On September 3, 2007, the ride Xtreme Swing experienced a fire in an electrical junction box. There were no injuries, and the ride reopened several days later after the problem was fixed and the ride successfully tested. [7]
- 18 people were on the Wild Thing on May 21, 2006 when several cars tipped in the final curve before the ride comes to a complete stop. All those who went to the local hospital were declared unharmed and released.
Trivia
Valleyfair is the only Cedar Fair park not to feature either the Peanuts characters or Nickelodeon characters, which instead have or are have been associated with the center court amusement park space in Bloomington's Mall of America as Camp Snoopy in the past, and the current Nickelodeon Universe.
See also
- Excelsior Amusement Park – a park that operated in the region from 1925 to 1973. The carousel that stands inside the entrance came from Excelsior Amusement Park.
References
- ^ http://www.valleyfair.com/public/information/history.cfm ValleyFair Park Information
- ^ ACE Coaster Classic Awards
- ^ Mild thing | CoasterGallery.com
- ^ Wild Rails | Coaster Buzz
- ^ Factsheet | Roller Coaster Data Base
- ^ Coming to a Valleyfair near you: A new wood coaster | Shakopee Valley News
- ^ wcco.com - Ride At Valleyfair Closed After Fire
External links
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Coordinates: 44°47′48″N 93°27′01″W / 44.79673°N 93.45014°W
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