Valleyfair
| Valleyfair | |
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 Valleyfair logo |
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| Location | Shakopee, Minnesota, United States  |
| 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 (0.5 km²) |
| Rides | 60+ total
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 Amusement Parks Portal |
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Valleyfair is a 125 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 60 rides and currently operates 8 roller coasters, one of the most popular being Wild Thing. The park also has a water park, White Water Country Waterpark, located completely within the park.
The park 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, some weekends in May and September. Also, Valleyscare in October.
New for 2007: Renegade
On September 21, 2006, Valleyfair announced that it would build Renegade, its seventh roller coaster, for the 2007 season. As the park's second wooden roller coaster, Renegade provides a 2-minute ride at a top speed of 52 mph. Unique 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 long and 104 feet high, with a 91 foot drop.[1]
You can view a front seat and backseat POV on YouTube.
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)
- Corkscrew - Steel Looping (1980) Arrow Dynamics
- Excalibur - Hybrid Wood-Steel (1989) Arrow
- Wild Thing - Steel Out & Back (1996) Morgan, D.H.
- Mad Mouse - Steel Wild Mouse(1999) Arrow Dynamics
- Steel Venom – Steel, Inverted, Launched (2003) Intamin AG
- Renegade - Wooden (2007) Great Coasters International, Inc.
Thrill Rides
- Enterprise– (1979), Enterprise is a spinning ride with individual 1-2 person gondolas which start out hanging from the ride, then rises into a vertical position and flips riders upside down.
- Looping Starship– (1985), Looping Starship is a Pirate themed looping ship ride.
- RipCord– (1997), An up charge attraction, RipCord is a 180 foot tall Skycoaster located in the Challenge Park section of the park.
- Chaos– (1999), Chaos is a spinning ride which starts spinning in a horizontal position and gradually lifts in to a vertical position. Each individual ride unit flips 360 degrees on its own axis.
- Power Tower– (2000), Power tower is a 275 foot (83 m) tall tower with three pillars. Two of the towers bring riders up slowly and drop them down in free fall, and the third tower blasts riders up.
- Skyscraper– (2005), An up charge attraction, skyscraper is a 180-foot tall skyscraper attraction.
- Xtreme Swing– (2006), Xtreme Swing, a giant Screamin' Swing ride that stands 100 ft (33 m) tall, and swings riders 125 ft into the air. On its debut, it was the second tallest of its ride type. It is 2 ft shorter than Cedar Point's (Valleyfair's sister park) version called Sky Hawk, which also opened in 2006.
Water rides
Valleyfair's other major draw is its plethora of water rides, highly popular in the Minnesota summer heat. These are the water rides besides those in the White Water Country Waterpark.
- The Flume– (1979), Known as Ye Olde Log Flume until the early 1990s. The Flume is a log flume ride. The balcony over the Flume's splashdown pool is one of the park's most popular dining locations. The Flume's feature final drop was rebuilt for the 2006 season. It is speculated that Valleyfair made the hill steeper, but no official announcement has been made.
- Thunder Canyon– (1987), A six-person raft ride; like all amusement park raft rides, getting wet is the point of the excursion. A thrilling ride and one of the park's most popular attractions, but on very hot days, the wait for this ride can easily exceed a full hour.
- The Wave– (1992), A large splashdown pool ride. The Wave is almost as popular for spectators as it is for riders, as the huge wave generated by the nose of the boat can splash almost ten feet beyond the fence around the ride.
- Hydroblaster– (1995), An enclosed water slide (located near the Flume, not in Whitewater Country Waterpark).
- Riptide– (2005), the Riptide combines elements of a gondola, flipping horizontally in the air while rotating and The Wave. Designed by Huss Manufacturing of Germany, it is most commonly called a "Top Spin." Typically seats 38 passengers. This ride spins in a 360 degree orbit several times. A fountain at the base sprays riders as they orbit.
Family rides
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Children's Attractions
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Challenge Park
Challenge Park is located on the southeast corner of the park. Challenge Park is a separate charge attraction and requires Valleyfair admission to participate in activities. Challenge Park features four different attractions: RipCord, Adventure Golf, Go-Karts and Bumper Boats.
White Water Country Waterpark
White Water Country is a water park located within Valleyfair. It is a no-additional-charge attraction open to all Valleyfair visitors.
Games
- Roll-a-Ball: Long-lived game located near Hydroblaster, Roll-a-Ball is a multi-player game involving the rolling of balls into designated holes, each worth a different value. The winner of the game is the player whose cow can cross the finish line first. The cow moves according to the value of the ball rolled.
- The Guessing Game (Scales): Contestants ask the game operator to guess their age, weight, or birthday. If the operator fails to guess correctly, the player is awarded a prize.
- Float Pitch: Players throw ping-pong balls into dishes floating in water.
- Hi-Test Arcade: Features over 100 arcade and redemption games, including skeeball and pinball.
Valleyscare
Valleyscare was put on by Valleyfair in 2006. The event featured 3 indoor haunted houses, one indoor/outdoor haunted house, and two scare zones. New for 2007, Hellside Farm. A farm gone bad. Located in the Flume Walkway area. Due to the success of Valleyscare, it was announced in March 2007 that the event will be returning for 2007. In 2007 the event will be open Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays October 5th through October 28th. The event will also be open on Wednesday the 31st (Halloween).
Former rides
- Northern Lights (Chance Falling Star)
- Bayern Curve (Schwarzkopf Bayern Curve)
- Wild Rails (Schwarzkopf Wild Mouse)
Accidents
18 people were injured on the Wild Thing on May 21, 2006.
See also
- Excelsior Amusement Park – a park that operated in the region from 1925 to 1973
External links
| Roller coasters at Valleyfair |
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Corkscrew - Excalibur - High Roller - Mad Mouse (roller coaster) - Mild Thing - Renegade - Steel Venom - Wild Thing |
| Cedar Fair | |
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| Theme Parks | Canada's
Wonderland · Carowinds · Cedar Point · Dorney Park & Wildwater
Kingdom · Great
America · Kings Dominion · Kings Island · Knott's Berry Farm · Michigan's Adventure · Worlds of Fun · Valleyfair |
| Waterparks | |
| Other | Star Trek: The
Experience · Gilroy Gardens |
| Former | Camp Snoopy |
Revenue:  $831.4 million
USD (2006) · Employees: 1,300 · Stock Symbol:
NYSE: FUN · Website: www.cedarfair.com |
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