MI Adventure is Cedar Point's ugly step-sister

KHTOExtreme said:
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As this is not related to Cedar Point itself. Yes I do know that Michigan Adventure's is owned by Cedar Fair.

ummm...actually it's about how awesome CP is and how not awesome MA is....so it's at least HALF about CP .

Its like saying I love Cheese on a Stick, Cedar Point is the only place that sells it, so I am going to boycott stepping foot in any other amusement park ever.

Well, I guess this proves I don't know everything. I had no idea CP sold Cheese on a Stick.

The park is in Michigan.

What does that have to do with anything?

i have no idea.

I hope that park is enjoying the Thunderhawk! I heard that was a good thing they added to the park! I miss it, but unless they put a whole lot more in, I heard there is not much to do up there!

Again, it's not cedarpoint.

It's a small park that is starting to grow. If you go there looking for a cedarpoint, your going to be upset. You have to go into the park with a mindset that it is a smaller park.

They have a great waterpark, and a few great coasters right now.

Some of the best parks I have been to have been small mom and pop parks. Look at knobles for example.

I drove by myself from Columbus to MiAdv for a few days in July and I was pleasantly surprised. I said in a post (over at CBuzz I think) that I was totally prepared to hate the place, and imagined it would be the worst park I'd ever been to. Not so. (Darien still holds that top spot)

I had to go to Guest Relations for my ticket and it was quick and painless, in fact quicker than if I had waited in line with everyone else. I thought the park was tidy, and the recent Cedar Fair influence was apparent in positive ways. In fact it reminded me of a very scaled down version of Valleyfair. The water park was good, probably the best thing they had, and was the obvious draw as it was busier than the dry side each day I was there.

It isn't Cedar Point and never will be. Those of us who love Cedar Point are spoiled by the best amusement park on the planet. Whoever said MiAdv is a half-day park is right, and I think that's how it's intended to be, with 7 or 8 oclock closing in July! There are light bulbs on the rides, but I don't think they ever even get turned on. I also noticed an absence of lights in the parking lot.

The area is a Lake Michgan vacation spot with beaches and lots of camping. The park is perfect for that kind of traveler. I can imagine that folks from northern Indiana would travel there for a lake vacation, it's not all that far for them. And judging from park options from which they have to choose down there, they're probably perfectly happy with it.

Sorry you're crabby about the place, but I wasn't!

I'm glad you had a great time during your visit. However I don't see how sharing my experience and opinion makes me "crabby" just because my visit was less than positive. How is it my fault that the people working there didn't know how a platinum pass from their foot and sent us running in circles for 45 minutes? Plus, I really have a hard time seeing why anyone from Indiana wouldn't go to Cedar Point over MA any day. Even if CP is a little farther I would say it's well worth the extra drive. I personally like the Soak City Waterpark better. I think it has more to offer as far as variety for kids. As an adult I could care less about a waterpark and would rather have a coaster anyday but my son loves them and we found more to do at Soak City than at MA.

"How is it my fault that the people working there didn't know how a platinum pass from their foot and sent us running in circles for 45 minutes? Plus, I really have a hard time seeing why anyone from Indiana wouldn't go to Cedar Point over MA any day. Even if CP is a little farther I would say it's well worth the extra drive."

So you are going to base your visit to the park on the trouble you had exchanging your pass for a ticket? People there do know what a platinum pass is, there is even a sign that says so. I have walked right into guest relations, and was out of there with ticket in hand in less than 2 min.

You have a hard time seeing why anyone from indiana would choose Michigans adventure over cedarpoint? Did you ever think that a lot of people are aparintly not as "nit pickey" as you are? Also, it is much cheaper to go to Michigans adventure than cedarpoint. Not just for a ticket, but in gas and time as well. I can promise you that 99% of people that visit the park would not judge the whole day based on a smaller parking spot(so you say).

I get the fact that you don't like the park(for silly reasons), but that does not mean that everyone has to agree with you. Just like you said " I would say it's well worth the extra drive."

Someone answer my question...

Why can't CF just upgrade the computer system at the main gate to make life easier...?

They are spending millions on coasters...why not spend $500 on a simple upgrade.

They are in the process of doing that.

Like I said, the lady at michigans adventure said they should have it soon. I think they just started to do it at the "Big Boy parks" first.

A) The reason that there is terrible line jumping at ST and even Wolverine Wildcat is because they don't have entrance hosts. I think that an entrance host like the ones at CP will improve a lot of line jumping and certainly a lot of the height check issues.

There isn't one there, or anywhere for that matter, because for 85-90% of the year they don't need one because outside of the busiest parts of the day (opening to peak water park time and water park closing to close), it's a walk on most days. The GP are figuring out that the best days to come are on weekdays, so the crowds are spreading a bit even this year at MiA compared to past years.

B) Thunderhawk has been good for the park. It really has increased foot traffic in that corner of the park and was a ride that the park really needed. The only thing that I have not liked about it is that it's really not that great of a ride, and that it's honeymoon is over. When they put in ST, lines there, even on slow days were outside the extra queue almost all day for almost three years after it was built. You can walk-on it now most days. But, they are totally different rides.

C) If you think you had it bad, Lila, you should read this:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/06/family_ang...ed_ma.html

Cedar Fair has been and will always be mainly about the bottom line and the bottom line only, especially at Michigan's Adventure. That's why I believe a lot of the people who work there dislike their jobs both there and at CP.

D) There is no way that Soak City is better than WildWater Adventure. You don't waste your time (and money) in WildWater Adventure like you do while you are in Soak City. There are plenty of slides and pools that even when busy, the lines move pretty fast.

Lila, you picked the worst day of the entire year to go to Michigan's Adventure simply because it most likely was the last weekend most families spent on vacation before the kids go back to school. You want a good day at MiA? You go the weekend after Labor Day, or any weekday in June. Ghost Town. It was raining last year on closing weekend, and when I went there, there were 2 cars in the parking lot. You have to plan better than to go there on a Saturday in August.

I still would not be surprised if MiA didn't turn a profit this year.

The only rides at cedarpoint that have had an entrance person that I have seen, have been millenium, dragster, raptor, and maverick.

The park is in Michigan. That has everything to do with it.

How?

crazy horse said:

A small parking spot and or having to go to guest relations to get my free ticket, never kept me from enjoying a park.....call me silly.

And yet, not getting enough of something for free does... Odd.

Anyhow, Lila, it sounds as if the only troublesome part of your day was the ticket/entrance experience. While I agree that the lack of a uniform ticket system is pretty ridiculous, that shouldn't have ruined your day.

As for the moron who got injured on Sea Dragon... well, she's the type of person I despise. She'll whine, bitch, moan and complain for hours on end, yet will still hand her money over to the park, and even ride the very ride on which she was injured! Darwin would be proud.

Dispatch Master Transport said:
A) The reason that there is terrible line jumping at ST and even Wolverine Wildcat is because they don't have entrance hosts. I think that an entrance host like the ones at CP will improve a lot of line jumping and certainly a lot of the height check issues.

Entrance people don't really help the line jumping at Cedar Point. It still happens. If someone feels they are entitled to not have to wait in line, having someone at the entrance (who isn't even paying attention to the line anyway) isn't going to change that.

C) If you think you had it bad, Lila, you should read this:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/06/family_ang...ed_ma.html

I remember when that story came out, and I still fail to see how he deserved free entry to the park? Yes he sacrificed for his country, yes he should be applauded, but he shouldn't go somewhere expecting they owe him something for it. It could have been handled better by the park, but he's got the same "entitlement" mentality that's screwing up this country.

D) There is no way that Soak City is better than WildWater Adventure. You don't waste your time (and money) in WildWater Adventure like you do while you are in Soak City. There are plenty of slides and pools that even when busy, the lines move pretty fast.

Lila, you picked the worst day of the entire year to go to Michigan's Adventure simply because it most likely was the last weekend most families spent on vacation before the kids go back to school. You want a good day at MiA? You go the weekend after Labor Day, or any weekday in June. Ghost Town. It was raining last year on closing weekend, and when I went there, there were 2 cars in the parking lot. You have to plan better than to go there on a Saturday in August.

Agreed, on all points.

Kevinj said:
The park is in Michigan. That has everything to do with it.

What does that have to do with anything? Or are you just talking out your ass again?

JuggaLotus said:

I remember when that story came out, and I still fail to see how he deserved free entry to the park? Yes he sacrificed for his country, yes he should be applauded, but he shouldn't go somewhere expecting they owe him something for it. It could have been handled better by the park, but he's got the same "entitlement" mentality that's screwing up this country.

That just made me think of Tom Cruise's character in Tropic Thunder. Good stuff. :)