Revisiting Michigan's Adventure

On my second visit to Michigan's Adventure in August 2017, I had hoped to accomplish two things: obtaining my final credit at the park, and getting a re-ride or two on my favorite wooden coaster. I left completing one of those objectives and feeling very disappointed.

Recap of my 2008 Visit

In July 2008, I visited with extended family and rode all of the roller coasters except Thunderhawk one time. I was blown away by the length and airtime of CCI's Shivering Timbers, which instantly landed in my top 3 and became my favorite wooden roller coaster. That coaster alone was worth the trip. I do not recall having strong feelings about the other coasters except that Corkscrew was surprisingly short. We rode some flat rides too, including the chairswing and a spinny ride that upset my aunt's stomach. Later in the day, we hung out at the waterpark. My memories are fond from my first visit to Michigan's Adventure, and I was excited to revisit someday.

Overview

Nine years after my first visit, I had a chance to go back to Michigan's Adventure. My family went on a sunny Saturday in August, so I was expecting big crowds. Indeed, the park was very busy, and it took 40 minutes to wait in line to pass through the parking booth. Once we entered the amusement park, there was a problem: Wolverine Wildcat and Shivering Timbers were not running. Therefore, the crowds were concentrated in lines for the operating coasters. We waited at least an hour to ride Corkscrew, Thunderhawk, and Mad Mouse one time each. We had a disastrous experience at lunchtime. Wildcat eventually opened, but with a wait time exceeding 2 hours, we skipped riding this mediocre wooden coaster. By far, the worst part of the day was missing out on Shivering Timbers, which never even tested. Had I known that this coaster would not operate, I don't think I would've made the effort to visit here. Going to Michigan's Adventure without riding Shivering Timbers is a waste of time for coaster enthusiasts. I definitely want to get some more rides on this all-star coaster (and now without the trick track). As of 2020, no wooden coaster has impressed me more than my 2008 ride on Shivering Timbers.

Coasters

You know we had a bad experience when the best part of our day was riding an SLC. Jokes aside, Thunderhawk, the recycled Vekoma suspended looping coaster from Geauga Lake, was way better than expected (in comparison to Flight Deck, Ednor L'Attaque, and the horrible T2 for me). It had the original bulky restraints, but I got no headbanging whatsoever on my ride. It was refreshing to ride a good SLC! I enjoyed the intense layout and inversions, especially the roll over, without taking a beating. This coaster even snuck into my Top 50 Coasters, although I don't expect it to stay there forever.

The Arrow Dynamics classic, Corkscrew, and the wild mouse clone, Mad Mouse (also made by Arrow Dynamics), were pretty ordinary and honestly not worth an hour-long wait. I agree with people who say this park is neglected by Cedar Fair. It could really use at least two more thrill coasters. Some roller coasters that come to mind are Rougarou at Cedar Point, an Intamin Impulse coaster, a Premier Sky Rocket II, a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter, or even an S&S 4D Freespin.

Other Rides

We rode the park's train ride, Timbertown Railway, after lunch to get to Thunderhawk. The ride provided good views of the magnificent but closed Shivering Timbers. Michigan's Adventure has a Shoot the Chute, a log flume, bumper boats, and an average collection of flat rides.

Food & Merchandise

For lunch, we made the mistake of choosing to eat at Wildcat Grill, located near Wildcat and one of the train stations. We waited about 20 minutes, ordered, and paid $70 for 4 of us to eat. Just then, a girl at a nearby picnic table nearly passed out, likely due to the heat. All of the employees jumped out of the shop and shut it down to help the girl until first aid showed up. So far, I thought the situation was handled appropriately. My problem was that after the girl (who was OK) was taken by park medics to a first aid building, the grill employees showed no sense of urgency to get back to the shop and tend to their customers. They stood around for awhile, and when they finally moseyed back to the building, they had to reboot all of their cash registers, grills, and equipment. By the time we got our food, another 30 minutes had passed and only half of our order was correct. While I applaud the Wildcat Grill employees for jumping into action to help a child in distress, they wasted time re-opening their shop and kept customers like me who had already paid waiting for an extraordinary amount of time. On a brighter note, we also bought a funnel cake to share before we left the park. It was promptly made and tasted fresh and delicious. I bought a t-shirt, a magnet, and two 5x7 Thunderhawk ride photos. Michigan's Adventure had a good selection of Peanuts and park-related merchandise.

Cost

I did not get a chance to shop around for our Michigan's Adventure admission as we only decided to go a day in advance. We bought the tickets online for around $50 per person and paid $20 for parking. Those were pretty standard Cedar Fair prices, but for the rides they had and Shivering Timbers being closed, I felt that we overpaid by at least $10 per person. At $70, our lunch was also very expensive, and we did not get a ton of food (or the correct food for that matter). The Thunderhawk ride photos were $22 total, and I paid $18 for the t-shirt and magnet combined.

Photos

These photos were taken by me. Please credit this website if used. Check out the photos page for pictures of Michigan's Adventure from 2008.