Alabama Adventure
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(Redirected from Alabama Adventure Theme Park)
| Alabama Adventure | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Bessemer, Alabama, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 33°22′48″N 86°59′55″W / 33.3800°N 86.9987°WCoordinates: 33°22′48″N 86°59′55″W / 33.3800°N 86.9987°W |
| Website | official website |
| Owner | General Attractions LLC |
| Opened | May 23, 1998 |
| Previous names | VisionLand - 1998 to 2002
Visionland - 2003 to March 27, 2006 |
| Operating season | April through September |
| Area | 200 acres (0.81 km2) |
| Rides | 30 total
|
Alabama Adventure is an Alabama amusement park, located off Interstate 20/59 in Bessemer, just west of Birmingham and east of Tuscaloosa. It is owned by General Attractions LLC.
It is home to Magic City USA Theme Park and Splash Beach Water Park. It includes a children's area called Marvel City and a shopping/dining area known as Celebration Street.
Alabama Adventure is the host of the First Financial Bank Concert Series, which has included such acts like Jesse McCartney, Aly & AJ, Vanessa Hudgens, Drake Bell, and Raven Symone.
In 2005, the Alabama theme park was visited by approximately 345,000 people, making the park Alabama's second-most popular tourist destination according to the Bureau of Tourism and Travel and trailing only the Birmingham Zoo.[citation needed] In 2006, the number of visitors to Alabama Adventure rose to more than 388,000. It was the winner of Alabama's "2007 Attraction of the Year."[1]
Located nearby is WaterMark Place, a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) outdoor manufacturers' outlet shopping mall.
Contents |
[edit] History
Alabama Adventure was previously known as VisionLand. It was built largely as a result of efforts by Fairfield mayor Larry Langford who later became the mayor of Birmingham and is now in Federal prison due to multiple corruption convictions. Eleven cities came together to form the West Jefferson Amusement and Public Park Authority. With help from the Alabama Legislature, the group borrowed $65 million to build the park. Construction began in March 1997, and the park opened for business on May 23, 1998. The park opened with four major areas, including Celebration City Theme Park, Steel Waters Water Park, a children's area called Marvel City, and a shopping/dining area known as Main Street.
- 1999 - The park expanded, adding Wild River Gorge, a river rapids attraction. Dino Domain, a walk through exhibit featuring animatronic dinosaurs is built in the woods behind Main Street but closes after the season
- 2001 - Wild River Gorge reopened with minor adjustments along with Stratosfear Screamer, an S&S Power twin tower attraction.
- 2002 - The park filed Chapter 9 bankruptcy, and only operated Steel Waters. It was purchased for $6 million, a loss of $59 million in public funds. It was purchased and operated by Southland Entertainment Group.
- 2003 - Visionland (uncapitalizing the "L") reopens with Magic Adventure Theme Park, Splash Beach Water Park, Marvel City, and Celebration Street. Magic Adventure received a scrambler attraction called Wild Scrambler and Splash Beach received a wave pool named Kahuna Waves and a nine-story-tall free fall slide called Acapulco Drop. Starting this season park guests had the option to buy tickets to either the amusement park or the water park or a combo ticket to both parks.
- 2004 - Splash Beach received a new water attraction called Splashdown!, a toilet bowl-style ride.
- 2005 - Magic Adventure opened the first new roller coaster since the park's opening named Zoomerang, a Vekoma Boomerang roller coaster relocated from Sydney, Australia. The park also re-opened one of the former attractions named Cahaba Falls, a log flume attraction. The park held naming contests for both attractions on its website.
- 2006 - Southland announced the rebranding of the park under the Alabama Adventure name, along with major expansion plans, including a hotel including an indoor water park, an RV park, and other amenities. Magic Adventure was renamed Magic City USA to reflect the new theming strategy. The park also announced plans for a summer concert series, featuring popular musical acts and artists.
- 2007 - The park added two new attractions, including Vertigo, one of the original attractions of VisionLand, which had been removed in 2003, and Salamander Bay, a re-themed children's play area at Splash Beach formerly known as Quarry Bay. The summer concert series returned to the park and became an annual event.
- 2008 - Southland Entertainment sold the park to Adrenaline Family Entertainment, a group of former executives of Six Flags.[2] Southland will concentrate on developing the remaining acreage that it owns adjacent to the park, with plans for hotels, an RV park, and other amenities.[3]
- 2009 - The park announced the first major expansion since 2005, and the first to Splash Beach since 2004. The expansion is to include a new attraction from Vancouver's WhiteWater West called "UpSurge!", a 216 foot flume slide with a vertical half pipe ending in a 25,000-gallon splash pool.[4] The park also combined both parks into one ticket price.
- 2010 - The park began promoting a casting call for new "indoor theatrical entertainment" called "Beat Street" that premiered in the brand new Star Theater. The park also relaunched its website, branding the park as Alabama Adventure Water and Theme Park.
- 2011 - The park added Buzzsaw Falls, a SkyTrans Manufacturing Shoot the Chutes ride. It is located between the parks Celebration Street and Stratos Fear Screamer tower ride.[5]
- 2012 - Adrenaline Family Entertainment sold the park on January 5, 2012, to General Attractions LLC, a company created by the former owners of the park who previously sold the park in 2008.[6]
[edit] Incidents & Accidents
In June 2011, there was a fight that broke out between several youth and spread throughout the park. One guest described it as a borderline riot. The Bessemer Police were called to the park and no more guests were allowed into the park. It was blamed on a "$10 before 10AM" promotion the park ran.
[edit] Wild River Gorge
- In August 2009, a family of three and one other park visitor were injured when the ride's boat capsized. Witnesses said that the families boat hit an empty boat and was overturned. The family were underwater for approximately 20 seconds.[7]
- In 2001, a boat filled with park employees was overturned when the employees rocked the boat. No one was injured.[7]
- In 1999, when the park was called Vision land, five people were injured when a raft overturned.[7]
[edit] Magic City USA Attractions
[edit] Roller Coasters
| Roller Coaster | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rampage | 1998 | A Custom Coasters International wooden coaster. This coaster opened when the park opened. |
| Marvel Mania | 1998 | A Miler Coasters steel family roller coaster. Located in Marvel City. |
| Zoomerang | 2005 | A Vekoma Boomerang roller coaster relocated from the defunct Wonderland in Sydney, Australia. |
[edit] Flat/Spinning Attractions
| Attraction | Year Opened | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane | 1998 | Bertazzon Musik Express | |
| Scrambler | 2003 | Eli Bridge Scrambler | |
| Vertigo (formerly Voyager) | 1998; 2007 | Huss Enterprise | Operated from 1998-2001; In storage 2003-2006 |
| Mind Spinner (formerly MindSpinder) | 1998 | Fabarii Crazy Dance | |
| Fender Bender | 1998 | Bertazzon Bumper Cars | |
| Tidal Wave | 1998 | Zierer Wave Swinger | |
| Pirate Ship (formerly The Pirate) | 1998 | Huss Pirate Ship | |
| Midway Carousel | 1998 | Chance Carousel |
[edit] Other Major Attractions
| Attraction | Year Opened | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buzzsaw Falls | 2011 | SkyTrans Manufacturing Shoot-the-Chutes | |
| Woodchuck Run (formerly "Cahaba Falls") | 1998; 2005 | Arrow Dynamics log Flume | Operated from 1998-2001;In storage 2003-2004 |
| Wild River Gorge | 1999; 2001 | FAB River Rapids | Operated briefly in 1999; Reopened in 2001 |
| Giant Wheel (formerly Sky Wheel) | 1998 | Mondial Ferris wheel | |
| StratosFear Screamer (formerly Spaceshot) | 2001; 2003 | S&S Power Space Shot | Operated with two towers in 2001;One tower removed in 2003 |
[edit] Children's Attractions
| Attraction | Year Opened | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marvel City Speedway | 1998 | Zamperla Speedway | |
| Adventure Express (formerly Visionland Express) | 1998 | Zamperla Rio Grande Train | |
| Ballon Wheel (formerly Sky Wheel II) | 1998 | Zamperla Midi Wheel | |
| Motorcross | 1998 | Hampton Motorcycle Jump | |
| Convoy | 1998 | Sartori Convoy Trucks | Moved to former Loc-O-Motion location in 2005 |
| Bump-A-Round | 1998 | Bertazzon Kiddie Bumper Cars | |
| Barnstormer | 1998 | Zamperla Mini Jet |
[edit] Splash Beach Attractions
| Attraction | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| UpSurge! | 2009 | A 216 foot flume that takes riders up and down a vertical half pipe and end in a 25,000-gallon pool of water. |
| Acapulco Drop | 2003 | Nine story tall free fall drop slide. |
| Castaway Island (formerly Tower Works) | 1998 | A multi-level water play area for children with slides, geysers, and other water features. |
| Kahuna Waves | 2003 | An 800,000 gallon wave pool with 4 ft (1.2 m) waves. Also has a real sand beach. |
| Neptune's Plunge (formerly Mineshaft) | 1998 | Four enclosed tube slides. |
| Salamander Bay (formerly Quarry Bay) | 1998; 2007 | A water play area for smaller children. Re-themed, including new slides and other features, in 2007. |
| Splashdown | 2004 | A toilet bowl style slide. |
| Warrior River | 1998 | A relaxing "lazy river" style ride. |
[edit] Former Attractions
| Attraction | Years Operated | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Typhoon | 1998 | A polyp style ride. Replaced by two upcharge attractions in 1999. The Scrambler opened in this location in 2003. |
| StratosFear Screamer | 2001 | StratosFear Screamer was a twin tower ride from S&S Power. It featured Launch (what is now "StratosFear Screamer") and Re-Entry (A Turbo Drop). When Southland purchased Visionland they kept the Space Shot side, which still operates at Alabama Adventure today, and S&S regained ownership of the Turbo Drop. It is now at Lake Compounce where it operates as Down Time. |
| Loc-O-Motion | 1998–2003 | A children's hand truck style ride. The Convoy was relocated to this spot in 2005. |
| Patriot | 2003–2006 | A Round Up style ride. Replaced the Voyager. For the 2007 season Patriot was removed and the Voyager was re-installed and re-named the Vertigo. |
| Rockwall/Venturer | 1999–2000 | Two upcharge attractions. Rockwall was a portable rockwall guests could climb and Venturer was a small motion simulator. Replaced Typhoon. The Scrambler opened in this location in 2003. |
[edit] References
- ^ "Alabama Adventure named Attraction of the Year". Alabama Tourism Department. 2007-10-19. http://www.800alabama.com/about-alabama/news/press/story.cfm?ID=413.
- ^ "Alabama Adventure Amusement Park Acquired by Adrenaline Family Entertainment, Inc.". May 15, 2008. http://new.yachtchartersmagazine.com/read/568727.htm.
- ^ Crawford, Cindy F. (2008-05-15). "Alabama Adventure sold to Oklahoma company". Birmingham Business Journal. http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2008/05/12/daily32.html.
- ^ "Huge Waterpark Expansion Planned For Alabama Adventure". Alabama Adventure. 2008-05-15. http://alabamaadventure.com/park-news.html.
- ^ "Buzzsaw Falls Set to Debut Alabama Adventure". Attractions Management. 2010-11-30. http://www.attractionsmanagement.com/detail1.cfm?pagetype=detail&subject=news&codeID=229533&site=AM&dom=N.
- ^ Williams, Roy L. (2012-01-06). "Alabama Adventure sold to company created by former owner". The Birmingham News. http://blog.al.com/businessnews/2012/01/alabama_adventure_sold_to_comp.html.
- ^ a b c "Four slightly injured after Alabama Adventure ride capsizes". The Birmingham News. 2009-08-05. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/08/four_slightly_injured_after_al.html.
