Adventureland (Iowa)

Adventureland

Adventureland Park logo.
Slogan Iowa's Largest and Most Complete Family Resort Complex
Location Adventureland Resort, Altoona, Iowa, United States
Coordinates 41°39′16″N 93°30′00″W / 41.654447°N 93.499886°W / 41.654447; -93.499886Coordinates: 41°39′16″N 93°30′00″W / 41.654447°N 93.499886°W / 41.654447; -93.499886
Theme Iowa past
Owner Krantz family
Operated by John Krantz
General Manager Michael Krantz
Opened July 28, 1974 (1974-07-28)
Operating season Daily Memorial Day through Labor Day, weekends late April, May, and September
Area 180 acres (0.73 km2)
Rides
Total 47 (including water park rides)
Roller coasters 5
Water rides 2
Website www.adventurelandpark.com
Status Operating

Adventureland is a family-owned amusement park in Altoona, Iowa (just northeast of Des Moines). It is marketed as featuring over 100 rides, shows and attractions.

History

Construction of Adventureland Park began in the spring of 1973.[1] According to park operators, the Disney company assisted with some early park planning. Years later, Adventureland gave advice to the operator of the Wild West World Park in Wichita, Kansas, and allowed them to use photos taken at Adventureland in early promotional materials while that park was under construction. These photos could still be seen on the park fliers and website just before opening.

Damage from the tail end of a tornado delayed the opening until July 28, 1974, with the first rides opening on August 16. The first full season for Adventureland began in 1975. The official grand opening was on May 31. Congressman Neal Smith, Altoona Mayor Lloyd Sievers and Adventureland president Jack Krantz spoke at the opening ceremony. The Skyride from the World's Fair in Spokane, Washington was added that year.

In 1978 construction began on Adventureland's largest wooden roller coaster, the Tornado, which opened on July 4, 1978. The Tornado was soon listed among the top ten wooden roller coasters in the world.[1]

The following year, the County Fair area with its games of skill was added. Also in 1979, Adventureland purchased the aging Riverview Amusement Park in Des Moines and moved some of the attractions to their own themed area just south of the park in 1980. Some of these attractions included the infamous weight guessing booth, Hi-striker game (now in storage at Adventureland), Haunted House ride (now the station for the Dragon roller coaster), Mirror/Funny Maze (found upon exiting the Dragon roller coaster ride at Adventureland), Skee-Ball games, the classic Riverview carousel (now in storage at Adventureland), as well as other well-known and loved attractions. In 1990, the Riverview theme area was transformed into the Dragon Island, home of Adventureland's double-looping upside-down steel roller coaster, which opened on May 12, 1990.

1993 brought the largest park expansion since Adventureland was built. Outlaw Gulch, a western themed area, was built on 12 acres (49,000 m2) at a cost of approximately $5 million. Outlaw Gulch consisted of three rides: Wrangler (a Scrambler), Chuck Wagon, and The Outlaw roller coaster.

In 1999 Adventureland announced the addition of the Space Shot. The Space Shot is a 235-foot (72 m) structure that towers over Adventureland launching riders up at 4.5 G's and ending with a free fall of negative 1 G.

In 2002, Adventureland undertook an 8 million dollar project that nearly doubled the size of the hotel, adding a second courtyard, new pools with interactive water features and new poolside rooms and suites. It also added a new water ride in the park, a spinning white water adventure, called Saw Mill Splash. The ride is themed around an old saw mill, and fits into the western motif of Adventureland's Outlaw Gulch area.

In 2006, Adventureland added two more rides. The Splash Over and Frog Hopper. Frog Hopper can be seen as a kiddie version of the Space Shot, as it quickly hops young riders up 20 feet (6.1 m) in the air, then bounces them gently back down.

In 2008 Adventureland embarked on its most extensive addition yet – a new water area named Adventure Bay. The first water attraction in this area is Kokomo Kove.[1]

On February 20, 2010 (about 4:00 p.m.), a fire broke out in the toy store of main street after its roof collapsed due to the weight of ice and snow.[2] The collapse caused an electrical fire. The fire went out of control and engulfed the corner portion of Main Street and destroyed the section that encompassed the bingo parlor, restaurant, toy store and arcade. The fire was brought under control about an hour later and was completely extinguished an hour thereafter. None of the adjacent structures or rides were harmed and no one was injured. The buildings were destroyed so quickly because, due to their age, sprinklers were not required to be installed. The park opened as planned on April 24, 2010, with the east side of Main Street completely cleared to dirt surrounded by a chain link fence. Banners on the fence stated that "Plans are well underway to build Main Street back better than ever."

All of Main Street was rebuilt when the park opened in April 2011 and featured an even larger arcade with an indoor ride. The park's Scrambler ride, previously known as the Wrangler, was brought out of storage and moved to the G-Force's location after the G-Force was moved into the Main Street arcade. On December 15, 2011 (about 3:45 a.m.), another fire broke out, this time destroying the Rally Round corn dog stand. Crews said the fire had engulfed the structure when they arrived but they were able to put it out quickly. According to fire officials, an electrical transformer behind the corn dog stand was the cause.[3] A larger food location would be built in its place.

On September 6, 2013, Adventureland posted on their official Facebook page that a new attraction called Storm Chaser would be added. A 3D rendering of the ride was posted on the page, as well as an interview with park officials, showed that the new ride is a Mondial WindSeeker model. Park officials also stated that it would be replacing the aging Silly Silo due to that ride's frequent down time, and the company no longer making parts to fix it.[4]

On July 8, 2015, Adventureland announced that they were adding a new roller coaster called The Monster, a Gerstlauer Infinity coaster and the first of its kind in the United States. It opened to the public on June 4, 2016 after park employee previews a few days earlier. It replaced the River Rapids log ride, which ran since the park first opened.[5] The Monster features a unique nighttime LED light display made up of 137 track mounted fixtures that synchronize to the ride vehicles, and 46 ground lights.[6]

Location

Adventureland is located off exit 142A of I-80, along U.S. Highway 65, near Altoona, just east of Des Moines, Iowa.[1]

Themed areas and attractions

South side view of the A-Train station
The top of the Space Shot
Giant Sky Wheel

The park contains many design nods inspired by Disneyland: The entrance has a train station with two tunnels (on the left- and right-hand side) leading in to the Main Street area, just like at Disneyland or Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom (and also similar to many other parks built since Disneyland opened in 1955); over in Outlaw Gulch, there are several tombstones that have virtually the same wording as tombstones outside of Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion attraction; the rocking pirate ship (Galleon) has played a soundtrack that included splashing water and an excerpt from the Pirates of the Caribbean theme song, "Yo Ho". Adventureland is a theme area of its own at Disneyland. The different themed areas in Adventureland are:

Rides for younger children

Roller coasters

Water rides

Others

A-train engine and car
Der Flinger
Tea Cups
Town Square Carrousel

Adventure Bay

Adventure Bay is the water park section of Adventureland. Except for Kokomo Kove, it was new for 2010. In addition to the water features, it offers changing areas, lockers for rent, lounge chairs, and food service which includes a full-service bar named the Sand Bar.

Shows

Former attractions and shows

The Mixer

Games areas

The games department consists of three games areas:[9]

Alcohol

While the park has sold beer (and sometimes wine coolers) in the past, in recent years they have added more adult beverage locations.

Other food locations serve canned beers and similar beverages.

Special events

For the July 4 weekend, Adventureland presents fireworks. The nearby Prairie Meadows Racetrack and Casino often puts on a fireworks show on the same evening, allowing park visitors a chance to view two shows back to back.

Adventureland also hosts various art and craft shows during the off-season when the park is closed. Visitors enter through an open gate at the front entrance and are allowed only in the Main Street Palace Theater. A back walkway connects it to the Iowa Cafe on Main Street for food and snacks.

During the first few weekends of operation, various school bands are invited to play in the park.

Each year, substance-free days are held in conjunction with D.A.R.E. There are no beer sales during these days.

Over Memorial Day weekend there is a military promotion.

There are five park areas available for company picnics, reunions, or other large gatherings.[10]

On October 3, 2015, Adventureland hosted its first Oktoberfest event. A $10 admission (with free parking) included one beer and access to a limited selection of rides and attractions during this one day event. Dozens of food and drink stands were brought in to the park (many from outside vendors). The 2nd annual Oktoberfest is scheduled for October 1, 2016.

Mascots and characters

The park's official mascot is Bernie Bernard, a St. Bernard dog.[1] A cartoon drawing of Bernie appears on park guides and maps, and a walk-around character poses for photos in the park. Another character, "Toby" the tiger, also walks around the park. According to Adventureland's public relations department, "Toby the tiger has been around about as long as Bernie, but is not in our ads, so he might not be as recognizable." There are two additional dog characters: Heather, also seen in the park; and Henry, who used to appear and was even sold as a stuffed animal.

For a special promotion in 2001, Garfield the cat appeared in the park with a special photo opportunity on Main Street.

An actor who plays an old west miner type character appeared for many years in TV commercials, and his voice is heard in The Underground narration (and as the voice of the old miner animatronic in the pre-show). A cartoon caricature of him appears as the "must be this tall to ride" sign outside of The Outlaw.

Gilda the Gorilla, a gorilla carrying around a person in a cage, has also been seen to roam the park.

At the ticket window of the Palace Theater, an animatronic character named P.T. Barnaby spiels about park happenings each year. He is currently voiced by Billy Martin, the ringmaster of the Royal Hanneford Circus.

There are many other costumed characters that have appeared in the park over the years.

Incidents

Tornado, June 2006

An 11-year-old girl sustained head trauma when a piece of wood was left behind by maintenance staff on the Tornado.[11] Mackenzie Hooper and two others were struck by the board when it became dislodged during the ride operation. One of the other two guests was treated at the park and the other sought treatment off-site. The injured girl sustained head injury and was transported to a local hospital. Witnesses on scene reported that neither local law enforcement, fire rescue services nor an ambulance were called to the scene. Mackenzie was reportedly transported to Mercy Medical Center by park staff where she underwent surgery to remove a blood clot, reduce swelling and suture lacerations on both sides of her head.

Raging River, June 2016

-Details- On the 7th of June 2016, 68 year old seasonal employee, Steve Booher was assisting on the Raging River ride when he fell in to the conveyor belt system that moves the ride rafts through the loading/unloading station.[12] Mr Booher was severely injured, fell in to a coma and died three days later at Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines.

The Raging River is a water ride that requires at least three staff members to properly operate. Two assistants attend the loading and off-loading platform, assisting guests in and out of the ride rafts. The operator is located above the load/off-load area and is responsible for the safe operation of the ride and the movement of the rafts through the station. The operator has sole control of all ride operations.

At the time of the incident the design of the ride provided no safety cutout device for the two assistants at the guest platform. The ride operator was required to depend on visual cues from the assistants in the form of a "Thumbs-Up" signal to assure the guests and staff were safely clear of the operational portion of the ride before setting the rafts in motion. The operator did not wait for that signal and prematurely set the rafts in motion while both assistants were standing partly on the raft and partly on the ride platform assisting guests as prescribed by the operator manual and the very brief (often inadequate) hands-on training provided by supervisory staff.

The off-load assistant was thrown in to the raft along with some guests who held on to him until the raft stopped. Unfortunately, Mr Booher was thrown clear of the raft and landed on the conveyor system beneath it where he sustained severe head trauma and crushing injuries as the next raft passed over his body. Park supervision was notified and eventually Emergency services were called. Mr. Booher was treated on scene and transported to hospital where he later died of the injuries he sustained at the park.

-Aftermath- The ride was reopened the next day to normal operations. Park ownership, Management and supervision elected to keep the incident quiet and did not inform any of the park staff. Most park staff learned of the incident through news reports and guest queries.[13] Park management elected to not use the incident to discuss park safety or offer any form of condolences or remorse to the staff. Some staff reported that they were threatened with termination for discussing the incident.

OSHA conducted an investigation and found the ride was built and installed with inadequate safety devices. The park was fined $4500.00[14] and suggestions were made to install safety cutout devices for the assistants to ensure the ride vehicles could not be operated without intervention from all three ride operations staff. The ride was allowed to continue to operate as built (without any further safety devices) for the rest of the park's operating season. No further or supplemental safety briefings were given to staff assigned to operate the ride after the incident.

Approximately three weeks later a nearly identical incident occurred, injuring another member of the park staff. Once again park management refused to use the incidents to further enhance it's already lacking safety program and that incident was also quieted.

-Owners and management reaction- Molly Vincent (part owner and spokesperson) repeatedly declined to answer any questions[14] from the media regarding the incident or the result of the OSHA investigation. There was no official statement made by any of the park management or ownership and no public apology or remorse expressed to the family. As noted earlier the official policy relating to the incident within and without the park was one of not discussing the incident, not refreshing or enhancing safety procedures and not offering assistance or counseling to park staff. As noted earlier there were reports that park management threatened employment termination to employees that discussed the incident or the lack of safety protocols or programs within park employment.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Adventureland – About". Adventurelandpark.com. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  2. ↑ Finney, Daniel (February 20, 2010). "Adventureland fire destroys shops near Altoona park's entrance". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  3. ↑ "Fire Crews Called to Adventureland". KCCI News 8. December 15, 2011. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  4. ↑ Pratt, Christopher (September 16, 2013). "Adventureland's Silly Silo has taken last spin". Des Moines Register. Retrieved 2013-09-17.
  5. ↑ http://whotv.com/2015/07/08/adventureland-to-build-new-roller-coaster-in-2016/
  6. ↑ http://www.kclengineering.com
  7. ↑ "Adventureland – Kiddie rides". Adventurelandpark.com. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  8. 1 2 "Adventureland – Thrill rides". Adventurelandpark.com. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  9. ↑ "Adventureland – Games". Adventurelandpark.com. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  10. ↑ "Adventureland Company Outings". Adventurelandpark.com. Retrieved 2015-02-14.
  11. ↑ "Board hits girl on head at Adventureland". kicentral.com. Retrieved 2006-07-29.
  12. ↑ "Adventureland worker who died just 6 days on the job". desmoinesregister.com. Retrieved 2016-06-14.
  13. ↑ "Adventureland Employee tells all on Blogpost". /w2bergen.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.
  14. 1 2 "Adventureland fined $4,500 in worker's death". desmoinesregister.com. Retrieved 2016-08-29.

External links

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