Had the chance to visit Valleyfair as part of the Drunk Riders gang this past June; while I have been to St. Paul/Minneapolis for work a few times over the last few years, it has never been with the chance to actually visit this elusive Cedar Fair park. While I won't recount every element of the coaster trip (as @Hutch so expertly did in his trip report: https://coasterforce.com/forums/thr...ead-layover-at-thorpe-park.45395/post-1138086), I'll focus in on the coasters and review!
Wild Thing
Overview
Morgan Hypers are an interesting and forgotten breed. While coaster enthusiasts have long since moved on to bigger, taller, faster coaster designers who produced more than eight roller coasters - the Morgan Hypers remain popular to the home crowds that still have them. Throughout our entire visit to Valleyfair, Wild Thing arguably had the longest, sustained wait throughout. Maybe, just maybe, Morgan was onto something with their hypers after all.
Ride Review
With my Cedar Point fanboy bias in full transparency - Wild Thing is fine. Or at least, it aint Magnum, and it never will be. As a hyper, it has tall drops, good sustained speed, and impressive optics one would hope for. I will always point to the return-stretch airtime hills though; what was Morgan thinking? Too tall to have negative airtime hill, and very steep profile that gives them weird positive g pop.
Of the Morgan hypers, maybe my most favorite, as it has an impressive stance over the park.
Steel Venom
Overview
Intamin Impulses, how I miss thee. Overall Steel Venom is the original impulse we came to know and love, quirky hold brake and all.
Ride Review
Outside of all the nostalgia and lament of losing Wicked Twister fresh in my mind - great ride. I mean, in true Cedar Fair fashion, the coaster station is the exact same layout as Wicked Twister, so it's almost like it never left.
It has been A WHILE since I rode a hold brake though, maybe 2014 in Dorney park?, and totally forgot how fun that is as an element.
Corkscrew
Overview
It's like the Arrow corkscrew that had everything go right!
Ride Review
No seriously; while this Corkscrew was built in the still-early-years of Arrow's corkscrew designs (1980), they somehow got all the profiling right. Loop before the airtime hill to take some heat off of the speed and make the airtime hill enjoyable. No [insert MCBR here] straight track. Helix with actually good profiling. Interactive ride and pathway engagement. Genuinely chuffed at how good this was!
Cosmic Coaster
Decisions were made
Excalibur
Overview
This is the Arrow you are searching for.
Ride Review
I was trying to keep things low-key chill on the park visit, but this was the ride I was most excited to visit. It has always been such an enigma to me of high speed, agressive airtime - all on a mine train platform. But brother: ... it works! Phenomenal high speed turns, great drops, and what is possibly one of the best transitional airtime hills in existence. More people need to hear it - Excalibur is legit!
High Roller
Overview
A "historic" wooden coaster
Ride Review
An interesting oddity of a roller coaster, being the only International Amusement Device coaster manufactured (after the rename from national Amusement Device or NAD); it rides very similar to other NAD coaster designs - a bit clunky and slower in the turns and more "classic" wooden coaster. Unfortunate and weird jackhammering in the airtime hills was definitely a hold-up, albeit there was some reprofiling in the second to last turn that gave some relief. Definitely interesting to conceptualize this as the only roller coaster for 13 years, but gives good visual backdrop to the park - I guess?
Mad Mouse
Overview
"Oh that's right, Arrow did wild mouse coasters!"
Ride Review
Having had the chance to ride one of these in Michigan's Adventure, I knew the treat this would be! Very fun and earnest design, it's a bummer this was built in the twilight of Arrow before they went belly up in the early 2000s. One gripe though - wicked low train through-put, with more trains sitting on the brake run than on active run through the layout.
Renegade
Overview
Woahhhhh Nelly, we need to talk.
Ride Review
Alright y'all, I'm gonna give it to you straight: this is my new #1 GCI. Did I expect this to happen? Not at all. Did I have, in earnest, any expectations going into this? Absolutely no. Some preliminary reports of Renegade were that it's rough, choppy, and a shadow of it's original build. While I concede there was some roughness, it was still within the tolerance of "wooden coaster feel." But boy oh boy did I underestimate the power and design of the roller coaster layout. Lateral airtime hills, clever course misdirection, and tight weavings to make Jeff Pike and Alan Schilke blush abound. It truly is a masterful design, that just kept on delivering no matter the time of day nor row of train.
Particular highlights:
- The first airtime hill exits at a lower elevation than entry, giving a surprise elongation to sustained airtime.
- A lateral airtime hill crosses under the lift hill, totally unexpected on it's delivery.
- Similar to other GCIs, this coaster delivers to the very end, with minimal crawl or power loss.
As of now, my GCI rankings are still tightly clustered between this, Thunderhead, and Mystic Timbers. But what an absolute phenomenal ride!
Other Park Observations
At the end of the day, it might be a while until I head back to the park - but was glad to have finally made it!
To cap things off, I present my overall coaster rankings, with specific Valleyfair callout:
Wild Thing
Overview
Morgan Hypers are an interesting and forgotten breed. While coaster enthusiasts have long since moved on to bigger, taller, faster coaster designers who produced more than eight roller coasters - the Morgan Hypers remain popular to the home crowds that still have them. Throughout our entire visit to Valleyfair, Wild Thing arguably had the longest, sustained wait throughout. Maybe, just maybe, Morgan was onto something with their hypers after all.
Ride Review
With my Cedar Point fanboy bias in full transparency - Wild Thing is fine. Or at least, it aint Magnum, and it never will be. As a hyper, it has tall drops, good sustained speed, and impressive optics one would hope for. I will always point to the return-stretch airtime hills though; what was Morgan thinking? Too tall to have negative airtime hill, and very steep profile that gives them weird positive g pop.
Of the Morgan hypers, maybe my most favorite, as it has an impressive stance over the park.
Steel Venom
Overview
Intamin Impulses, how I miss thee. Overall Steel Venom is the original impulse we came to know and love, quirky hold brake and all.
Ride Review
Outside of all the nostalgia and lament of losing Wicked Twister fresh in my mind - great ride. I mean, in true Cedar Fair fashion, the coaster station is the exact same layout as Wicked Twister, so it's almost like it never left.
It has been A WHILE since I rode a hold brake though, maybe 2014 in Dorney park?, and totally forgot how fun that is as an element.Corkscrew
Overview
It's like the Arrow corkscrew that had everything go right!
Ride Review
No seriously; while this Corkscrew was built in the still-early-years of Arrow's corkscrew designs (1980), they somehow got all the profiling right. Loop before the airtime hill to take some heat off of the speed and make the airtime hill enjoyable. No [insert MCBR here] straight track. Helix with actually good profiling. Interactive ride and pathway engagement. Genuinely chuffed at how good this was!
Cosmic Coaster
Decisions were made
Excalibur
Overview
This is the Arrow you are searching for.
Ride Review
I was trying to keep things low-key chill on the park visit, but this was the ride I was most excited to visit. It has always been such an enigma to me of high speed, agressive airtime - all on a mine train platform. But brother: ... it works! Phenomenal high speed turns, great drops, and what is possibly one of the best transitional airtime hills in existence. More people need to hear it - Excalibur is legit!
High Roller
Overview
A "historic" wooden coaster
Ride Review
An interesting oddity of a roller coaster, being the only International Amusement Device coaster manufactured (after the rename from national Amusement Device or NAD); it rides very similar to other NAD coaster designs - a bit clunky and slower in the turns and more "classic" wooden coaster. Unfortunate and weird jackhammering in the airtime hills was definitely a hold-up, albeit there was some reprofiling in the second to last turn that gave some relief. Definitely interesting to conceptualize this as the only roller coaster for 13 years, but gives good visual backdrop to the park - I guess?
Mad Mouse
Overview
"Oh that's right, Arrow did wild mouse coasters!"
Ride Review
Having had the chance to ride one of these in Michigan's Adventure, I knew the treat this would be! Very fun and earnest design, it's a bummer this was built in the twilight of Arrow before they went belly up in the early 2000s. One gripe though - wicked low train through-put, with more trains sitting on the brake run than on active run through the layout.
Renegade
Overview
Woahhhhh Nelly, we need to talk.
Ride Review
Alright y'all, I'm gonna give it to you straight: this is my new #1 GCI. Did I expect this to happen? Not at all. Did I have, in earnest, any expectations going into this? Absolutely no. Some preliminary reports of Renegade were that it's rough, choppy, and a shadow of it's original build. While I concede there was some roughness, it was still within the tolerance of "wooden coaster feel." But boy oh boy did I underestimate the power and design of the roller coaster layout. Lateral airtime hills, clever course misdirection, and tight weavings to make Jeff Pike and Alan Schilke blush abound. It truly is a masterful design, that just kept on delivering no matter the time of day nor row of train.
Particular highlights:
- The first airtime hill exits at a lower elevation than entry, giving a surprise elongation to sustained airtime.
- A lateral airtime hill crosses under the lift hill, totally unexpected on it's delivery.
- Similar to other GCIs, this coaster delivers to the very end, with minimal crawl or power loss.
As of now, my GCI rankings are still tightly clustered between this, Thunderhead, and Mystic Timbers. But what an absolute phenomenal ride!
Other Park Observations
- Things are surprisingly well laid out - I was expecting a more disjointed experience, the park being on the smaller side and tall/narrow. Yet, it works for the park, which (unexpectedly) uses a dual-path approach to allow for easier egress to the back of the park. The Soak City waterpark feature is also nicely nestled in the middle of the park, making for an easy escape and pickup of a few water rides to cool off.
- Grand Carnival ... works? I've purposely avoided this Mardi Gras charade for years as (what I thought was) hoaxy, mid-summer excuse to boost attendance. But, the EPCOT imposter celebration of world exhibit is actually quite cute for what it is, even if it's also an excuse to eat chicken 6 different ways (might I recommend the Tikka from the Indian booth!)
- Less Cedar Fair than I expected - Valleyfair is half of the Cedar Fair namesake, giving me fear it might reak of "corporate" branding, regurgitated from the Cedar Point mothership. And while I spotted some CP intellectual property throughout, was glad to find Valleyfair had it's own experience and brand; or at least moreso than other second and third tier Cedar Fair parks.
At the end of the day, it might be a while until I head back to the park - but was glad to have finally made it!
To cap things off, I present my overall coaster rankings, with specific Valleyfair callout:
| Rank | Coaster |
| 29 | Renegade |
| 97 | Excalibur |
| 100 | Wild Thing |
| 139 | Steel Venom |
| 171 | Corkscrew |
| 202 | High Roller |
| 230 | Mad Mouse |
| 267 | Cosmic Coaster |