BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001
Rank: Site Moderator
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 10/23/2004 2:16:39 AM
Visionland
aka Magic Adventure
So, about a week ago, I got this crazy idea to check and see if Visionland was still open. Sure enough, it was, and they had a Halloween special event. I decided to hop in my car and drive out there tonight, and it is located in Bessemer, Alabama, which is just southwest of Birmingham, and a 2-hour drive from my house (1.5 hrs coming home though ). Anyway, I headed over there and arrived at 6:30 local time, and the park opened at 7:00. This is where the fun begins.
I waited in line 30 minutes to advance 15 feet to buy my ticket: they only had one ticket window opened, and most of the people there weren't intelligent enough to pool their money, seeing as that would cut down the number of transactions, thus expediting the process. Anyway, after getting over that debacle, I was satisfied that the ticket was 14.95, or 16.15 after tax, which isn't bad. As we busted down the gates at 7:00 sharp, I headed strait towards Rampage, located in the far back-left corner, and hidden well. I got to the station and only four people were on the train: all in the front, so I hoped in the back. Seeing as it was very dark, and the coaster is not lit at night, that first ride in the back was quite a suprise. Out there in the hills with the dense Alabama foliage (2nd most tree-covered state btw, most people would never guess 'Bama), it gets real dark. The coaster was a bit suprising, and I'll elaborate in my review. Anyway, once we got back to the station, no sign of any more patrons, so I headed up and rode in the second car (third row overall). Again, quite a good ride, and I ended up riding in two more times, with 1-train waits in between the last two. By the time I had ridden it for the fourth time, I was ready to go explore the rest of the park. I went back towards the main area, and I hit the selection, albeit a weak one, of flats. A couple of carnival-style rides, including the worst scrambler I have ever been on, a pirate ship with a max angle of 45 degrees it seemd, a good set of swings, wimpy bumper cars, and a horrible plastic carousel (but at least it had an organ, or was that a synthesizer?).
Well, I tried to head back to Rampage, to get another ride on each end of the train: no luck, the line was fairly long, and the coaster only operates one train at a time (I complained to a supervisor, just to see what's up, and she said that they always run just one, and she couldn't come up with even a BS answer why, because she did say that they have two, and this coaster was long enough to possibly run three. Anyway, I headed up the hill a bit. I was tired already, having only been in the park for two hours. I was going to try their miniature space shot tower, not because I like them (I don't...), but because I wanted to ride something. The line was fairly short, maybe three blasts, but no luck again: upon my arrival, it broke down  Oh well, I knew that I was risking it because I had heard that the park was having trouble maintaining it recently, and I had only seen two or three blasts all night. So, I was SOL, and after 2.5 hrs, already tired of the park, so I headed towards the gate, out only 30 bucks, which isn't bad.
OK, the ratings, and for those who don't remember my smilie system:
Great: 
Good: 
Average: 
Poor:
Aweful: 
Rides:
This was a tough call, because Rampage was so very, very good, but other than that, the park might have gotten a The flats were nothing special, and as I mentioned above, the Scrambler was in bad shape. The kiddie rides were all closed because of the Scare Fest, leaving ten total rides open. Like Bugs Bunny, That's all folks! This includes Rampage and the Space Shot. None of the flats will be getting above a 5, and only one 5 at that. Again, Rampage saved this category, and had the water rides been open, maybe I would have felt more comfortable giving i
Message updated 10/23/2004 2:58:57 AM by BobFunland
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