Going Back In Time At Adventureland

My 200+ mile commute to Altoona, IA to visit Adventureland didn’t start very well. As soon as I got to Iowa I stopped at a Casey’s General Store Gas Station to fill up and pee. I walked into the “general store” and walked to the back where the restrooms at these types of establishments are usually located. I happened upon a group of obese gentleman dressed in camo hangin’ out.

“Are y’all in line for the bathroom?” I politely asked.

“What else would we be doing?” one of them retorted.

And they all laughed because, let’s be honest, that’s probably  the funniest thing to happen to north Iowa since … well, I know nothing about north Iowa so you’ll have to fill in the blanks.

Not one to start a fight, especially with dudes who likely own guns and definitely do not want me encroaching on their precious restroom, I walked away with a mock “ha ha ha.”

Across the street at the Pilot everybody was very kind. :)

2 1/2 hours later I made it to Adventureland and I was ready for some fun times.

Adventureland is a very old timey looking park so I filtered most of my photos in black & white.

This park has 2 wooden coasters and a Corkscrew ride called Dragon. Instead of keeping you in suspense let me just tell you I almost succumbed to the Dragon. After walking up to it and seeing the familiar “my 6’5″ lanky frame doesn’t fit in that!” car I backed out. Pat on the back to me.

First up …

Tornado!

This is the bigger of the two wooden coasters, at 93ft. As you know I’m not the biggest fan of wood rides, especially right now since I’m dealing with soreness all over my body. But a little trick I learned is to sit in the front. For whatever reason it’s slightly less uncomfortable.

Since there were absolutely no lines I waited for the front seat. Just as I got there it began lightly raining. When the car came around either the operator wasn’t paying attention or the track was wet, but it slid right through the station! The expressions on the ride changed from absolute fear to “woohoo, we get to go again!” in the split second they realized that nothing went horribly wrong. So they went again and I waited another 2 minutes.

The first big hill was great and we got air throughout the ride … which gives it a “ummm, is this going to fall off the track?” feeling that I particularly enjoy. I enjoyed it so much I went again, this time in the back seat. :)

The back seat, however, was much more painful as you can see in this photo:

Yes, I did use my phone to snap that photo instead of paying for it. If parks offered an “e-mail it to me” option I’d probably take more of them up on these photos. But getting a print photo onto this site isn’t too easy.

Next …

The Outlaw

The Outlaw is a smaller wood coaster than Tornado, but also fun. There were at least 2 spots where we got air and again felt like the coaster was going to fly off the track.

Next I went to the Ferris Wheel. Mostly because after reading The Devil In The White City I’ve been fascinated by Ferris Wheels. Problem: They wouldn’t let me on as a solo rider because someone committed suicide once. Interesting since they let me on the sky ride as a solo rider and the sky ride looks higher up and even easier to jump out of:

After I touched down I got a 25 cent “foot massage” (seat with a vibrating foot platform) and headed out.

I had a good time here, and I especially liked that the wooden coasters weren’t exceptionally bumpy, but got quite a bit of air.

Tomorrow I head out to ride The Legend at Arnolds Park, which has been in operation since 1927. It’s one of the oldest coasters in the US and is the only coaster at the park. I’ll update you, but be prepared for a very short update.

I took a lot of photos at Adventureland. Check them out here.

Disclosure: Adventureland provided me with complimentary access although I did pay $5 for parking. :)