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Alabama Adventure Theme Park
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Alabama Adventure is an Alabama theme park, located off Interstate 20/59 in Bessemer, west of Birmingham. It is owned by Adrenaline Family Entertainment which also operates the Clementon Amusement Park in New Jersey.
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/food area known as Celebration Street.
Alabama Adventure is the host for such concerts which have 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. 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.
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. 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.
In June 2002, the park filed Chapter 9 bankruptcy. It was purchased and operated by Southland Entertainment Group.
The theme park's name was changed to Alabama Adventure in 2006.
On May 15, 2008 Southland Entertainment sold the park to Adrenaline Family Entertainment, a group comprised of former executives of Six Flags. [2] Southland will concentrate on developing the remaining acerage that it owns adjacent to the park, with plans for hotels, an RV park, and other amenities.[3]
Magic City USA Theme Park Attractions
Roller Coasters
Flat/Spinning Rides
- Hurricane (Bertazzon Musik Express)- Opened in 1998.
- Scrambler (Eli Bridge Scrambler)- Opened in 2003.
- Vertigo ( Huss Enterprise)- Operated from 1998-2001 as "Voyager." Re-opened as Vertigo in 2007.
- MindSpinder (Fabarii Crazy Dance)- Opened in 1998.
- Fender Bender (Bertazzon Bumper Cars)- Opened in 1998.
- Tidal Wave (Zierer Wave Swinger)- Opened in 1998.
- The Pirate ( Huss Pirate Ship)- Opened in 1998.
- Carousel (Chance Carousel)- Opened in 1998.
Other Major Rides
- Cahaba Falls ( log Flume)- Operated from 1998-2001. Re-Opened in 2005.
- Wild River Gorge (FAB River Rapids)- Opened briefly in 1999. Re-opened in 2001.
- Giant Wheel (Ferris wheel)- Opened in 1998
- Space Shot (S&S Power Space Shot)- Opened in 2001 as StratosFear Screamer.
Marvel City kids rides
- Speedway (Zamperla Speedway)- Opened in 1998.
- Adventure Express (Zamperla Rio Grande Train)- Opened in 1998.
- Balloon Wheel (Zamperla Midi Whee)- Opened in 1998.
- MotoCross (Hampton Motocycle Jump)- Opened in 1998.
- Convoy (Convoy Trucks)- Opened in 1998. Moved to current location in 2005.
- Bump A Round (Bertazzon Kiddie Bumper Cars)- Opened in 1998.
- Barnstormer (Zamperla Mini Jet)- Opened in 1998.
Splash Beach Water Park Attractions
| Attraction |
Year Opened |
Description |
| Acapulco Drop |
2003 |
Nine story tall free fall drop slide |
| Castaway Island |
1998 |
A multi-level water play area for kids 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 |
1998; 2007 |
A water play area for smaller kids. 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 |
Past Rides
| Ride |
Years Operated |
Description |
| Typhoon |
1998 |
A polyp style ride. The Scrambler opened in this location in 2003 |
| Stratosphere Screamer |
2001 |
Stratosphere Screamer was a twin tower ride from S&S Power. It featured Launch (A Space Shot) 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. |
References
External links
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