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in Altoona, Iowa
and Adventureland Amusement Park |
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in Altoona, Iowa
and Adventureland Amusement Park |
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| Altoona is
a city in Polk County, Iowa and is a part of the Des Moines–West Des
Moines Metropolitan Statistical Area. Altoona is home of Adventureland,
an amusement park, Prairie Meadows, a horse racing track and casino, and
a Bass Pro Shops retail store, the first one in central Iowa.
By the turn of the 20th century, Altoona could almost be classified as a coal camp. United Mine Workers of America Local 407 was organized in Altoona in 1897, and by 1902, it had 61 members. This was close to 20% of the population at the time. |
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| Adventureland is a family-owned amusement park in Altoona, Iowa located off exit 142A of I-80, along U.S. Highway 65, near Altoona, just northeast of Des Moines. It features over 100 rides, shows and attractions. The park contains many design nods inspired by Disneyland: The entrance has a train station with two tunnels 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 even played a sound track that included splashing water and an excerpt from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme song, "Yo Ho." "Adventureland" is also a theme area of its own at Disneyland. Rousing Rides: Four roller coasters - two wooden, high speed thrillers, the double looping Dragon and the Underground. Special rides include the Space Shot, the Raging River and River Rapids, the Mixer, the G-Force, the Underground and the famous Tornado! |
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 The
Circus at Adventureland was marvelous. The two RV Gypsies did not
expect the circus to have such professional, high-quality, amazing, and
entertaining acts. There were only five performers, but each and every one
of them were amazing. The two RV Gypsies highly recommend that everyone
that goes to Adventureland take the time to see The Circus. |
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The Tornado
made its debut on July 4, 1978, during Adventureland's third full season.
Soon after its opening it was considered one of the top ten wooden roller
coasters in the world. Even today after more than a quarter-century and
the addition of many other rides and three other coasters, this is still
Adventureland's signature ride. The
name Tornado has special significance for the park. Adventureland was to
open for its debut season in July 1974. However, a real tornado hit the
park before it could open, and caused it to be delayed until August of that
year. When the ride debuted in 1978, park advertisements exclaimed "Another
Tornado has hit Adventureland!" The layout of the Tornado is a unique
90 degree curved out and back that follows the shore of a small lake. After
leaving the station, the train coasts down a small incline, around a curve,
and heads up the lift hill to the top of the first drop. This drop, which
is the largest in the ride, can provide for some air time depending on where
riders are seated on the train. The second drop is considerably shorter,
but leads into the third drop, which contains a "head-chopper"
moment at the bottom as the track ducks under some support structures for
the return track, which is immediately to the rider's left at this point
in the ride. After drop three, the train rounds a banked turn and heads
back to the station by 3 additional smaller drops. |
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| In Karen Duquette's opinion, The Tornado was the best of the four roller coasters at Adventureland and she rode it about 40 times, always in the first or second seat, with hands up in the air the entire time. | |
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Below:
The Dragon |
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| The Dragon is a steel roller coaster at an amusement park in Altoona, Iowa that cost an estimated $2.1 million dollars to build. It is Adventureland's only coaster which loops completely upside down. The train traverses a few bunny hops and a 90-degree right turn as it coasts from the station to the lift. Cresting the lift, it makes a small dip, a roughly 90-degree turn to the right, and drop down and into the two back-to-back loops. Following the loops is a right turn into a figure eight segment and then some curves back to the station. Height: 90 feet - Drop: 85 feet - 2 inversions- time: 2 minutes |
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| Karen Duquette did not like The Dragon roller coaster that much because it was a very short ride, and somewhat shaky. Lee did not ride The Dragon. Lee stopped riding roller coasters after his fall in Kentucky in 2010. But that does give Lee the opportunity to photograph Karen on the rides, and relax in the shade a bit. | |
Below: Lee Duquette
was waiting at the exit for Karen Duquette to get off of The Dragon, and
then they walked through a room full of funny mirrors.
They would not mind being as tall as they look in the photo below on the
right. But they do not want to really look like they do in the photo below
on the left. ------LOL
They also do not want to look like they do in the other mirrors shown below.
But this was a lot of fun. |
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In 1999 Adventureland announced
the addition of the Space Shot, a 235-foot structure that towers over Adventureland
launching riders up at 4.5 G's and ending with a free fall of negative 1 G. |
| Below: "Sidewinder" (a swinging pendulum ride whose gondola swings riders over 180 degrees while spinning), | |
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 Below:
Karen Duquette giving a big pink pig a drink of water at Adventureland |
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Below:
The Outlaw |
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| The Outlaw
is a wooden roller coaster located at Adventureland in Altoona,
Iowa, near Des Moines. Height: 67 Feet - Drop: 70 Feet - Length: 2,800 feet - Maximum speed 48 mph - Duration: 2 minutes The Outlaw made its debut in 1993. The original spokesperson for The Outlaw was an old miner character who appeared in television, radio, and print advertisements for Adventureland. He can still be seen outside the lower queue of The Outlaw in cartoon representation, on the "you must be this tall to ride" sign. |
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| The 4th roller coaster at Adventureland is The Underground – An indoor dark ride using a roller coaster ride system. Karen Duquette thought this was totally lame, like being on a kiddy car ride. Actually, in Karen Duquette's opinion, The Tornado was the best of the four roller coasters at Adventureland. Because it was the Tuesday after Memorial Day, the park was not very crowded so Karen was able to ride The Tornado about 40 times, always in the first or second seat, with hands up in the air the entire time, as always. Adventureland is a nice amusement park, but Karen feels that the best roller coasters she has ever been on are at Cedar Point (see last year's photos of Karen and her grandson on the second tallest roller coaster in the world (420 feet), and the third fastest roller coaster in the world (120 mph) at Cedar Point. |
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Below are
more sections of the adventures of the two RV Gypsies in Iowa. You may
view them in any order you wish. |
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Adventureland
Amusement Park (this page) |
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AFTER you have viewed all 9 sections
above, please continue on to the adventures of the two RV Gypsies in Minnesota:
The Jolly Green Giant and Redwood Falls
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