Valleyfair


Valleyfair is a amusement park in Shakopee, Minnesota, United States. Owned by Cedar Fair, the park opened in 1976 and now features over 75 rides and attractions including eight roller coasters. Valleyfair also has a water park called Soak City which is included with the price of admission. Cedar Point and Valleyfair were the first two parks in the Cedar Fair chain and a combination of the park names – "cedar" and "fair" – were used to name the company.

History

Valleyfair opened in 1976 featuring 20 rides and attractions on, with the roller coaster High Roller being the main attraction. The carousel in the park came from Excelsior Amusement Park which was closed in 1973. It is the oldest ride in the park. In 1978 in an effort to increase investment capital for continued park expansion, Valleyfair was acquired by Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio and placed under the management of Cedar Fair Limited Partnership. The park continues to grow every year with new rides and attractions. Since 1976, Valleyfair has invested over $96 million into the park, and today the park has over 75 attractions on of land. A height restriction was imposed in the year 2000 with the building of Power Tower. After negotiations with the FAA and the nearby Flying Cloud Airport, the FAA restricted the building height of Power Tower at due to its proximity to the airport. Power Tower's original plan was to be a height of and to take riders to.
As the park is located on the banks of the Minnesota River, flooding can become an issue during the springtime months before the park usually opens, notably in 1988, 1993, 1997, 2014, 2018, and 2019. Excalibur and Thunder Canyon are built outside of a pre-existing river dike, and were built with this flooding potential in mind.

Attraction timeline

Roller coasters

Thrill rides

Family rides

Water rides

These are the water rides besides those in the Soak City.
RideYear OpenedManufacturerDescriptionThrill Rating
The Wave1992Hopkins RidesA Shoot-the-Chutes water ride. There is a bridge at the bottom where visitors can get soaked.'
Thunder Canyon1987Barr EngineeringA six-person River rafting ride'

Planet Snoopy

is a kids area within the park created for the 2011 season as part of a $9 million expansion.
RideYear OpenedManufacturerModel/TypeDescriptionThrill Rating
Charlie Brown's Wind Up1976Chance RidesYo-YoThe ride consists of 32 swings lift off the ground while travel in a circular motion and tilting at the top. It was originally called the Flying Trapeze, but received a facelift and renamed for Planet Snoopy.'
Flying Ace Balloon Ride1988ZamperlaSamba BalloonEight balloons that can accommodate up to 4 riders. It was originally called Hot Air Balloons.'
Kite Eating Tree2000S&S WorldwideFrog HopperA kiddie version of Power Tower. It was originally called the Frog Hopper.'
Linus' Beetle Bugs1976RamagosaA little spinning ride. It was originally called Bumble Bees.'
Linus Launcher2011ZamperlaKite Flyer'
Lucy's Tugboat2004ZamperlaRockin' Tug'
PEANUTS 5002011ZamperlaSpeedwayA kiddie Whip ride'
PEANUTS Road Rally2000ZamperlaConvoy'
Sally's Swing Set2011ZamperlaHappy SwingA kiddie swing.'
Snoopy vs. Red Baron1988Chance RidesIt was originally named Sea Planes.'
Snoopy's Deep Sea DiversZamperlaCrazy Bus'
Snoopy's JunctionD&PA mini train'
Snoopy's Rocket Express2011ZamperlaAerial RideA kiddie monorail around Planet Snoopy'
Woodstock Whirlybirds2011ZamperlaMini Tea CupA kiddie spinning ride'

Route 76

"The Route 76 area takes guests back into amusement park Americana" with the reopening of three classic rides that made their debut in the opening of Valleyfair in 1976. These rides include the Antique Autos, which was formerly deconstructed to make room for the construction of Dinosaurs Alive!, the Tilt-a-Whirl, and the Scrambler. A new ride titled 'Northern Lights' will be the main attraction of the area, featuring a ride track over 300 feet in length and 42 feet in height. This family-oriented ride reaches speeds upwards of 43 miles per hour and resembles the Aurora Borealis at night with colored lights in shades of greens, blues, and purples. The Route 76 area features a full service catering and picnic area, titled Picnic Point. Route 76 is located in the front of the park near Steel Venom, and opened on May 16, 2014.

Soak City

Soak City is a water park included with the price of admission to Valleyfair. Rides include a lazy river, a wave pool, and water slides. Newly added slides such as "Breakers Plunge" were added as part of the 2015 Waterpark expansion.

Fast Lane

is Valleyfair's virtual queue system. For an additional charge, visitors get a wrist band that enables them to get to the front of the line on the most popular attractions without queuing including attractions like Wild Thing, Renegade, Steel Venom and Xtreme Swing.

Shows

Valleyfair hosts several performance venues with a wide variety of live entertainment at no additional charge.
At the Halloween Haunt, there are special themed shows at PEANUTS Showplace, performing Halloween and spooky-themed songs for the trick-or-treaters on the nearby Trick-or-Treat Trail. Recent past years on the Gazebo there has been a show called Haunted Homecoming. On the walkways, there has been a roaming a cappella group, called The Skele-Tones. At night, there is also Haunt Entertainment. Gazebo Stage and PEANUTS Showplace change every season or two, but as of 2018, Sinister Circus, an acrobat circus show, has been located in the Galaxy Theater.

Former rides and attractions

Halloween Haunt is a Halloween event at Valleyfair that was originally known as HalloWeekends, which operated from 1998 to 2000 on weekends in September. The name was changed to Halloween Haunt when the event was brought back six years later in 2006. The Great Pumpkin Fest is a family-friendly Halloween event open during the day, while the park is under normal operation. After the sun sets, Halloween Haunt takes over and features haunted houses, outdoor mazes, scare zones, and live entertainment. Many rides remain in operation during the event, though some are closed to accommodate the transition.

Haunted attractions

Former haunted attractions

The Great Pumpkin Fest

Planet Spooky was added to the ValleySCARE lineup in 2011 with the parks addition of Planet Snoopy. However daytime family-friendly activities were present prior to the Planet Spooky name. In 2015 it was renamed to The Great Pumpkin Fest. It includes trick-or-treating, storytelling, live entertainment, petting zoo, corn maze, and a preview of Halloween Haunt.

Incidents