
Adventureland Resort Altoona, Iowa Owned by Palace Entertainment / Parques Reunidos
Park News - (8/25/2023) The summer may be winding down, but now Adventureland is preparing to kick off an all new two-day event over Labor Day weekend called Kids Fest. “The event boasts live music, dance lessons, a DJ, bubble pit, princess and mermaid meet and greets, face painting and more throughout the park. Guests should prepare for a blast as family concerts take the Boulevard stage on both Saturday and Sunday night. Families will have the chance to jam out with The Little Mermen, USAF Raptor Band and The Dad Bods. The concerts and entertainment are all included with admission to Adventureland.” Following this will be the return of the park’s Oktoberfest celebration on Saturday, Sept 16th, and then Phantom Fall Fest on select dates from Sept. 23 through to Oct. 29th, 2023. “Adventureland transforms into a realm of frights and delights across every corner of the park. By day, Adventureland’s thrilling rides delight guests of all ages, along with all-new activities for kids including crafts and mazes. But as the sun sets, the darkness brings terrifying frights with eerie haunted houses and four all-new chilling scare zones, Deadsville, Hellbillies, Nordic Nightmare and The Fallen.” Even better, this year all haunted houses are now included with admission to the park, such as this year’s re-imagined “mALICE in Wonderland”. (8/14/2023) Following the auction of one of Adventureland’s former log flume boats to raise money for Give Kids the World Village, the park has now put a second unique item up for auction; one of the park Sky Ride aerial tram chairs. The car was used on the attraction from 1975 to 2021 and the proceeds will once again go to Give Kids the World Village when the auction ends on August 16th. (8/3/2023) As part of an auction to benefit Give Kids the World, Advetntureland tells us that hey are putting one of the former Log Ride vehicles on the auction block. Now replaced by the new Draken Falls, the park’s original Log Flume was a fan favorite from 1974 to 2015. Currently the auction for “Log Ride boat #13” can be found on Ebay, where the current bid at the moment is $1,025, but I suspect that will climb. The park will also be hosting a Coasting for Kids event on Saturday, August 19th. To find out how you can participate, follow the link. (4/30/2023) Add Adventureland onto the list of parks adding a Chaperone policy this season. According to the updated rules anyone 17 and under seeing admission into the park after 4pm must be accompanied by an adult age 21+ with a valid photo ID. (2/5/2023) According to local news reports, Adventureland has made the announcement that the Raging River rapids ride that was involved in the death of an 11-year-old boy in 2021 when a raft flipped over will not reopen. According to reports, in about four-decades of operation, no raft had ever flipped over on the Raging River ride. While an ongoing lawsuit over the death is expected to hit the courtroom in 2024, the park has since examined the ride along with the manufacturer to determine the best course of action and costs involved to enhance the ride if they choose to keep it, but have decided instead to close the ride for good and focus on future enhancements elsewhere in the park. (7/2/22) You knew it was coming, it was only a matter of when. The family of the boy who died when a boat on the Raging River rapids ride at Adventureland, almost a year later, has finally filed a lawsuit against the park over the incident. I’m not quite sure what has taken place over the past year, possibly negotiations to settle outside of court, but since the accident Adventureland has also been sold by the original owners to Palace Entertainment. (6/22/22) Adventureland (Iowa) has announced that the park will host a new Hallloween themed event this fall called Phantom Fall Fest. Look for it to take place Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in October, with family friendly thrills, special food items and trick-or-treating during the daytime hours. Once the clock strikes 6pm however, ‘the fear kicks in gear” and the park will offer four different haunt house experinces as well as prowling creepy characters roaming the park. The four haunts will be called: The Corn Stalkers, Spirits of the Swamp, CarnEVIL and Alice in Wonderland. The park will also feature three scare zones: MasqueRAGE: The Phantom’s World, Death Metal Vampires and Arachnophobia. (12/22/21) In a bit of a surprise news release, Palace Entertainment, a US based subsidiary of Parques Reunidos, has acquired the Adventureland Resort and theme park. The Iowa theme park first opened in 1974 and has been run as a family business ever since. “We are excited about adding Adventureland into our portfolio,” said John Reilly, Chief Operating Officer of Palace Entertainment. “We specialize in parks and venues that create experiences to be enjoyed over a lifetime, from childhood to young adulthood to parenting and grandparenting. We are investing in Adventureland to expand its current lineup to include eight new family rides in 2022, plus two all-new attractions for the 2023 season.” It was also announced that starting with the 2022 season, Adventureland’s Platinum Season Passholders will also be able to visit all the other Palace Entertainment parks for free, including Noah’s Ark waterpark, Dutch Wonderland and Kennywood. By the same measure, Platinum passholders to other Palace Entertainment parks will be able to now visit Adventureland.
2023 - Two New Attractions - (6/22/2023) Adventureland has confirmed that the park will open their new Flying Viking roller coaster and the Draken Falls log flume this Saturday (June 24, 2023). (1/12/2023) Construction progress on the Flying Viking, the newest roller coaster coming to Adventureland, can be seen on a local news broadcast. Follow the link to see the video yourself. (11/20/22) The local news is showing off the ride vehicles for Draken Falls that will be part of the new Flying Vikings / Draken Falls combo ride installation coming to Adventureland in 2023. (8/12/22) For anyone wondering, the flume/coaster combo coming to Adventureland was confirmed to be the same layouts used for the combo pairing added to Luna Park this season. (8/9/22) Adventureland has announced two new rides are on the way for the 2023 season and both of the new rides will be Viking themed and intertwined to create a new Viking themed area. One will be the Flying Viking, a family roller coaster from Zamperla that will soar over, under and all around the park’s new Super Flume ride, Draken Falls (also from Zamperla). “These two unique rides are even better when they are woven together, and both add something new and special to our lineup,” said Adventureland General Manager Bill Lentz. “Our guests voiced a desire for a new flume ride, and this next-generation version is bigger and better than anything to be found within hundreds of miles. Pairing it with a thrilling family roller coaster that people of all ages can enjoy is going to be a big hit.” (12/22/21) With the purchase of the park from Palace Entertainment in December 2021, Palace also confirmed plans to add two new attractions to the park for the 2023 season. No hints were given as to what these might be.
2024 - Underground - (8/19/2023) I had been meaning to dig up a little info about what was going on with Adventureland’s “Underground” indoor roller coaster, as a few reports had started rolling in that it had been closed all season. Adventureland itself has now confirmed that the Underground is now being refurbished ahead of the parks’ 50th birthday celebration in 2024. Look for the Underground to return in 2024 complete with “new upgrades that will elevate the ride experience for guests of all ages” as you “journey deep below Adventureland Resort, in search of more than just Sheriff Sam’s infamous lost gold. Guests will embark on a mission through the abandoned mine, in search of legendary outlaw Bad Bob and his gang after a daring gold heist. The gang take cover in the old mine with the stolen gold, along with some new treasures. Incorporating new technology and effects, guests will find themselves in a story-driven experience like never before. As they venture deeper into the abandoned mine, riders will face new challenges, unexpected twists and opportunities to uncover hidden secrets along the way. “ The Underground is a unique creation that is actually a custom wood roller coaster built by CCI (Custom Coasters International) back in 1996, designed to serve as a dark ride experience, making it the only fully enclosed wooden roller coaster in the world. The upcoming refurbishment to the ride will also include improvements to the ride’s tracks as well as the coaster train itself which has been sent back to PTC for a full rebuild.
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