Alabama Adventure Theme Park
Encyclopedia : A : AL : ALA : Alabama Adventure Theme Park
Alabama Adventure, formerly known as Visionland, is an Alabama theme park, located off Interstate 20/59 in Bessemer, west of Birmingham.
Its featured rides are the "Rampage," one of the nation's fastest and largest wooden roller coasters, "Zoomerang," a steel "boomerang" coaster, and "Space Shot," a 185-foot launching tower. Today, the park is divided into two parks: a water park and a "dry ride" park that includes the Rampage.
Visionland was built largely as a result of efforts by Jefferson County Commission President Larry Langford, who at the time was the mayor of Fairfield, Alabama. 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 in May 1998.
In June 2002, the park filed Chapter 9 bankruptcy. It was purchased and is now operated by Southland Entertainment Group(It's owned by Team Pro Parks and South Brook Entertainment). WaterMark Place, a nearby 200,000-square-foot outdoor shopping mall, also aims to attract business and tourism to the area.
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.
On March 27, 2006, Southland Entertainment officials announced that, after a record-setting season last year in terms of visitors, that new rides and other facilities were planned. They also announced that the park's name would be changed to Alabama Adventure for the coming season. Among the planned additions: a campground, a hotel with an indoor water park, a NASCAR-style miniature race track, a petting zoo, and a summer concert series with artists such as Birmingham-area native Bo Bice, the Charlie Daniels Band, Blake Shelton, and Raven-Symone.
Rides
Roller Coasters
| Ride | Year Opened | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Rampage | 1998 | A Custom Coasters International wooden coaster. This coaster opened when the park opened. |
| Marvel Mania | 1998 | A Miler Coasters steel family roller coaster. |
| Zoomerang | 2005 | A Vekoma Boomerang roller coaster relocated from the defunct Wonderland in Sydney, Australia. |
External links
- [Alabama Adventure/Visionland official website]
- [VisionPlanet.net- Fansite of Alabama Adventure/Visionland]
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