originally posted on 6/16/2023
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
On May 28, coaster enthusiasts gathered at Michigan’s Adventure (Muskegon) for Timbers Fest. The weather was beautiful and stayed sunny all day. When the park opened, attendees met at the park entrance to pick up event shirts and name tags. It has been a while since an ACE event at Michigan’s Adventure was scheduled, so guests were excited for a full, fun-packed day.
Luke Raeside and Erica Burnette were two of the winners of the competition to get drenched on Logger’s Run.
Photo: Jimmy Titko. View full-sized image.
After taking a few hours to explore everything Michigan’s Adventure had to offer on their own, attendees gathered outside of Logger’s Run for the Wetter the Better Contest. Participants boarded the log flume for an informal takeover and desire to leave the ride as drenched as possible. It seemed like a tall task – most riders came off with nothing but a light misting. However, Luke Raeside, Erica Burnette, Reaona Woods and Ava Kinder managed to get thoroughly soaked and won the competition.
As expected, Timberthon was popular with attendees who competed for the most rides on Shivering Timbers – the park’s magnificent Custom Coasters International out-and-back.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Following the competition, attendees walked around the corner to board Shivering Timbers for Timberthon — an event within the event — to ride the coaster as many times as possible in 90 minutes. It was a tremendous success with guests getting plenty of thrills on the 1998 Custom Coasters out-and-back. Although it was operating with only one train, the coaster was running smoothly, and operators did an excellent job of keeping the line moving. There were two divisions of Timberthon: non-Fast Lane and Fast Lane. Scott MacDonald won the non-Fast Lane group with three rides; the Fast Lane riders forced a five-way tie among Mathew Hercheck, Austin Sims, Luke Raeside, Erica Burnette and Kevin Lynch, who got a whopping five rides each.
Camille Jourden-Mark and Steve Mark spoke to attendees after the meal at Mary Lynn’s Group Catering Pavilion about the park’s history.
Photo: Dan Brewer. View full-sized image.
After a quick group picture, attendees gathered at the Mary Lynn’s Group Catering Pavilion for lunch, which included a delicious mac and cheese bar and cookies for dessert. If the meal wasn’t sweet enough, Camille Jourden-Mark treated everyone to a touching story about the park’s history and family-owned roots. Her parents were the founders of Michigan’s Adventure and – now the park’s general manager – she has been involved in the park since she was a child. She met her husband, Steve, while working at the park, and the coaster Zach’s Zoomer is named after their oldest son.
Camille Jourden-Mark, daughter of the park’s founders, spoke of Zach’s Zoomer – one of Michigan’s Adventure’s trio of wood coasters – being named for her oldest son.
Photo: David Jackson. View full-sized image.
Steve Mark, the park’s vice president of construction and maintenance, also provided the inside scoop on Wolverine Wildcat and Shivering Timbers having received attention from The Gravity Group during the offseason. Guests had a wonderful time talking to the pair during a Q&A session, and they were even kind enough to add Mad Mouse to the ERT when an attendee made mention of the coaster.
Along with Shivering Timbers, the park’s Wolverine Wildcat received off-season attention from The Gravity Group.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Mad Mouse was a last-minute addition to ERT, thanks to an attendee expressing enthusiasm for the park’s Arrow Dynamics Wild Mouse.
Photo: Matt Herchek. View full-sized image.
Attendees had access to ERT on Mad Mouse, Wolverine Wildcat and Shivering Timbers after the park closed for the day. All coasters were operating smoothly, and the reduced lines allowed for as many rides as guests desired. In fact, attendees were having so much fun that some furry friends wanted in on the action. Somehow, an adorable baby squirrel made its way to the loading platform and was getting dangerously close to the track when guests in line banded together to find a safer place for it to enjoy the event. The coasters were a blast and even the ride operators joined in for a ride toward the end. It was an amazing end to an eventful day at Michigan’s Adventure.
Following a multi-year hiatus, ACE members were thrilled by the opportunity to meet at Michigan’s Adventure and ride one of their favorites, Shivering Timbers.
Photo: Dan Brewer. View full-sized image.
Special thanks to Camille Jourden-Mark, Steve Mark, the entire Michigan’s Adventure team and ACE Eastern Great Lakes representatives for making this event possible.
— Ashley Pittel
#ACENews