originally posted on 9/15/2025
Group photo.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
On August 23, 2025, the Eastern Great Lakes region hosted its first ever Wild Frontier Fun Day event at Cedar Valley’s Wild Frontier Fun Park in Comins, Michigan.
Nestled in the forested hills of northern Michigan, Cedar Valley’s Wild Frontier Fun Park opened in 2015 as a passion project for owner John Kulhavi. The park started with just a few small kids rides to give families staying at the nearby campground something to do and has grown into a 10-acre operation with dozens of rides and attractions.
Parachute/Paratrooper.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Roll-O-Plane with Octopus at right.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Flying Tigers.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
But what sets Cedar Valley’s Wild Frontier Fun Park apart from the rest is its business model, which aligns closely with the core ideals of ACE. The park seeks out used rides, restores them, then installs and operates them. The rides are not just vintage, but in many cases are also rare and unique, really making visitors feel like they’ve been taken back to the mid-1900s.
Little Dipper.
Photos: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
Black Widow.
Photos: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
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Black Widow.
Photo: Kara Roost. View full-sized image.
Among the collection are two Allan Herschell Little Dipper coasters. The one named Little Dipper originally opened in 1950 at Long Point Park in Geneseo, New York, and was purchased and installed in 2017. The second, Black Widow, is from Funland Amusement Park in Houghton Lake, Michigan, and is believed to have opened in 1946, making it Michigan’s oldest operating roller coaster. The park formerly operated an S.D.C. Galaxy that could not handle the harsh northern Michigan winters and has been sold to a park in Mexico.
Water Jumper.
Photos: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
A unique ride on the property is Water Jumper, the world’s only full-circuit Fabbri Nautic Jet. The ride was purchased in Australia, and as part of the purchase, the former owner insisted on traveling with the ride to program it. The ride itself is currently nonoperational, as it needs a new liner for the splash pool (the park is working with Fabbri to get a replacement). Of note is that Fabbri had no idea the ride still existed!
Frail, the park’s donkey mascot.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Joe Perrera greets attendees and provides an introduction to the park.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Twenty-three ACE members and their guests traveled up to northern Michigan to enjoy a day of clean family-friendly fun. After a quick check-in near Frail (the park’s donkey mascot), attendees were greeted by Park Manager Joe Perrera and given a brief introduction and background of the park. With registration came unlimited rides, a free meal from the park’s concession stand, ice cream and mini golf. A set of picnic tables near the concession stand quickly became a makeshift ACE lounge for the event, and in place of a park tour Perrera came over occasionally to meet with the group and answer questions about the park and rides.
Attendees enjoyed all the park had to offer, including mini golf.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Tubs of Fun.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Carousel.
Photo: Jon Roost. View full-sized image.
Cactus Wheel.
Photo: Robert Reed. View full-sized image.
The park’s current goal is to make its name better known, and this event did just that. Wild Frontier Fun Day was a huge success, not just for the region but for ACE as a whole, introducing members to an amazing park and introducing the park to ACE and the kinds of support ACE can provide to operations like theirs. Much gratitude was extended to Perrera and his team, not just for helping to create a new event opportunity for our members, but also for the heart and passion they pour into preserving and operating amusement park history.
— Jon Roost, ACE Eastern Great Lakes Regional Representative
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