Just like with Michigan’s Adventure earlier this week, I was looking forward to my trip to Valleyfair to judge it for myself. Both Jen and I had a blast and felt Michigan’s Adventure gets a bit of a bad rap. Add in my trips to Worlds of Fun and Six Flags St. Louis (SFSL) with Sam last month, and it seems like the hate for these parks is majorly overblown.
Would Valleyfair follow suit? My feelings as we entered the parking lot were leaning that way. Or was that just the excitement of visiting yet another park for the first time? I was about to find out.
Honestly, Not a Bad Coaster to be Found
While I won’t go and make claims that Valleyfair has an elite collection of roller coasters, I don’t think what they have is bad. Could they use something new? Sure! A nice modern coaster would fit in nicely at this park. I just find what they have to be a neat little collection of rides that I ended up enjoying overall.
While I decided cover Renegade, Steel Venom, and Wild Thing in detail, I want to say a few things real quick about some of the other coasters. First, I had a blast on Excalibur. I did not expect such a wild ride on an Arrow Mine Train. Don’t sleep on that ride. If it’s open when you go, it’s a must! Second, High Roller was smooth and had some fun pops of airtime. It’s nothing crazy, but that’s why I liked it. And last but certainly not least, I really liked Corkscrew. I never thought I’d say that about any Corkscrew, but the one at Valleyfair is in such a picturesque location and it rides smoother than any other Corkscrew I’ve experienced. After losing my beloved Anaconda at Kings Dominion, it was nice to ride an Arrow located mostly above water again.
Renegade
This was probably the coaster I was most looking forward to riding at Valleyfair. I have heard how amazing it is and I’ve had some good rides on GCI coasters as of late. Thunderhead at Dollywood, Prowler at Worlds of Fun, and American Thunder at SFSL all rode amazingly well during my visits. Sadly Sam and I missed out on Kentucky Rumbler last month at Beech Bend, but I’ve heard good things about that one too. That one will have to wait, but Renegade was here and waiting for me to jump on.
So what did I think? Well, I am of two minds about this coaster. I loved its relentless pacing and can see why people love it for that reason. But… Yes, there is a but. I found the ride to have some bite to it. Honestly, more than I expected. It wasn’t a deal breaker for me and I went back to ride it a few more times. Jen, however, capped out at two. It was too much for her to go for round three. I did find the front rode better and didn’t lose out on too much airtime. I wished Jen had rode it up there with me for that third lap to see if she liked it any better.
Oh, and I found a knife on the ride boarding the front. A big switchblade laying on the floor in the front row. That was a first. I didn’t pick it up as I didn’t want anyone to think it was mine. I alerted the ride operator and they removed it ASAP, thanking me for bringing it to their attention. Talk about a loose article!
Steel Venom
I was looking forward to Steel Venom so I could finally ride an Intamin Impulse with the holding brake once again. This was something I used to experience regularly when visiting Dorney Park with Possessed. They stopped using it years ago, however, and I thought I’ve missed it ever since. Yes, I said “thought.”
After riding Steel Venom and the coaster grabbing that holding brake for a second or two, I realized that I like these models better without. My favorite part of Possessed and Flash Vertical Velocity at Six Flags Great America (SFGAm), which Jen and I also recently rode, is that weightlessness you feel right before the train drops out below you on the backward spike. Getting to experience two of these coasters, one with and one without so close together made me realize that I don’t actually miss it.
Wild Thing
For the last couple of years Dorney Park’s Steel Force has been running better and while the brakes on the return run still do hit, they haven’t hit as hard. I’ve enjoyed the airtime on the coaster much more in recent years because of it. Sam and I also had some memorable rides last month on Mamba at Worlds of Fun, which had their trim brakes off entirely. Needless to say, I was eager to see how Wild Thing compared with its fellow Morgan brethren.
Long story short, it was a fun ride. I do think it’s the least favorite of the three for me, but it is by no means a bad ride. I had some moments of airtime and I really liked the tunnel on the return trip. I feel like Steel Force and especially Mamba just ride faster and give more intense airtime overall.
Final Ride Counts
Corkscrew (2)
Cosmic Coaster (1)
Excalibur (3)
High Roller (2)
Mad Mouse (1)
Minnesota River Valley Railway (1)
Northstar (1)
Power Tower: Space Shot (1)
Power Tower: Turbo Drop (1)
Renegade (3: Patrick, 2: Jen)
Steel Venom (2)
Thunder Canyon (1)
The Wave (1)
Wheel of Fortune (1: Jen)
Wild Thing (2)
XTreme Swing (2)
An All-Around Enjoyable Experience
I am so glad that Jen and I got to experience this park and ride every major coaster multiple times. I’m sure some coaster enthusiasts would have been happy to run through the park, ride everything once, and then leave. Not us. We wanted more rides on everything and even jumped on some flats and water rides too.
In addition to the rides, I think this park looks amazing! I captured so many photos from all around the park, which you can see below. From Corkscrew riding over the water to Thunder Canyon tucked away back in the woods, this park looks great from front to back. I wish more parks I visited were this visually appealing. Kudos to the landscaping crew!
So, if you’re on the fence on visiting Valleyfair, I say do it. It has my vote as an underappreciated park. Don’t go in expecting a top of the line, modern coaster line up. Instead go in looking to enjoy a wide variety of rides, some you don’t get at many other parks, and I think you’ll have a great time too.
Valleyfair Photo Gallery - July 6, 2025
If you would like to use any of the images in the gallery above for your commercial and/or non-commercial projects, feel free to do so. I ask that you credit We Were Inverted whenever they’re used. I also ask that you do not alter the image or remove the watermarks. If you need any images/video resized or without the watermarks, please contact me directly.
CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): Cosmic Coaster, Excalibur, Corkscrew, Renegade, Mad Mouse, High Roller, Steel Venom, Wild Thing
Jen
Captain
New Credit(s): Cosmic Coaster, Excalibur, Corkscrew, Renegade, Mad Mouse, High Roller, Steel Venom, Wild Thing