Our Day at Adventureland in Des Moines

We spent Labor Day at Adventureland in Des Moines. We woke up to rainy and windy weather, but after checking the Weather Channel we took off for the 90 mile drive. Glad we did, as the closer we got to Altoona, the clearer the skies.

I think the weather kept some of the crowd away, as the expected attendance at the park was about 4,500 people. An average day’s attendance is 6,000 and the park capacity is 14,000. There are days when they hit over 13,500. I’m glad our day was a less crowded day.

We met Bernie, the mascot of Adventureland just inside the gates. He was hoping we had a great day at Adventureland.

Our goal was to hit Adventure Bay first—click here to read more, but the lines were so short at opening, we decided to ride a few rides like the Space Shot and Hopper. The Space Shot for me and the Hopper for the boy. The husband took pictures.

Do you see a line for the log ride? We didn’t either, so we hopped on. After one drenching time around, they asked if we wanted to stay on and ride again. We passed and went on to Adventure Bay.

After spending over 2 hours at Adventure Bay, we made our way back through the park---just as the crowds were heading towards us. Yeah! First stop—the Chuck Wagon followed by the flying dinosaur ride.

The Raging River was next and had quite a line. We waited for about 25 minutes. The husband said, “What, no Fastpass?” Here’s the boy and the husband before the ride. . .

Here’s the boy and the husband after the ride. It never fails that the husband gets soaked on these types of rides. Click here to read about Kali River Rapids at Disney.

After riding Lady Luck and the Ladybug rides, we stopped for lemonade, funnel cake, and a giant turkey leg. All good healthy food for an amusement park!

Here’s the boy after riding G-Force by himself.

A series of more kid rides came next including a stop at the bumper cars where the boy got to drive his own car.

We rode the Sky Ride back to the front of the park and took a turn on the Galleon and the Giant Skywheel.

The train was our last stop before exiting the park several hours later.

My impression is that Adventureland is aging. You can see and hear the wear and tear on the Log Ride after almost 4 decades of riders. Many of the rides have difficulty accommodating people larger than a teenager. Maybe it was because it was the end of the summer, but peeling paint was evident in many places. Only Adventure Bay looks and feels new, because it is new.



There is construction going on just past the carousel due to the fire last winter. The plan is to rebuild the Bingo Parlor and other buildings as before and then move the G-Force to that location. The old Scrambler is then going to be put where the G-Force is located right now.



Nevertheless, we had a grand time as a family enjoying the park and enjoying each other. And, we will go back to Adventure Bay.