Splash Adventure
Template:Infobox Amusement 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," a wooden roller coaster, and "Zoomerang," a steel "boomerang" coaster. Today, Visionland 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, to generate public interest in the project. 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. WaterMark Place, a nearby 200,000-square-foot outdoor shopping mall, also aims to attract business and tourism to the area.
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.
References
- "Alabama Adventure Theme Park." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 28 Mar 2006, 20:41 UTC. 28 Mar 2006, 20:43 [1].