Thank you to Valleyfair for providing me with admission tickets, free of charge.  All opinions are my own.

Next up in my Explore Minnesota series is a visit to Valleyfair.  My childhood includes very fond memories of visiting this Minnesota Family Amusement Park each Summer.  Even as I became a teenager and young adult, I still enjoyed all that Valleyfair had to offer and now that we have children who are at the ages of enjoying rides, I was excited to bring them and re-live some of my memories.  Since I’m expecting, I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the attractions but I loved seeing the experience again through my children.

We headed out on a slightly cloudy Monday morning with anticipation of a nice day since the weather forecast was 75 and sunny.  By the time we arrived, the sun had popped through and the day was shaping up to be as gorgeous as predicted.  The park had opened at 10 and we arrived about 11.  You can see their full list of hours here.

Growing up, one of my favorite rides was the Monster which we lovingly referred to as the octopus since that’s what it resembled in our minds.  Since this ride is near the front entrance, it was the first ride the two older kids chose to go on.  They loved it!  Now that the excitement was building for all the kids, we then headed across the paved walkway to the Ferris Wheel since the two little boys could join in on that one.  This slow paced ride was perfect for easing our 2 and 3 year old into what the day would hold.

As we continued down the walkway, we came up to the Planet Snoopy section of the park which has rides and attractions geared more towards children.  This part of the park was new to me and I was quite impressed with how well Valleyfair caters to the whole family by having this area.  With over a dozen rides and a PEANUTS Playhouse, we spent hours in Planet Snoopy.

The PEANUTS Playhouse is a building that contains a two-story play structure with tons of foam balls and lots of activities to do with them.  There was a vacuum that sucks the balls up, which was our 3 year olds favorite, cannons to shoot the balls with which fancied our 7 year old, and bags to fill with balls to transport to whatever contraption you wanted to try out which our daughter loved filling and carrying around.  At one point, she had three bags and her dress filled with balls to go load into a cannon to shoot at dad.  The best part about this area is that none of the gadgets shoot hard enough to even hurt.

Valleyfair has multiple live entertainment options that are included with the ticket price including music, magicians, karaoke, character meet-and-greets, and even fireworks at the end of the day.  While we had planned to catch a few of the shows, time got away from us and we only made it to the Ed Alonzo Magic and Mayhem (also famously known as the Misfit Of Magic).  This 25 minute show was packed full of dancing, music, animals, and magic.

By this time, everyone needed a cool treat.  So we then headed next door to the Coasters Restaurant that had a 50’s decor theme.  We ordered three chocolate milk shakes at $5.99 each to share and my cousin ordered an Oreo shake.  All the shakes were topped with a mountain of cream and a cherry and were so delicious that they were completely devoured in no time.

Before leaving for the day, we also visited the Soak City Waterpark where the little ones enjoyed the Splash Station and the other four had a blast going down the Hurricane Falls tube ride.  They only waited in line about 15 minutes the first time so they headed back up and were able to ride another five times with only a few minutes wait each round.

After drying off, we headed back out to hit some more rides for another hour.  By this time, it was nearing 7 pm and we were all getting tired so we decided to call it a day even though we had probably only visited half of what Valleyfair has to offer.  As we exited the park and were loading into our vehicle, the kids were already asking when we could come back!

Visit: Head over to Valleyfair to learn more about what they have to offer including rides, shows, food, packages, tickets, and more.  Be sure to look at the Thrill Rides they also offer.  My all-time favorite is their green roller coaster, Wild Thing.  Valleyfair is open daily throughout their Summer schedule and continues to open as “ValleySCARE” on weekends starting September 20th and going through November 2nd.

Connect: Don’t forget to like Valleyfair on Facebook, follow them on Twitter and Instagram for all the latest news and promotions.

Miranda

I’m a city girl turned country by my awesome husband and we have three busy boys and two darling daughters. I love spending time with my family, reading Karen Kingsbury novels, and catching up with friends while our kiddos have play dates. I’m blessed beyond measure and can’t wait to see what God has in store.
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