Looking to experience the best of Michigan’s Adventure amusement park in just one day?
Michigan’s Adventure is a small Cedar Fair (now Six Flags) owned amusement park in Western Michigan near Lake Michigan.
It also has a water park attached called WildWater Adventure, which is included with your admission.
Even though I grew up in the Midwest, I had never heard of this park until I purchased the Cedar Fair season pass that’s good at all of their parks (including Canada).
JP and I decided to spontaneously take a trip up here to explore a new area, make a road trip out of it, and use our pass perks at a place we had never been to.
The best part about a one day visit to Michigan’s Adventure is that on most days, admission is less than $50 per person!
Michigan’s Adventure One Day Itinerary
When I say Michigan’s Adventure is a small amusement park, I’m not kidding.
There are only 4 major rollercoasters and some carnival style rides.
But if you have smaller kids, there are seemingly endless kiddie rides to keep them occupied literally all day.
We went on a random week day in the summer and it wasn’t busy at all, so we didn’t have to wait in line for anything.
Every single ride we got in line for we were on with the next group, so we actually did all of the rides in just about 2 hours.
So it doesn’t take a full day to do everything, but that’s also because it was too cold to enjoy the water park when we went
I we go back I would definitely plan ahead to visit on a day where we can enjoy both and make a fuller day out of it.
Rides
So the main thing you want to plan your day around is the rides since that’s kind of the reason for going to an amusement park.
One thing to keep in mind too is that the park pathway doesn’t make a complete circle, so you can take the train back up to the front or you can walk all the way back.
We opted for the train.
There are also swan boats that you can take out on the pond and that was probably my favorite ride in the whole park since it’s so scenic and relaxing.
Rollercoasters
There are 2 loop coasters, 2 wooden coasters, a mouse trap coaster, and 2 kiddie coasters.
We rope dropped Corkscrew since it is right there at the entrance.
Thunderhawk is the first suspended looping coaster in Michigan and it’s best enjoyed from the front row if there’s no line.
None of the rollercoasters are very high, so they’re tame enough for the not-so-adventurous park visitors.
I actually think that the wooden rollercoaster Shivering Timbers was the most thrilling out of all of them because of the steep hills and how much wooden rollercoasters just jostle you around.
It’s also sort of the icon of the park.
Carnival Style Rides
There are more carnival style rides here than anything else.
It’s nice because they’re quick little rides you can do all in one small area.
If you can’t do anything that spins, then that will eliminate almost all of those.
Here are some of the carnival style rides they have here:
- Carousel
- Dodgem (bumper cars)
- Flying Trapeze (swings)
- Giant Gondola Wheel (ferris wheel)
- Lakeside Gliders (flying eagle swings)
- Scrambler
- Sea Dragon (swinging ship)
- Thunderbolt (musical cars that go in a circle at a slant)
- Tilt-A-Whirl (tea cups)
- Trabant (spins around and lifts up)
Water Rides
No amusement park is complete without a few water rides.
Michigan’s Adventure has 1 of each of the main types of water rides.
There’s a log flume, river rapids, and boat with a big drop (and a big splash).
- Adventure Falls (boat with a drop)
- Grand Rapids (river rapids)
- Loggers Run (log flume)
Water Park
The water park has a little bit of everything.
The icon of the park is the giant funnel called Funnel of Fear.
But there are also plenty of tamer slides, a lazy river, and a wave pool.
There are also kiddie play areas in the water park.
The entrance is attached to the amusement park, so you can go back and forth easily between the two.
I would plan to spend the warmest part of the day here.
For example, do as many rides as you can fit in before lunch, have lunch, then go to the water park until you’re ready to eat again.
Where To Eat
Michigan’s Adventure has a cute retro diner called Coasters with burgers and chicken strips.
It’s the same as it is in the other Cedar Fair parks we’ve been to like Kings Island and Cedar Point.
The toppings bar had a lot of options to beef up your burger like lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, and it’s self-serve.
Since there wasn’t enough to do to keep us there for a full day we just had that one meal.
But there is also pizza, Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, funnel cakes, some chicken finger spots, Dippin Dots, ice cream, loaded fries, kettle corn, a beer garden, wings, and nachos.
Things To Do Nearby
When we visited, the park was only open until 7 pm and we didn’t stay until closing, so we took the extra time to explore the local area.
About 45 minutes away is Holland, Michigan.
It’s a cute, historic downtown with Dutch architecture and shops.
There are also some wine tasting rooms, a pub, antique stores, and nice restaurants.
I personally loved the shops with the cuckoo clocks, wooden tulips, and Dutch home decor.
We also went over to Grand Rapids for dinner at a great restaurant called Scholar.
We sampled a little bit of everything on the menu like Deviled Eggs and Stuffed Dates as our appetizer.
Then we had Salisbury Steak and a House Salad as our entree.
Where To Stay
We try to stick to just one hotel brand when we travel so we can earn loyalty rewards points as quick as possible for future stays.
For us, that’s Hilton and they have the Hampton Inn Muskegon, which is about a 15-20 minute drive to Michigan’s Adventure.
What we love about Hampton Inn is that most offer free parking, unless they’re in the middle of a major city, and they all offer free breakfast.
Click Here To Book Your Hampton Inn Muskegon Stay Today!
If you have an RV, there’s the Duck Creek RV Resort directly across the street from the park, which are the closest accommodations you can get!
More Of Our Favorite Amusement Parks
Here are some of our favorite amusement parks we’ve visited over the years!
Conclusion: Michigan’s Adventure One Day Itinerary
Even though Michigan’s Adventure is the smallest theme park we’ve been to, it was still a great experience.
It’s a very cute park and a good half day park.
If you’re able to visit when the weather is nice enough for the water park, it’s much easier to make a full day visit – or if you have small kids, because there are a ton of kiddie rides.
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