@@CoasterStudios Definitely. Plus Gravity Groups woodies are some of the most affordable roller coasters on the whole market. They're dirt cheap. Take Wood Express at Parc Saint Paul, that ride only cost 3.2 million dollars to build. Or Timber at Walibi Rhone Alpes, which cost 4.5 million dollars to build. Now both of these rides are a few years old so the price might have increased a bit due to inflation, but even still this is really affordable for a ride of that size. It's why Gravity Group has been able to sell so many to small parks like Quassy, Storybook land, Sesame Place, Parc Saint Paul, ZDT's Amusement park, all these places that likely couldn't afford something else. I mean for the same price as one of these coasters, you'd get a kiddie coaster from Gerstlauer like Fyr & Flamme.
I flew out to Lost Island last week and it's genuinely really cool. The staff is soooooooo amazing, and the rides are all really fun. Plus right now, everything is a walk on since the park is so new. It was a lot of fun.
It's really cool that you give this new park the love you do. Gotta give those owners credit they had giant obstacles and saw it through and it's coming together a little more every year.
I went to lost island just last summer, and I bought the water park and theme park one day pass, and we did the water park first. The water park was an absolute blast, but when we went over to the dry park, we were exhausted because of the fact there was no shade, but also because we had just spent almost 4 hours in a water park. But the theme park is absolutely great. The dark ride is amazing for that area, and montugani is epic.
I'd also mention the employees are fabulous. They really made sure they hired people who are welcoming and care, regardless of age. You won't find any teenagers half asleep at the controls. Even the younger workers are engaging and fun. More shade is definitely needed, unfortunately that's something that's going to take some time to let the vegetation grow. You can go back and look at old pictures of the current big parks that opened in the 70s like Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Worlds of Fun, etc., and all those parks were barren when they opened too. I just hope they can stay open long enough to let the trees grow in. That will also help hide the view of the outside world.
I went to Lost Island to check it out. I agree about pricing. Food was good. I loved that they had costumed characters... there was a purple dude playing ukulele, there were 2 spear dancer warriors, a green girl with a fox puppet... you can tell the owners give a damn and care about the experience. I'll probably go back next summer for a couple days again. ❤
This was a classy review, fair, honest, blunt when needed, and peppered with love and optimism. I have big hopes for this park and like you, really want them to succeed.
I visited this park a few months ago and was blown away. Every worker was extremely kind and wanted to ensure that all guests had a great experience there, and that’s not something you find at a Six Flags or a Worlds of Fun.
I literally just left this park a couple hours ago! I have to say I was blown away at the quality of this park! The dark ride is hands down the best dark ride I’ve ever been on not at a Disney or Universal park! Top notch quality ride! The details in this park absolutely blew me away! Lots and lots of little details. And it was immaculate!!! Matugani had a great launch and the whole family loved the ride so much that we ran around and got back in line again! Personally I’m a quality over quantity person so I’ll pay more for better rides and better theming and immersion so I had no problem paying the price of admission. It is in the middle of nowhere now but if done right that could be turned into one of their biggest advantages. Yes more trees are needed but they have a good amount it will just take several years to grow. And try pricing out getting a large established tree moved and planted 🤯. Price is mind boggling! We drove 3 1/2 hours to get there and we all left happy we made the trip. I hear they will be getting a carousel next year which will be a nice touch. A good wooden coaster would be great here. Doesn’t have to be huge. Even something like American thunder and SFSL would be a great addition to the park. All and all we had a blast here and we all hope they do well and keep the quality high! Looking forward to going back every year and seeing how they evolve the park
As someone who has worked there I wish they would do some discount days, bring a friend days for season pass holders and things like that. I personally think it is high price for what is there. I've been to a lot of theme/amusement parks and I understand they cost money but also most others are a lot larger for a little bit more. Cost should go up as they add attractions.
I went a few months ago! It was actually pretty cool. The characters that walk around are fun too! They will actually stop to have a conversation with you and make sure you are enjoying “their land” which is fun!
My list of rides and attractions for the Lost Island Theme Park! - A Fully-Constructed and Opened Carousel - A River Rapids Ride - More Dark Rides - More Roller Coasters - A Mine Train Coaster - A GCI Wooden Coaster
They do sell a one day combo ticket for both the theme park and waterpark for about $60, which is what I did on my visit this year and it worked out quite well. I agree that this is a really nice park in a fairly challenging location that really needs to get on top of advertising to bring in crowds. That combined with say a 10% discount in day tickets and 50% decrease in pass prices would probably yield 2k-3k daily attendance and really get things going for the park. I'm really glad I got the opportunity to go this year, because I'm concerned if 2024 doesn't deliver the numbers they need they might opt to throw in the towel, which would be a real shame for one of the most creative parks in the country.
As a Chicagoan, I would drive the 4 hours for a little getaway to try it out. Especially since my visit to Great America this summer was so terrible. At least these people really seem to care about their park and guest experience.
Hopefully this park truly thrives, theming looks great. Needs more trees and shrubs around the park and also outside the parks grounds because it looks in the middle of a field. Would be great with a gravity group woodie and a few other junior coasters. A park like this would be great in the uk!
@@hazeltade3679 a themed immersive park needs to make you feel in a separate world and from what I can see that’s just lacking still here at the minute. A small-ish scale really well themed park like this would be great in the UK!
@@hazeltade3679 Unfortunately you can't plant 50 year old oak trees in the middle of what used to be a corn field a couple years ago. Just like almost every other park started out it is bare right now.
While I really do think its great that the owners of Lost Island are ambitious with wanting a themed park, there really are just a lot of small (and perhaps large) decissions I find questionable. You already touched on stuff like Prices and the lack of isolation from the outside world, but one thing I definitely have taken note off when looking at google maps is just that the entrance is at the very corner of the combined property, aka Theme park, waterpark, minigolf, go-karts, and RV campgrounds combined. I almost feel like the whole park should've been turned 180 degrees around or have the entrance moved to the other side so that its closer to the waterpark. That way you could also cross the berm to actually enter the lost island, suiting the theme much better, while still having a great overview. But lack of cohesion with the rest of their offerings is defintiely an issue. Like if they plan to make their park a destination, my first thought would've been to make it easy for people to get around on property. Now if people are staying at the RV site and want to visit the theme park, they have to unplug the RV, and drive over a mile through an indirect route just to get to the theme park. That's not gonna be attractive to anyone. Part of the reason Disney's resorts are popular is because they're walkable, you can easily walk either from hotel to theme park, within the accomodation area, or to other entertaiment in the complex like Disney Springs. And they have a good transit system to compliment. Its not even like Lost Island would need much. Like if they actually moved the entrance to the other side of the moat closer to the waterpark, they could probably just have something like a wide pedestrian and bicycle path with bike shares that people can use to traverse the property. Alongside that make a safe crossing of the road, build something like a resort complex on the waterpark parking lot, not huge but like maybe a few restaurants and shops, possibly a onsite hotel, and a new large parking lot for waterpark and theme park behind that. Maybe an in resort bus shuttle from the RV camp to the theme park along such a path too but IDK. If they find success they should probably consider doing something about all of this, cause I defintiely think this stuff adds to the park's lack of big success, just from a convenience perspective for the guests.
They only have to drive around from the RV to the parks right now because of construction on the intersection right there. Otherwise it is literally right down the road. If that short little drive that it typically is when the intersection isn't under construction is throwing people off then those people should just probably not leave their house anyways.
The park is beautiful and the immersiveness of the attractions looks awesome. But there is practically no shade at all. Too, a park of this calibre will struggle in the long run to turn a profit due to its remote location, small metro area, and relatively slow growth rate. As a Statistical Analyst since 1985 and Relocation Specialist, regional theme parks are nearing a saturation point in the U.S. The only areas in America that can really make a regional theme park work are Houston TX metro area, Nashville TN metro area, and the Wilmington NC/Myrtle Beach SC region. They're 3 of the fastest growing areas in America, have enough of a local and tourist population to make a park work, there are other recreational assets in these areas, and there are no other theme parks within a 3.5 hour radius are these areas. The reason the other remote parks you mentioned are successful is that all of them have been around for many generations, they grew slowly over a long period of time, and they weren't in the current theme park climate of today when they were built from the ground up. Those things matter. This isn't to knock the park, not at all. But the economic realities have the odds greatly against them. Nevertheless, I really hope they do well for the long haul.
A Scat like ride would be a nice addition to the Udara section. We have one at Bay Beach, and it's the most thrilling ride at the park, or at least tied to the Zippin Pippin.
You should try to make the trip next year. These past 2 years have had horrible sales and the entire community is worried we are going to lose the theme park if they can't figure out how to get more traffic.
@@jamiegrinnell If it was a simple drive away I would have came by now. Unfortunately I'm looking at a 6 hour flight, hotel stays, and a car rental. That kind of trip will simply have to wait for me. I hope attendance doubles again next year and profitability becomes reality! I simply can't be one of those attending next year.
I went here last weekend- I can confirm they're working on shade, and I'm honestly glad the drop tower is "underwhelming" cause I've never done coasters before that. I do agree they need a good middle coaster, I went on both of those and they were a bit rough for a first timer
This park looks soooo cute! I'm excited to see how this park grows! (Building an SLC is probably the worst decision I've ever seen) but you have to explain how you ran out of time in such a small park with such low amount of people XD
We didn’t arrive as early as we should’ve! We should’ve come an hour earlier even than we did. Plus we were really busy filming. So it’s a combination of things really
@@CoasterStudiosIt's really cool though you're able to do all that. When I do have time and money, I also get out of my way to visit themeparks/amusement parks. Keep doing what you're doing! I just thought it was a funny quote, while thinking about all the traveling you been doing.
I’d love to see a Lost Island Theme Park and Water Park resort complex in Central Florida located somewhere in Orlando or maybe Tampa Bay! The new Lost Island Theme Park in Florida should have the Lost Island Water Park built right into it along with an impressive on-site resort hotel adjacent to the new theme park and water park complete with another water park! This should be exciting!
Broo, im laughing so hard because i rode the front of the vikoma roller coster the opening year and my stomach, bowls, and crotch area was in pain the whole time😂😂 i had tears in my eyes in the end😂😂 it was pretty fun though.
I think this park definitely has a lot of potential but yeah, I think they need to fill in the borders of the park to kind of close it off from the outside world and definitely add more trees. I also think they should keep up with buying relocated roller coasters. there are plenty of old school Schwarzkopf coasters and other models at neglected parks that would do well here
When people talk about trees I'm wondering what exactly that means? Since you can't transplant large "adult" trees does this comment mean plant more trees in general that will grow? There are quite a few trees there already but obviously they do take time to grow. A lot of us didn't get to see new parks. We just see the established parks and see they are filled with trees now but when you find old photos of most parks they look empty also because the trees were "babies" back then but we just see it now and want lost island to have mature trees in the 2nd year. It is unrealistic.
Amazing review. After Hershey in July, we looked into taking a trip out there but it isn't worth it from Mavericks stand point. Matugani is 56", the highest requirement for an Intamin in the country, and that eliminates one headlining attraction for kids. Over half of their thrill rides are 52" and over, making this almost as bad as SWO for families with smaller thrill seekers. Ironically, the parks claim is Intamin set the height requirement, which is weird considering Sandy's Blasting Bronco, and Maverick are both 52" and Cheetah Hunt is 48".
I love in Waukee iowa and it’s about a 2 and a half hour drive there and I been there on June 28 2023 and I went to the water park and I’ve been to adventureland which is 20 minutes away and been to worlds of fun 3 hours away
I think they have to charge more because they need to pay off a brand new park. Established parks just need to cover expenses and and some smaller anual investment into the park. Also in general, and I'm not complaining, theme park passes are an uncredible value for what you get. It's really the best value in any form of entertainment, if you live close enough to a park to take advantage of it. Sure it's expensive compared to better and larger parks but if you live near here in iowa it's still a good way to spend a few days in the summer.
Kinda true, its why its not a good idea to go head first into creating something massive. Even parks like Europa park only had 5-6 rides and zero roller coasters when it first opened. But there's also the question of finding the right balance. Since with lower ticket prices you can attract more people to buy tickets, and that the increased number of paying guests will offset the lower profit margin per ticket sold.
@@drdewott9154Standards in the industry were also much lower when Europa Park opened. Nowadays to attract interest you have to be able to compete with what other established parks bring to the table, and 5/6 flat rides won't bring people through the front gate unless you're offering free admission and open picnic groves.
I live in Iowa and I didn't know about this park until I saw this video in my feed. I don't live near Waterloo though, so given the price of the ticket, I'll probably just stick to Adventureland.
Makes me so sad that this park is having issues. They need to invest in a larger rmc coaster. The supports would help the park not seem so empty. They need a unique star attraction to justify the expensive park ticket.
Waterloo has an airport that connects with Chicago. It's still not doing great visitor wise because of the pricing here vs Adventureland in des moines but they do have days where ticket price is $26 and it fills up a lot better. I hope they work on expanding but I dint forsee this park lasting more than a decade or two.
This is my hometown and I've been screaming about the pricing and separate park issue for the last two years. We have season passes, but in order to get regional attention we have to compete with regional attractions and those have both water and amusement together, but every time I say anything on the fan sites everyone shuts me down. I want this park to be successful and we have to compare ourselves to wof, adventure land, valley fair, etc. It's so frustrating.
I hope this park does well…but for many of us it just doesn’t make sense to drive or fly all the way out to Waterloo for what’s currently offered. The park really needs a stand out coaster or two, as well as another dark ride, a rapids ride, and tons more shade. I know that everything costs money, but I think for most people this park just doesn’t do enough to stand out…which is why the attendance has been so soft.
Yeah. At first they should probably do a combination of A: spend more on advertising and B: lower the ticket prices, so that you can attract more people and have the greater number of paying visitors offset the lower income per ticket sale through sheer numbers.
First time I’m hearing of this & I live in the Midwest. Looks pretty cool but might be too late in the year to make a visit out. The season pass price is just insane though.
Yes simply add a several million dollar coaster to a park that had to buy two refurbished ones to fit in the budget and isn’t currently turning a profit
That would be a good idea, however the waterpark is across the street. The most realistic thing they'll do is possibly offer a shuttle from park to park, but I doubt they'll ever be joined.
I hate the Vekoma SLC clones with a passion. Literally just an equilibrium blender from start to finish. You could just go on any fast spinning flat and it's the same thing. I guess if you love dizziness it's ok lol, but they need to stop with those. Just my opinion, I know a few people probably like them. I'm definitely more of an airtime fan than inverts, but they're not bad when they're spaced out more.
Thry should have ordered a bunch of fill dirt and built hills. Thry can still do it on the off season. Its just so flat you can see the whole park. For a park that relies on atmosphere having no sight line blocks hurts it
There is a sidewalk that runs to the park and goes past the Casio/hotel, to the water park and then into the residential area(once the intersection construction is complete that is.). You can also use the large shoulder of the road to get to the campground. I wouldn't say it is a walk unless it is really nice outside but a bike ride(locals or campground) would be doable
Yeah, with this park at the scale its at right now, Something like 30-35 dollars per day would probably make a lot more sense and attract more people, which in turn would offset the lower profit margins.
Iowa is also very rural, and not super rich. All while Lost Island is a very expensive destinaton, I can definitely see why many would choose Adventureland instead just from an economical perspective.
Hopefully they advertise more. I live in Cedar Rapids, 45 minutes south of Waterloo, and didn’t even know this park existed until I was going to the Lost Island Waterpark and noticed a roller coaster on horizon. Cedar Rapids has about a 200,000 person population that largely consists of families that they are not reaching out to and informing they exist.
i feel like if they could get a family wood coaster, another kid coaster / and or wild moose, gut that slc in favor of say a modern vekoma like dragon flyer then people would be coming in waves.. pun not intended. this honestly for me looks like a cross between universal in terms of excellent theming and the adventure doom at circus circus in las vegas for the rides where it has a little something for everyone, but could use more.
from the pictures the park looks to flat for me if that makes sense, it needs more large theming structures. AND TREES. its landscaping is to short it is begging for trees. other then that its really cool and I wish it the best!
You have to wait for trees to grow. Go research and look up all the established parks when they first opened. Most looked pretty bare also. This was a corn field just a couple years ago. If people actually come and it gets a chance to grow those trees will eventually be blocking the continuous view from side to side.
Honestly... SO MUCH like the Isle of Berk in the new EPIC Universe coming in 2025. But alas, John Deere... the anchor of Waterloo is rumored to be ... moving to Mexico.
I think a Gravity Group wooden coaster would fit here too
absolutely! That'd give them a ride thats very different from the other woodies at Adventureland, plus a family coaster thats very airtime heavy!
@@CoasterStudios Or maybe not even family. Build one like Leviathan.
Would be amazing in the earth area
@@CoasterStudios Definitely. Plus Gravity Groups woodies are some of the most affordable roller coasters on the whole market. They're dirt cheap. Take Wood Express at Parc Saint Paul, that ride only cost 3.2 million dollars to build. Or Timber at Walibi Rhone Alpes, which cost 4.5 million dollars to build. Now both of these rides are a few years old so the price might have increased a bit due to inflation, but even still this is really affordable for a ride of that size. It's why Gravity Group has been able to sell so many to small parks like Quassy, Storybook land, Sesame Place, Parc Saint Paul, ZDT's Amusement park, all these places that likely couldn't afford something else. I mean for the same price as one of these coasters, you'd get a kiddie coaster from Gerstlauer like Fyr & Flamme.
Id prefer a GCI maybe a racer like Joris and the Dragon at Efteling
I flew out to Lost Island last week and it's genuinely really cool. The staff is soooooooo amazing, and the rides are all really fun. Plus right now, everything is a walk on since the park is so new. It was a lot of fun.
It's really cool that you give this new park the love you do.
Gotta give those owners credit they had giant obstacles and saw it through and it's coming together a little more every year.
I went to lost island just last summer, and I bought the water park and theme park one day pass, and we did the water park first. The water park was an absolute blast, but when we went over to the dry park, we were exhausted because of the fact there was no shade, but also because we had just spent almost 4 hours in a water park. But the theme park is absolutely great. The dark ride is amazing for that area, and montugani is epic.
I'd also mention the employees are fabulous. They really made sure they hired people who are welcoming and care, regardless of age. You won't find any teenagers half asleep at the controls. Even the younger workers are engaging and fun.
More shade is definitely needed, unfortunately that's something that's going to take some time to let the vegetation grow. You can go back and look at old pictures of the current big parks that opened in the 70s like Kings Island, Kings Dominion, Worlds of Fun, etc., and all those parks were barren when they opened too. I just hope they can stay open long enough to let the trees grow in. That will also help hide the view of the outside world.
A very honest and fair review Taylor. Especially about the pricing structure. Well done.
I went to Lost Island to check it out. I agree about pricing. Food was good. I loved that they had costumed characters... there was a purple dude playing ukulele, there were 2 spear dancer warriors, a green girl with a fox puppet... you can tell the owners give a damn and care about the experience. I'll probably go back next summer for a couple days again. ❤
I expected this to be a love letter to this park but this is a really fair review GREAT VIDEO
This was a classy review, fair, honest, blunt when needed, and peppered with love and optimism. I have big hopes for this park and like you, really want them to succeed.
This looks very promising, also all of this is under 100M of budget?! Crazy!
Agreed!
As someone who grew up in Iowa we make good use of our money, but also the land must have been very cheap and the repurposed coasters are just okay.
Like with Wildwood Grove at Dollywood, this park is going to look so much better once the foliage has fully grown in
for sure!
I visited this park a few months ago and was blown away. Every worker was extremely kind and wanted to ensure that all guests had a great experience there, and that’s not something you find at a Six Flags or a Worlds of Fun.
I literally just left this park a couple hours ago! I have to say I was blown away at the quality of this park! The dark ride is hands down the best dark ride I’ve ever been on not at a Disney or Universal park! Top notch quality ride! The details in this park absolutely blew me away! Lots and lots of little details. And it was immaculate!!!
Matugani had a great launch and the whole family loved the ride so much that we ran around and got back in line again!
Personally I’m a quality over quantity person so I’ll pay more for better rides and better theming and immersion so I had no problem paying the price of admission. It is in the middle of nowhere now but if done right that could be turned into one of their biggest advantages.
Yes more trees are needed but they have a good amount it will just take several years to grow. And try pricing out getting a large established tree moved and planted 🤯. Price is mind boggling!
We drove 3 1/2 hours to get there and we all left happy we made the trip. I hear they will be getting a carousel next year which will be a nice touch.
A good wooden coaster would be great here. Doesn’t have to be huge. Even something like American thunder and SFSL would be a great addition to the park.
All and all we had a blast here and we all hope they do well and keep the quality high! Looking forward to going back every year and seeing how they evolve the park
My depression has been so bad but Taylor's videos always helps. I barely have any friends 😭
As someone who has worked there I wish they would do some discount days, bring a friend days for season pass holders and things like that. I personally think it is high price for what is there. I've been to a lot of theme/amusement parks and I understand they cost money but also most others are a lot larger for a little bit more. Cost should go up as they add attractions.
I went a few months ago! It was actually pretty cool. The characters that walk around are fun too! They will actually stop to have a conversation with you and make sure you are enjoying “their land” which is fun!
My list of rides and attractions for the Lost Island Theme Park!
- A Fully-Constructed and Opened Carousel
- A River Rapids Ride
- More Dark Rides
- More Roller Coasters
- A Mine Train Coaster
- A GCI Wooden Coaster
They do sell a one day combo ticket for both the theme park and waterpark for about $60, which is what I did on my visit this year and it worked out quite well. I agree that this is a really nice park in a fairly challenging location that really needs to get on top of advertising to bring in crowds. That combined with say a 10% discount in day tickets and 50% decrease in pass prices would probably yield 2k-3k daily attendance and really get things going for the park. I'm really glad I got the opportunity to go this year, because I'm concerned if 2024 doesn't deliver the numbers they need they might opt to throw in the towel, which would be a real shame for one of the most creative parks in the country.
As a Chicagoan, I would drive the 4 hours for a little getaway to try it out. Especially since my visit to Great America this summer was so terrible. At least these people really seem to care about their park and guest experience.
Hopefully this park truly thrives, theming looks great. Needs more trees and shrubs around the park and also outside the parks grounds because it looks in the middle of a field. Would be great with a gravity group woodie and a few other junior coasters. A park like this would be great in the uk!
That’s what I’m thinking, trees would do so much for it
@@hazeltade3679 a themed immersive park needs to make you feel in a separate world and from what I can see that’s just lacking still here at the minute. A small-ish scale really well themed park like this would be great in the UK!
@@hazeltade3679 Unfortunately you can't plant 50 year old oak trees in the middle of what used to be a corn field a couple years ago. Just like almost every other park started out it is bare right now.
While I really do think its great that the owners of Lost Island are ambitious with wanting a themed park, there really are just a lot of small (and perhaps large) decissions I find questionable. You already touched on stuff like Prices and the lack of isolation from the outside world, but one thing I definitely have taken note off when looking at google maps is just that the entrance is at the very corner of the combined property, aka Theme park, waterpark, minigolf, go-karts, and RV campgrounds combined. I almost feel like the whole park should've been turned 180 degrees around or have the entrance moved to the other side so that its closer to the waterpark. That way you could also cross the berm to actually enter the lost island, suiting the theme much better, while still having a great overview.
But lack of cohesion with the rest of their offerings is defintiely an issue. Like if they plan to make their park a destination, my first thought would've been to make it easy for people to get around on property. Now if people are staying at the RV site and want to visit the theme park, they have to unplug the RV, and drive over a mile through an indirect route just to get to the theme park. That's not gonna be attractive to anyone. Part of the reason Disney's resorts are popular is because they're walkable, you can easily walk either from hotel to theme park, within the accomodation area, or to other entertaiment in the complex like Disney Springs. And they have a good transit system to compliment.
Its not even like Lost Island would need much. Like if they actually moved the entrance to the other side of the moat closer to the waterpark, they could probably just have something like a wide pedestrian and bicycle path with bike shares that people can use to traverse the property. Alongside that make a safe crossing of the road, build something like a resort complex on the waterpark parking lot, not huge but like maybe a few restaurants and shops, possibly a onsite hotel, and a new large parking lot for waterpark and theme park behind that. Maybe an in resort bus shuttle from the RV camp to the theme park along such a path too but IDK. If they find success they should probably consider doing something about all of this, cause I defintiely think this stuff adds to the park's lack of big success, just from a convenience perspective for the guests.
They only have to drive around from the RV to the parks right now because of construction on the intersection right there. Otherwise it is literally right down the road. If that short little drive that it typically is when the intersection isn't under construction is throwing people off then those people should just probably not leave their house anyways.
Only 100 million!? I am absolutely blown away by what they've done here. The theming is incredible.
Lost Island looks so fun! Great that it's not to far from Adventureland!
Visited Lost Island two weeks ago. Your comments are spot
I am impressed with the people who built this! My observation is the same as everyone elses - not enough greenery and trees. Wishing them the best!!
The park is beautiful and the immersiveness of the attractions looks awesome. But there is practically no shade at all. Too, a park of this calibre will struggle in the long run to turn a profit due to its remote location, small metro area, and relatively slow growth rate. As a Statistical Analyst since 1985 and Relocation Specialist, regional theme parks are nearing a saturation point in the U.S. The only areas in America that can really make a regional theme park work are Houston TX metro area, Nashville TN metro area, and the Wilmington NC/Myrtle Beach SC region. They're 3 of the fastest growing areas in America, have enough of a local and tourist population to make a park work, there are other recreational assets in these areas, and there are no other theme parks within a 3.5 hour radius are these areas. The reason the other remote parks you mentioned are successful is that all of them have been around for many generations, they grew slowly over a long period of time, and they weren't in the current theme park climate of today when they were built from the ground up. Those things matter. This isn't to knock the park, not at all. But the economic realities have the odds greatly against them. Nevertheless, I really hope they do well for the long haul.
A Scat like ride would be a nice addition to the Udara section. We have one at Bay Beach, and it's the most thrilling ride at the park, or at least tied to the Zippin Pippin.
Really looking forward to visiting this park in the future. Probably gonna be a few years but I will for sure come by.
You should try to make the trip next year. These past 2 years have had horrible sales and the entire community is worried we are going to lose the theme park if they can't figure out how to get more traffic.
@@jamiegrinnell If it was a simple drive away I would have came by now. Unfortunately I'm looking at a 6 hour flight, hotel stays, and a car rental. That kind of trip will simply have to wait for me. I hope attendance doubles again next year and profitability becomes reality! I simply can't be one of those attending next year.
Awesome video! It was really cool meeting Matt on el toro yesterday!
Plant a giant perimeter of tons of trees, and lots of shade space...and this place will be awesome eventually.
i love lost island!!! so excited for their new RMC raptor 🎉
Can't wait to visit someday!🎉
Great to see other interessing theme parks being covered
I went here last weekend- I can confirm they're working on shade, and I'm honestly glad the drop tower is "underwhelming" cause I've never done coasters before that. I do agree they need a good middle coaster, I went on both of those and they were a bit rough for a first timer
I said this before, and I’ll say it again, a ride like Mystic Timbers would be ABSOLUTELY PERFECT here!
Without that annoying dumb shed ending please. That was the main reason we didn't really ride it much. ...especially when it's hot and all
Finally, a park my home park, Michigan Adventure, can compete with😢.
This park looks soooo cute! I'm excited to see how this park grows! (Building an SLC is probably the worst decision I've ever seen) but you have to explain how you ran out of time in such a small park with such low amount of people XD
We didn’t arrive as early as we should’ve! We should’ve come an hour earlier even than we did. Plus we were really busy filming. So it’s a combination of things really
this park looks like a planet coaster park XD
I love that ceasars casino is close. Great spot to stay and close to park
I love your videos !!
"I'm from the East Coast, and I went to Iowa to experience it"
Says the dude that travels to Europe, Japan and Australia, to experience themeparks.
I meannn.... haha true
@@CoasterStudiosIt's really cool though you're able to do all that. When I do have time and money, I also get out of my way to visit themeparks/amusement parks. Keep doing what you're doing!
I just thought it was a funny quote, while thinking about all the traveling you been doing.
I'm making a theme park based on Lost Island in PlanCo
I’d love to see a Lost Island Theme Park and Water Park resort complex in Central Florida located somewhere in Orlando or maybe Tampa Bay! The new Lost Island Theme Park in Florida should have the Lost Island Water Park built right into it along with an impressive on-site resort hotel adjacent to the new theme park and water park complete with another water park! This should be exciting!
Broo, im laughing so hard because i rode the front of the vikoma roller coster the opening year and my stomach, bowls, and crotch area was in pain the whole time😂😂 i had tears in my eyes in the end😂😂 it was pretty fun though.
I think this park definitely has a lot of potential but yeah, I think they need to fill in the borders of the park to kind of close it off from the outside world and definitely add more trees. I also think they should keep up with buying relocated roller coasters. there are plenty of old school Schwarzkopf coasters and other models at neglected parks that would do well here
When people talk about trees I'm wondering what exactly that means? Since you can't transplant large "adult" trees does this comment mean plant more trees in general that will grow? There are quite a few trees there already but obviously they do take time to grow. A lot of us didn't get to see new parks. We just see the established parks and see they are filled with trees now but when you find old photos of most parks they look empty also because the trees were "babies" back then but we just see it now and want lost island to have mature trees in the 2nd year. It is unrealistic.
Sounds like they need to replay career mode in Roller Coaster Tycoon.
Suspended Looping Coaster 1 is too painful. I wanna ride something else.
Lost Island really reminds me of Energylandia and I hope it gets as big as that!
They do have 2 coasters in storage for the future but cant put them out yet till they see more people coming to park.
It's Iowa. I never heard of it..AND I LIVE HERE. CH 8 what you doing you woke bastards. 2 years.
Jeez those season pass prices are more than a Cedar Fair platinum pass.
Amazing review. After Hershey in July, we looked into taking a trip out there but it isn't worth it from Mavericks stand point. Matugani is 56", the highest requirement for an Intamin in the country, and that eliminates one headlining attraction for kids. Over half of their thrill rides are 52" and over, making this almost as bad as SWO for families with smaller thrill seekers. Ironically, the parks claim is Intamin set the height requirement, which is weird considering Sandy's Blasting Bronco, and Maverick are both 52" and Cheetah Hunt is 48".
Kanonen had a height restriction of 1.4 meters, which is about 56 inches.
Manufacturers do set height requirements
I love in Waukee iowa and it’s about a 2 and a half hour drive there and I been there on June 28 2023 and I went to the water park and I’ve been to adventureland which is 20 minutes away and been to worlds of fun 3 hours away
I think they have to charge more because they need to pay off a brand new park. Established parks just need to cover expenses and and some smaller anual investment into the park. Also in general, and I'm not complaining, theme park passes are an uncredible value for what you get. It's really the best value in any form of entertainment, if you live close enough to a park to take advantage of it. Sure it's expensive compared to better and larger parks but if you live near here in iowa it's still a good way to spend a few days in the summer.
Kinda true, its why its not a good idea to go head first into creating something massive. Even parks like Europa park only had 5-6 rides and zero roller coasters when it first opened. But there's also the question of finding the right balance. Since with lower ticket prices you can attract more people to buy tickets, and that the increased number of paying guests will offset the lower profit margin per ticket sold.
@@drdewott9154Standards in the industry were also much lower when Europa Park opened. Nowadays to attract interest you have to be able to compete with what other established parks bring to the table, and 5/6 flat rides won't bring people through the front gate unless you're offering free admission and open picnic groves.
The owners sold their successful cabinet making business that paid for a lot of not all of the themepark.
Omg they have the Buffalo bills shot tower?!
It's under rated the rides are awesome the lines are short and the staff is incredible .
I think you guys are overlooking the exciting fact that the John Deere tractor museum is close by so there’s an exciting weekend in itself. 😂😉
Moline is closer.
Haven’t been here but they should definitely retrack their SLC
I live in Iowa and I didn't know about this park until I saw this video in my feed. I don't live near Waterloo though, so given the price of the ticket, I'll probably just stick to Adventureland.
3:20 Is that a new SLC? I’m curious if Vekoma still makes those rides.
That one was relocated
Makes me so sad that this park is having issues. They need to invest in a larger rmc coaster. The supports would help the park not seem so empty. They need a unique star attraction to justify the expensive park ticket.
You know what a good coaster for Lost Island would be. A Gerstlauer Spinning Coaster.
A spinning coaster is on their future plans. Along with flying coaster.
I’d love to see a roller coaster that isn’t a clone, relocation, or both
The trees will grow. but its Iowa. They take awhile.
3:43 New Wacky Worms are still being made?
Waterloo has an airport that connects with Chicago. It's still not doing great visitor wise because of the pricing here vs Adventureland in des moines but they do have days where ticket price is $26 and it fills up a lot better.
I hope they work on expanding but I dint forsee this park lasting more than a decade or two.
This is my hometown and I've been screaming about the pricing and separate park issue for the last two years. We have season passes, but in order to get regional attention we have to compete with regional attractions and those have both water and amusement together, but every time I say anything on the fan sites everyone shuts me down. I want this park to be successful and we have to compare ourselves to wof, adventure land, valley fair, etc. It's so frustrating.
House on the Rock too.
Maybe they should put in a themed hotel. By the way, where do you recommend staying?
The hotel and casino is across the street, next to the waterpark. It's called Isle of Capri casino.
I hope this park does well…but for many of us it just doesn’t make sense to drive or fly all the way out to Waterloo for what’s currently offered. The park really needs a stand out coaster or two, as well as another dark ride, a rapids ride, and tons more shade. I know that everything costs money, but I think for most people this park just doesn’t do enough to stand out…which is why the attendance has been so soft.
No there is 3 close parks.
If it was closer like right next to the park and bleneded both parks into a THEME PARK, and THEMED WATERPARK it would be so amazing.
A mile. A themed hotel or aquarium could work. SeaWorld is dead so.
They could definitely use more rides for those prices.
Yeah. At first they should probably do a combination of A: spend more on advertising and B: lower the ticket prices, so that you can attract more people and have the greater number of paying visitors offset the lower income per ticket sale through sheer numbers.
I wish they did more deal days to get people in the park and fill up those queues
I think adding trees would do so much for this park
There are trees. Unfortunately transplanting huge "adult" trees isn't feasible.
First time I’m hearing of this & I live in the Midwest. Looks pretty cool but might be too late in the year to make a visit out. The season pass price is just insane though.
June soon
get an rmc and the numbers will go up
Yes simply add a several million dollar coaster to a park that had to buy two refurbished ones to fit in the budget and isn’t currently turning a profit
Welp, that aged extremely well, Fire Runner was announced and it's a clone of Silverwood's Stunt Pilot, this is such a godsend.
they need to expand slowly toward the water park until the two are connected
That would be a good idea, however the waterpark is across the street. The most realistic thing they'll do is possibly offer a shuttle from park to park, but I doubt they'll ever be joined.
I love your ideas
I hate the Vekoma SLC clones with a passion. Literally just an equilibrium blender from start to finish. You could just go on any fast spinning flat and it's the same thing. I guess if you love dizziness it's ok lol, but they need to stop with those. Just my opinion, I know a few people probably like them. I'm definitely more of an airtime fan than inverts, but they're not bad when they're spaced out more.
Thry should have ordered a bunch of fill dirt and built hills. Thry can still do it on the off season. Its just so flat you can see the whole park. For a park that relies on atmosphere having no sight line blocks hurts it
Literally Planet Coaster.
2:14 They could add sidewalks and even a hotel eventually.
There is a sidewalk that runs to the park and goes past the Casio/hotel, to the water park and then into the residential area(once the intersection construction is complete that is.). You can also use the large shoulder of the road to get to the campground. I wouldn't say it is a walk unless it is really nice outside but a bike ride(locals or campground) would be doable
When i saw those prices its no wonder why this park is struggling. They are basically trying to be Silver Dollar City in the middle of nowhere
Yeah, with this park at the scale its at right now, Something like 30-35 dollars per day would probably make a lot more sense and attract more people, which in turn would offset the lower profit margins.
The park looks great but could use some trees or better landscaping
Needs a few more adult friendly rides but it's a great park. Love having a park in my town
I'm surprised this lack isn't doing well considering Iowa has so little amusement.
Iowa is also very rural, and not super rich. All while Lost Island is a very expensive destinaton, I can definitely see why many would choose Adventureland instead just from an economical perspective.
Wow 46,000 attendance. Not sure if this park will be around in 5 years.
Hopefully they advertise more. I live in Cedar Rapids, 45 minutes south of Waterloo, and didn’t even know this park existed until I was going to the Lost Island Waterpark and noticed a roller coaster on horizon. Cedar Rapids has about a 200,000 person population that largely consists of families that they are not reaching out to and informing they exist.
i feel like if they could get a family wood coaster, another kid coaster / and or wild moose, gut that slc in favor of say a modern vekoma like dragon flyer then people would be coming in waves.. pun not intended. this honestly for me looks like a cross between universal in terms of excellent theming and the adventure doom at circus circus in las vegas for the rides where it has a little something for everyone, but could use more.
15:13 Buy that B&M Dive that just closed down in China if nobody bought that yet.
That’s not a bad idea!
I really hope this park starts getting the capital to justify their investment
They should retrack the SLC
If anyone's going to lost island tomorrow me and like 70 other people from Bondurant are going to be there doing a parade
COASTER STUDDDIOSSDD
from the pictures the park looks to flat for me if that makes sense, it needs more large theming structures. AND TREES. its landscaping is to short it is begging for trees. other then that its really cool and I wish it the best!
You have to wait for trees to grow. Go research and look up all the established parks when they first opened. Most looked pretty bare also. This was a corn field just a couple years ago. If people actually come and it gets a chance to grow those trees will eventually be blocking the continuous view from side to side.
I think they need to go old school, a discount admission on a Coke or Pepsi can. The good ol days!
Needs a Rocky Mountain Construction coaster!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Iron Gazzy of Iowa!!!!!!!!!!
Honestly... SO MUCH like the Isle of Berk in the new EPIC Universe coming in 2025. But alas, John Deere... the anchor of Waterloo is rumored to be ... moving to Mexico.
HQ is still in Moline IL.
Definitely need to work on Advertising. I literally live in Cedar Rapids and had no clue this existed lol
I live in Davenport. No advertising
To be fair that is a Prototype Turbo Drop
They need to advertise way better
I was wondering what I was finding odd about the park....There is no shading for sun respite.
You know the SLC is bad when the name literally tells you, NO-puko.
why on earth would you suggest something junky like a family boomerang over a wildmoose
mfw we get an slc instead of a batman clone