Adventureland
Altoona, Iowa
Located just to the east of Des Moines, this site was originally the Des Moines airport. In 1974, the land
was turned into an amusement park. Its opening was delayed several months because the park was damaged by a tornado right before it was scheduled to open for the first
time. Today, the park has over 100 rides and attractions spread over its 180 acres. Adventureland was owned by Adventure Lands of America, Inc., and was
later acquired by Palace Entertainment, a division of Parques Reunidos, in 2021. In March 2025, Herschend Family Entertainment took over ownership of all
of Palace Entertainment's properties in the United States, including Adventureland.
Three coasters have left the park:
- Der Flitzer (1975-1991) was a small steel coaster and was called Raylle Racers for its first two seasons. It was a "Flitzer" model coaster from Zierer. It ran at several European parks both before and after its time in Iowa. From 2000 to 2017, it was Silver Mine at Freizeitpark Plohn in Germany. It appears to have been demolished after 2017.
- Dragon (1990-2019) was a looping steel coaster built by Hopkins. (See pictures below for more details.)
- Super Screamer (1976-1999) was a 45-foot tall "Galaxi" model from SDC. Since leaving Iowa, it was Screaming Mummy at Pharaoh's Lost Kingdom in California, 1970 Galaxy Rip Tide Coaster at Swampy Jack's Wongo Adventure in Florida, and Galaxy 500 at Hydro Adventures in Missouri. In 2021, it opened as Galaxy 500 Coaster at Cedar Valley's Wild Frontier Fun Park in Comins, Michigan.
Videos
Dragon
Dragon Slayer
Outlaw
Tornado
Underground
