Miracle Strip Park

One of the fun Miracle Strip midways. The kiddie rides are to the left, the Paratrooper is straight ahead and the Musik Express spins to the right.

I. For some reason many of the enthusiasts I have talked to have not been to Miracle Strip Park. I perused websites and could find few pictures and nary a trip report. Yet, the few people who had been there called the park a little jewel stuck in the middle of Panama City Beach. While looking at when we would leave for spring break I had to finagle things so that I would be able to stop by while it was operating. The park has limited hours during March, so it was a toss-up as to whether I would get to stop by. Luckily we left early on Friday and drove to Nashville, which meant we arrived in Panama City around 6 p.m. on Saturday and I got to the park around 7 (only a few short blocks from the hotel).

Looking north at the park.

The park had a good number of cars in the parking lot, the lights and screams from the rides were abundant, so we had no problem paying the $15 admission fee. We began at what many consider the park’s best billboard, the Wave Swinger. It sits on a raised platform near the street and gives riders great views of the area while enticing passers-by to stop in. Our cycle was decent, but things would have gone a touch smoother had there been more than one person operating the ride. There were a tons of pre-teens there running around & I am sure they were more than a handful for a ride-op. In fact, one girl almost hurt herself. We were sitting in the part of the ride where the op had her back to us and one kid decided to get out and jump from one seat to the next. The ride literally lifted off a second after she plunked her butt in the seat. I am glad for the park’s and the op’s sake that no one was injured, even though it would have entirely been the girl’s fault. We checked out the Starliner coaster, whose line appeared pretty long for one train operation, so we ambled down the midway. The park has some nice neon advertising the arcades, giving a retro-fifties feel to the park at night.


The Abominable Snowman is run fast & fun.	This ride features great themeing for a small, family park.

Under the palm trees we walked by a Paratrooper and I saw the Abominable Snowman. The virtues of this scrambler have been extolled to me several times, so I was very interested in finding out what the ride had going for it. To begin with, the themeing is very well done and the large snowman are better themeing for a flat ride than I have seen at many of the big parks. The ride itself is great! An older Eli Bridge scrambler is slowly set in motion and picks up speed as some lights flash and music plays. The fun really kicks in when the strobes are engaged. It is hard to describe, but this was the most intense scrambler experience I have had and the strobes actually get me guessing where we were going…even though I have been on these things countless times. Kudos to Miracle Strip for such a fun ride and a long ride cycle to boot.

The Shockwave is a fun ride with uncomfortable restraints.

Walking straight ahead we passed an Eyerly Loop-O-Plane, saw the log flume (which sadly was not working as the lift belts appeared to be removed) and followed the lights to an A.R.M. Ltd. Skymaster called Shockwave. I have not been on tons of upside down rides, in fact the only two of “boat” rides I had been on that go upside down were the Phoenix at Busch Gardens (Intamin) and the Time Warp at Six Flags New England (Vekoma Air Jumper). The lighting on this one was pretty neat, as the bottom had strong spotlights which traced the ride’s path. The group on the ride go off and we boarded. Of course I went for the front but was disappointed as it had a big piece of off-white hard plastic on it that was not conducive to great visuals. The restraint system was a little bizarre as it featured OTSR’s that came down but had several inches of give and were stopped by a large lap bar that connected with the side of the car that opened. The ride experience itself was not that great. The engine powering the ride was not as strong as it should have been and I could feel the ride straining to get us over the top when we finally got upside down. One problem was that there were no counterweights opposite the cars, so the ride’s looping motion was not constant and varied in speed throughout the loop. It was interesting to do once, but being caged to go upside down in a non-thrilling way is just not that much fun. I am guessing this style of ride hit the circuit in the early-to-mid 80’s, because the ride and restraint technology seem badly done. The park would be wise to sell it and pick up either a Zamperla Hawk, Vekoma Air Jumper or even a Huss Ranger if they want another looping ride in addition to the Loop-O-Plane. But, what would be great is a Zamperla Wind Shear or Power Surge, a Huss Frisbee or Top Spin or a Mondial Splash-over or Top Scan. All of these could fit in the footprint (with a little adjustment into the parking lot) and serve as a high capacity ride that attracted even more people to the back half of the park. I am sure that is a lot on their budget, but may be something to consider in the future.

Dante's Inferno is a fun in-the-dark Trabant.

We passed the Dungeon, an enclosed Tilt-a-whirl, and got in line for Dante’s Inferno. They appear to like the enclosed rides here, which is fine with me as Miracle Strip does them well. I hope the folks who protested the Banshee name never visit here, as you enter this ride by walking on the well-detailed tongue of Beelzebub himself which is surrounded by one of the scariest ride entrances I have seen. After a short wait we got in & I realized it was a Trabant, painted black like the Scrambler. Being inside made a ride which I usually thought was so-so become great. Several times I felt like we would hit the ceiling which alternated between small white lights, colored lights and strobes. We went forward and backward, again getting nice, long ride time. The only complaint here (and it is a small one) is that there was too much smoke used. They need to cut down some, because the smoke does not add anything to a dark ride and only left a bad taste in my mouth).