[Great Lake Boy]

Crawford County, Michigan - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[suydam]

Originally Posted by jeffncandace

I just looked on a map and can't find Crawford county Michigan anywhere....any help?

Handy (for me at least) map of all Michigan counties:
The directory of Northern Michigan vacation rentals bed and breakfast cottages - Northern-Vacation.com

[jimbob2u]

What a joke, every time michigan has a down turn some idiot trys a theme park, jsut north of grayling in gaylord they put in project nature, a big park with all kinds of animals and rides. it is now quietly rusting away and if you pass the vanderbuilt exit on 75 what looks like a white pizza hut abandoned by the ramp was the visitors center for the park. I believe tree tops bought part of it for the golf course.
Then there was Auto world, with rides and a automotive history infusion.
That went belly up.
If someone is so stupid as to put in that kind of money in that area they are really stupid, Grayling property is flat and has always been flat, there is a major military bombing range and artillary range at camp grayling, you can hear the bombs from 45 miles away, and on several ocasions there have been inert artillary that has over shot and landed in living rooms.
If this is not just coffee shop talk some one has more money than brains.

[Northern Girl]

Originally Posted by tym2retyr

Don't know if any of you people that live down state have heard this or not, but it is in the works for a major theme park in Crawford county. This is not rumor either, as I have heard it direct from county, and township officials. All that remains is the added land needed to start the project. This could be a dynamic boost to the areas cash flow. It has been stated that there would be 2000 seasonal jobs, and 700 full time. From what I have gathered, this park will be on the order of Ceader Point size. Thought I would post this as there may be some good jobs come up in the not so distant future.

There will be a year round theme park named Main Street America in the Grayling area. It will feature roller coasters, a water park, shopping center, 2 resort hotels and a campground. Axiom Entertainment hopes to break ground by fall and completion will take about 3 years.
As far as, is the location good? I'm not sure. There isn't anything in the Grayling area right now, unless you're a hunter. But time will tell.

[jeffncandace]

Evidently, this is true! Here's the link...

'Main Street America' theme park idea excites Grayling (http://www.record-eagle.com/2007/may/31themepark.htm - broken link)

[JGatti]

I think this will be huge in Michigan. With the cost of fuel going so far up people are staying closer to home. The area will benefit from it greatly as well. Grayling has been a ghost town since I was a kid. After they lost so many businesses in the 70's and 80's nothing has happened to attract the people back to the area. Oh they have the Au Sable for canoeing, but beyond that I can't think of anything I ever needed to go to Grayling for. This is also a chance for your average person to jump at the chance to invest in the area as well. On a recent trip up north I seen plates from as far away as Tennessee, Kentucky, Vermont and Ontario. I thought this was a good sign. I can't wait.

[jrmontag]

Source?

EDIT: nm, I did a google search

[Great Lakes Pirate]

Tell ya what - I'm glad I am not the guy out there trying to find investors for this mid-Michigan theme park.

For two reasons: short season and too much competition.

You'd be competing head-to-head with two very established theme park venues - Cedar Pointe and the Wisconsin Dells. Neither CP nor the Dells area were developed over night. More like a near-century. That's a lot of catch-up.

CP and the Dells already pack them in from Michigan. CP's footprint easily extends as far east as NJ, west to IL, and south to KY (TN heads to 6-Flags GA). The Dells brings them in from WI (obviously) and also IL, IN, MN, IA, ND, SD.

Then there is the problem of the short-season. You move the Silverdome up to Grayling and build a park IN it, but very few families are going to brave snowy/icy I-75 (or 131 or whatever from the west) after commuting the crud all week long. Don't believe me- visit Macinaw City some January; you'll be the only person there.

IMO: If Michigan wants to draw tourists, it needs to use its natural resources as the bait. Improve state parks with more rental cottages, for starters. Develop multi-use (motorized and non-motorized) trails for the your next move.

[Driller1]

Good grief...I wish them all the luck in the world. I was told over and over I would never make it either. I was young, and female. Guess what, the contractors I work for love it...because I am young and female!!! Selling is the game. Vision, goals, continuing education, and ambition will win!!!

[magellan]

Originally Posted by Great Lakes Pirate

Tell ya what - I'm glad I am not the guy out there trying to find investors for this mid-Michigan theme park.

For two reasons: short season and too much competition.

You'd be competing head-to-head with two very established theme park venues - Cedar Pointe and the Wisconsin Dells. Neither CP nor the Dells area were developed over night. More like a near-century. That's a lot of catch-up.

CP and the Dells already pack them in from Michigan. CP's footprint easily extends as far east as NJ, west to IL, and south to KY (TN heads to 6-Flags GA). The Dells brings them in from WI (obviously) and also IL, IN, MN, IA, ND, SD.

Then there is the problem of the short-season. You move the Silverdome up to Grayling and build a park IN it, but very few families are going to brave snowy/icy I-75 (or 131 or whatever from the west) after commuting the crud all week long. Don't believe me- visit Macinaw City some January; you'll be the only person there.

IMO: If Michigan wants to draw tourists, it needs to use its natural resources as the bait. Improve state parks with more rental cottages, for starters. Develop multi-use (motorized and non-motorized) trails for the your next move.

You're also forgetting Great America in Gurnee, IL, which is way closer than the Dells. They advertise constantly in the Grand Rapids area. We stopped in the Dells once on the way to Minneapolis, and honestly I didn't see a lot of Michigan plates. A LOT of Minnesota and IL plates definitely. That 6 - 7 hour drive just from West Michigan is a lot for most families I imagine.

Cedar Fair (which owns Cedar Point) also now owns Michigan's Adventure North of Muskegon, which has been expanding every year since they bought it. They also got approval recently to run the Muskegon's water system out to their area, and are talking about big expansion plans (resort hotel, water park expansion, additional coasters, etc.).

There's a lot of competition out there, and growing, for family dollars. Great Wolf Lodge is expanding in TC, Boyne Mountain has their new waterpark resort, and there's a new waterpark resort rumored for the Grand Rapids area.