Shivering Timbers is the main reason to visit Michigan’s Adventure.
This Custom Coasters International creation looks like a wooden hyper coaster with its height
and seemingly endless series of airtime hills. For many years, this CCI was considered one
of the best coasters in the world, as it was a perennial contender atop any wood coaster poll.
But over the past decade, the coaster hasn’t gotten nearly as much attention.
Is that the fault of Shivering Timbers or is it more of an issue with Michigan’s Adventure?
Find out in this review of Shivering Timbers. Shivering Timbers opened in 1998 as one of the
tallest and fastest wood coasters in the world. Shivering Timbers stands 122 feet or
37 meters tall and reaches speeds of 57 mph or 92 kph. The coaster has been passed by several
non-traditional wood coasters such as the Intamin pre-fabs and RMC topper track wood coasters,
but there are few traditional wood coasters that can top Shivering Timbers in these categories.
And the coaster is still among the longest in the world. It’s the fourth longest wood coaster with
5383 feet or 1641 meters of track. That track length is more akin to what you find on a steel
hyper coaster, so it’s incredibly impressive CCI was able to design a coaster of this size
with just one lift hill that can traverse so much track. And Shivering Timbers doesn’t
limp to the finish line either. This ride holds its speed start to finish.
As you pull into the Michigan’s Adventure parking lot, Shivering Timbers has a commanding presence.
The coaster has a narrow out-and-back layout that runs the length of the parking lot.
And the ride feels far taller than it actually is because of the dense wooden support structure.
The entrance for Shivering Timbers is on the far righthand side of the park.
And despite it being undoubtedly the park’s star attraction,
it usually has one of the shortest waits amongst Michigan’s Adventure’s roller coasters.
Most coasters at this park can only run one train. Shivering Timbers almost always runs two,
even on quieter weekdays. This leads to the coaster often having just a station wait.
2021 was the exception. After two trains collided in the station, Shivering Timbers only had one
train available for the remainder of the year. I suspect the coaster will consistently operate with
two trains again from 2022 onward because this coaster really needs it. Not only is it the park’s
best ride, but the line moves at a glacial rate with one train due to the ride’s immense length.
Dispatches on Shivering Timbers have been pretty good in my visits. Michigan’s Adventure usually
has an efficient crew on this ride. Shivering Timbers has two PTC trains- one green and one
blue. The trains have the familiar seatbelt and individual ratcheting lap bar combination you find
on most PTC trains nowadays. While they’re not my favorite trains in the world, the seats are
well-cushioned and the crew doesn’t tend to staple you. However, I do recommend holding onto your lap
bar during the ride because the force and bumps in the valleys can push the lap bar down pretty far,
which can make it a bit trickier to appreciate this ride’s airtime. And there’s a lot of it.
As for the best seat, the airtime is exceptional in all rows.
I slightly prefer the front since it’s the smoothest seat and you also have the superior
sense of speed. The biggest key is to avoid a wheel seat, or the back of a car, if possible.
The wheel seats had a few bumps on the ride’s early valleys, but it was still perfectly
tolerable to me. But in the front of each car was very smooth, even towards the back of the train.
Shivering Timbers begins by slowly turning out of the station and ascending the lift hill. It faces
away from the park, so you pretty much only get a view of the parking lot and the woods surrounding
the park. And then you crest the first drop and you get 1.5 straight minutes of excitement.
Few coasters offer as much prime ride time as Shivering Timbers, especially of this quality.
Like many of CCI’s first drops, Shivering Timbers rapidly reaches it’s maximum angle of descent
of 53 degrees. The sharp crest results in a brief but good pop of ejector
airtime if you’re riding towards the back. The pullout is surprisingly intense as well,
delivering some good positive Gs that you don’t typically get on a traditional wood coaster.
Shivering Timbers then flies over back-to-back camelbacks- one that’s 100 feet or 30 meters
tall and one that’s 95 feet or 29 meters tall. And it really is surprising how little speed
you lose over this sizable hills. The net result is a boatload of airtime.
Every row gets several seconds of strong and sustained floater airtime. I think you get a
little more airtime towards the front, but the airtime is a bit stronger towards the back. And
the pullouts offer some mild positive Gs as well. Shivering Timbers then zooms over an elongated
speed hill roughly half the height of the prior two hills. Riders again get several
seconds of solid floater airtime through the duration of the hill.
You then return to the giant hills. You charge over another camelback similar to the first two,
getting a few more seconds of strong and sustained floater airtime.
That’s followed by a double up that leads into the far turnaround.
The front gets good sustained floater airtime on both ascents. Unlike most double ups that
level off in between, this one has a small dip in between ascents. This allows the back to get some
decent floater airtime on the first ascent. This far turnaround has two trademarks of CCI.
One, it’s relatively unbanked. Two, it dips downwards during the turn,
which gives the train a sudden speed burst. These two factors result in some strong laterals.
And those laterals are extra intense up front since they start while you’re still levitated
out of your seat from the top of the double up. The turnaround ends with this short piece of
straight track, which is the only spot on the ride where you can catch your breath.
It sort of feels like a mid-course brake run that doesn’t trim the train one bit.
You then start the second half with a minimally banked drop to the left.
This drop offers no airtime due to how shallow it is, but the back gets some strong laterals as they
are pulled through it. And the tight pullout also delivers a quick burst of positive Gs.
A few of the valleys on the return run do this. That is followed by 8- yes 8- different airtime
hills of different shapes and sizes. And these hills are excellent between the airtime, the speed
you still maintain, and the headchoppers from the hills tucked in the ride’s support structure.
The first of these hills delivers good sustained floater airtime in every seat.
That’s followed by another double up that rides similarly to the first.
The front gets great floater on both ascents while the back gets decent floater on the first ascent
and then good sustained floater on the descent.
From 1998 through 2016, the next element was trick track. This was an element found on old
wooden roller coasters where a piece of straight track would rapidly bank riders back and forth.
While the element sounded cool on paper, it was a nightmare on a wooden coaster as it aged.
CCI unfortunately added this element to a few of their coasters in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
I never experienced this element on Shivering Timbers, but I did experience it on Boulder
Dash at Lake Compounce. This element was brutal when those abrupt laterals were paired
with jackhammering and from the accounts I saw of Shivering Timbers in 2015 and 2016,
it sounds like it rode identically. So I’m glad Cedar Fair converted this section
into a more traditional speed hill. The airtime is less extreme than the ride’s other hills
due to how drawn out the hill is- you get weak floater airtime- but it’s smooth and comfortable.
That’s followed by another camelback with good sustained floater airtime across all rows. And
then Shivering Timbers offers a surprise. The subsequent valley is very tight,
so it delivers another nice burst of positive Gs, and then you fly over this bunny hill. And
if you’re sitting up front, you get a quick pop of ejector airtime. It really catches you off-guard
after the buffet of floater airtime. Those in the back get the usual floater airtime though.
Shivering Timbers then flies over three more hills. You have two camelbacks broken up with
a speed hill. The two camelbacks also deliver good sustained floater airtime across all seats while
the speed hill is considerably less powerful. This one only offers weak floater airtime up front
and no airtime towards the back of the train. Shivering Timbers then finishes with an underrated
630 degree helix. While this occurs at the end of the ride, you still have a shocking amount
of speed. And this helix is barely banked, so it will absolutely pin you to the side of the train.
It’s some of the best sustained laterals on any coaster between their strength and duration.
You then hit the brake run after traveling almost one mile of track.
I really enjoyed my rides in 2017. At that point, I thought it was the second or third best CCI
and a borderline top 10 wood coaster. But after my 2021 rides, Shivering
Timbers climbed even higher in my rankings. It supplanted Boulder Dash as my favorite CCI
and is now in my top 5 wood coasters. Shivering Timbers has near impeccable pacing.
The coaster carries its speed throughout, is a floater airtime machine,
and mixes in strong laterals on both ends of the ride.
Despite this, Shivering Timbers doesn’t seem to get much attention anymore. Is it the ride’s
fault? At least when I’ve ridden it, no. Shivering Timbers has always run pretty smoothly for me.
However, I have heard some people get rough rides, which could depend on their tolerance
or when the ride was most recently retracked. I think the bigger issue is the park Shivering
Timbers is located at. Michigan’s Adventure is located in Muskegon, which is halfway up the
western coast of Michigan. So you will never pass directly by it on a coaster roadtrip.
You need to deliberately branch outwards if you’re traveling in between parks.
The other issue is that Michigan’s Adventure is the definition of stagnation.
Ever since Cedar Fair bought the park, they have added very few additions.
The lack of new rides has likely discouraged enthusiasts from returning to Shivering
Timbers, so they may forget how amazing this ride is. And the park’s weak lineup
around Shivering Timbers makes it a lower priority for enthusiasts when planning trips.
However, I think Shivering Timbers alone warrants a visit to Michigan’s Adventure.
It was a 7 hour detour for me on my most recent trip, but it was well worth it.
So what would I rate Shivering Timbers? I would give this amazing wooden roller coaster
a perfect 10 out of 10. If you love fast-paced wooden roller coasters chalk full of airtime,
this is the ride for you. Most of the airtime is exclusively of the floater variety,
but it’s strong floater airtime and very sustained. Add in those crushing laterals on the
turnaround and helix, and you have a well-rounded coaster. The only wood coaster I’ve ridden
comparable in terms of length and quality is Voyage at Holiday World. I do still prefer Voyage,
but Shivering Timbers does top that ride in terms of airtime. This really is one
of the best rides in the world for airtime. So those are my thoughts on Shivering Timbers,
the headlining coaster at Michigan’s Adventure. Do you agree this is CCI’s Magnum Opus? I would love
to hear your thoughts on this wooden coaster down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
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lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!