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Hi Hoosier Dude, I believe we've seen your updated review on Google. I apologize that we didn't update our response until just a few minutes ago (Google doesn't put those in our "new reviews" section). I just want to express that our team puts our hearts and souls into what we do. When a ride goes down, we will spend what it takes to get it back up and operating safely as quickly as possible. Right now, we're at the mercy of a mess of a global supply chain--both with food and ride parts, but our team is going above and beyond in so many invisible ways to get rides back and food in restaurants this year. I'm proud to be a part of that team. That said, the days of your visit were particularly unlucky days for our maintenance team. We'd like to find a way to make your experience better, but we need to be able to converse with you in an appropriate forum--would you mind sending us an email at comments@holidayworld.com?

Fast Lane, Flash Pass, Skip the line passes are an even playing field. ANYONE can buy them. if you want to spend the money on it, then do it. If not, don't - and don't bitch about those who are willing to pay for something you've chosen not to get.

I mean... you do realize every park in the industry is dealing with these issues at the moment?

Yep. Just booked Breakers and flights. I'm gonna shop around for the cheapest rental car but I've decided that's the best (and most reliable) option, despite being $$$$. Thank you all for the advice. I'm excited to finally come back and ride SV. Hopefully the park's operations and staffing are tolerable the last weekend in August. It's before Labor Day so I should expect most things to be open, right? lol

Just to clear things up, we offer three 4-hour tours per day with a maximum of eight Guests per tour, and Guests may not ride the same ride back-to-back without waiting at least 15 minutes. We also offer one EarlyBird Tour per day. We don't believe premium or skip-the-line products should interfere with everyone else's experience.

Yeah, not so much "slow degradation" as "immediate response to a crisis." But I do agree that it's not the same experience as 10 years ago. It's the same experience as 1 year ago. When you figure out why, maybe you'll cut them some slack. These are good people, and I guarantee they want even more badly than you do for service to be back up to their usual standards. Edit: Haha, and while I was typing this out, they're already on it.

Welcome to theme parks during a pandemic. This is happening everywhere.

Probably. I don't see how that statement is verified based on your facts. Just because there is water visible in an area in drain condition in an aerial doesn't mean it could not be 3" of standing water and the drain is functioning. This is kind of dangerous extrapolation without the facts or expertise (or ability to accurately verify that information) before putting it out there and drawing strong conclusions. Written very artfully and dramatically without any legs. Extra points for sneaking in a political bias based on irrelevant donor information.

Not gonna be posting a ton of pics but I finally made my first ever trek to holiday world last week. I went Monday July 12 and Tuesday July 13th. I had my three daughters with me. We all enjoyed Holiday World immensely. More on the coasters in a minute, but all of the flats were enjoyable and my kids LOVED the selection. It's nice to have so many classic carnival style flats in a well themed park. I know Holiday World is always known as a clean park, but coming from St. Louis (and by proxy, Six Flags St. Louis as my home park).....it was shocking how clean the park was. Just fantastic. And with having three kids 10 and under, the free drink stations were VERY nice. So, the coasters. Lines were relatively short (it rained part of one day, and it was hot the other so Splashin' Safari was more where people were at) so a lot of coaster time was had. The Voyage really is a monster. That first drop is wild and a lot of airtime was had. It was very intense. Was definitely a rougher wooden coaster and my neck was feeling it, but a heck of a ride. Thunderbird rocks. So incredibly smooth. It's been a minute so I had done a launched coaster and the speed really struck me. The way you are exposed in the train coupled with the speed and smoothness really makes for that cool flying feeling. It's a short ride, made to feel even shorter if you just rode the marathon voyage, but it's all killer no filler. Loved it. The Raven. After having some time to process it since the trip, I think Raven is now my favorite wooden coaster. First off, it felt incredibly smooth for a wooden coaster. Don't get me wrong- it's not steel - but it felt bumpy in the great "out of control" feel a woodie should have, versus "that's going to hurt the next morning" that some are like. Tearing through the woods was an absolute joy. Great airtime. The turn by the lake is so cool! I really can't define why I found it to be the best, as the other two are more "thrilling"....but it just felt like a great ride. Exactly what I want a wooden coaster to be. Disappointingly, the Legend was closed both days. I couldn't get an answer as to why. Oh well, I suppose it at least leaves something for another trip. We did a couple hours at Splashin' Safari and of the water coasters, only got to do Cheetah Chase as lines were too long for the time we had left. Heck of a ride though. Easily my favorite waterslide/ride I've ever been on. Not really a waterpark person, though. Before ending I should also say the park staff was incredibly friendly and made a great visit even better. This is now one of my favorite parks, and it's EASILY my favorite as a family park. Can't wait to go back.

Can't you at least be a little constructive with your criticism? He clearly put a lot of work into that, and it's obviously okay if you think it's crap but that's a bit harsh no?

Thank you for the clarification!

Speaking of unique rides, when I made my first visit out to this wonderful park last week, my daughter and I rode the Looper, and that sure was a blast! Hopefully they can keep it in good working order, since it sounds like it's one of the last operating flats of its type left! Since I haven't done an actual TR from my brief trip (that ended up being two brief trips) to the park, I thought I'd mention a few of my thoughts in highlight fashion. First of all, much to the chagrin of many of you I'm sure, the nature of my trip was such that I didn't have a full day on either end of it to do Knoebels for a full day, and as such, we had to pick and choose what we did, and focused primarily on coasters for this particular "tasting" of the park. I definitely plan on returning with my kids to the park for a full day, full "Knoebels Experience" in the future, tentatively next year for PPP. So rest assured, just because we didn't do something this trip (such as the Haunted Mansion), doesn't mean that your suggestions went unheeded, but rather it was just the particular dynamics of our visit, and the time we had allotted that kept it out, and it is still on our radar for the future! So, on our way out to New Jersey to spend some time on the shore with my relatives, we stopped at Knoebels around 4, Wednesday the 14th, for the Sundown admission, and got our wristbands unlimited riding. We had an amazing time at this small, family friendly, and very warm and welcoming park, and look forward to returning again in the future! One of the positive thing to come out of the last year plus, and the pandemic altering plans, has been my kids and I have been going to a bunch of smaller parks like IB, Adventureland, Holiday World, and now Knoebels. We've enjoyed our small park experiences so much, it's kind of spoiled us to the point where going to the bigger parks (like Cedar Point) seems much less attractive now. We had an opportunity to pop back into Knoebels on the way back for about an hour, while we were in the area, and took advantage of it, getting a couple more rides in, and getting some merch we were unable to get the first visit through. So, technically, I left home before my trip never having been to Knoebels, and now I've been twice! Great park, and definitely a place we'll be going to for a much longer period of time to get the full experience in the future! Thoughts: Phoenix lived up to expectations, mostly, and ends up as my favorite coaster at the park, barely! My first ride on it in the back seat didn't give as much air as I expected, but I was riding with my 7 year old, and was cognizant of not fully letting myself go, so as not to freak him out. So that could be why. My second ride, in the front row, was much better, and my third ride, which I've already forgotten where it was (sorry, do I lose my enthusiast card now?) was absolutely awesome, as I was flying out of my seat left and ride, and practically standing on the way back to the station. That final ride cemented the coaster's place as the best in the park, narrowly edging my biggest surprise of the trip. Twister just doesn't get the attention it deserves I feel, due to the tremendous hype over Phoenix. I do see people mention it as underrated more and more, and I can understand why, as it was REALLY a great coaster! It seemed SO fast, and brought some exciting laterals to the experience, much like The Legend at HW. I don't hesitate to say that I prefer Twister over The Legend, however, and myself, and all my kids were big fans as well. I think my 7 year old may have ended up preferring it even more than Phoenix. It's a very unique coaster, and in addition to the speed and twister elements, it had some great moments of airtime as well, making it a complete, and exciting coaster experience! Impulse was my 4th of that type of coaster (vertical lift and drop, single car - not talking about manufacturer or specific ride type), and while I really enjoyed it, it's no Monster or Fahrenheit, and I'm not sure if I prefer it or Hydrus more. It's still a great addition to the park, and a fun coaster! One of the fun tidbits from the trip was that my 7 year old was not ready to ride coasters that go upside down when we went to the park last week, and waited off the ride while I rode it with my other three kids. But after a week of being an increasingly brave "coaster kid" (what he calls himself, nothing to do with any group or organization), which included him making Hydrus his first upside down coaster, he wanted to ride Impulse, so we made sure to do so when we returned to the park, and he enjoyed it as well! Black Diamond was closed the first visit we were there last week, and we never made it over there the brief time we stopped in on Tuesday this past week. Flying Turns was also down both visits, obviously. The rest of the rides we made it on were great, such as the Flyers, which lived up to expectations, and gave my best ride on that type by far! We also rode Stratosfear, and of course the iconic Bumper Cars, which were super fun, and caused much mayhem! We didn't eat a lot, but we did seek out and eat from the stand made famous by CoasterBill's photo, getting the fantastic pierogies, as well as the roast beef, plus some birch beer, and chicken fingers. All of the food was excellent, and definitely lived up to the hype! I look forward to trying a number of the other other highly touted food places when we visit next time! That's probably enough for now. The bottom line is that myself, and my kids, and more satisfied Knoebels fans now, and we are very grateful to have finally made it out to this wonderful park! Thanks again to all of the many of you who have contributed recommendations over the years regarding this place, as I definitely thought about them as we were there!

Gatekeeper is reportedly back open!

^Oh, that is good to know! Thank you. I guess it's a matter of cost vs. convenience, like most trip planning. I would already be staying at Breakers so it's not like this is a cheap/discount vacation to begin with. Guess I have some deciding to do. I probably wouldn't regret getting a rental car, but I could see myself regretting relying on Uber. I appreciate all the info everyone.

You better check if you can do advance schedule with Uber in Sandusky. It is NOT available in all markets. Last time I checked Orlando had it but not for me at home in STL. I also vote to do the rental, at least Breakers let's you park for free.

Jeffrey Siebert just posted an updated pic of Poltergeist with it's new paint job almost finished! LOVING the new colors, and can't wait to see what train wrap they chose to go with.

THAT^^. We are renting a car to to KI (keep the miles off of ours) and it's $100/day. And has anyone seen local car dealership lots? It's soooo weird seeing nearly empty lots.

This is nothing but opinion based on my own experience. I worked Grizzly Run at GL for 4 seasons. We had rafts flip a few times, never with guests (while I worked there). They would only flip when water levels were too low. Causing the raft to hit the bottom or something and flip. Again, not stating that what occurred on one ride 20 years ago is the same cause that occurred on this ride. Just my first had experience from being an operator of a raft ride.

There’s also an insane rental car shortage right now and prices are through the stratosphere in a lot of markets so factor that in too. Lol

Interesting. Thanks (all) for the info. I guess the reason I am hesitant about renting a car is because it will end up sitting in a parking lot for 2 days while I stay onsite. That just seems like throwing away money when I can just pay for a single ride to and from the airport. But that makes sense that getting back to CLE from CP is more difficult than the other way around. I guess renting a car has its advantages too, like being in control of your schedule and when you leave. I'll have to do some browsing. Perhaps I will wait until next summer when I can take a whole week off and lump it with other parks to make renting a car more worthwhile. Thanks guys.

Kudos to Holiday World for not having "pay to cut." They also have a great efficiency/operations (see how that works, Six Flags?).

Pigeon Forge is pure tourist hoop la (not saying there aren't fun things to do there just be aware it is hillbilly Vegas) The Old Mill restaurant actually is very very good but there will likely be a 1-2 hour wait, although lots of little shops and stuff to look around in while you are waiting. Gatlinburg is Pigeon Forge's more sophisticated cousin. Shops and most restaurants are just a cut above quality wise to PF. Agree that the aquarium is very good. Pancake pantry is great for breakfast and Anakeesta has a chair lift up to a cool mountain view along with a single rail alpine coaster, zip line, rope walk, restaurant, etc. If you want to go up there and do any of that strongly suggest you buy tickets on their website ahead of time or you will spend a long time in line. Just outside of Gatlinburg (I mean maybe 5 minutes from the main drag) there is a Sugarland Ranger station for Smoky Mt Park. They can give you all the info on trails and lengths/difficulties of hikes. Just google it and you will find it. If you have time do try to spend at least part of a day in SMNP the contrast between the natural beauty of the park and the mess of "civilization" that is PF is rather jaw dropping, lol. Gatlinburg is kind of a bridge between the two. There are good alpine coasters in both GB and PF, again you can google them and find them all.

Was at the park from 9-noon today and it was slammed. Gatekeeper was down. FastLane waits for Maverick, Raptor and Valravn were about 30-45 minutes (a BIG difference from their other Ohio park), Dragster’s standby line was about 75% full, the sipper stand wasn’t open, and many of the rides were shut down during a light sprinkle of rain (to be fair, radar showed lightning in Toledo, so, you know there’s that…. ). I also saw Cedar Downs had a line extending out onto the midway, which may have been the first time I had ever seen that in all my years of visiting. I think I’ll stick with making the 4 hour drive to Kings Island the rest of the summer. Not sure I want to deal with the inconsistencies and longer waits at the Point for a while…

yeah. . Raptor. (I was typing up report while working, and just had brain fart). lemme go fix. the 1st time I rode Raptor was mid train, and it made me SO ill (same with Alpengeist). the next year when I went back to CP (with TPR on the USA 2018 trip) I made sure to ride it in the front, but was still 1 and done with me. . but at least in the front row, I didn't get nauseated. (on that same trip we went to BGW, and I don't think I rode Alpengeist at all. . not even during offered ERT time. . I just sat in station and waited for everyone). at least I know my limits.. maybe because the Batman clones aren't super intense (most of em) is why I can handle those so well.

Almost every major car rental company will rent a car to you, they will just charge an extra fee of like $20-30 a day for being under 25 so just browse the Cleveland Airport prices for rental cars and be sure to check their fees. Also if the prices are really high check out the rental prices at some rental locations not at the airport. Sometimes you can get a really good deal that makes it worth it to take an uber to another rental location. Personally I've been curious about Turo but never tried it cause some of the reviews I've read have made me eh about it, like some owners apparently can be super annoying and can keep contacting you and there are total miles / daily limits on some cars. Just has never seemed worth the hassle to me if I can get a similar priced car from a rental place. Personally I've always stuck with Budget and Enterprise because I've never had any issues with them.

Wow, what a rambling series of disconnected thoughts. Paragraph upon paragraph describing Google Earth images. This is not "research." There is nothing firsthand in the entire article. The author read some articles and used some mapping programs and wrote about an Internet search. Nowhere in this entire piece is there any original reporting or any actual journalism. It's sensationalism. Moving on.

Fyi for anyone interested, there's a new documentary series on Disney+ called Behind the Attraction. There's 5 episodes and each episode covers the history of 1 ride. Jungle Cruise / Haunted Mansion / Star Tours / Tower of Terror / Space Mountain I only watched the Jungle Cruise so far but it was an entertaining watch and I definitely recommend it for any fans of the rides or parks. There's newer interviews with people and some footage that wasn't in the previous the imaginerring story series on there as well.

I did some research into this ride, and I'm of the opinion that Adventureland was extremely neglectful of its operating condition and had established no procedures for a water rescue in the area where the raft overturned even though they knew rafts being stranded there after a ride stop was possible https://medium.com/@spennydc/lack-of-maintenance-and-disregard-for-industry-recommended-safety-procedures-may-have-contributed-bfe6a22cd232

So a real estate developer bought the park and is clearing the prime real estate near the water so it's now just an empty lot with a nice boardwalk, slowly closing everything permanent and throwing up a few carnival rides that they can tow out of there in a few hours to reveal more empty, buildable lots? Sounds like the future of the park is looking bright! I'm sure Blue Streak will reopen in no-time.

This isn't even close to a haiku.

I know you guys would get a laugh on this one. Someone at Kings Dominion had a bright idea to have 7pm fireworks when the park was closing, but funny thing is.... it was daylight outside.

the famous "Cheese on a Stick" is also not to be missed. that's sold only at Totem Treats, which is over by the Rocket Slide & Kiddie Carousel area.

1:20, did the ride just, you know...ejaculate on her? Edit - 1:33 - More licking of fluids. Then she's got more of it on her face. This belongs on pornhub. Edit 2 - "If you get really wet you know he might get rusty, right?" OMFG

Remember the lady who married 1001 Nachts? Well now there's Lady falls in love with a ride....The Movie!