ZeroGravity55

Havent heard anything about it, I assume it wasnt renewed. There is at least one more new show though. Kari Byron and Tori Bellici (formerly of MythBusters) are now doing a show for Travel Channel where they ride and film roller coasters, among other theme park activities. It hasn't started airing yet, but the stars have been posting photos of themselves filming it the last few weeks. Source? From Holiday World's Holiblog: http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2015/06/25/geek-now-or-forever-hold-your-peace/

Lori Koch and her kids own 60% of Holiday World. They have nothing to do with Alabama Splash Adventure, nor do they own any stake in that park. Lori's brother-in-law, Dan Koch (who ran HW for a brief time after Will Koch passed away) runs ASA. Dan owns 40% of HW, but since he doesn't have control over the park, he basically has nothing to do with the park anymore. That's the most simple way to describe that whole mess.

^ I had a feeling they were going to end up moving the Strike-U-Up. The place they put it at originally isn't a good spot for rides. Every ride they've put there since the bumper boats were removed has been moved to another place in the park. If they're going to put another ride there, they really need to build the dirt up and make the ground level with the sidewalk, so people can actually see it walking down the 4th July midway. I say once the park gets some feedback on the new front row policy (if this is permanent), they'll tell those working TB to use some common sense. Yeah if the wait is more than 30 mins, then yes, enforce the policy. If it is less than 30 mins, don't enforce it. lol You answered your own question.

FYI, this argument was taken to the HW thread, where it should be.

^^ He must be spoiled by all those one of a kind/never cloned world class attractions at SFSTL My friends were walking through the Thanksgiving section and wanted to know why the park was playing football music in the Thanksgiving section? What is the other thing Americans do on Thanksgiving besides get together with family and eating turkey? Watch football! I was honestly surprised that they didn't think of that. It doesn't surprise me that they were playing Alabama's fight song. Wouldn't surprise me if they played Auburn's too. The Iron Bowl is played Thanksgiving weekend lol

^ Honestly, with Thunderbird, it's impossible to predict how busy the park will be, but I'm willing to bet it will be busy as long as it's still hot outside. Yeah they have music playing, but you can't hear it over the crowds, especially in TB plaza (just imagine how loud it will be when they're using the flywheels). If you're planning on doing that this year, you probably won't be able to get a weekday trip in that isn't busy. The last day of daily operation for the park is August 12th and even though they close early those last few days, I would expect it to be packed everyday until then, plus the 2 or 3 weekends following August 12th. I'll just throw this out there, but what you and the other person on here experienced this weekend is probably comparable to a July or August weekend (which is when the park usually reaches it's peak attendance) in the past few years. So I'm willing to bet that it is only going to get busier over the next 7 weeks. I have heard that Labor Day is a great day to visit the park as the crowds are very light, although I can't attest to that personally. Maybe someone else on here can? The Halloween event seems like a good time to visit, as I'm pretty sure they only advertise it locally? That's when I'm planning my next visit, as I've already asked off and everything. It's impossible to predict crowds this year, so I'm planning for the worst and hoping for the best. I really want to see the park in the fall, as all the photos I seen last couple of years looked amazing. BTW, great trip report. Totally understand where you're coming from and why you didn't have the greatest trip. There is a reason my family stopped doing weekends vacations to the park 10+ years ago. Weekdays in July or August are better, but not great by any means. Waiting 1 hour and 45 mins for Mammoth and Wildebeest on a Tuesday in August isn't exactly my cup of tea either (keep in mind this is when both rides were new). I'll stick with visiting in late May and early June, even if I have to deal with some school kids.

^ Yeah there is reason why all of us always warn against visiting on a Saturday or Sunday, although I understand Prozach couldn't avoid visiting on those two days. The park definitely knew they were going to be busier this year, but perhaps they're busier than they ever anticipated (which would be great!)? They took precautions like extending their operating schedule and hours, and I'm sure they hired more seasonal staff this spring than they ever have. Even with that, they felt like they needed to hire 100 additional employees to get through the summer. As Koasterking said, this is only good news, as it means that the park is only going to keep expanding and adding better attractions! I kind of like reading all the feedback HW gets back on social media and one of the things I've noticed is a lot of people leaving feedback are visiting the park for the first time. For the most part, they've all said that they're planning return visits as well. This basically is what the park was hoping for when they built Thunderbird. Use the coaster to bring in new visitors and then use the charm and value to bring them back.

^&^^^ Yep. That's their policy. Also, if there is someone waiting for your seat and there are empty seats with no one in line to fill them, they'll let you move to those empty seats and let you ride again that way. As I said earlier, I had 5 rides in a row on Thunderbird without getting up. I don't know if this has been mentioned, but they are assigning rows and seats on Thunderbird. They stopped doing so when there was virtually no line when I was there. You can ask if you can go left or right and the front or back, or at least they let my group. The first 3 times we rode it, we were assigned left wing back row three times in a row. The forth time we went through, I asked if we could go right, then I asked if we could get the front row, since we had been in the back three times in a row and they gave it to us. Something that will want to make people actually walk out to Hyena Falls. This will spread the water park out tremendously, as most of the popular attractions are crammed in one space and Hyena Falls isn't really worth walking to. This would disperse the crowds a bit. Honestly, another water coaster wouldn't be a bad idea or something with that type of capacity.

Even if the park did break some type of record in terms of attendance, HWfan probably can't say anything other than it was really busy.

Well as others have said, it won't be 45 minutes all day. I don't know what your personal preferences are, (like if you want to spend a little time or a lot of time in the waterpark) but if I was in your situation (going over a 2 day period), I would probably not even show up until 10:30. I would head straight for the waterpark (it opens at 11) and get back and ride Mammoth and Wildebeest first while the line isn't ridiculously long. Then I would do whatever else I wanted to do in the waterpark and get changed around 1:30, then go have a late lunch. After that, I would go marathon the coasters from 2-4 while the lines are the shortest. From there, you have several options. You could leave the park and go have dinner somewhere (have a couple beers, as you've said you like to do) come back to the park around 7-8 (the park is open until 10 on Saturday) and ride the coasters. The lines will only get shorter as the night goes on. I didn't go on a weekend, but I had 5 rides in a row on Thunderbird at 8:30 without getting up when I went. Your other options are having dinner at the park and going around riding flats or of you want to get more Wildebeest and Mammoth rides. You could re-enter the waterpark around 6 (the lines should start to thin out and I believe the waterpark closes at 8) and hopefully get some short lines on both rides. Then go ride coasters for the rest of the night. As for Sunday, I would either take the same approach or kind of take it slow and enjoy my day at the park. I hope this helps. I will say that June weekends, are not as bad as July or August weekends, so there's that. Also, it's going to be in the low 80's this weekend, so there is a chance it won't be that crowded. Hope you have a good trip! Edit: I just noticed on the webcam that the park is using the generators to power TB (they were also using them the day I was at the park). The other day when I was looking at the webcam and they weren't using them. As somebody who always looks at something from a business perspective, I would venture out and guess that there is nothing wrong with the substation flywheel setup. My guess would be that the park is probably paying pretty penny to have those things on site, and they're going to get their use out of them and I don't blame them.

This whole 500 ft conversation is laughable.

I think the park website is the best way to go. They're cheaper and they don't make you pay a processing fee or tax. It's a flat $40.99. If you you follow HW on social media, they consistently run promo codes that you can use to get discounted online tickets. If you can't print it off, I do believe you can still purchase it online and go to guest relations with your information and still get in. Don't hold me to that though. I know you can also purchase tickets at a local Krogers. As for hotels, I've never had a problem with the Days Inn in Jasper. Honestly, I think staying in Jasper is the best choice. You do have to watch where you stay, as there is a good chance that you will jump timezones. HW is on central and it seems like the rest of the area is on eastern.

If you follow HW on Twitter, they had 3 separate tornado scares today. One with guests in the park and the other two after the park closed early. They also invited guests who visited today to sign up for free return passes at GR or to email them. From the sounds of it, the park executed their emergency plan to perfection, which is very difficult when 1.) You're dealing with a large number of guests and 2.) Some guests don't want to cooperate. I couldn't even imagine how hard it would be if there was 10,000-14,000 (A very busy day for HW if I remember correctly) people in the park. I have a little experience with this at work and it just sucks. I live in the town that was struck by the Leap Day Tornado back in 2012 and usually, everyone will cooperate as were all paranoid of Tornadoes now, but you always have that one group that doesn't want to take shelter and gets mad when nothing happens.

Double post.... Some good news from HW. Thunderbird has been such a success for the park so far, that they're having to hire additional help to get through end of daily operation. https://duboiscountyherald.com/b/holiday-world-seeking-100-additional-employees Edit: Also, the park finally put some of the still shots from the commercial up on their website. They look awesome!

^ Yeah I'm not exactly sure what they're doing in that area as far as advertising right now. I just know some enthusiast spotted a HW car there last year and posted a picture of it on the Holiwood Nights FB page. Paula said they were there on some sort of marketing trip. So I'm assuming the park is trying to get a foothold in the area.

HW doesn't count on season pass holders quite as much as other parks do. This. Louisville is only a part of where HW draws their customers from. Indianapolis is their biggest market. Given HW's location, they can kind of pick and choose where they want to market their park and attractions. For example, they've pushed their advertising as far south to Pigeon Forge (which should tell you who they really want to compete with) and as far west as St. Louis and maybe further at this point. It's one thing to advertise and market their park in these areas, but HW has all the marketing tools (awards, accolades, great rides, ext.) they need to actually draw potential visitors from these areas. So even if they have lost some potential visitors to KK, they've gained them back from multiple areas.

Today marks 5 years since Will Koch has passed away. I had met Will three weeks earlier for the first and only time on a behind the scenes tour of the park with one of my classes from school. He had just arrived at the park and took 5 mins to talk to us. Looking back on that day, I'm amazed at how down earth he was. I then saw him at least 3 separate times throughout that day just walking around the park. I imagine one of the greatest thrills for him was walking around the park and seeing all the smiling faces that his park was providing.

^ It's a thing that the parks workout with one another. I know that all HW employees get free admission to all the surrounding parks. Remember, the industry is mostly a big family and all the parks want each other to succeed.

If you go on Friday, HW has their Friday night fireworks if you'd be interested in that type of thing.

Give them some time on some of this stuff. There is still some stuff they haven't completed yet. For example, some of the fence posts leading up to TB plaza haven't been painted yet. If I had to bet, they're probably going to let the grass and weeds grow up around those chain-link fences so it will have a more natural look. They could paint them too at some point. Remember, they do all their painting in house, so it might take them a bit to get back there and do it, as they have other stuff (like getting the fences going along TB plaza painted) to complete.

The launch is what makes the ride, imo. It's so much better than anyone ever could have imagined. As for the rest of the ride, the loop has some good positive g's, as do some of the valley's in between the elements. The overbanks accomplish what the whole wing rider concept is about, which is to make you feel as though you're riding on the wings of a plane or bird. The zero-G roll was good. I liked it a lot more in the left-outside backseat. You do get some airtime in the s-curve. It would be a lot better if the restraints were not so tight. Fly-through barn is a good near miss, as is the left side the second time through. I really loved the inline twist to finish the ride. It's taken at a slow enough speed that you get some really good hang-time, but fast enough that it isn't uncomfortable in those restraints. All in all, if you want forces, ride in the back. If you want to get the full experience of the launch, ride in the front. It really is a great ride and a great addition to HW. The biggest think I took away from my 15+ rides last Monday is that the ride is just a lot of fun. I didn't have a single ride where I wasn't laughing, smiling, or just having a good time during the ride. The GP absolutely loves it. My friends thought it was the best thing they've ever ridden. If you follow HW on social media, much of the reaction is the same. I've had all my co-workers asking me about the ride. I've had a conversation about TB almost everyday this week with someone at work and I didn't even start the conversation about it! There is a lot of buzz right now and if weather stays hot, HW is in for a record season.

^ Me and you basically had the same experience today. Thunderbird actually opened up sometime after 1:30, as that gave us a good reason to get out of the cold waterpark. Since you said everything I was basically going to say, I'll just stick to giving my thoughts on the rides. I did get a couple of pictures of Thunderbird with my phone. Let's start with the most polarizing coaster on the planet, The Voyage: This was probably the best The Voyage has ran since it opened, IMO. My first ride on it came right after it opened in the morning and right after it stopped raining. So, not only did we have a full train, but our train ran through the 1st part of the ride like a bat out of hell. Needless to say, we got braked pretty good at the MCBR. As others have said, it takes away the airtime on the 1st two downs, but every airtime spot is still there from the third down on. I do feel as though the laterals weren't as extreme as they usually are when the brake is off. Could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on you talk to. I do have a bit of a funny story to share. On one of my rides, as the train rotated out of the 1st 90 degree turn, my middle finger brushed a tree limb and the only thing I could think of was the TPR video where the guy says "I just got hit by a tree!" Those were literally the words coming out of my mouth too! The Legend: I thought The Legend was running fantastic today. It was nice to see it's second train back. The laterals on this ride are absolutely insane. The Raven: The Raven was running good today, but out of three, I found it be a tad bit rougher for some reason, which usually never happens. Still runs great for a 20 year old CCI. Now, the main reason I was at HW today, Thunderbird: What can I say? I'm a HW fanboy and I've been pretty pumped about TB for quite awhile now. HW has hit it out of the park with this one. First and foremost, the plaza and station look stunning. The ride looks so much bigger in person and the colors of the track and supports look amazing. The ride is so damn photogenic, it's not even funny. As for the ride itself, the launch really does have a great kick to it and the pacing of the ride is incredible. The placement of elements is perfect. This ride doesn't hit you with inversion after inversion and leaves you disoriented to the point where you have to take a break, it's very re-rideable. I think my favorite seat was the back outside left, but I liked riding in the front for the launch. I do have to say, that final inline twist is so wrong, but feels so right. Congrats to HW on getting such an amazing attraction! Now on to the two photos I took. Excuse the quality, I'm a cheapskate when it comes to getting a new phone. Also, as you can see, the gloomy weather wasn't conducive to taking good photos. Yes, I know, totally original shot.

^ The crews here at HW were hauling today. We only waited 30 mins in the bottom the station and 5 mins in the station once the ride opened. And that was with every school kid in the park in line.

So I'm finally going to be getting out to the park today. Every time I've made plans this year, something with work or school has came up. Hopefully with the cooler temps, the park won't be as crowded. The park is also going to be open until 9 p.m. Hopefully I'll be able to score some night rides tonight as well.

^^ Exactly, it's not like The Voyage has been #1 in any major poll for awhile now. The park no longer needs it to be the marque attraction either.