Hilltopper39

This looks awesome and is a great addition for Holiday World, kind of a game changer for the park. I mean I know they have major rides like the Voyage and their waterpark is one of the best around, but adding a $22 million dollar steel coaster is a HUGE addition to a park like this. A few random thoughts... In the pictures the station is between the 2nd and third hill on the Voyage which is kind of a long ways from the Thanksgiving midway section. I'm assuming that over time they're going to continue to develop that section of the park with new rides and attraction but for now it's gonna feel like this thing is kind of out there all by itself. I haven't read all of the press release material but I didn't really notice any sort of story or theme for the "Thunderbird" concept and it doesn't really seem to "fit" into the Thanksgiving section, which is okay! I've always thought that Holiday World would have a tough time expanding the park in major way if they stuck to attractions that only fit into the Holiday theme (gonna run out of Holidays eventually), so it's nice to see them build something that's kind of a stand alone attraction. Finally, I've only been on 1 B&M wing rider (WIld Eagle) and didn't love it. It was fun, wasn't a top 10 for me or anything, but I do see how the general public loves these things. However, with the combination of the speed, the terrain, the launch, and the keyhole near misses on Thunderbird I think this thing is going to be a really great ride.

When I watched that night visin POV all I could think was the thing looks A LOT faster than all of the reviews I've read so far. I was really expecting the experience to be a bit "tamer" considering the lower height restriction but the video looks fairly intense. The rock work inside the building looks amazing. I haven't been on either Potter ride yet but have (shamefully) watched POV's of both and the Forbidden Journey just looks like it kind of moves between various screen and scenes where as Gringotts appears to be more of a complete experience moving though one immersive setting. Gringotts looks really good and I can't wait to check it out.

The Scat 2, evil evil death machine. I think the Scat 1 was the first ride I ever operated and I can tell you people who got on that thing had no idea what they were in for, I honestly don't remember ever having a repeat rider haha. The original water park with the 3 slide tower, main pool, and small kiddie splash section was there in 2007 but they added the lazy river, larger play structure, and wave pool a few years ago (2010 maybe?). It looks like a great addition and every time I see old friends post pics from Beech Bend the water park always looks packed. I agree that the Rumbler is still one of the better GCI's around, it really packs a punch for the size that it is and has a nice mix of elements. Used to be very re-rideable and solid coaster for the the whole family. It's also nice to see some more "permanent" structures around the newer rides like the Sea Dragon, drop tower, and the frisbee. Beech Bend is what it is but permanent structures do go a long ways for making the place look more permanent and less like a carnival.

How does Speed Monster compare to some of the other Intamin Launched coasters of the world like Maverick or Superman Escape or iSpeed? (I realize some of those are LIM and some are hydraulic, but they're similar enough) I don't recall if I've ever actually read review of the thing, the layout looks awesome but I don't really remember ever seeing it in any top 10's or 20's? Great pictures as always Hanno, I always enjoy checking out your reports!

Congratulations to Shane on opening this new park, I obviously haven't been yet it almost looks like the perfect water park. There's enough that you won't be bored with the place in a few hours, the kids area looks GREAT!, the slides are a nice mix of fun and thrilling, the themeing looks fantastic, the food options are interesting and appropriate, the place looks great, really really well done. I hope we eventually see more Cowabunga Bay's open across the country.

Looks like an a awesome event, I really need to get around to watching Frozen sometime soon.

Great report, looking forward to the rest of your trip. Glad to hear that Cornball is still running well, I did really like that ride during my only visit to the park. I know this is a park a lot of people really like but for some reason I wasn't as fond of it. It was okay, had a pretty solid collection of rides but it almost felt like there was too much going on in the space they had, I can't really explain it but I just didn't care for it as much as some people do. A lot of people had compared it to Knoebles but to me comparing IB to Knoebles is like comparing Six Flags America to Six Flags over Georgia, they're similar but there's really not much comparison.

This is interesting news, best of luck to these guys with their future projects! Can't wait to see what they have in store for the amusement industry!

I would be interesting to see what RMC could do with Twisted Twins. That ride never was very good to begin with but it did have unique concept for the dueling aspect. It's also not that big and the existing layout is fairly dull, so maybe RMC could breathe some life back into it. It would be the smallest RMC coaster to date (I think), I usually think of their product as being a good fit for larger coasters that haven't aged well (Rattler, Texas Giant etc.) but I guess they could make a smaller coaster just as insane.

Didn't B&M just open a new "family" styl;e inverted coaster in China somewhere? That seems like it would be a perfect fit for Holiday World, major ride, huge capacity and still family friendly. Makes sense at least....

Buffet played live from the Amphitheater stage in front of Rockit last night on the show as well. Does anyone know if they filmed that during park hours, or did they close the park down and just film the musical spot with a live audience? I've got Fallon on DVR all week, should be a lot of fun!

looks like Knotts has really improved the overall "feel" of the park over the past couple of years, I can't wait to get out there one of these days.

Yeah, the Egg is a bit of an investment but if you like to grill a lot you'll end up using it all the time. See the post earlier on this page about the Akorn by Chargriller, it's a great product at a much lower price point (I saw one at Lowes this weekend for $299) and honestly works really well. My brother has one and uses it all the time and has nothing but good thing to say about it. Might not be a precise as an egg but it still holds temperature really well. It's essentially the same design as an egg (with a few features I actually like BETTER like the removable ash tray and numbered air door opening) and you can use a lot of the same accessories as the egg. Indirect cooking can be a but tricky but I think the manufacturer actually now sells a "plate setter" type device specifically designed for the Acorn. If not just use a slightly smaller diameter grate and an aluminum foil drip pan and you'll be pullin pork in no time, and by no ime I mean 12-16 hours hopefully !

This would be an awesome event! I've gotta figure out a way to get to this one!

Growing up in Kentucky I've been to Kentucky Kingdom more times that I can count but don't think I ever saw that place this crowded ever! Really glad to see the park having this early success and I really hope that they can sustain it. Was Deluge open? If not was there any mention of reopening that thing in the coming years?

Man I sure hope this ride is as good as it looks, and if it is good I sure hope it finds it's way into the World Showcase one of these days.....

Pretty exciting project, will interesting to see this thing once constructions gets under way. With the track on the ground around the complex it looks like it has a spiral "lift" of some type, could you imaging having to evacuate a train on the lift in the middle of a 550 foot tower? Operating and maintaining this thing would be an interesting experience. Personally I love all of these interesting new entertainment complexes, great addition to I-Drive. By the time this thing is done there might be much of the semi-crappy but still kind of awesome I-Drive left!

This attraction looks fantastic, can't wait to get up there and check it all out. I never noticed all of the little play areas around the park but now that I have a little one it's amazing how practical these little additions are, gonna come in real handy next summer when I'm sneaking off to get rides on Thunderhead . (and by sneaking off I mean leaving the little one with the wife, not the little one alone, just to clear that up...) Also, I know the coaster enthusiasts in all of us probably doesn't want to hear this but something similar to Fire Chaser Express would be a great addition to a park like Holiday World next season........

Does anyone know if any of the rides will be open during Harambe Nights event? Nighttime safaris or rides or Everest? I completely missed the announcement of this but it sounds like an amazing event! Ticket seems a bit steep for just a concert and dinner but I'm sure it will be an a amazing event (a few night rides on Everest would make it really nice!).

Can we just take a step back for a second and admire the fact that Universal built and entirely new gigantic immerse park section including a transportation ride system linking two parks in essentially 18 months? 18 months from the time they started to demo Jaws ( ) until they are planning soft openings for London and Diagon Alley? Pretty amazing construction project. How long did the New Fantasyland take to fully open? 3 years or something like that? Doesn't really matter, Universal has been pulling off some seriously impressive projects lately! 18 months not to mention building a new hotel, Transformers and re-theming the Simpsons section in the same time-frame, pretty amazing.

Duplo Valley looks great for younger kids, I'm really excited about finally taking my daughter to Legoland some time later this summer (okay, really excited about using her as an excuse for taking myself sometime later this summer).

Awesome update from Ocean Park and Hong Kong, that place is definitely on my bucket list one of these days. I'll never really understand why parks build powered coasters, I have no idea how much a powered coaster costs compared to a "regular" coaster but seems like it would be comparable with the only difference being a huge energy bill to pay every month. I get that maybe powered coasters can fit into smaller spaces with height restrictions and stuff but still. Heck seems like a traditional LIM launch would use less energy than a fully powered coaster and provide a similar experience r (I really don't know just speculating here). This post has been a public service announcement brought to you by energy. Use less energy, don't build powered coasters......

It will be interesting to see how "intense" the ride will actually be. I'm imaging a physical ride experience similar to the Mummy but it sounds like some of the interactive elements might be pretty intense (dragon, Voldemort, etc.). The detail looks amazing regardless. I might have to finally open my bank account and get a room at the Hard Rock with a 2 day 2 park ticket later this summer and check out all of this stuff I've missed over the years...

I've never read the books but have listened to a lot discussion recently about the "love" scene in Joffrey's tomb in episode 3. Apparently in the books that scene is much more "consensual" that was portrayed in the show which if that was the intentions was a very interesting choice by the director. Anyone have any thoughts on this? That whole scene was a bit bizarre, this season really feels like they're trying to stretch the limits morally. We've had an incestuous rape in the tomb of the dead offspring of the incest relationship, a sacrifice of a live baby to ice zombies, a bi sexual prince in an orgy, and some revenge crucifixion's..... all in one episode! Don't know where this thing is going but the show feels darker than it's ever been at this point. (not that it's a bad thing........)

Looks like an awesome attraction. I remember when this thing was first announced I wasn't terribly excited about it but seems like they have a real winner on their hands.