Guy T. Koepp

I thought the rumor of the day was that Zamperla was creating an Air Race style ride that would lift people in to the air up on a tower, as well as spin them around. That would make for some awesome views. And I love the Air Race rides. They would be awesome 50-100 feet in the air.

If your ride experience lasts for more than 4 hours please seek medical attention immediately.

Me n' tha fam really liked it a lot. I thought I read somewhere that it was originally supposed to be longer. If so, what is the likelihood of them extending it as it was intended? Any one know, or care to guess? I don't think so. Would be nice, but I just don't think it will happen.

So me n' tha fam went to the park last Friday. We had an awesome time. Went straight to the main attraction first thing and got in 2 quick rides before the crowds started clogging up the area. What can I say, Thunderbird is definitely the ride to beat at the park. We rode it 4 times total during the day. As mentioned earlier, 2 times first thing then once in the evening and once at night. Once on each side, both front and back. The back right being my favorite seat. Night rides are awesome! I think this could be my favorite wing rider. IMHO definitely better than X-flight and Gatekeeper. I’ll be at Dollywood next weekend, so I will reassess this after getting some Wild Eagle love. Right now it’s too close to tell. But Thunderbird is the frontrunner as it’s the most recent. The fam unanimously deemed it the best ride in the park! I do like the launching element and hope we see more of this coming from B&M. Thunderbird review out of the way! Spent most of the day at the water park. For what I was expecting to be a very busy day, I was very impressed with the reasonable wait times for all the tubes. We all got in 2 Mammoth rides and 2 Wildebeest rides amongst our other slides and play times in the wave pool and play structures. Not to bash Mammoth at all, as it is an awesome ride, IMHO, I still like Wildebeest better. The airtime is much more noticeable. I think it's just due to the seating arrangement. Anyhoo! If it weren’t for my daughters swim skirt and towel getting stolen, I would call it a perfect water park day. With that little hiccup, I must say that the guest services peeps were very sympathetic, attentive and helpful in getting forms and documentation filled out for my little girl. Thank you so much. I don't recall any specific names, but Paula, if you would, please pass along my thanks to a department that handles itself very well. It's those little things that make Holiday World stand out from so many chain parks. Kudos. The late afternoon and evening were spent re-riding Thunderbird, as well as the remainder of the coasters and a few flats. Gotta say, the fam did love tha Crows Nest. With no line at all, it was fun to ride it 3 times in a row in the evening with Thunderbird flying all around it. Who ever made the decision to move it to that location was brilliant! Still think Hallowswings is the best themed swing ride on the planet. So much fun. The Friday night fireworks were wonderful. A perfect nightcap to an already very pleasant day. I hope they make that a staple in the Summer for years to come. And now for the moment you all have been waiting for. The other coaster reviews. Drum roll please. Voyage - (the good) At least the jack hammering at the bottom of the 1st and 2nd hills seemed to be much less than in the past years. Thank God! (the bad) Fan boys, I'm sorry. My wife won't even ride it anymore, as her last ride was just too painful. My Son, My Daughter and me all bit the bullet, said our prayers, and braved the unknown. After riding, my Son was done for the day, He has officially joined my wife in the never again, it's not going to get better, I'm not even going to try category. My daughter, on the other hand said she liked it better than she remembered, but was in agreement that once was enough for her, and if no one else in the family would ride with her, she would happily forgo pressing the issue. For me, I'll just say, "At least the jack hammering at the bottom of the 1st and 2nd hills seemed to be much less that in the past years. Thank God!" This coaster seems to drop about 3- 5 places on my woodie list every time I ride it, and this year doesn't look like it will be an exception. Legend – We all came to the agreement that this seemed to be the woodie of choice this year. Honestly, We didn’t remember it being any better or worse than it was last year. So, good solid ride. Still a bit bumpy, but good G forces and fun airtime hills. Personally, I’m not a fan of the helix in the tunnel. Too many flat turns in the same direction, but I expected that, and was prepared. So it wasn’t an issue. I also make the kids ride on the inside so they don’t get beat up by it. Raven - This ride has consistently been our favorite since we have been going to Holiday World. Which was so saddening to all of us as it seems to have deteriorated the most in the off-season. Still not a bad ride in the least, just noticeably rougher, not like it was running on square wheels, but more like gear shaped wheels, just consistently bumpy through the whole course. I always forget just how short it is. It seems to have so much potential energy when it hits the brake run. I know it’ll never happen, but I would love to see some sort of heavily banked helix o’ death with a bunny hop into the brake run added to it. It’s a stupid dream, but it’s my dream Dewy! My dream! And I own it! So there! All in all we had a great day at the park. The staff and service always make for the best of experiences. And Thunderbird finally gives the park a signature attraction that should bring in the masses for years to come. I love the direction this park is headed and look forward to visiting each year. Honestly, it’s getting to the point where it is quickly becoming a 2-day park. We could easily spend a full day at Splashin’ Safari and a full day at Holiday World. Then we wouldn’t feel as rushed to get through both in one day. I also really like the food in Plymouth Rock Café. I love Thanksgiving meal so much that it’s nice to have a second one in a year, and I wouldn’t mind a third. Thank you again Holiday World! We love visiting and already look forward to what next year holds.

Hi Jake, welcome to the TPR forums. I would love to see a trip report if'n ya took pics.

^The two sides operate on the same spindle. If I were to guess, I would think it's some kind of weight dispersement.

We have tons of HW billboards here in Nashville. I have only seen a few smaller ones for KK. So I would definitely say their presence is felt much more 2.5 hours South. In fact, I think there are more signs for Beech Bend than KK. I didn't get to visit last Sunday as I had hoped. Me n' tha fam are gonna put our Club TPR cards to good use there this Friday. Looking forward to seeing their nighttime fireworks show. It's the last night for them.

Everything in the amusement park industry is gimicky. It's what keeps us going to the parks.

Yeah, I unlocked some dead dude a few days ago and am now trying to get his stuff. Want to smoosh more Zombies!

GOTBLEZMERICA!

What if you only have fit, trim, healthy friends? Just guess I'm doomed to having slow, meandering, uninspired rides. Story of my life.

Pictures can be deceptive. I think in this particular photo, the grain of the wood gives the impression of a tremendous amount of speed. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this thing isn't blazing fast, is it? Those wheel assemblies are quite huge though.

Didn't Kumba get repainted just a few years ago?

This feels like it should be a Halloween update. But anything that includes Zombies and I'm in 100%! So, in the words of the Almighty McDonald, Ba Da Bop Bop Bop I'm lovin' it!

I haven't been to Oceanic Arts in a very long while. I need to get out there the next time I am in town. I am looking to start a Moai ranch in my backyard.

Awesome TR! It looks like Elissa and KidTums had a blast! I can't wait to get to this park in October. Sorry to hear about the leg. I hope you heal up fast. Why do I not find it completely unusual that anyone might get hurt riding dirt bikes with Alan Schilke. That man is crazy in the best of ways. I'm hoping there is an epic TR to the ER forthcoming.

Joey, wait till October. I will join you on one of my LA trips. Perhaps we can kidnap the diabetic and get him to go as well.

Great Video! I especially liked hearing Elissa say, "That was great, did you like it?" at the end. Was she talking to KidTums?

As I have since I first rode it in 08, I will try again this Sunday. But honestly, since probably 2010, for me it has progressively gotten worse. I hear all the comments about it getting retracked in areas, reprofiled, maintained, better this time of the year, worse in the morning, ride this seat, ride that seat, put gerbils in your pants but only in the left pocket, live snakes in your shoes, the right hand covering your left eye while singing, "Conjunction Junction What's your Function" all the while practicing intestinal yoga. I don't want to have to do all that homework to ride a coaster. I want to ride it, and enjoy it. And I have consistently not enjoyed Voyage more and more each year. I love Holiday World, and will continue to go there year in and year out. I can't wait to ride Thunderbird. It looks amazing! It just baffles my mind the love/hate relationship people have with this coaster. The argument the people who dislike it is, "it's just too rough now, and has been getting worse as it ages." Simple. Plain. No questions about that statement. But honestly, I always hear the people who like it, always have to justify their point with a, "You have to ride it like so, have you tried it since blah blah blah, it's better when you..." For me, I ride a ride, I either like it or I don't like it. I don't like it in this seat, and dislike it in that seat. Love it during the fall, but never in the Spring. Perhaps I am just a poor excuse for an enthusiast as I don't take the time to phychoanalyze every possible permeation of factors that can go into each and every ride I take. It's pretty black and white for me. Chocolate or Vanilla. I don't have to brace for impact when I eat Vanilla. It's just plain better than Chocolate! Period! That's my opinion. When I try Chocolate again this Sunday, I will either like it better, or I won't. But as of last year, I still choose Vanilla. This has exhausted me. I will ride it again this Sunday, and it will have either gotten better or worse than last year.

I hear all this talk of,"you have to know how to ride Voyage, what is it right seat, where to brace for minimum impact." If you get on a coaster and it's just plain unenjoyable to ride in any seat, then it isn't worth me riding anymore. For me, Voyage fits this category.

I would love for Voyage to get the Iron Horse treatment. I would want to ride it again. As it is, it's intolerable.

Don't forget about the Noah's Ark thingy.

I think possibly the train and Uber might be your best bet.

^Did you hear this from the Dippin' Dots Employee? They know everything that goes on in the world of Amusement parks. It's not official until you hear it from the Dippin' Dots Dude.

I haven't been down to Orlando for Halloween events in a several years. I may need to change that this year. And this menu line up makes that decision much easier.