Photo TR: The Johnson's TPR Midwest Trip

[Erik Johnson]

Yes, we did go on the big Midwest trip this year. As always, we had a really great time. This will take me a few days to get everything posted. Anyways, onto the first park.....Holiday World.

Everyone seemed to be happy to be riding coasters.

I know some of those people.

Legend's station was themed to an old school house.

It was a popular coaster that morning.

Next credit of the day. Legend.

Gobbler Getaway was a lot of fun.

Voyage proved to be uber-intense.

Another group of riders heading down the track.

I believe most people had 2 rides on the coaster before the public made it to the back of the park.

Getting closer.

Voyage was our first coaster on the trip.

It was a long walk.

They let us into the park before opening. We got to use the "secret" side entrance.

Might as well have a picture of the two of us.

Holiday World must like us.

Men outnumbered Women 5:1.

I guess everyone has small bladders.

Holiday World's front entrance.

Mmmmmmm......Raven.

We needed these to get into Holiday World.

The Arrow bus was Arrowrific.

This was my Bus POV for the entire trip.

We were on the Arrow Bus.

I am glad they supplied nametags, since I usually forget my name.

This was quite useful, especially after KI.

Back of the tour T-Shirt

Front of the tour T-Shirt.

We got some cool stuff when we checked into the hotel.

This reminded me of work.

Unlike everyone else, we flew into Louisville.

Well...It is tradition to post a picture of our angry cat.

[Erik Johnson]

Holiday World: Part 2

Raven at night.

Night rides of Raven proved to be really awesome.

Its an artsy picture.

Everyone needs a picture like this.

Relaxing by the lake.

Another picture of Raven.

I wonder if he should be on the playground?

Coaster geek and the Voyage.

Photo of Voyage.

It is the only way you can get some good photos of the coaster.

It was really hot that day, but the walkback was worth it.

We were lucky to do the Voyage walkback.

More Voyage photos.

This coaster made it into my top 10 for woodies.

See what I mean?

Raven makes people smile.

Mmmmmm....Raven

Casey was our guide to the best coaster in the park.

We normally try to ride wave swingers.

Thw Wave Swinger had an ultra-cute Halloween theme.

[thecoasterkid]

Awesome start to your trip report Erik! It was great getting to meet you on the trip and I hope we cross paths along the line somewhere again!

 

And you're right, it was definitely incredibly hot that day, those free drinks saved us all I think.

[PKI Jizzman]

Awesome pics! I think Holiday World is closer to me than Cedar Point, so I really need to get out there soon!

[spaceace12]

Night Rides put on all three coasters at HWN put all coasters solidly in my top 5 and solidified Voyage in my Number 1, I have not rode it in the trim state though.

[Skyscraper]

I'm always excited to see trip reports by the Johnsons!

Always good pictures and funny stuff ! Can't wait for the rest of the pictures !

[Groteslurf]

Awesome TR and pics. Looking forward to the next parts.

[disneygurlz2s]

Great pics.... I am really sorry that I never got the chance to introduce myself. I saw you and your wife from a distance twice at Holiday World (I didn't even realize you were there until dinner at the picnic grove) and at least once on Sunday, but I was never where I could easily say hello, or if I was, I wasn't paying attention!

 

Glad you guys had fun. I think Sam and I were the only ones who didn't get on Raven that day because the one time we got there, we were told it was closed.

 

Shari

[Homer]

Raven was totally awesome at night. Great TR so far Erik.

[cfc]

Excellent, as usual, Erik--I'm thinking that I might I have to do a mini-tour of Indiana next summer, myself.

[mcjaco]

^ Are you feeling alright Chuck?

 

Can't wait for more Erik!

[cfc]

^Must . . . have . . . more . . . corn . . .

 

I just want to check out Indiana Beach and Holiday World (probably throw in a few other parks in neighboring states for good measure).

[cobra_roll06]

Hey man great TR! Voyage looks awesome

[Chrissie]

Great TR Erik!! Looks like you guys had a blast! Your cat does look very angry, im actually quite scared of it...

 

Can't wait for more!!

[Airtime&Gravity]

Great Tr and photos so far, and the typical Erik humor was good. The Son of Beast Survival Pack was great, and it looks like a great time was had.

[Erik Johnson]

We ended up liking Holiday World quite a bit. It certainly is a full day park when you include a visit to the water park section. Anyways, onto the next batch of photos:

 

Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom:

 

I actually enjoyed this park quite a bit. Deluge is really awesome, and they do have a pretty nice collection of coasters and flats. The park employees/managment really impressed me. They really went out of their way to make sure we had a good time. Throughout the day we were approached by employees who wanted to make sure that we were having a good visit to the park. Sometimes they even gave us tips or directions when they noticed we were a little "lost". Anyways onto the pictures.

Robb decided to shave on our way to Beech Bend.

One of the original trashcans.

SFKK had one of the better lunches during the trip. Italian Feast!

The waterpark is really awesome, too bad I did not take any pictures.

I only rode one side, they did not open the other side until 20 minutes before bus departure.

I wished I had more time to ride the awesome looking rapids ride.

How many times did you end up riding T2?

I liked the Ivy theming.

Another SLC credit!

Chang's (Zhang) is one of the most common last names in China.

While I am not much of a fan of stand-ups, I thought Chang was pretty good.

I want a Greezed Lightning Mobile.

Since Thunder Run was down for the day, they gave us ERT on Greezed Lightning. I did not mind one bit.

Since we had early ERT, we were the only ones in the park.

Chang is one of the better standup coasters around.

Good morning SFKK.

[Erik Johnson]

Beech Bend Photos:

I did not take many photos. Though I did shoot a lot of video during ERT.

Ryan was not too pleased with the ketchup selection.

Kentucky Rumbler photo.

I rode it once during the day, and another 4 times during evening ERT.

I could ride this thing all day.

Check out that line!

This turned out to be my favorite GCI coaster.

There was a rather large group of ducklings by the lake in the middle of the park.

This one made my head spin.

The mouse did spin pretty well.

I am glad to feel wanted.

You need one of these to get into the park.

Which way to the coasters?

Welcome to Beech Bend.

[Erik Johnson]

Ok, onto Indiana Beach. Indiana Beech turned out to be my favorite park on the trip. The coasters were really great, plus they had the best collection of flats I have ever seen. They had all my favorites such as Flyers, a Wave Swinger, Falling Star, Paratrooper, and great Skooters. All the them had insane ride cycles, which I was very pleased.

I guess chicken is on the menu tonight.

Lets get some dinner.

Though they have a no snapping rule in place.

The flyers here are really great. They are in my top 3 after Knoebels and Carowinds.

Many of the flat rides hang over the water.

Ferris wheels are required for awesome parks.

People called this place the Blackpool of the United States.

They really have crammed a bunch of stuff into a small space.

Indiana Beach from above.

This person looks familiar.

You can really get some nice photos from the skyride.

Just in case you already forgot which park we were at.

Just like Knoebels, I can't wait to revisit this park.

More corn. IB is really out in the middle of nowhere.

I had no idea that Colorado was considered a part of the midwest.

[Erik Johnson]

IB part 2.

Good Night IB.

It was starting to get dark.

Bye! You have a good attraction.

Some evil dog and Leanne.

Plus it featured a balcony to take pictures from.

It was worth every penny.

We decided to check out the upcharge walkthrough.

The Double shot really took me off guard. Which is a good thing.

Hey Cameron. You were right in that I would become an IB fanboy.

Some people were crazy enough to try out the skycoaster.

There was an elevator instead of a standard lift hill.

See, TPR loves Lost Coaster.

Lost coaster was very unique and fun.

[themeparkguy27]

Great TR! Really makes me want to go to IB.

[Erik Johnson]

The next day we got to go to the Wisconsin Dells area, which is a good thing. I have been to the Dells several times throughout my life, but this was the first time as a part of a roller coaster tour group.

 

Onto the pictures!

 

Little A-Merrick-A:

I assume that this boat is a large part of the next expansion.

We were all happy to have nice cool refreshments that day.

Special "America" mini-golf.

I thought this photo turned out pretty nice. Kidtums can't wait to start riding coaster.

Having fun yet?

All the extra padding really helped out us tall people.

This turned out to be the prototype.

I remember these types of coasters at our local county fair. But I have never ridden one.

Awww....We miss our cat.

It certainly was very unique.

I have never ridden anything quite like it.

Time to earn the mouse credit.

It is always cool to see a fun coaster restored to greatness.

This was a real treat and surprise for all of us.

We got to get a "sneak-preview" of the smoothest woodie I have ever ridden.

Maybe it was because he was about to earn new credits here.

Wes was extra happy this morning.

[Erik Johnson]

Mt. Olympus Part 1.

 

We have never had the chance to visit the waterpark section before. The brand new wave pool was amazing. The 9 foot waves even knocked you over in the shallow end of the pool. Also the "family" raft rides were extreme/insane.

Here is the new Ducks upcharge attraction at Mt. O.

I was able to try out some of the other tracks on this visit.

Will decided to ride the Dive to Atlantis ride.

Are you ready for the experience?

The most extreme amount of airtime I have experienced is on this drop.

I wonder which car I should choose?

Ready to race?

The best go-kart track in the park.

Ready to ride Hades?

Cyclops will have to wait until later in the day.

The two most insane family raft ride slides I have ever been on.

Leanne was happy to be able to ride Hades again.

It was time for us to start our ERT session on Hades and Zeus.

Good morning, Mt. O!

Due to extreme weather, our ERT was called off for the night.

People earning the Opa! credit.

Mt O. has the most insane water park I have ever been to.

We made it to Mount Olympus.

[Erik Johnson]

Riverview Park and Waterworld and Timber Falls.

Do not hit the ball over the coaster.

Timber Falls is a nice place to visit.

We had extra time so we went to play mini-golf.

These little trains just haul around the track.

It is still my favorite coaster in the Dells area.

Ummm...actually the entire staff was amazing in that they got the coaster running for us.

I think everyone loved it.

This coaster is still really insane.

You have to cover your ears when the train flys by.

Even though it got struck by lightning the night before, they got it running for us.

Over to Timber Falls to go ride Avalanche.

Nobody ever came close to the spinning speed that Robb achieved a couple of years ago.

We did survive it though.

This ride was really painful. Especially when it went backwards.

I always enjoy riding a Galaxi coaster.

It is because I just earn my 200th credit on "Mouse Coaster".

Why do I look extra happy while riding this ride?

Next was the Wacky Worm/Mouse credit.

Dragon Wagons are lots of fun!

New credits are always a good thing.

The home of three more credits.

[Shockwave]

Awesome photos Erik! You're gonna finish your report way before mine!

[Erik Johnson]

Mt. O Part 2:

 

Back on over to Mt Olympus!

Well, that is it for Mt O. I am glad that we were able to spend more time there this visit.

How many coasters do you see?

The robocoaster was broken during this visit.

Let us get some food.

Still a classic coaster moment.

More rides on Cyclops are in order.

I am glad I earned this credit last year.