Golfie Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 I had the chance to go to Evansville, IN this week, so I thought, "Hey, why don't we stop at Holiday World as well?" We did, and we had an awesome time! I have to say that this was definitely the best park I've ever been to in terms of cleanliness, friendliness, and aesthetics. The whole park is set on a kind of a hill side with beautiful mature trees covering the pathways of the entire park. It's split up into four sections - Christmas, Halloween, Fourth of July, and the newest one, Thanksgiving. Each section has rides themed around it which really makes the sections work! Holiday World has three wooden coasters - The Raven, The Legend, and Voyage. All three are some pretty crazy coasters with high-speed turns and hills throughout the wooded parts of the area. Here's what I have to say about each one... The Raven I was definitely excited to ride this one - it looked like a classic. The entire nature of the 13-year-old woodie was extremely mysterious because the majority of the ride was hidden behind the trees. The station was nice... pretty low clearance at first for those past the 6' mark, though! The top of the lift turns right over the park entrance and dips just below the parking lot's altitude. Another hill and a quick jerk to the right lead into some crazy turns over water and back into the station. A quick, yet fun little devil! I have to say that this was a great coaster. It had a ton of surprise elements hidden everywhere, but the lateral forces were too much for my liking. I'm not saying the ride was bad - it was great, but only moderately re-rideable. The Legend This coaster is intimidating when you first look up at it! The massive wooden structure peering down at you increases the ride's appearance, making that first swooping drop look even taller and steeper than it actually is. At the top of the hill, the sound of a wolf howling gives you a bit of a "WTF?" moment, but that's wiped away as the train jumps over the edge and flies to the left into a tunnel. The coaster knots around some of the water park, heads back, and rushes into the double helix while going into some dark, LOUD tunnels! It takes a few more turns back and forth, and leads back into the brakes. Just like the Raven, Legend was extremely fun! It was out of control, but not too much. The coaster was much longer than Raven, but still, the lateral G's were more than I enjoy. Great coaster, though! Voyage Holy crap. I was so excited to go on this ride! The hybrid structure looks amazing, and the majority of the ride isn't even visible until you're about to rip through the track! The station was really nice, and we walked right onto the train. The cars take a steep dip into the lift hill and travel up and up to a flag-ornamented summit (the flags are distracting on a windy day... everyone was trying to grab them - it was fun). Then, the train storms down the first hill and evens out into another hill with some nice intense force. After a few more hills, the train heads into a nice, cool tunnel and rushes back out into the forest. There, the train speeds through intense banked turns (and of course, goes NINETY DEGREES!!!) and heads back into the tunnel. Here comes the best part. The train drops about 10 feet. Okay, it probably won't drop any further. Then it takes a quick turn and drops again. We're definitely heading back out now. Nope, the Voyage has a different plan. The train drops again... I don't even know how much, but for first-timers on the ride, it's an amazing drop! The train jumps back up above terra-firma into some brakes. You'd think they would kill the whole ride, but the train speeds back up into some more hills, more ninety degree turns, and out of control, brain smashing craziness. Voyage was certainly amazing, especially for someone who is only used to traditional woodies. However, the ride is so intense that it's not very re-rideable. I had to wait about 3 hours before I felt like my head was finished pounding from all the violent shaking the coaster gave me. Once again, don't let this deter you from riding - the coaster is AMAZING! It's just not the one you could do a marathon on for a whole day... let alone twice in a row. Honestly, a lot of parks could learn from the way things are run at Holiday World. The staff is extremely friendly, the food is amazing, and there are free drinks all day (which comes in handy when dehydration is so easy when it's 95 degrees out all day). I had an enjoyable time going to the park and wouldn't mind going back at all. Onto my photos! Please comment - I LOVE feedback! P.S. I'll probably upload a zipped file of some hi-res photos of my favorite snapshots. I just have to do some work on them, and then they'll be ready. Wait, first we have to get some free drinks and go on this antique contraption! That was fun... onto level 2! A little glimpse of what is to come from the station! Waiting to load. Crime rate is up in these here parts! Here's the Edgar Allen Poe-style creepy station with the 6' 5" ceiling. Legend, are you hiding in the bushes again? Here it is! (Sorry about blurry photos) Heading into Halloweenland for some coaster riding! Nice fountain in the middle of Christmasland. Heading into the park - the ticket sellers are very nice. The Raven greets you with a little bit of bragging. Wait... no. Indiana is 7 more hours away. Settle down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfie Posted June 15, 2008 Author Share Posted June 15, 2008 Mas fotos! A view of just a little bit of the water park. More photos in a few minutes! Note the guy's expression in the front row. I vote for the "Passed Out" option. Soaring into the tunnels Grab those flags! I can't resist. More Voyage pictures. Here's a view of what the Thanksgiving area has to offer. Not much, but everything is nice and brand new. Time for some food at the Plymouth Rock cafe! Definitely go here if you're in the mood for tasty comfort food. Nope. 200? I can't remember. Too ashamed. I think we need to ride this one again. Let's see if I can beat my score of 1200. Voyage, Dark Knight, special effects. And into THE best dark ride ever! Well, maybe not - but it was still really fun! Onto the Turkeywhirl... one of the best flats in the world! This ride has more fishnets than late-night... pay per view... Arby's... commercials. Make that twice. In my pocket. An idea of how intense the ride was. It opened my camera, changed its settings and took a picture. Like Dark Knight, Voyage also has a special effects system which blurs your vision! Generic, yet awesome station! At this point, riders have no idea where they are or that 20% of their brain cells were either lost or damaged. For those lying awake at night needing to see Voyage's train on the lift hill, here you go. You're welcome. Voyage time!!! Here's the river rapids ride. Also very fun! Phew! It's hot. Time for some log riding! Empty station! Loading... please wait. Kiss it. Well, maybe not. It's old and faded. Signage Here we go. The bell rings, and the train disappears into the forest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfie Posted June 15, 2008 Author Share Posted June 15, 2008 Final round of photos. That's it... here's one last picture of Raven to bid you goodbye. Do it! Do it! 70-foot high dive! Possibility of death! Entertainment! We caught the diving show right on time! I love this turn. I had to come back... it was calling my name! Gotta get some more free drinks! You cannot miss this ride... just think lovechild of Bouncy-Bouncy and Tilt-a-Whirl. The good 'ol carousel. What is going on here?!?? "Man, what a swell boy I am!" Oh yeah... there's a statue in the corner... over there. Isn't the wolf's expression extremely disturbing? It's a similie to real life. Abusive husbands lock their wives in closets and such. This poor guy was so desperate to keep his wife. Onto the old train ride. These mother goose sculptures are really creepy! My first time on these - I love 'em! Testing of the roundup ride... since no one wants to ride it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ETapley0687 Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Great TR! This is right on time! I'm going to Holiday World for my first time Monday, did you get to go to the water park? We plan on enjoying both the water park and theme park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfie Posted June 15, 2008 Author Share Posted June 15, 2008 No, we didn't. Unfortunately, we didn't bring our swimsuits, and our hotel was an hour away. If it's going to be hot, definitely go. Since it was so hot on Thursday, we found that everyone went to the waterpark, and the lines were super short! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Immelman Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Indeed, Holiday World is a fun park. I've gotta agree about the Voyage - its crazy intense and fun but the shaking was very brutal when I rode it. Nice tR though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRapidsNerd Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 This ride has more fishnets than late-night... pay per view... Arby's... commercials. Great caption! Great TR too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Der Der Dongt Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 Now I am really looking forward to visiting the park this August! Does Holiday World allow adults to ride Howler by themselves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfie Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 I'm not sure. We never got around to riding it, since I'm not that big of a coaster whore, but it wouldn't hurt to ask! I've seen adults riding with their kids, so I'd figure that if you can fit, they'll let you ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erik Johnson Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Now I am really looking forward to visiting the park this August!Does Holiday World allow adults to ride Howler by themselves? We had no problem riding it during the Midwest trip. Great TR as always Golfie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfie Posted June 16, 2008 Author Share Posted June 16, 2008 Thanks! It's always nice to hear that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBru Posted June 16, 2008 Share Posted June 16, 2008 Great TR and photos! Though I've never heard of anyone refer to The Raven as "only moderately re-rideable"... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ginzo Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Though I've never heard of anyone refer to The Raven as "only moderately re-rideable"... Yeah, that does seem out of character. Based on my experiences, I could sit on The Raven all day and never get bored or beaten up by the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Real Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 If riding bashes away 20% of my brain cells consider me braindead. Opening day of its first year I rode 26 times. Since then? Another 20 more? I take two aspirin to start the day and then another 2 mid way through. The headache I go to the hotel with (after the night rides) is what helps me sleep. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Though I've never heard of anyone refer to The Raven as "only moderately re-rideable"... Yeah, that does seem out of character. Based on my experiences, I could sit on The Raven all day and never get bored or beaten up by the ride. If there was no lines, me too. During HWN, I sat on Raven for an hour and half without even feeling uncomfortable. I think a 24 hour marathon on it would be fun and very competitive since it is very re ridable (you know you want to do it Paula). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golfie Posted June 17, 2008 Author Share Posted June 17, 2008 I guess I'm just sensitive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
downunder Posted June 17, 2008 Share Posted June 17, 2008 Nice TR, you spotted a few things I didn't even see at the park when I was there last August - like all those statues, I only got a shot of the guy with the pig. Raven was great IMO, short but very sweet. Voyage was a good ride but it delivers a hell of a pounding in the turns out the back. It is such a long coaster, it took us a while to get to the end on our walk back on the TPR tour. Legend I wasn't too fussed about. I really hope to get back to Santa Claus Indiana some time, and maybe while I'm in Indiana I can stop by a certain beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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