Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread

[rcjp]

though slightly muffled so it wouldn't bust out the little-ones' ear drums.

See? I do mean not a single grain! I want the classic old school roar! It's actually funny how, given that the oldest rides seem to be the loudest, I involuntarily make a connection between a forceful B&M and a loud one (the batmans, raptor, kumba,...)

[GeorgeT]

I think I haven`t seen a thread here at TPR before where people who posted their opinion and were not "blown away" got so horribly intolerant responses.

[KBrylczyk]

I think I haven`t seen a thread here at TPR before where people who posted their opinion and were not "blown away" got so horribly intolerant responses.

 

It's a silly thing, isn't it? All I said was that wing coasters in general, not just this one, seem to be missing the opportunity to really shine the way they could. I also expressed how the layout of this ride seems to lend itself better to a flying coaster (not that I would have preferred one) due to the oversized elements and swooping turns. I got jumped on for practically being the antichrist. Excuuuuuuuse me for having a general statement at a time where it seemed most relevant.

[KBrylczyk]

I was watching the animated POV and noticed that when the in-line roll is finishing you hear that sound of the anti rollback dogs "falling" into their normal position, which other wing coasters do. However, I'm guessing this ride won't have them, right?.

 

You're aware that, you know, since the ride isn't built yet, the audio isn't real, either, yes?

[rcjp]

^Yeah, I know. Of course. I saying that even though they bothered to feature that sound, it probably won't be there in the real thing.

[Tmcdllr]

Since this is a first for B&M this coaster is also a test. A test for them to see how well the launch system works for this ride (or maybe their other) types, which means the next launcher from them could be much bigger. Maybe that's already happening. Maybe this particular ride was the perfect size/layout for HW and the 'next' one could be much more.

 

I'm really happy and excited for HW, this ride is absolutely perfect for them. But I'm even more excited to see what's down the pipe for B&M launched coasters..... could there be more?

[rcjp]

Since this is a first for B&M this coaster is also a test. A test for them to see how well the launch system works for this ride (or maybe their other) types, which means the next launcher from them could be much bigger. Maybe that's already happening. Maybe this particular ride was the perfect size/layout for HW and the 'next' one could be much more.

Aren't LSMs sort of limited to a certain speed? (at least for now, in terms of efficiency)

[Raven Maven]

Paula, Does Holiday World offer any law enforcement discounts?

 

Yes, we sure do: Police, Fire & EMS Discount As a special thank you to police, firefighters and EMS, we’re offering a discounted ticket price all season long. Simply show your official i.d. at the ticket booth and save $5 off the price of General Admission tickets (save $2 off Guests-under-54” and Senior tickets). If you arrive after 3pm CDT, the savings are $11 for General Admission and $7 for Guests-under-54″/Seniors (60+). This discount applies to up to four tickets per visit.

[Rickrollercoaster]

Is the Launch mechanism being built by B&M?

[rcjp]

^From what I've been reading, yes. Hence this being the first "true" B&M launched coaster.

[Rickrollercoaster]

Awesome.

[Tmcdllr]

Since this is a first for B&M this coaster is also a test. A test for them to see how well the launch system works for this ride (or maybe their other) types, which means the next launcher from them could be much bigger. Maybe that's already happening. Maybe this particular ride was the perfect size/layout for HW and the 'next' one could be much more.

Aren't LSMs sort of limited to a certain speed? (at least for now, in terms of efficiency)

 

If that's true maybe because these trains are so huge that's why they are only 5 cars.

[alpengeist04]

I think I haven`t seen a thread here at TPR before where people who posted their opinion and were not "blown away" got so horribly intolerant responses.

 

Sad, isn't it?

 

While I'll be the first to say I'm not a big fan of Wing coasters, I do however like that it's a launched coaster with some nice interaction with the Voyage and the terrain.

[larrygator]

To answer all of the theme questions this is what Holiday World says...

LEGEND: In 1620, as the Mayflower neared the end of its 66 days at sea, a mighty storm nearly capsized the ship, taking it hundreds of miles off course. As passengers and crew feared all was lost, an immense bird appeared in the sky. The thunderbird, whose wings created the thunder and eyes flashed the lightning of the powerful storm, rescued the ship by launching it through the sky to the New World.

I think the main question was how the modern day farm themeing played into the story.

 

 

I think the issue is no one has ever heard of this legend before. I'm a pretty big history buff and never heard mentions of the Thunderbird tribes of the northeastern parts of the US. How would a pilgrim even know what a Thunderbird was if it was isolated in Northwest US/Britich Columbia area indian folklore.

 

Over thinking this just a bit?

 

Not at all. The park prides itself in being the first theme park and even bragged about last night. Then they announce a the name for their biggest coaster and it is complete stretch for the Thanksgiving area.

 

I'm excited to see if the ride delivers but think the name makes no sense.

Edited July 25, 2014 by larrygator

[Raven Maven]

About the legend? You know we made it up, right? (Although researching history is always a good thing, so don't stop looking on my account.) I enjoyed the heck out of researching the Pilgrims' experience on board Mayflower. It was harrowing and Thanksgiving will never, ever mean the same to me.

 

The challenge of the Thanksgiving holiday is that architecture of the time is just not pretty, interesting, or exciting. So we didn't stay in 1620.

 

If you remember back on May 15, we hosted a free day for coaster enthusiasts. During our Voyage walkback, a little boy noticed an old wooden box poking out of the dirt near an access road. We dug it out, opened it, and found an old diary.

 

That diary was the journal kept by our 66 Days at Sea mother back in 1620. It was preserved for generations by her descendants, one of whom eventually settled in southern Indiana, circa 1820. The farmer reaped the rewards of bountiful crops some seasons but also suffered the results of extreme weather, including lightning strikes to his barn and outbuildings and strong winds knocking over corn, wheat and other grain crops, rendering them nothing more than cattle feed.

 

This farmer knew well his family's stories of a shadowy creature of the skies. Although skeptical at first, he sensed this moody creature was somehow connected with his ancestor's journal and in his old age buried it in the earth to protect future generations from the unbridled energy of this Thunderbird.

 

When we opened that wooden box on May 15, Thunderbird's powers were again unleashed.

 

Those photos posted on Day 65 and Day 66? They were taken by different staff members this summer.

 

Thunderbird is back.

[Tmcdllr]

To answer all of the theme questions this is what Holiday World says...

LEGEND: In 1620, as the Mayflower neared the end of its 66 days at sea, a mighty storm nearly capsized the ship, taking it hundreds of miles off course. As passengers and crew feared all was lost, an immense bird appeared in the sky. The thunderbird, whose wings created the thunder and eyes flashed the lightning of the powerful storm, rescued the ship by launching it through the sky to the New World.

I think the main question was how the modern day farm themeing played into the story.

 

 

I think the issue is no one has ever heard of this legend before. I'm a pretty big history buff and never heard mentions of the Thunderbird tribes of the northeastern parts of the US. How would a pilgrim even know what a Thunderbird was if it was isolated in Northwest US/Britich Columbia area indian folklore.

 

Over thinking this just a bit?

 

Not at all. The park prides itself in being the first theme park and even bragged about last night. Then they announce a the name for their biggest coaster and it is complete stretch for the Thanksgiving area.

 

I'm excited to see if the ride delivers but think the name makes no sense.

 

I think I see your point. I keep forgetting this is HOLIDAY World and that the areas are themed to that, I've never been to this park so it's easy to forget that.

 

Thunderbird.... Thanksgiving...... hmmm.... that's very interesting. But, since this is probably made up it could be anything they wanted it to. I mean, the story fits the area doesn't it?

[Tmcdllr]

About the legend? You know we made it up, right? (Although researching history is always a good thing, so don't stop looking on my account.) I enjoyed the heck out of researching the Pilgrims' experience on board Mayflower. It was harrowing and Thanksgiving will never, ever mean the same to me.

 

The challenge of the Thanksgiving holiday is that architecture of the time is just not pretty, interesting, or exciting. So we didn't stay in 1620.

 

If you remember back on May 15, we hosted a free day for coaster enthusiasts. During our Voyage walkback, a little boy noticed an old wooden box poking out of the dirt near an access road. We dug it out, opened it, and found an old diary.

 

That diary was the journal kept by our 66 Days at Sea mother back in 1620. It was preserved for generations by her descendants, one of whom eventually settled in southern Indiana, circa 1820. The farmer reaped the rewards of bountiful crops some seasons but also suffered the results of extreme weather, including lightning strikes to his barn and outbuildings and strong winds knocking over corn, wheat and other grain crops, rendering them nothing more than cattle feed.

 

This farmer knew well his family's stories of a shadowy creature of the skies. Although skeptical at first, he sensed this moody creature was somehow connected with his ancestor's journal and in his old age buried it in the earth to protect future generations from the unbridled energy of this Thunderbird.

 

When we opened that wooden box on May 15, Thunderbird's powers were again unleashed.

 

Those photos posted on Day 65 and Day 66? They were taken by different staff members this summer.

 

Thunderbird is back.

 

Ah ha, that's it!

 

That's a cool story.

 

Makes sense to me.

[Rickrollercoaster]

That's some awesome backstory!

[Tmcdllr]

So you guys staged a diary tied to this ride to be found by someone during the walkback?

 

OMG THAT is SO COOL!!!!!

[HolidayWorldFTW]

About the legend? You know we made it up, right? (Although researching history is always a good thing, so don't stop looking on my account.) I enjoyed the heck out of researching the Pilgrims' experience on board Mayflower. It was harrowing and Thanksgiving will never, ever mean the same to me.

 

The challenge of the Thanksgiving holiday is that architecture of the time is just not pretty, interesting, or exciting. So we didn't stay in 1620.

 

If you remember back on May 15, we hosted a free day for coaster enthusiasts. During our Voyage walkback, a little boy noticed an old wooden box poking out of the dirt near an access road. We dug it out, opened it, and found an old diary.

 

That diary was the journal kept by our 66 Days at Sea mother back in 1620. It was preserved for generations by her descendants, one of whom eventually settled in southern Indiana, circa 1820. The farmer reaped the rewards of bountiful crops some seasons but also suffered the results of extreme weather, including lightning strikes to his barn and outbuildings and strong winds knocking over corn, wheat and other grain crops, rendering them nothing more than cattle feed.

 

This farmer knew well his family's stories of a shadowy creature of the skies. Although skeptical at first, he sensed this moody creature was somehow connected with his ancestor's journal and in his old age buried it in the earth to protect future generations from the unbridled energy of this Thunderbird.

 

When we opened that wooden box on May 15, Thunderbird's powers were again unleashed.

 

Those photos posted on Day 65 and Day 66? They were taken by different staff members this summer.

 

Thunderbird is back.

 

This is quite an epic story! I love it because it kind puts some tall tales into the park. VERY VERY thought out. I'm kinda amazed a theme park, any theme park, put this much thought into a single ride... just blows my mind away.

[Raven Maven]

Some of you sure seem to take the wind out of the sails for an active contributor to this site (Raven Maven). Such a turn off to see all the negativity after an announcement.

 

Thank you for your kind words. Here's a good life-lesson from Captain Jones of the Mayflower. When the winds blew furiously, he would reef the sails. That would keep the harshness of the storm from capsizing the ship.

 

On another topic ... I wanted to share that last night as the animation played and Thunderbird's orange track appeared for the first time, the 1,000+ in attendance let out a giant roar. "That's it!" I shouted to whoever would listen. "It's the 'B&M roar' I've read about - that was the B&M roar!" Okay, so no one knew what I was so excited about - they knew I'd had very little sleep and just sort of nodded and half smiled, then turned away.

 

Look what you've done to me, TPR!

[Rickrollercoaster]

I sat at the very front on the ground right in front of the trash can, and when I saw the Thunderbird fly past and the orange track followed behind, it sent me into, complete, utter, shock and awe. Thank you for putting together such an amazing promotional and announcement Paula and the rest of the Holiday World team. That will be a night I will never forget.

[neil009]

^It would have been a much more appropriate name.

 

Ironic, considering not many TPR members have even ridden Sky Scrapper, and most of the hype is based purely off the POV, which is exactly the same kind of determination I'm making.

 

You piss poor attitude is turning into ignorance. SkyScrapper finished in the Top20 of Mitch's Steel Poll last year for a reason. I do not recall one person on the 2012 TPR China Trip complaining about it; I seem to recall most people raving about it. I don't understand why you think the hype is based solely on POV when 50 members of TPR rode the coaster. The ride was very forceful (or at least it was when we rode it) and enjoyable.

 

You misunderstood me. My point wasn't that Sky Scrapper isn't a good ride, my point is that many of the people who are excited for it are excited not because they've ridden it, but because they've seen the POV, and it's very obvious just from the POV that it's an excellent ride. It maintains a good sense of speed, is paced well all the way to the end,

and does things that are unique and different. A "top tier" ride, for those wondering what I meant by that. This is what B&M are capable of, this is what they could do (or at least try to do) every time they sit down to design a ride.

 

And it seems obvious to me from this POV that for some mysterious, frustrating reason, they once again opted for a phoned-in blah layout, and this is Holiday World, and that really stings.

 

Oh, and re: Oceanus, that's exactly what I thought the first time it was mentioned.

[aCoasterStory]

About the legend? You know we made it up, right? (Although researching history is always a good thing, so don't stop looking on my account.) I enjoyed the heck out of researching the Pilgrims' experience on board Mayflower. It was harrowing and Thanksgiving will never, ever mean the same to me.

 

The challenge of the Thanksgiving holiday is that architecture of the time is just not pretty, interesting, or exciting. So we didn't stay in 1620.

 

If you remember back on May 15, we hosted a free day for coaster enthusiasts. During our Voyage walkback, a little boy noticed an old wooden box poking out of the dirt near an access road. We dug it out, opened it, and found an old diary.

 

That diary was the journal kept by our 66 Days at Sea mother back in 1620. It was preserved for generations by her descendants, one of whom eventually settled in southern Indiana, circa 1820. The farmer reaped the rewards of bountiful crops some seasons but also suffered the results of extreme weather, including lightning strikes to his barn and outbuildings and strong winds knocking over corn, wheat and other grain crops, rendering them nothing more than cattle feed.

 

This farmer knew well his family's stories of a shadowy creature of the skies. Although skeptical at first, he sensed this moody creature was somehow connected with his ancestor's journal and in his old age buried it in the earth to protect future generations from the unbridled energy of this Thunderbird.

 

When we opened that wooden box on May 15, Thunderbird's powers were again unleashed.

 

Those photos posted on Day 65 and Day 66? They were taken by different staff members this summer.

 

Thunderbird is back.

 

That's brilliant and so perfectly ties in the 66 Days at Sea with the actual ride theming. I was beginning to wonder, but this answers all my theming-related questions.

 

I had Holiday World on my list of parks I wanted to revisit at some point in the future, and now I'm *definitely* going to find a way to make that trip from Atlanta next year.

I visited in 2012, and while I loved the waterpark & really enjoyed Raven and Legend, Voyage beat me up a good bit. I'm excited to ride Thunderbird (and hoping Voyage is playing a little nicer) next year when I return.

[kyleparks77]

Soooo much makes sense now that the diary and story have been tied together. The theme went from "wait, what? okay I guess..." to "that's so epic!"