Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread

[ZeroGravity55]

Mammoth's new boats:

 

[djcoastermark]

Wow, those are some heavy duty boats.

[DILinator]

Also interesting about the updated satellite image on Holiday World... Legend isn't complete (because it still isn't), but you can get a good overhead view of the places it's being or been retracked. Pretty cool to see!

 

Now, for Cedar Point to get its long overdue satellite image update!

[cfc]

I came to prefer Legend to Voyage during my last few visits to Holiday World, mainly because the former didn't shake and rattle me half to death. In fact, I never thought Legend was as bad as some people claimed it was.

[SFOGdude25]

Hey my post is on the front page! Thanks TPR!

 

I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Holiday World carries out similar rehabs for Raven and Voyage if they're please with Legend's results. Rumor has it that Voyage MIGHT be next for 2017, but (obviously) take that with a grain of salt as that's just what I've seen be speculated around the interwebs.

[Jerry Fleming]

They've done a lot of work to Voyage over the past several years. Last year I thought it was running better than it has in a long time! Wish I could get there this year!

[Myself]

Now, for Cedar Point to get its long overdue satellite image update!

 

If you go to the "timeline" function of Google Earth, you can see 2015 there...wish they'd put it on the maps site though!

 

But yeah...it wouldn't surprise me to see regular aerial updates for Holiday World from here on out.

[rollin_n_coastin]

Start of season rides on Voyage are awesome, usually between now and the beginning of June. I also liked Legend, even though it is lateral heavy, I never found it to be that rough. Looking forward to trying it again after the refurb.

[PKI Jizzman]

Start of season rides on Voyage are awesome, usually between now and the beginning of June. I also liked Legend, even though it is lateral heavy, I never found it to be that rough. Looking forward to trying it again after the refurb.

 

I've only been to HW in May and June. Every visit, Voyage is running the same and it's one of my favorite coasters. I haven't had a rough ride on it at all. Yes, it's incredibly intense and an endurance test due to the long layout, but I've never experienced rough rides that I've seen reports in later in the season.

 

Legend looks great!

[ZeroGravity55]

This is just an assumption based on everything that's happened over the last two or three season.

 

I don't think Legend's problems have been how rough the track has gotten, but what the track and the banking of the track has done to the trains. As someone pointed out several pages ago, when those trains go through those flat turns, they're basically riding on the upstop wheels, because the lateral force is trying to rip them off the tracks. I imagine this has done a number on the trains over the last 14 years. If you remember, one of the trains disappeared two seasons ago and was said that it vallyed on the anti-rollback by Zinga. It showed back up last year after it was refurbished by PTC. To me, it looks like those turns will still have some laterals, but the main focus on the end of the ride is going to be speed, as all the turns on the finale have been lowered quite a bit.

[aaron88stang]

The Legend used to be absolutely flying as it hit the brakes. With that last turn being flat now, It has to be scrubbing off some speed before it or that is going to be really uncomfortable.

[neil009]

The Legend used to be absolutely flying as it hit the brakes. With that last turn being flat now, It has to be scrubbing off some speed before it or that is going to be really uncomfortable.

 

The last turn is more banked now, not less, like all three of the finale turns.

 

EDIT No wait I guess I'm wrong. Ok, if they put a brake run before the last turn, in essence eliminating an entire element from the ride, I'm going to be SERIOUSLY disappointed. Like, "what the hell"-level disappointed. Here's hoping that's somehow not the case.

Edited April 25, 2016 by neil009

[SFOGdude25]

^^I noticed that the brake run looked to have been extended so the trains have more room to stop safely, which is probably part of the reason the last turn is now flat. They would hit the brakes so hard that a train coupler would occasionally buckle. Obviously not an ideally safe situation for the ride.

 

I'm a big Legend fan myself. The first drop is my favorite out of the 3 woodies, and the airtime on the hill after the spiral drop is some of the best in the park. It's an awesome ride for sure, but yes those sharp-cornered turns had to be a major maintenance nightmare, so I welcome these changes to the layout. BTW I didn't mention this before, but the bottom of the first drop has a short flat section in it now, so it's no longer one continuous curve. Also the banking is a little steeper so there will be less laterals there. I never got a picture of it because it was hard to get a good shot with my phone's digital zoom. You can see it on the webcam though.

Also, my Voyage rides were, believe it or not, even better than last year. It was seriously running great, but as it's been said, that's expected early in the season.

[ZeroGravity55]

EDIT No wait I guess I'm wrong. Ok, if they put a brake run before the last turn, in essence eliminating an entire element from the ride, I'm going to be SERIOUSLY disappointed. Like, "what the hell"-level disappointed. Here's hoping that's somehow not the case.

 

They didn't put a break run before the last turn.

 

This is the final turn now.

 

 

Notice how it starts out lower and gradually flattens out. The old turn started out high, had a dip and then raised back up with a decent bank which made it have a fairly short break-run. Now that it flattens out, they're going to be able to have a longer break-run which will allow the train to come to a much easier stop than did before.

[neil009]

^The question is how could that turn not produce neck-snapping laterals now that it's completely flat? Is it higher than the old turn used to be?

[ZeroGravity55]

^ It isn't necessarily completely flat. It's banked a bit. It's actually lower than is used to be at the start of the turn. The break-run is the same height it's always been. It's basically an upward spiral into the break-run now. I think this a case of perception vs. reality. With all the flat turns and the short break-run, The Legend always seemed to being going a lot faster than it actually was at the end of the ride. At this point, all I can say is just trust the engineers. GCI doesn't screw this stuff up. Remember, their the B&M of wooden coaster designers.

[Swede]

They have done work on Voyage this year as well.

[samhimburg]

Legend is testing! Looks like they're still aiming for the Saturday opening, however they have a few tunnels to finish.

 

Legend Testing on Facebook

[pixelated85]

To me, it looks like those turns will still have some laterals, but the main focus on the end of the ride is going to be speed, as all the turns on the finale have been lowered quite a bit.

 

Be still, my heart

[kyleparks77]

Legend is testing! Looks like they're still aiming for the Saturday opening, however they have a few tunnels to finish.

 

Legend Testing on Facebook

Looks like it'll be ready for Saturday, according to HW Twitter:

[ZeroGravity55]

The crazy thing is that there was still at least 20 guys on the drop at 4:00 today working on the track.

 

You can tell by how it was braked that it's going to be a much smoother stop, unlike before when it just slammed into the brakes.

 

Anybody going to be at the park this weekend? I'll be going on the 23rd and have a full review then.

[pixelated85]

I've counted at least 4 HW billboards driving around downtown St Louis so far. Grabbing that StL market, I love it! Already getting calls from friends who've never heard of it but are ready to go. ::build it and they will come::

[SFOG1991]

^That's a 3 hour drive from St. Louis to Holiday World. I'm surprised but I hope it works for them. It is definitely a completely unique experience from Six Flags St. Louis.

[Raven Maven]

^ It helps that it's a straight shot east on I-64. We're hoping lots of St. Louis folks give us a look-see this season!

[SFOG1991]

^Thank you for the insight. I'm sure y'all know what you are doing! While it is 3 hours, it is very direct (I went to Six Flags St. Louis before HoliWood Nights last summer so I did the drive) so I agree on that point. I am excited to see Holiday World expanding into the St. Louis market. The distance may seem like a stretch but HW is the closest major park aside from their local Six Flags, and HW and Six Flags are night and day in terms of experience. I'm sure there are people in St. Louis that would love Holiday World as a weekend trip as well as people that would choose Holiday World over the local option in a quick second!