Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread

[kyleparks77]

^ seems like a strong possibility. To me, why else would they leave everything intact?

[prozach626]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. This will be our 3rd trip to HW and it will be our first trip at night, since we usually leave early to go to the German Restaurant. This time we're going to do that in the early evening and come back (after a couple brews ). So from the sounds of it the crowd thins out a little in the evening?

 

We plan on taking it easy at the park, period. However, I'd like to get in as many laps on TBird as possible. We'll only do one lap on Legend and Voyage. If I could opt to take a hard slap in the face before riding either of those coasters in order to make them more comfortable, I'd take that option all day long. Since my wife has a bruised rib, we may even skip them all together. I really don't even know why I like this park so much, since I'm not a big wooden coaster guy... I'm not a flat guy... I'm not a water park guy... I'm definitely not a show guy... and I'm only an occasional water ride guys... But for some reason we just really enjoy the hell out of this park. Now that the park finally has what I like the most, being fast giant steel, I'm pretty sure that will only make things better.

 

As per our previous visits, Saturday will be the dry side day. We'll get there around opening and try to hit everything before the lines get long. Sunday is our fun in the sun day where we get to the water park at opening before the crowds move in. That usually allows us to hit everything before just getting a few relaxing hours in the sun before our 3 hour early afternoon drive home. It seems like the park really thins out on Sunday as opposed to Saturday.

 

I'm looking forward to bringing in my 30th birthday weekend in the park.

 

45 minutes for Thunderbird, eh? Damn. Makes me not want to go.

 

You won't like Asian parks then, I've seen 45 minute waits for even the smallest of family rides and coasters on Saturdays.

 

Yep. That definitely wouldn't be worth it for me. We're spoiled fast lane/flash pass users. Say what you will, but it's important to us to not wait in line. Without that option we'd visit a lot less parks.

[michaellynn4]

Yep. That definitely wouldn't be worth it for me. We're spoiled fast lane/flash pass users. Say what you will, but it's important to us to not wait in line. Without that option we'd visit a lot less parks.

 

Completely agree. I never get the arguments people have against purchasing FL/FP (unless a park is ABSOLUTELY dead). All it takes is proper budgeting.

[Koasterking48]

I was about to post this is as a reply to the SFSTL thread, but it's more on topic here:

It used to be tolerable on weekends, but I think there's no way it can be called a 'small family park' anymore after the massive crowds I saw this weekend boarding world class attractions. The park is a little too big for its britches at the moment.

Holiday World had outgrown their small family park status years ago back when the Voyage was announced. Sure the crowds are bigger now, but Holiday World has not been "small" really, although this is large in part due to the water park. Thunderbird may being drawing in a larger number of guests than last year, but it's been long time since a Saturday or Sunday in the summer were never been busy for this park.

 

And, I only see it as a positive thing that numbers are getting bigger each year with more people visiting, meaning better attractions in the future!

[ZeroGravity55]

^ Yeah there is reason why all of us always warn against visiting on a Saturday or Sunday, although I understand Prozach couldn't avoid visiting on those two days.

 

The park definitely knew they were going to be busier this year, but perhaps they're busier than they ever anticipated (which would be great!)? They took precautions like extending their operating schedule and hours, and I'm sure they hired more seasonal staff this spring than they ever have. Even with that, they felt like they needed to hire 100 additional employees to get through the summer. As Koasterking said, this is only good news, as it means that the park is only going to keep expanding and adding better attractions!

 

I kind of like reading all the feedback HW gets back on social media and one of the things I've noticed is a lot of people leaving feedback are visiting the park for the first time. For the most part, they've all said that they're planning return visits as well. This basically is what the park was hoping for when they built Thunderbird. Use the coaster to bring in new visitors and then use the charm and value to bring them back.

[christianscoasters]

I visited the park today and while I want to return, it will NOT be on a weekend!!! Went straight to voyage at park opening and waited 45 minutes. Went to thunderbird next and waited about an hour. The legend was at 30 minutes. Went to splashin Safari around 4 pm and waited an hour for mammoth, 30 for wildebeest, 30 for zoombabwe, 15 for zinga.

 

Voyage was breaking down a lot and had a significant downtime in the evening and reopened with one train..... That line was ridiculous. Around 8:00, thunderbird still had almost an hour line.

 

I cant say I didn't have fun, but the crowds definitely put a damper on the day, especially since the lines just didn't get shorter at all.

[ragerunner2]

I visited the park today and while I want to return, it will NOT be on a weekend!!! Went straight to voyage at park opening and waited 45 minutes. Went to thunderbird next and waited about an hour. The legend was at 30 minutes. Went to splashin Safari around 4 pm and waited an hour for mammoth, 30 for wildebeest, 30 for zoombabwe, 15 for zinga.

 

Voyage was breaking down a lot and had a significant downtime in the evening and reopened with one train..... That line was ridiculous. Around 8:00, thunderbird still had almost an hour line.

 

I cant say I didn't have fun, but the crowds definitely put a damper on the day, especially since the lines just didn't get shorter at all.

 

Sounds like Thunderbird is really bring people into the park. This will allow them to add even more great rides in the future. Congrats Holiday World.

[Koasterking48]

Voyage was breaking down a lot and had a significant downtime in the evening and reopened with one train.

The Voyage has been experiencing an unusually large amount of downtime this season compared to years prior. No idea what's going there.

[christianscoasters]

Side note. I loved the sales in a few shops. I got 3 great shirts for $15 and a hoodie for $13.

[prozach626]

I guess I'll post a short trip report of the park.

 

My last trip was in the Summer of 2011. We thought we could do this park in a weekend, because on our last couple of visits it was completely tolerable. I remember waiting at most a half hour for the Voyage on a Saturday and Sundays the crowds were really tolerable. I wanted to take a break from KI since I've already been once this summer so I decided my wife and I would go to HW on the weekend of my 30th birthday. I assumed crowds would be a little more than our past visits, since the introduction of Thunderbird, but still tolerable. I couldn't have been more wrong.

 

We got to the park right around 10am and the Legend lot was already filling FAST. When we hit the front gates there was a wall of people. After we bought our tickets (thanks for the police discount) and made entry I think it was right around 1030, which was Really not bad considering all of the people in the entry area. I was a little excited about Thunderbird, since I'd been following it since the speculation even prior to 66 days at sea. While approaching the coaster I was really impressed by how great it looked. Looking at this coaster is exactly why I view this hobby as being art you can ride. From the the colors, the way the track swooped through the new area and trees, to the sound and the not quite 'over the top' theme, I could tell Holiday World nailed it before I even had my first ride. And then... I saw the line spanning about 100 feet out of the queue, which would tell the tale for the entire weekend.

 

About 45 minutes later our restraints were fastened and we buckled in. Not too bad, since all of the switch backs weren't opened up. We sat in the back left first. The effects waiting for the launch were pretty cool and again, not too over the top. I'm not a big themeing nerd, so a little goes a long way with me. Lightning... fog... thunder.. and we're off.. HOLY SH**!! My last launched coaster was Xcellerator about three years ago, so this thing took me completely by surprise. The launch was forceful and it definitely gave me an uncontrollable tickle for my first few rides. The rest of the ride was definitely no X-Flight/Wild Eagle B&M like I was expecting. The forces weren't overwhelming, but they were definitely there. My not-so-enthusiast wife even grayed out on some of her rides. The loop and over banks gave you a nice moderate push in your seat, while the Zero G roll and the airtime/twisty hill had a nice snap to them. The helix also had decent positive G's and the slow barrel roll at the end did nothing for me, as slow hang time is just not my thing. (zzzzzz) When it was all said and done and the coaster hit the break run I was definitely taken by surprise. Not really being much of a fan of HW's other coasters, although Raven is fun, this was an easy favorite for me at the park. I don't think riding a lot of coasters makes anyone an authority, so I don't rank coasters or score them... My best judgement is that this is not my favorite coaster by any means, but it's one that I would like to ride over and over again. Unfortunately... that wouldn't be the case.

 

When we got off the ride the rest of the switch backs were opened up and the line was at the entrance. We waiting for about an hour and got on again. The obnoxious batch of young thuggish kids behind us made the wait about as miserable as it gets. The rest of the park was just as crowded when we got off. By this time it was lunch time, so we ate our packed lunch in the parking lot, which was about as relaxing as the park got. We went back in the park again and walked around, dodging people left and right. We did Gobbler Getaway once, after about a 30-40 minute wait, which is one of my favorite shooters. We mostly just walked around for a while, not wanting to be sandwhiched behind obnoxious teenagers or young thugs in line. After that, my wife decided on Liberty Launch. This ride does very little for me, but any time she makes any kind of park/ride decision I instantly go for it, since I know this really isn't her thing. Little did I know this would be our most eventful part of the trip.

 

***Long winded story about incident in line, but relevant to our experience. Skip to end of you want***

As we waited in line there were two little girls in front of us. When the line got to where it's laned for the different cars, the girls crossed under the rails for the single ride line and waited there. I knew there would be a problem... During the next boarding the ride operator politely told the girls that they had entered the single rider line and they could still ride, but not together. At that point the nearby parents, who I'll only describe as thuggish, became agitated and started arguing with the ride op. Eventually the ride op told the girls they would have to go back to the normal line IF they wanted to ride together. Props for holding her ground in a polite way. Well, the girls entered back into the normal line (I didn't pay attention if they went all the way around or if they 'likely' just ducked under the rails again). At that point they got in front of an older couple who informed them, while not being rude at all, that they couldn't just cut them in line. The girls got upset and here came the parents... The parents of the girls, who clearly outsized the older couple, started yelling and cursing at the older couple while maintaining aggressive postures. The older couple politely tried to stand up for theirselves by saying they were just telling their daughters not to cut and the yelling increased from the mother. "Look ma'am, we were only trying to..." "Don't you MF call me ma'am! You don't talk to my MF child. I'll beat your MF ***." The older male tried to interject and stand up for his wife as they both insisted they weren't trying to cause any problems. At that point the male parent joined in yelling threats and cursing loudly literally stating, "We'll wait for them at the exit and get 'em." This went on for a good minute or two, which was clearly loud yelling and cursing where the ride operator should have called security immediately. Instead, the older couple, who were the complete victims in the situation, had to yell to the ride op to call security.

 

Eventually a combination of 4-5 security staff and a few supervisors showed up and I could hear the thuggish parent instigators selling their story that they hadn't done anything wrong. I couldn't in good conscious not say anything, so I flagged one of the older security guys down and told him I was an off duty police officer and I'd witnessed the whole incident, being an independent witness (key phrase...). After it was all said and done I filled out a witness statement... great... pretty much doing a police report on my day off... haha. The ordeal took about 30 minutes of my time but it was well worth it. We sat and watched from a distance as there was much debate and discussion. However, after about 10-20 more minutes, the problem party was escorted out of the park. (I'm not a nosy person and I see enough of this garbage on the job, but by sticking around I wanted to be sure the problem party left, instead of having to walk around looking over my shoulder for the remainder of the trip.)

 

I was a little indifferent about how my interaction with the security staff. One guy was clearly friendly and went above and beyond. He talked to my wife and I while I filled out the witness statement and he said his dad was a police officer. He thanked me for my time and said he appreciated me sticking around. Some of the other staff members, mostly some of the security guys, almost seemed annoyed that I stuck around. Without going into great detail, I'll just say that recognize a condescending attitude when I see one... I tried to be persuasive that something should be done, without being insistent, especially since I stood by and watched these two parents blatantly threaten the older couple. I work in a high crime neighborhood where I make arrests for guns, dope, violence, and gang relations on a regular basis, but that the type of behavior I see at work is NOT what I want to see while trying to relax and enjoy myself. This is criminal, no matter how you look at it. It's not necessarily what I want to deal with on my day off. I could go into a lot more detail about it, but I'll say that the young man I first made contact with was definitely the most receptive, to the point where I wish I would have gotten his name to pay him a compliment at guest relations.

 

(@Paula: He was a thin built younger guy with really dark short kind of buzzed hair. He was the one who handed me the witness statement. My compliments to that guy. If he's making the decision (mistake!) of going into Law Enforcement, he'll likely be good at it.)

 

***END incident story...***

 

So aside from the two things that stood out, being Thunderbird... and the not so fun witnessed disorderly conduct/assault issue... We took an early evening break and went to the German restaurant in Jasper. We enjoyed a good meal and a couple good German beers and made our way back to the park. We got a couple more laps on Thunderbird, including a night ride, which was great! I also headed to Voyage. Although I don't usually like this ride I wanted to find out what it was like at night. My wife skipped out on it, being beaten up by it several times in the past. The ride was... hmmm... the definition of out of control... It was a lot of fun... for one ride. One and done for me, but well worth it.

 

Day 2, Sunday, was mostly at the water park. After seeing the huge crowd we almost packed up and left before we even purchased a locker. However, we stuck it out and headed a Mammoth. After about a forty minute wait we boarded our raft. I know people love this ride, but no thanks. I felt like I was being water boarded. At final splash down I referred to it as hypothermia the ride. I'll take Wildebeest any day before this one. Aside from that, we took some time relaxing in the sun and we hit a couple low line slides near Thunderbird. We were going to go and lounge on the lazy ride, but I think it had more people than water. We did the racer once before drying off and swimming through a wave of people back toward the dry park. We hopped on Thunderbird to get out front row ride in and called it a day.

 

Overall we considered this trip a bust. However, this was our fault for choosing to go on a weekend, which we'd gotten away with before. The park was FULL of people and a lot of them were really thuggish... which we hadn't seen on our previous trips. People were yelling and rapping, throwing trash on the ground, and clogging up already congested pathways. Where the hell do these people come from??? Maybe it's time to raise admission??

 

It was nice to see the park doing well, but for usual (spoiled) fast pass users, we didn't really have a great time. It seemed like kind of an awkward fit at times with the park trying to retain that small time feel in areas, which were absolutely saturated with patrons. I don't really know how to explain it other than saying it was almost like the park was a little too big for its britches, if you will. This definitely was not the Holiday World that we'd experienced a few years ago. The staff was friendlier than most, but they didn't stand out like they had in the past. My wife and I thought it was probably because they were a little overwhelmed by the amount of people, but we were still rubbed a little wrong by our experience with some of the security staff. I'm not an overly sensitive guy by any means, and I certainly don't think I should have been entitled to any kind of handout, but I just think a little more of a simple thank you would have been in order, as opposed to feeling mostly like an inconvenience. Instead, I found myself being the one thanking the staff... maybe expecting a little, "Hey you too!" in return?

 

The park was really well put together. Again, I'm not trying to portray myself as any kind of park authority, nor should any in denial enthusiast. But... there were a few things that could have made the park better. Maybe some music in the Thunderbird Queue for the long wait? Or to add to that, how about just most music throughout the park? Maybe I just couldn't hear a lot of it over the roar of people?? I did hear it in the water park, which was nice. Aside from that, some of the older areas of the park, Christmas, 4th of July, Halloween, seem kind of out dated. Maybe it's supposed to be part of the charm? I suppose it fits well in the Halloween area, but not so well elsewhere.

 

Our final tally over two days ended up being 5 rides on Thunderbird, 1 ride on Raven, 1 ride on Voyage, 1 Gobbler Getaway, and 1 regrettable ride on Liberty launch. On the water side we rode Mammoth and a few slides. Our final conclusion was that if we had known better we would have most definitely saved our money for a one day week day trip as opposed to a two day weekend trip. If not that, we would have rather gone to a larger park with a fast pass option. Not all experiences can be great experiences, but they're better than not experiencing at all. For that, we're thankful.

 

Cliffs: Awesome park. Don't go on a weekend. (we should all know this by now, anyway)

 

Here are a few really bad pictures for your.. enjoyment?

 

 

From the highway.

 

I think it's really cool how the park is in the middle of nowhere.

 

You're on your way to a fishing trip, completely unfamiliar with the area. Then all of a sudden.. wtf is that?

 

Duh! It's freaking Holiday World!

 

Thunderbird looks and rides great!

 

A little dinner after a nice drive through the country to avoid the entire Midwest population a the park:

 

G'bye park! To better days! (being likely any week day)

[Koasterking48]

^ Great report. It sucks that the only days you could visit were on a weekend. As a season pass holder, I avoid Saturday's like the plague but I'll go on occasion for other people. I agree that Fast Passes are a nice luxury to have at bigger corporate parks, but I don't see it happening anytime soon at Holiday World (although you can play a plinko game to win one-time-use "Quick Access" passes for two).

 

On media day for Thunderbird, there was the music from the announcement video in the queue with Lauren or Leah Koch narrating the story of the Thunderbird every 5-10 minutes. I know that it drove the ride attendants working the queue crazy that day and I haven't heard any of that since. Before launches, the ride op said "It's Launch Time!" over the mic, but now it's just "Thunderbird is clear for launch." Neither change was good or bad, just different.

[coasterbill]

Great report, though I'm sorry you had to deal with all that on your day off.

[kyleparks77]

It has been my experience that there has always been music themed to every section of the park. Thanksgiving in particular has bluegrass/acoustic renditions of old hymns. My guess is that the amount of people prevented you from hearing it (which is sad because I feel the music adds a great deal to the theming).

[prozach626]

^ Could have been. The park was absolutely flooded with people, which was great for the park. With this kind of success, I could easily see the park getting another major coaster within a short period of time.

 

I told my wife I may try to take a week day trip when school is back in session.

 

I didn't place a lot of emphasis on the area surrounding Thunderbird, because I really can't say anything that hasn't been said before. The area is really well put together. Thunderbird isn't just a coaster that happens to be in the area, but it's part of the area itself, without being completely engulfed in it. Very very very well done. Especially with the new area, calling this park a 'small family park' isn't fitting, anymore. Holiday World has definitely entered the big leagues in a major way.

 

I also agree the park isn't quite ready for any kind of fast pass system... but it's definitely getting closer. I'm not saying it's a necessity for the park, but it would definitely be a good way to generate some extra revenue. If they kept it simple and sold limited quality, it wouldn't negatively effect the park. (I'm also aware that they may not want to go this route, so no arguments are necessary.)

 

Speaking of good ways to generate revenue, I like the addition of the cabanas, which weren't there on my prior visits. Without trying to sound redundant... it would be nice to be able to enjoy a couple adult beverages while relaxing in the cabanas. (Again the park likely doesn't want to go that route. I get it. No argument necessary... but Rum Runners FTW)

 

Although I feel like my post was negative and I can't lie, because we really didn't have that great of a time... I think it still speaks highly of the park that it's still a place I want to go enjoy when less people are around. Even PACKED with people you can see the quality of the park. One positive thing I forgot to mention was the locker system. We waited in a really long line that moved very fast, due to a good employee hustling people to the checkout counter. Our purchase was pleasant and speedy. With a swipe of the wrist band our locker popped open and we were good to go. After all of the moving, dodging, slowing down, waiting, etc. throughout the weekend my wife looked at me and said, "Wow, that was really easy!"

[MinusTheV]

Hey all. Longtime reader, but first time poster. Some friends, my wife, and I are visiting the last weekend in August. We were wondering, are the weekend crowds still as heavy that late in the season when the daily operation winds down? Due to some medical issues I'm currently going through, our only option is a weekend trip. We haven't been able to visit since Mammoth's opening year, and reading the recent posts on how crowded the weekends are has us a little concerned.

[ZeroGravity55]

^ Honestly, with Thunderbird, it's impossible to predict how busy the park will be, but I'm willing to bet it will be busy as long as it's still hot outside.

 

Yeah they have music playing, but you can't hear it over the crowds, especially in TB plaza (just imagine how loud it will be when they're using the flywheels).

 

I told my wife I may try to take a week day trip when school is back in session.

 

If you're planning on doing that this year, you probably won't be able to get a weekday trip in that isn't busy. The last day of daily operation for the park is August 12th and even though they close early those last few days, I would expect it to be packed everyday until then, plus the 2 or 3 weekends following August 12th. I'll just throw this out there, but what you and the other person on here experienced this weekend is probably comparable to a July or August weekend (which is when the park usually reaches it's peak attendance) in the past few years. So I'm willing to bet that it is only going to get busier over the next 7 weeks. I have heard that Labor Day is a great day to visit the park as the crowds are very light, although I can't attest to that personally. Maybe someone else on here can? The Halloween event seems like a good time to visit, as I'm pretty sure they only advertise it locally? That's when I'm planning my next visit, as I've already asked off and everything. It's impossible to predict crowds this year, so I'm planning for the worst and hoping for the best. I really want to see the park in the fall, as all the photos I seen last couple of years looked amazing.

 

BTW, great trip report. Totally understand where you're coming from and why you didn't have the greatest trip. There is a reason my family stopped doing weekends vacations to the park 10+ years ago. Weekdays in July or August are better, but not great by any means. Waiting 1 hour and 45 mins for Mammoth and Wildebeest on a Tuesday in August isn't exactly my cup of tea either (keep in mind this is when both rides were new). I'll stick with visiting in late May and early June, even if I have to deal with some school kids.

[Nwstone]

I've never been to HW on a Sunday before but will be in July. Are Sunday's any less busy than Saturday's?

[Philrad71]

Our final tally over two days ended up being 5 rides on Thunderbird, 1 ride on Raven, 1 ride on Voyage, 1 Gobbler Getaway, and 1 regrettable ride on Liberty launch. On the water side we rode Mammoth and a few slides. Our final conclusion was that if we had known better we would have most definitely saved our money for a one day week day trip as opposed to a two day weekend trip.

 

We went on a weekday two years ago and the park side was dead, but the water rides had about the same amount of wait that you mentioned...although it was hot as the surface of the sun that day, so no surprise there.

 

It is really too bad about your incident on Liberty Launch. We had a similar thing happen a couple of years ago at Waldameer while in line for RFII where two young girls (probably no older than 8) were cutting the line - and not to meet up with their folks because they stepped out of line to go to the bathroom.

 

When my partner told them that they should not be cutting the line and said that it was against the rules, they called him words that neither of us had ever heard from a child that young. This was a young child dropping F-bombs left and right directed at a 69 year old man!

 

Pretty sad state of affairs when a growing number of kids act like that these days...and I lay full responsibility on the parents. If they had been raised properly, they would be polite and respectful of their elders even if to say something along the lines of "I'm sorry sir, but we were just trying to meet up with our friends".

 

Instead it was threats of their parents coming after us in the park and how they were going to sue us if we laid a finger on them. It was a very sobering experience to say the least.

 

Glad to hear this family got booted from the park - they certainly deserved it.

[Nrthwnd]

Great report, though I'm sorry you had to deal with all that on your day off.

 

The parents need to be neutered. Both of them.

[Geauga Dog]

The parents need to be neutered. Both of them.

 

 

Just read the report and I'm glad that security came in and ejected the family. It's a shame that people today have to resort to threats to get their way, even if they are wrong in the first place.

 

Went to Holiday World nine years ago for Voyage's inaugural season and felt like the park was a bit small. I'm sure things have changed drastically since then but I can't imagine the park being uncomfortably packed.

[tidecat]

It has been my experience that there has always been music themed to every section of the park. Thanksgiving in particular has bluegrass/acoustic renditions of old hymns. My guess is that the amount of people prevented you from hearing it (which is sad because I feel the music adds a great deal to the theming).

The first year the Thanksgiving section was open, I actually heard the University of Alabama fight song play while in that section of the park. Ironically, Pat Koch is now running a park in Alabama . . .

[Woodie Warrior]

 

Thunderbird... yep, world class. Voyage... yep, world class if you enjoy huge woodies that shake you to pieces (which I do). But it's not everybody's cup of tea. And other that that, not real sure what world class attractions you're talking about. My last visit to HW two years ago, other than Voyage (and Legend and Raven, which are good, but hardly world class) my impression was that the rides were, for the most part, similar to what you'd see at a large traveling fair. Now the water park, THAT was world class and well worth the drive all by itself.

 

It's almost like you were arguing for the sake of being argumentative. You don't view Raven (golden ticket winner and praised throughout the enthusiast community) and Legend as being World Class. Holiday World = Large county fair.

 

Noted. Thanks.

 

Nope, just responding to your rather overwrought description of all those people at HW boarding all those "world class attractions"... all two of them. Yes, I just don't see Raven and Legend as "World Class". Good, yes, even excellent, but not world class -- to me, reaching that level requires a lot more than those rides have to offer. Raven was indeed voted a Golden Ticket winner... 12 years ago. This year, it doesn't rank in the top 10. Legend doesn't either. Better things (including Voyage) have since come along. Which is not to say Legend and Raven aren't really good rides -- they are --, but even if I give you those two, well, then we have four world-class attractions, three of which are wooden roller coasters. I love wooden roller coasters, as do many, but they're not everyone's cup of tea, and HW really has little else unique to offer besides Thunderbird. I stand by my statement that the other rides at HW are basically large country fair rides, because, well, they are. They're the same level of rides as at the Missouri State Fair which I attend every year. I've been to HW twice and enjoyed it -- and the water park blows away Hurricane Harbor -- but really, overall I'll take SFStL any day. Just compare JLBFM to that low budget turkey shoot ride at HW. World class? C'mon.

 

So I moved this argument to this thread...

 

Anyways, the idea that Holiday World is essentially a county fair is funny to me. County fairs don't have the atmosphere, employees, and lots of other things that Holiday World does. I mean, all flat rides are essentially carnival rides, whether they're at a permanent park or not. There are only a few flat rides I can think of that you couldn't find at a county fair, and all of those would probably be extremely expensive. And anyways, Holiday World has a log flume, dark ride, river raft ride, launched tower, and other rides that you can't find at any carnivals. Not to mention that a good number of the flats at HW are amazingly themed.

 

Also, are you saying that 4 world class attractions is a small amount? (Yes, most people would say that Legend and Raven are world-class. All of the park's coasters are in Mitch Hawker's top 50.) There are no parks I can think of with such an amazing lineup, except for Cedar Point. And then you have the water park, with 3 other world class attractions (Wildebeest, Mammoth, and Zoombabwe), so that makes 7.

 

And why should we have any reason to compare Justice League and Gobbler Getaway? Other then both being shooting dark rides, they have nothing else in common. I mean, GG was added the same year as The Voyage, its not like the park had enough money at that point to install both a colossal wooden coaster and a world-class, groundbreaking dark ride in the same season. GG is good enough for what it's supposed to be, a fun, air-conditioned break for the whole family.

 

The fact that ProZach actually likes HW says a lot about the park, considering he doesn't seem to like a whole lot of things ( I kid, I kid)

[GCI Wooden]

Just compare JLBFM to that low budget turkey shoot ride at HW. World class? C'mon.

It's a turkey calling ride.

[ZeroGravity55]

^^ He must be spoiled by all those one of a kind/never cloned world class attractions at SFSTL

 

The first year the Thanksgiving section was open, I actually heard the University of Alabama fight song play while in that section of the park

 

My friends were walking through the Thanksgiving section and wanted to know why the park was playing football music in the Thanksgiving section? What is the other thing Americans do on Thanksgiving besides get together with family and eating turkey? Watch football! I was honestly surprised that they didn't think of that. It doesn't surprise me that they were playing Alabama's fight song. Wouldn't surprise me if they played Auburn's too. The Iron Bowl is played Thanksgiving weekend lol

[Koasterking48]

Overall I'll take SFStL any day. Just compare JLBFM to that low budget turkey shoot ride at HW. World class? C'mon.

You're comparing apples and oranges. If you enjoy St Louis's "world-class" steel roller coasters, that's great. To me, I can think of 1 "world-class" coaster also at that park and one unique pretty terrible non-carnival "world-class" flat ride. Yes, Gobbler Getaway is not a "world-class," state-of-the-art dark ride, but it's not much cheaper-looking than, say, Boo Blasters.

 

In my humble opinion, a friendly, home-y atmosphere of parks like Holiday World, Knoebels (haven't visited yet, just going off general opinion) or Silver Dollar City/Dollywood tops a Six-Flags "world-class" mega thrillz atmosphere any day of the week.

 

"World-Class" Word count: 5

 

My friends were walking through the Thanksgiving section and wanted to know why the park was playing football music in the Thanksgiving section? What is the other thing Americans do on Thanksgiving besides get together with family and eating turkey? Watch football! I was honestly surprised that they didn't think of that. It doesn't surprise me that they were playing Alabama's fight song. Wouldn't surprise me if they played Auburn's too. The Iron Bowl is played Thanksgiving weekend lol

 

That's pretty clever as it's pretty hard to find a Thanksgiving carols CD these days