Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread

[Guy T. Koepp]

I hear all this talk of,"you have to know how to ride Voyage, what is it right seat, where to brace for minimum impact." If you get on a coaster and it's just plain unenjoyable to ride in any seat, then it isn't worth me riding anymore. For me, Voyage fits this category.

[neil009]

I would love for Voyage to get the Iron Horse treatment. I would want to ride it again. As it is, it's intolerable.

 

Seriously, have you ridden it since they started using the MCBR? It's currently the smoothest and most re-rideable of the three, no question about it. And this is from someone who went for the first time this year, never having ridden any of them previously. I rode in the back, front, middle, all over.

 

Legend, on the other hand, could be a candidate for a bit more improvement. Maybe the don't want to go full RMC-complete-rebuild on it, but adding some additional banking would go a long way to making it a top notch coaster again.

 

As much as I feel like this is almost inevitable with the way Holiday World is going, this would be a real tragedy. Laterals are what set the Legend apart. Take that away and it would just be a standard, typical woody with weird inconsistent pacing.

[Brassinthegrass]

I truly think HW is going to keep their woodies as is for as long as they can... With that being said, I do think an RMC creation would be a great addition.

[Guy T. Koepp]

As I have since I first rode it in 08, I will try again this Sunday. But honestly, since probably 2010, for me it has progressively gotten worse. I hear all the comments about it getting retracked in areas, reprofiled, maintained, better this time of the year, worse in the morning, ride this seat, ride that seat, put gerbils in your pants but only in the left pocket, live snakes in your shoes, the right hand covering your left eye while singing, "Conjunction Junction What's your Function" all the while practicing intestinal yoga. I don't want to have to do all that homework to ride a coaster. I want to ride it, and enjoy it. And I have consistently not enjoyed Voyage more and more each year.

 

I love Holiday World, and will continue to go there year in and year out. I can't wait to ride Thunderbird. It looks amazing! It just baffles my mind the love/hate relationship people have with this coaster. The argument the people who dislike it is, "it's just too rough now, and has been getting worse as it ages." Simple. Plain. No questions about that statement. But honestly, I always hear the people who like it, always have to justify their point with a, "You have to ride it like so, have you tried it since blah blah blah, it's better when you..."

 

For me, I ride a ride, I either like it or I don't like it. I don't like it in this seat, and dislike it in that seat. Love it during the fall, but never in the Spring. Perhaps I am just a poor excuse for an enthusiast as I don't take the time to phychoanalyze every possible permeation of factors that can go into each and every ride I take. It's pretty black and white for me. Chocolate or Vanilla. I don't have to brace for impact when I eat Vanilla. It's just plain better than Chocolate! Period! That's my opinion. When I try Chocolate again this Sunday, I will either like it better, or I won't. But as of last year, I still choose Vanilla.

 

This has exhausted me. I will ride it again this Sunday, and it will have either gotten better or worse than last year.

[coasterfreak101]

As much as I feel like this is almost inevitable with the way Holiday World is going, this would be a real tragedy. Laterals are what set the Legend apart. Take that away and it would just be a standard, typical woody with weird inconsistent pacing.

 

I think it would be really awesome to see The Legend given the full Topper Track treatment, with the layout and all of its laterals left as-is. A much smoother ride and a lot less upkeep needed from the maintenance guys every year? Seems possible one of these days.

 

Granted, after riding Medusa down in Mexico I can't say that I don't have some other ideas as well...

[Ape]

I am not one of those people saying you have to ride it a certain way. I just ride it and enjoy it.

[ZeroGravity55]

I try to look at the webcam every night around 8 p.m. just so I can see really cool views like this:

[kyleparks77]

^ +100

[neil009]

 

I love Holiday World, and will continue to go there year in and year out. I can't wait to ride Thunderbird. It looks amazing! It just baffles my mind the love/hate relationship people have with this coaster. The argument the people who dislike it is, "it's just too rough now, and has been getting worse as it ages." Simple. Plain. No questions about that statement. But honestly, I always hear the people who like it, always have to justify their point with a, "You have to ride it like so, have you tried it since blah blah blah, it's better when you..."

 

I totally get your point, but this isn't what I'm saying at all. If you ride it this Sunday and say to yourself, "that was too rough", then I don't know what to tell you, because it's seriously not that rough at all. I doubt it's changed that much in two months. Having said that, almost every wooden coaster that exists is at least slightly smoother in either a non-wheel seat or in the front of the two rows in each car. This is not unique to the Voyage. Also, lots of intense rides are more comfortable when you ride it a certain way, even modern ones like Skyrush (gotta lean into those curves). Also not unique to the Voyage. I've never heard anyone else talking about the ride like it's on this linear progression you're describing from smooth to rough, I've always heard it goes through good periods and bad depending on how recently parts have been retracked, but regardless, whatever has been done to it this year, it's apparently on the upswing. In full disclosure, I rode it maybe 12 times over the course of the weekend and in all of that I got 1 bad ride. Somewhere towards the middle of the train, it jack hammered through the entire ride like it was running on square wheels, it was bizarre. But that's a maintenance problem with the train, not with the track. If you're in any car other than that one, it's easily the smoothest of the three woodies. But the back half is also by all accounts slower and less intense than in previous years. So you'll have to see what you think.

Edited July 22, 2015 by neil009

[neil009]

I truly think HW is going to keep their woodies as is for as long as they can... With that being said, I do think an RMC creation would be a great addition.

 

I think we should be clear on one thing. They COULD keep them as is forever. It's not like the ride hits a certain age and suddenly the track becomes impossible to maintain. When they do finally decide to change the banking on the Legend, or put more trims on the Voyage, or whatever other unfortunate change is on the horizon, it will be a monetary decision, and it won't be because keeping the rides the way they are would make them go broke. It will be because they're a business in capitalist America interested in one thing: maximizing profits. Unfortunately, not every park can be Knoebels.

[Raven Maven]

^ You are the gloomiest, doomiest bunch lately! Maybe remember that we're family owned - these coasters are siblings: http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2011/07/13/when-your-sister-roller-coaster/

[kyleparks77]

^ and that's why I'm pulling for RMC in terms of a whole new coaster

[neil009]

^ You are the gloomiest, doomiest bunch lately! Maybe remember that we're family owned - these coasters are siblings: http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2011/07/13/when-your-sister-roller-coaster/

 

Trust me, I would love to be wrong on this. And I'm sure many will tell me I am. You're just hearing one man's opinion. Holiday World is very clearly on an upwards trajectory, into the big leagues of parks, and at that level, decisions to keep rides "uncomfortable" (with things like extreme laterals) for the sake of purity or originality or whatever you want to call it are very rarely made. I'm talking from the perspective of a hard-core woody fan, lots of visitors would love to see a more comfortable Legend or a slower, tamer Voyage. I see it as only a matter of time before those demands are given into.

 

Exhibit A: This year, after nine years of operation, the Voyage has been slowed down, seemingly for good. Again, most people may like the change, or don't see it as a big deal. For me and others I spoke to at HWN, it's really a loss, and a sign of things to come. This isn't doom and gloom exactly, it's just acknowledging things are changing, and the park is changing.

 

I know I'm probably going to catch some heat for this post but that doesn't bother me. People don't like seeing what they perceive as negativity regarding something they love.

[kyleparks77]

I haven't found anyone in the GP who says the Voyage is too fast and rough. Words like "wild", "intense", "crazy", and "insane" are used but never "It was too rough I'll never ride it again." This is coming from a sampling of many different ages and types of people (as in what amount of thrill they like). When anyone I know goes to HW, I always ask two things 1.) How was Thunderbird? (Amazing! So much fun! Rode it # times!) and 2.) Did you ride Voyage? (Yeah I love that coaster! It's the best wooden coaster ever!).

 

And now I digress. I don't think there's anyway to truly explain how much Thunderbird has done for the park and how popular it is. HW was already popular here in Louisville, but it wasn't talked about like it was on the level of Kings Island (about the same distance). This year, I haven't heard ANYONE talking about (or posting pictures on social media from) King's Island OR Kentucky Kingdom. Thunderbird really is the "talk of the town" (other than bourbon, of course). Everyone wants to experience it and it shows from the attendance this year.

[sirspud]

Visited Holiday World for the first time a few days ago and I'm a rollercoaster buff. I guess I may be the first here to say, but yes the Voyage was too rough. The transitions had all the subtlety of Maverick, which is quite a shame as a primarily out and back coaster with its size and speed would have been extremely high on my list if it didn't have turnarounds and a post mid-course switcharoo that took you from one side to another way too quickly. I'm shocked I didn't like the ride more, but there is a fine line between intense and painful, and when a ride is painful it simply can't overcome that.

 

I really enjoyed Legend and Raven before tackling the Voyage,and was thinking of ranking Legend around the top 3 of my wooden coaster list, though once I rode it after both a lunch and the waterpark I didn't enjoy it as much.

[neil009]

Visited Holiday World for the first time a few days ago and I'm a rollercoaster buff. I guess I may be the first here to say, but yes the Voyage was too rough. The transitions had all the subtlety of Maverick, which is quite a shame as a primarily out and back coaster with its size and speed would have been extremely high on my list if it didn't have turnarounds and a post mid-course switcharoo that took you from one side to another way too quickly. I'm shocked I didn't like the ride more, but there is a fine line between intense and painful, and when a ride is painful it simply can't overcome that.

 

Trust me, you're not the first to say. And what you're reacting to is the way the layout was designed, which is different from what most enthusiasts mean by "rough". Rough generally means shaking, shuffling, jackhammering, potholes, things that indicate a lack of train or track maintenance.

[DILinator]

I must say, I continue to be pretty shocked at all of the people surfacing, and saying The Voyage is too rough. Especially when they say The Legend was fine! The Legend is much rougher, at least to me! I understand coasters affect people differently, but the extent to which that is true still surprises me sometimes. I am somebody who doesn't like rough coasters, yet The Voyage is my #1 Wooden coaster, because while it IS intense, it is also one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had on a coaster! As long as I move with the coaster, and don't just sit there and let it beat me around, I have great rides, everytime! It's a shame not everybody has this same, great experience... I, for one, hope they don't ever RMC, or modify it much!

[ZeroGravity55]

Getting off the topic of The Voyage (as I'm sure we'll have this exact same discussion again in a few months as usual), we're one day away from the one year anniversary of the announcement of Thunderbird. This has me thinking of when we might see some hints for what the park is doing in 2016. It will be the parks 70th anniversary and I can't remember a year where the park didn't add anything. I'm assuming we'll see some small things to improve guest experience. I'm hoping that they do something with the PP area, whether they remove it or put something in its place, it needs to go.

[ratdogg68]

I was there Tuesday, got my Thunderbird count up to 25 times, over 3 visits so far. I love that coaster and in the dark it's even better, can't wait to go back and ride it again next month. The Voyage is a better ride since they stop you on the MCBR. I had back Surgery 2 years ago and since than it doesn't bother me near as bad.

[sirspud]

I must say, I continue to be pretty shocked at all of the people surfacing, and saying The Voyage is too rough. Especially when they say The Legend was fine! The Legend is much rougher, at least to me! I understand coasters affect people differently, but the extent to which that is true still surprises me sometimes. I am somebody who doesn't like rough coasters, yet The Voyage is my #1 Wooden coaster, because while it IS intense, it is also one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had on a coaster! As long as I move with the coaster, and don't just sit there and let it beat me around, I have great rides, everytime! It's a shame not everybody has this same, great experience... I, for one, hope they don't ever RMC, or modify it much!

 

The difference between the Legend and the Voyage to me is simply in the transitions. The Voyage only has but a select few transitions in the ride but it goes from turning one way to another in way too short of a timespan for the speed that it is going. That's something that now that I'm older I just don't enjoy any more. In the Legend, practically every turn is intense, but it doesn't force me to go from turning one way to turning another as fast as the Voyage does. The Legend clearly outdoes the Voyage in terms of intense lateral forces, but I have an increased ability to "move with the coaster" on the Legend.

[samhimburg]

Getting off the topic of The Voyage (as I'm sure we'll have this exact same discussion again in a few months as usual)

 

[Raven Maven]

Alright, so I gave it a year. And what I predicted hasn't happened.

 

You disappoint me.

 

Listen to our Thunderbird Theme, concentrating on the chanting. I was obsessed that the random chant was sending a message (it wasn't) and that the enthusiasts would pick up on it (you didn't).

 

Sigh.

 

Now I don't get to say "I told you so" to the group of us who listened to the theme over and over, seeking perfection. Instead, they get to say it to me.

 

One more chance:

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

And ... Happy Christmas Eve in July to all!

[hydra]

My first visit to HW was this spring for the Thunderbird media event. Having always heard such great things about The Voyage it had a lot to live up too. And wow did it!

I agree with what someone posted a few pages back. In every seat this ride is fantastic. It is just an intense wonderful out of control ride. I rode it 22 times that day. I think the remark I made that day was "Thunderbird is the great new hotness, but The Voyage is the MVP"

 

It is a very closely ranked as my #3 favorite wood. Behind El Toro and Outlaw Run.

[kyleparks77]

Alright, so I gave it a year. And what I predicted hasn't happened.

 

You disappoint me.

 

Listen to our Thunderbird Theme, concentrating on the chanting. I was obsessed that the random chant was sending a message (it wasn't) and that the enthusiasts would pick up on it (you didn't).

 

Sigh.

 

Now I don't get to say "I told you so" to the group of us who listened to the theme over and over, seeking perfection. Instead, they get to say it to me.

 

One more chance:

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

And ... Happy Christmas Eve in July to all!

 

Okay maybe it's because I was listening on my phone, but I didn't hear a chant.

[neil009]

Alright, so I gave it a year. And what I predicted hasn't happened.

 

You disappoint me.

 

Listen to our Thunderbird Theme, concentrating on the chanting. I was obsessed that the random chant was sending a message (it wasn't) and that the enthusiasts would pick up on it (you didn't).

 

Sigh.

 

Now I don't get to say "I told you so" to the group of us who listened to the theme over and over, seeking perfection. Instead, they get to say it to me.

 

One more chance:

 

[youtu_be]

[/youtu_be]

 

And ... Happy Christmas Eve in July to all!

 

It starts around 1:13 for anyone who has trouble hearing it. Sound libraries offer stock choral singing so you can add in big choral sounds to your blockbuster movie score on the cheap. Naturally this singing has no real words to it, it's just random syllables - "Oh, bo, da-doo" etc, it's supposed to sound vaguely like Latin or something. For there to be a hidden message involved HW would have had to dish out the money to hire a real chorus, at least three or four singers, to record it, which seems unlikely.