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Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread


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I think HW should just put the ride back the way it was so we never have to have this discussion again. I mean the ride was designed to run a certain way, it was legendary and the person who helped design it was also a legend, and now it's no longer running the way it was designed. It's incredibly disappointing, it just is. I agree you don't need to be a dick about it but I don't think everyone who feels this way is "entitled".

What's ironic about this post is it comes off *EXACTLY* like a self-entitled obnoxious coaster enthusiast who thinks they know better than the park or the people who built the ride.

 

"HW should just put it back the way it was..." "It's incredibly disappointing..." *sigh*[attachment=0]Paris_Tuileries_Garden_Facepalm_statue.jpg[/attachment]

I have to be honest, I didn't think my ride on The Voyage this year was much different than the rides I took on it in 2006. And if *I* don't notice a difference, I highly doubt that 99.9% of the people who walk through the ride's turnstiles every day notice either. Some of you are going to notice if someone farts differently on the ride, and IMO, that's just not the type of person that the park should be catering to, sorry.

 

Sorry, I really am trying my hardest not to come off that way. I guess it's harder for me than I thought. I'm definitely not trying to say I know better than the people at HW, or that the change is going to hurt their business any.

 

Who's more likely to notice a change in something, someone who's just trying to get through their single obligatory ride of the year, or someone who loved it the way it was? This applies to the general public as well. Holiday World still mostly pulls locals, i.e. people who've probably been to the park before and probably ridden the Voyage before, and their reactions will mirror ours, those who liked it how it was will notice, those who don't like it will either not notice or feel its improved. I would guess the former are in the minority (probably greater than .1% though), but just how "subtle" the changes are is completely subjective. If you've got a Matisse hanging on your wall that you look at six times a day and love with all your heart, a single brushstroke out of place could completely ruin it for you. Personally I was a first-timer this year, and I can still say I definitely didn't get the experience I was anticipating. By the end of the ride the final few turns are supposed to be more neck-snapping than anything else that's happened up to that point, but since the ride is reset back to 0 MPH at the midcourse, the intensity level remains on par with the spaghetti bowl the whole way through, which completely changes the narrative of the ride.

 

And the mid-course brake has always been there - and we even used it one season when Will was still with us.

 

I'm not contesting that. The ride has gone through many changes, I totally understand, it's basically always a work in progress. When I say it's not running the way it was designed, I'm referring to things like the lack of airtime on the triple down, and feeling gravity pulling you to the side during the final 90 degree turn (rather than staying plastered to your seat). Indications the ride is running slower than the designers intended. I know you're aware of all this, not trying to say I know more than you or anything. The last time the break was used, it was only for one season, so I'm hopeful the experts at Holiday World have other solutions planned.

 

Also, it's worth pointing out that the vast majority of traditional wooden coasters out there that aren't brand new are running slower than intended, so it's not some revelatory or unheard-of thing. Some never ran exactly how the designers intended. But a lot of people (enthusiasts) hold Holiday World to a higher standard, and I'd be the first to admit that it may not be realistic or fair.

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I rode Voyage yesturday and once the ride was over a little girl who couldnt have been more then 10 years old said the ride was awesome and was begging her mom to let her do it again so Im not sure the ride is as intense as you guys think

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4gs and still its super smooth

Heres some pics I took with my dslr on my recent trip

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Whos ready for a nice launch?

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Big crowd to see Thunderbirds launch

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I wish he would have to got to see it :(

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Its a very fun ride and its also very photogenic

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Reactions to the launch

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In the clouds

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On the way to ride it you can see peeking out it over the trees

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I cant leave out this awesome ride

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Gotta love the banking

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Still in them

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The top of the Legend

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Legend is 15 this year

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Raven is 20

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Its up there for sure

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I had a great time and I cant wait until I see this again

Edited by marth555
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I visited the park for my first time last week and have some comments about the park:

 

-Thunderbird is a fun little coaster. It's nothing too special but the launch is fun.

 

-Now on the other hand, Voyage is AMAZING! Instantly became my top woodie even above the 2 RMCs. Not nearly as rough as I expected it to be and just crazy long and intense.

 

-Legend was so so rough. It has a good first drop but the rest of the layout is just decent but it's too rough to enjoy.

 

-Raven was really fun. It felt like the layout had so much thought put into it and really took advantage of the height that it has as well as the lake and forest.

 

-To my surprise, the employees seemed rude and very strict. I know that's a sin to say on here but there were several moments in the day that made me just go ???

 

-Overal, I liked the park, but I didn't fall in love with it like every other enthusiast seems to.

 

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2014839031_2015-08-13(10).jpg.a4a93a2ff9c1a0b8ddafd4dabb06048a.jpg

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-Now on the other hand, Voyage is AMAZING! Instantly became my top woodie even above the 2 RMCs. Not nearly as rough as I expected it to be and just crazy long and intense.

And this is exactly why any "debates" about the roughness/MCBR/intensity of Voyage are pointless.

 

 

-To my surprise, the employees seemed rude and very strict. I know that's a sin to say on here but there were several moments in the day that made me just go ???

Just out of curiosity, what were those moments?

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-Now on the other hand, Voyage is AMAZING! Instantly became my top woodie even above the 2 RMCs. Not nearly as rough as I expected it to be and just crazy long and intense.

 

I haven't ridden any RMCs yet, so it'll be interesting to see if Goliath can de-throne The Voyage this upcoming week as my #1 woodie. You are right though about how AMAZING this great coaster is! Goliath definitely has its work cut out for it!

 

-Legend was so so rough. It has a good first drop but the rest of the layout is just decent but it's too rough to enjoy.

 

I'm glad to know there are others out there who feel the same way! So many people rave about this coaster, but every single ride gives me the same experience you just described. I even tried it in the front, and still way too many jarring laterals... To each their own, eh?

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-Now on the other hand, Voyage is AMAZING! Instantly became my top woodie even above the 2 RMCs. Not nearly as rough as I expected it to be and just crazy long and intense.

 

Glad to see another person who loves this! I haven't ridden any RMCs yet, but The Voyage is my #1 woodie and took my #1 overall spot when I was there in May.

 

-Legend was so so rough. It has a good first drop but the rest of the layout is just decent but it's too rough to enjoy.

 

The Legend was my least favorite of the four big coasters here. Riding in the front right (or is it left? I don't remember which direction the forever long helix goes) was the most enjoyable, but it was extremely rough for me on most of my 7 rides. But I love how the drop looks from over by The Voyage and the bell and howl are awesome effects. The interaction with the water park is cool too. Just too rough.

 

-To my surprise, the employees seemed rude and very strict. I know that's a sin to say on here but there were several moments in the day that made me just go ???

 

I would also be curious to know about the unfriendly staff. The only time I've visited the park was this year for HWN and everyone was extremely friendly.

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I'm also curious about the rude employees because when I went a few weeks ago, I never came across one bad employee. Every single one I encountered was very friendly and generous.

 

I'll agree about Legend being the roughest of the three woodies, but it's still a fun ride. Great layout too.

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On Thunderbird media day, the brake was on at first. Then it was off for a while, still early in the day. I had 4 or 5 brakeless Voyage rides; one of the coaster cats was up in the station, grinning. Then he was gone, and the brake was back on.

I think what amuses me about this is how coaster enthusiasts don't always understand how things work (even though they want to believe they do.)

 

 

I'm going to add my .02 worth here as an electronics technician who has worked on PLC controllers such as used on coasters (I have worked on PLC's at a few parks..but not HW).

 

The PLC's get inputs from sensors along the track in order to follow the trains and keep them from interfering with each other. They also can determine the speed of a train as they pass into the control zone before a block or trim brake in order to keep a train from overspeeding or comprimising the next block.

 

I assume on Voyage, that the trim is controlled in a similar way, and the amount of trim or braking is based on the speed at the control zone. Usually, the only way to override this control is to put the entire PLC into a setup or programming mode, and that would make running more than one train very dangerous and not what any park would want to do.

 

Again, just my .02 worth and I'll go back to being a lurker.

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Just out of curiosity, what were those moments?

 

All of the ride ops were doing constant scanning of height requirements, even on kids that were obviously tall enough. One kid was being measured on Thunderbird and was easily 4 inches taller than the height requirement and he told the ride op measuring him, "Really?? I've ridden this 5 times already!" It's good that they're being safe but it was a change from CF parks where they only do it where it's necessary.

 

Later in the day, at the front gate when I was re-entering, this (I'm assuming), grandma and granddaughter were entering the park with full one piece swim suits on, shorts, and shoes, and the little girl at first was held up by the employee saying she needs a full shirt on. She was probably only 3 years old and the grandma explained that they were going straight to the waterpark. Then this other employee standing nearby said to the grandma "You know, you aren't dressed properly either. You need to cover up or you can't come in." At this point, the little girl seemed to be scared and confused. I don't know what happened from there since I re-entered the park, but I think the whole situation was really unneccsesary. I appreciate them enforcing a dress code, but use some common sense.

 

When I was in line for Thunderbird, I asked the ride attendant if I could sit in the front. There were 2 groups waiting for the front and plenty of queue available still. The response I got was, "Hmmmmm. I'm not sure.. Well I guess I'll let it slide this time but not again." I was joking around with the person I was with saying that I felt like I just did something wrong in elementary school. The ride op had such a condescending voice about it too. Sorry? I didn't know it was against park rules to ask for the front row. Again, I understand in certain circumstances but use some common sense.

 

On Gobbler Getaway, this girl in my car had her sunglasses on top of her head like most people do and the ride op told her that she needs to remove her sunglasses. I laughed to myself because out of all rides, I think this would be the one least likely for sunglasses to fly off. It would be like asking everyone to remove their sunglasses on your basic park train. Once again, I understand the rules, but no use of common sense.

 

I was really caught off guard just by all the employees considering all the awards they have won for friendliest park. Sure, there were a few that went out of their way to be friendly, but for the most park, it was worse than most corporate parks. I was with a non-enthusiast and never mentioned anything to him about all the awards the park has won just so I could see an unbiased opinion and at the end of the day he said the same thing I did.

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^ I can completely understand where you are coming from.

 

While the employees overall were much friendlier than basically any park I've been to and every operation was efficient, I experienced many situations where it seemed that the park's employee policies were overriding all common sense. It really did feel like you were in elementary school and getting disciplined by your teacher/babysitter.

 

Still a wonderful park all around so this complaint is really minimal and I could think of a ton more to complain about at most other parks.

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All of the ride ops were doing constant scanning of height requirements, even on kids that were obviously tall enough. One kid was being measured on Thunderbird and was easily 4 inches taller than the height requirement and he told the ride op measuring him, "Really?? I've ridden this 5 times already!" It's good that they're being safe but it was a change from CF parks where they only do it where it's necessary.

 

That's fairly standard. Everyone is 'screened' (measured) before getting on the ride, every time. In a single shift we'll see hundreds of people, and it's too hard to remember specifically "this kid is tall enough". And if you move to a different position, then theres a large chunk of people you haven't seen, so to be safe, everyone is measured. It takes only a few seconds unless there's a kid who's right on the line.

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