Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread

[Brassinthegrass]

Tempest clone would fit well, but that's two launched loopers, so maybe not...

[ZeroGravity55]

I think their next coaster needs to be high capacity.

[kyleparks77]

^ agreed. I think Lauren's line about the need for a "people eater" attraction to be pretty telling of the swell in attendance this hear

[HolidayWorldFTW]

Wow. I'm surprised they gave away as many hints in that article as they did. I mean they actually mentioned a theater, the high probability of additional wooden and steel coasters. They even mentioned wanting to become a destination, which kind of goes back to the old trademark for "Holiday World" hotel.

 

Otherwise, I LOVED this article. I have had the feeling that the Thunderbird project really was partly about the grieving process and the changes and turmoil and being done with all that. These girls, and Matt, really are filling Wills shoes VERY VERY WELL. They mentioned being the next generation and being a lot to take on. But to me it seems the girls and Matt have already proven to themselves and everyone they can fill Wills shoes very very well. I got to chat with all three of them at the Media Day. They are so so much like their father! And Matt is just as genuine, smart, funny, friendly, and amazing as Will was. This "next generation" is going to take this park so so far, with having Wills vision as a backbone. I'm sure they will do something's a bit different, put their own personality on things a bit. But they can all rest assured that Will is looking down with huge smiles and lots of pride in the leadership team and what they have done and will continue to do.

[Brassinthegrass]

I think we all will have our eyes on Holiday World for years to come. I'm so glad I got to go this year for the first time, and I look forward to going again in the future to see how much has changed, since it's almost garanteed it's going to change drastically in the future...

 

I feel like this is the next Dollywood project, we all watched as that park went from good vino in bread and a nice arrow looper to the mega resort it is today, I'm almost positive we will see that type of explosion happen here as well!

[HolidayWorldFTW]

I think we all will have our eyes on Holiday World for years to come. I'm so glad I got to go this year for the first time, and I look forward to going again in the future to see how much has changed, since it's almost garanteed it's going to change drastically in the future...

 

I feel like this is the next Dollywood project, we all watched as that park went from good vino in bread and a nice arrow looper to the mega resort it is today, I'm almost positive we will see that type of explosion happen here as well!

 

I would agree 100%! Although it's strange to me when people talk about all this happening more recently in history. I'm somewhat of a local and I grew up with this park. They have been doing all kinds of things to develop and get themselves to this point. This is by no means a "new" occurrence for the park. It's just becoming more accelerated as they grow.... It's happening very organically rather than rushed, un-calculated, and generically. I think Thunderbird has been a WAY bigger success than even they dreamed themselves, thus causing park development to accelerate and even a greater pace... Although still organically.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

^ & ^^ I really got that vibe too when I was there earlier in the year. It is such a spectacular park that it's hard to imagine it getting any better, but you can't help but see them rising, and cheer them on. I was just there two months ago, and I already can't wait for the chance to go back. Quite simply, Holiday World is everything we who love theme parks want every theme park to be.

[marth555]

does Thunderbird have a fairly high capacity? also its interesting to know that the park was in the market for a B&M so long ago and that they could have had an invert

[Geauga Dog]

I think Holiday World is already a destination park as it stands today, heck Splashin' Safari is its own destination by itself, but adding Thunderbird just sealed their future as a major player in the industry. It will be interesting if any of the perks will change as the years go on like the free soft drinks and free parking.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

does Thunderbird have a fairly high capacity? also its interesting to know that the park was in the market for a B&M so long ago and that they could have had an invert

Thunderbird has two trains, and 20 seats per train. So it's far from high capacity, but a short ride duration and AWESOME operations keep things moving. Most parks' stated capacities are rarely achieved, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Thunderbird's actual capacity is pretty close to its theoretical.

[kyleparks77]

does Thunderbird have a fairly high capacity? also its interesting to know that the park was in the market for a B&M so long ago and that they could have had an invert

Thunderbird has two trains, and 20 seats per train. So it's far from high capacity, but a short ride duration and AWESOME operations keep things moving. Most parks' stated capacities are rarely achieved, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Thunderbird's actual capacity is pretty close to its theoretical.

I visited the park a couple weeks after it opened this season. During my 10 rides of Thunderbird, I observed multiple staff members and a couple other "official" looking guys (I wanted to think they were from B&M but I couldn't quite decide) closely watching the loading/dispatching/unloading operations and taking note. Each time I rode, it appeared they did something slightly different in the process to try to achieve the highest capacity possible. I wish all parks were this invested in their guests' experiences.

[HolidayWorldFTW]

does Thunderbird have a fairly high capacity? also its interesting to know that the park was in the market for a B&M so long ago and that they could have had an invert

Thunderbird has two trains, and 20 seats per train. So it's far from high capacity, but a short ride duration and AWESOME operations keep things moving. Most parks' stated capacities are rarely achieved, but I wouldn't be surprised to hear that Thunderbird's actual capacity is pretty close to its theoretical.

I visited the park a couple weeks after it opened this season. During my 10 rides of Thunderbird, I observed multiple staff members and a couple other "official" looking guys (I wanted to think they were from B&M but I couldn't quite decide) closely watching the loading/dispatching/unloading operations and taking note. Each time I rode, it appeared they did something slightly different in the process to try to achieve the highest capacity possible. I wish all parks were this invested in their guests' experiences.

They were taking notice of their loading and unloading at the media preview as well. Now when I watch how fast they dispatch trains, it's crazy! They have learned VERY VERY quickly how to efficiently run this amazing monster.

[ZeroGravity55]

^ agreed. I think Lauren's line about the need for a "people eater" attraction to be pretty telling of the swell in attendance this hear

 

Yeah I don't know how many times that I've read or heard something along the lines of "I only got to ride 4 rides in 8 hours". Capacity is the biggest need of the park right now.

 

As far as their next coaster is concerned (if it's steel), they need something that can run 3 trains efficiently. I keep thinking hyper, but they can only go so tall before they start to alienate who they're trying to target, which is families.

 

does Thunderbird have a fairly high capacity? also its interesting to know that the park was in the market for a B&M so long ago and that they could have had an invert

 

I've never actually looked this up, but I'm willing to bet that TB is the lowest capacity coaster that B&M has ever built, but it is not horrible by any means. As others have stated, the park is pulling out all the stops in trying to maximize the capacity of the ride. For example, you're actually allowed to unbuckle your seatbelt as soon as you clear the first set of friction breaks following the magnetic brakes. I've checked the webcam multiple times this year and I don't think there has been a day where the park hasn't ran two trains on TB.

 

It will be interesting if any of the perks will change as the years go on like the free soft drinks and free parking.

 

They've built their business model on the value they offer. If they take those things away, they'll kill their business.

[Vonni]

So excited for HW future! Anybody heard any rumors as to a 2016 addition or a possible announcement date? Of course I'm not expecting anything major after a huge 2015 addition, but just curious.

[ratdogg68]

I have a feeling we'll see a " Air Race", go in Sparklers old spot. It could fit a 4Th of July theme and I don't see them leaving that area empty. They done moved the Strike Up game down in Thanksgiving, opening that area up again.

[Raven Maven]

Want to take my wife for her birthday next week and just realized it's their last day of weekday operation! Eeek! Was going on a Wed because of reduced crowds, will the park be packed for the last day before school kids go back?

 

I think you'll be in good shape visiting on the 12th, as many of our local schools are already back in session by then. (Please be aware of the shorter hours, though.)

[Midgetman82]

First-Happy Birthday to Holiday World!

 

Second-Holiday World was featured in this months IAAPA Funworld Magazine which gives a great insight to a lot of things at the park. I'm going to pull the last part of the piece and put it on here, but I highly suggest you read the whole article.

 

http://www.iaapa.org/news/funworld/funworld-magazine/holiday-world-s-thunderbird---august-2015

 

I finally read the article, and it was a wonderful highlight of the park's previous few years and peek into what may be ahead! It's been very interesting to see the park grow to what it is, and by the size that it is now I find it funny that I almost keep forgetting that it is indeed a family-owned park! I still can't wait to see what there may be in the future! (Anything that involves the use of air conditioning is already a win by me! )

 

One thing that especially stuck out to me (and deserved an applause) was this part about the park's free drinks:

“Everyone asks us how we do it,” Leah says of the free soft drink policy. “By taking a dollar’s worth of soda somebody can drink in a day, we’ve built so much loyalty. Our guests love us and they rave about us because of the free soft drinks.”

 

“It buys us a lot of goodwill with our guests,” Lauren adds. “Our dad’s philosophy was, once [guests are] through the gate, have them take their wallets out as few times as possible.”

I can understand that it would be a big risk for any park to offer complimentary beverages, but it's always one of the most talked-about thing I hear whenever anybody I know brings up Holiday World.

 

The bolded part especially got to me because there's plenty of parks out there that leave very bad vibes when a guest, who had already pulled their wallet out to pay for admission, notices that they had continuously pulled their wallet throughout the day thanks to the plethora of cash-grabs (i.e.: mandatory lockers, numerous up-charge attractions, drinks, etc).

 

Edit:

 

In addition to that, the section involving the colors of the coaster. I know there was a lot of debate from enthusiasts as well over whether the colors were a good choice for the ride. After visiting the park during its halloween season last year, it was made clear that it was probably the best choice of colors for the ride:

I'm anxious to visit the park again this fall, because it looks gorgeous then!

[marth555]

The awesome pictures above confirmed that I need to bring my DSLR when I go.

HWs website says Tbird can do up to 1,140 people/hour how accurate does that sound people who have ridden it?

Edited August 4, 2015 by marth555

[Brassinthegrass]

Ummm... Not sure, I mean they were pushing trains out pretty fast when I was there last week...

[Koasterking48]

HWs website says Tbird can do up to 1,140 people/hour how accurate does that sound people who have ridden it?

After 8 visits this season, the line has always moved pretty fast for Thunderbird because of the quick operations. I'd say it's pretty close to that number.

[Password121]

Dispatching every two minutes with completely full trains would put through 600 pph.

Dispatching every 90 seconds (efficient, still realistic) with full trains would put through 800 pph.

Dispatching every minute (not sure block system even allows this) with full trains yields 1200 pph.

 

1140 seems pretty "optimistic" so I'd guess it's more around 750-1000 on a consistent basis.

[AirMBTB]

As far as their next coaster is concerned (if it's steel), they need something that can run 3 trains efficiently.

 

They could also choose a double-loading station if they wanted/needed, in order to get trains out faster. Holiday World doesn't like to stack

 

I keep thinking hyper, but they can only go so tall before they start to alienate who they're trying to target, which is families.

 

They could do a hyper, but not have that large of a lift. A 150' lift then have larger drops later in the ride; all that topography at Holiday World "ain't gonna go to waste!" I'm not saying they need a hyper just yet (personally, I think they could use a family coaster like Whizzer, Sooperdooperlooper or Revolution *in original form*!), just looking at available options.

 

I've never actually looked this up, but I'm willing to bet that TB is the lowest capacity coaster that B&M has ever built, but it is not horrible by any means.

 

Might be, but in reality Thunderbird gets higher numbers every hour compared to many *large* B&M coasters at Six Flags parks. Raging Bull, Nitro and even Diamondback regularly stack 3 trains (with plenty of vacant seats to boot). Goliath at Great America gets 500-600 per hour (as do Wicked Cyclone and the rest of the new RMC rides, due to operation not design). I would bet Thunderbird has had more riders in it's first season than Goliath has had since it opened last year; Goliath's record for most riders in one hour for all of last year was 703.

 

It seems like the Thunderbird crews launch a train about every 90 seconds, that's impressive!

[marth555]

I would think the B&M standups would have a lower capacity as they have longer load times

[Guy T. Koepp]

So me n' tha fam went to the park last Friday. We had an awesome time. Went straight to the main attraction first thing and got in 2 quick rides before the crowds started clogging up the area. What can I say, Thunderbird is definitely the ride to beat at the park. We rode it 4 times total during the day. As mentioned earlier, 2 times first thing then once in the evening and once at night. Once on each side, both front and back. The back right being my favorite seat. Night rides are awesome! I think this could be my favorite wing rider. IMHO definitely better than X-flight and Gatekeeper. I’ll be at Dollywood next weekend, so I will reassess this after getting some Wild Eagle love. Right now it’s too close to tell. But Thunderbird is the frontrunner as it’s the most recent. The fam unanimously deemed it the best ride in the park! I do like the launching element and hope we see more of this coming from B&M.

 

Thunderbird review out of the way!

 

Spent most of the day at the water park. For what I was expecting to be a very busy day, I was very impressed with the reasonable wait times for all the tubes. We all got in 2 Mammoth rides and 2 Wildebeest rides amongst our other slides and play times in the wave pool and play structures. Not to bash Mammoth at all, as it is an awesome ride, IMHO, I still like Wildebeest better. The airtime is much more noticeable. I think it's just due to the seating arrangement. Anyhoo! If it weren’t for my daughters swim skirt and towel getting stolen, I would call it a perfect water park day. With that little hiccup, I must say that the guest services peeps were very sympathetic, attentive and helpful in getting forms and documentation filled out for my little girl. Thank you so much. I don't recall any specific names, but Paula, if you would, please pass along my thanks to a department that handles itself very well. It's those little things that make Holiday World stand out from so many chain parks. Kudos.

 

The late afternoon and evening were spent re-riding Thunderbird, as well as the remainder of the coasters and a few flats. Gotta say, the fam did love tha Crows Nest. With no line at all, it was fun to ride it 3 times in a row in the evening with Thunderbird flying all around it. Who ever made the decision to move it to that location was brilliant! Still think Hallowswings is the best themed swing ride on the planet. So much fun. The Friday night fireworks were wonderful. A perfect nightcap to an already very pleasant day. I hope they make that a staple in the Summer for years to come.

 

And now for the moment you all have been waiting for. The other coaster reviews.

 

Drum roll please.

 

Voyage - (the good) At least the jack hammering at the bottom of the 1st and 2nd hills seemed to be much less than in the past years. Thank God! (the bad) Fan boys, I'm sorry. My wife won't even ride it anymore, as her last ride was just too painful. My Son, My Daughter and me all bit the bullet, said our prayers, and braved the unknown. After riding, my Son was done for the day, He has officially joined my wife in the never again, it's not going to get better, I'm not even going to try category. My daughter, on the other hand said she liked it better than she remembered, but was in agreement that once was enough for her, and if no one else in the family would ride with her, she would happily forgo pressing the issue. For me, I'll just say, "At least the jack hammering at the bottom of the 1st and 2nd hills seemed to be much less that in the past years. Thank God!" This coaster seems to drop about 3- 5 places on my woodie list every time I ride it, and this year doesn't look like it will be an exception.

 

Legend – We all came to the agreement that this seemed to be the woodie of choice this year. Honestly, We didn’t remember it being any better or worse than it was last year. So, good solid ride. Still a bit bumpy, but good G forces and fun airtime hills. Personally, I’m not a fan of the helix in the tunnel. Too many flat turns in the same direction, but I expected that, and was prepared. So it wasn’t an issue. I also make the kids ride on the inside so they don’t get beat up by it.

 

Raven - This ride has consistently been our favorite since we have been going to Holiday World. Which was so saddening to all of us as it seems to have deteriorated the most in the off-season. Still not a bad ride in the least, just noticeably rougher, not like it was running on square wheels, but more like gear shaped wheels, just consistently bumpy through the whole course. I always forget just how short it is. It seems to have so much potential energy when it hits the brake run. I know it’ll never happen, but I would love to see some sort of heavily banked helix o’ death with a bunny hop into the brake run added to it. It’s a stupid dream, but it’s my dream Dewy! My dream! And I own it! So there!

 

All in all we had a great day at the park. The staff and service always make for the best of experiences. And Thunderbird finally gives the park a signature attraction that should bring in the masses for years to come. I love the direction this park is headed and look forward to visiting each year. Honestly, it’s getting to the point where it is quickly becoming a 2-day park. We could easily spend a full day at Splashin’ Safari and a full day at Holiday World. Then we wouldn’t feel as rushed to get through both in one day. I also really like the food in Plymouth Rock Café. I love Thanksgiving meal so much that it’s nice to have a second one in a year, and I wouldn’t mind a third.

 

Thank you again Holiday World! We love visiting and already look forward to what next year holds.

[Koasterking48]

^ Sounds like you had a great time and I'm sorry to hear about the theft incident. Like most wood coasters, they all run fairly "smoothly" during April/May and slowly worsen by August. I completely understand your analysis of The Voyage and agree with many of your points. It's not my favorite woodie, but it's still top 3. Having ridden it so many times for the past 9 years, I'd consider my self somewhat immune to its roughness. Either that or it's the concussion I've got from my first ride I have a feeling we may see the Voyage get a long term solution to make its intensity enjoyable in the near future whether it involves RMC or not. As for the other two, I personally think they would be fine without topper track. I realize this topic has been discussed way more than necessary so don't kill me for bringing it up again

 

And to comment about the future theater, I think they should just demolish or enclose the Hoosier Theater before building an all new one.