Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread

[drummermattk 0]

Hi guy's, i recently visited the park on May 11th, and just published a TR. Check it out here: http://themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1795137#p1795137

[RAWKIN_coaster38 19]

I'm planning on visiting Memorial Weekend too. It'll be my first time ever visiting the park, and we aren't time constrained (but money constrained, so I don't want to buy any fast passes or whatnot). Which day would be the best for less crowds?

[ZeroGravity55 0]

^ According to what I've seen the park post several times on Facebook, memorial day will be the least busiest of the three days.

[anonymouscactus 28]

I'm planning on visiting Memorial Weekend too. It'll be my first time ever visiting the park, and we aren't time constrained (but money constrained, so I don't want to buy any fast passes or whatnot). Which day would be the best for less crowds?

FYI: Holiday World does not offer any queue management / skip the line passes.

 

And yes, Memorial Day itself is always your safest bet on the holiday weekend.

[Canobie Coaster 80]

I'm planning on visiting Memorial Weekend too. It'll be my first time ever visiting the park, and we aren't time constrained (but money constrained, so I don't want to buy any fast passes or whatnot). Which day would be the best for less crowds?

 

Same I'm planning on stopping in for the first time this weekend. I either could try hitting the park Saturday or Sunday. I figured the latter would be the better of the two options.

[RAWKIN_coaster38 19]

Thanks for the responses! We'll aim for Monday, but if Monday doesn't work, would Sunday be the second-best option?

[WestCoasterKing 0]

Why does HW have so many wooden coasters? Seems like it took them forever to finally get a steel coaster.

[Steely Dan 0]

Why does HW have so many wooden coasters?

 

The Midwest + Pennsylvania just has a thing for parks with lots of wooden roller coasters.

 

Here is the global list of parks with 3 or more wooden roller coasters:

 

Blackpool: 5

 

SF Great America: 4

Kings Island: 4

Mt. Olympus: 4

 

SF St. Louis: 3

Holiday World: 3

Kennywood: 3

Knoebels: 3

Hersheypark: 3

Michigan's Adventure: 3

Kings Dominion: 3

Canada's Wonderland: 3

Adventureland: 3

Indiana Beach: 3

Camden: 3

 

 

All but 4 of those parks are located in the Midwest + Pennsylvania (and CW and Camden are close enough to be thrown in with that general region as well).

Edited May 23, 2017 by Steely Dan

[ytterbiumanalyst 0]

The park's first roller coaster was steel, decades before Raven.

 

https://rcdb.com/12735.htm

[grsupercity 9]

Why does HW have so many wooden coasters? Seems like it took them forever to finally get a steel coaster.

 

Wood coasters are generally very inexpensive compared to steel.

[Raven Maven 0]

^ To build. But not to maintain.

 

Why do we have so many wooden coasters? The late Will Koch LOVED wooden coasters!

[WestCoasterKing 0]

I think there are so many wooden coasters out that way because those were the only type back then and most of the original parks were there as well. I guess it makes sense that they would have so many woodies. Like how most newer parks have a plethora of steelies. But HW's are fairly new do I was wondering why in this modern age they kept building them. I like the answer above that Koch liked them. That's actually what I was thinking.

[jonskinny12 9]

Wooden coasters are awesome, and Holiday World has arguably the best collection out there. Can't wait to get back to this park next week.

[Steely Dan 0]

I think there are so many wooden coasters out that way because those were the only type back then and most of the original parks were there as well. I guess it makes sense that they would have so many woodies.

The history angle really only applies to Pennsylvania, and the rest of the northeast.

 

The Midwest (despite its illustrious roller coaster history) only has 1 golden age roller coaster left: Legend at Arnolds Park.

 

The Midwest is positively flush with wooden coasters (41 total), but all of them (except a few) have been built within the last 45 years. It's a modern phenomenon, not a holdover from the golden age.

Edited May 23, 2017 by Steely Dan

[Raven Maven 0]

^ A bit of our history ... Arnolds Park and their Legend were scheduled to be demolished and replaced by condos in 1999, the year we named and announced our Legend. Happily, the park was saved. But for those sweeties who've accused us of "stealing" the name, it was up for grabs at that point.

[HolidayWorldFTW 0]

Oh wow... that's really interesting Raven Maven! Thanks for sharing!!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[prozach626 74]

Meh. I think Holiday World is as over hyped by their staff as it is by their fanboys. I feel like they embrace a "Holier than thou" type of attitude, as have their obsessed fan base. If you looked at their Facebook posts and comments, you would have thought Firecracker could go toe to toe with Fury 325.

 

The park is nice I guess, but I just don't get the insane hype. Thunderbird and Raven are fun, but I told Emily that they're still one steel coaster away from being appealing to me. Then she brought up the fact that they don't sell beer or have fast queue systems. That's my girl. I can only pretend to be happy about free parking and sun screen for so long, until I can no longer ignore the type of clientele these free bees attract. The park is three hours from us and we don't even bother with it. Maybe it would be different if we set aside some time to go other than crowded weekends.

 

Bill, if chugging sugar filled free soda while over hyping every ride in the park is your thing, I think you will enjoy the park. Make sure to take a couple ibuprofen before riding the Voyage. I would personally plan for more time at Cedar Point.

 

Yes, Haters will hate.

[grsupercity 9]

We went to HW the day after KK and I was very disappointed. I thought Kentucky Kingdom blew Holiday World out of the water. Holiday World was okay and had a good waterpark. But out of all the parks we went to last year it was 2nd to last after Indiana Beach.

[RAWKIN_coaster38 19]

Question: is there a dress code/restrictions for riding the water slides? Like if I go to the park in "normal clothing," could I pop over and ride some of the slides without changing? I'm specifically interested in the water coasters but any other slides that would allow this I am interested in as well!

 

Also, is there a way to get paired with people on the raft slides if you go to the park alone?

[ZeroGravity55 0]

^ I think as long as you have on shorts, you're gonna be alright.

 

On a related note, anyone going Saturday, the weather forecast is starting to look bad after 3 p.m. I'm gonna chance it and hope it holds off until after close. I'm kinda hoping the potential bad weather thins out the crowd.

[Canobie Coaster 80]

I'm planning my first visit to the park on Sunday and am monitoring the threat of thunderstorms as well. I'm hoping it'll just be a passing one since it seems like the park will run everything in rain.

[Midgetman82 0]

Also, is there a way to get paired with people on the raft slides if you go to the park alone?

Both water coasters have dedicated single-rider lines. As for other raft rides... you're kinda on your own. (if you're desperate, ask a group if they're willing to share a raft with you).

[Canobie Coaster 80]

^ I didn't realize they had single rider lines for the slides. That's great news. Does the single rider line begin at the start of the queue or later in the queue?

[ZeroGravity55 0]

^ Only on Mammoth and Wildebeest. The single rider line for both rides is where the extended queue begins, which is usually where the line begins unless they're super busy, then the line extends out past that point and you'll have to wait till the line gets there.

[Midgetman82 0]

I've done both water coasters plenty of times with shorter waits in single rider line than would the normal line. It's a literal blessing in disguise!