Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread

[qwimjim]

If you want to do the big water slides, ride them as soon as Splashin' Safari opens.

 

Raven gets its worst wait when the park opens due to its location. If you aren't at the front of the pack, just move onto Legend, Voyage, and Thunderbird.

 

Thanks! Hows the single rider line on the two water coasters, if I wanted to re-ride later in the day when the kids are napping or something, does it move pretty fast?

[Canobie Coaster]

^ The one time I did Splashin' Safari was a cool and rainy day. The single rider line was a walk-on all day under those conditions.

[Canobie Coaster]

Would the other TPR members here want to make a water cup challenge team? I have 3 spots left for Team 9 at 10 pm tomorrow.

 

I fully expect it to be a disaster on a ride with this many laterals, but it'll be a fun disaster.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

Would the other TPR members here want to make a water cup challenge team? I have 3 spots left for Team 9 at 10 pm tomorrow.

 

I fully expect it to be a disaster on a ride with this many laterals, but it'll be a fun disaster.

I’ll do it! Maybe I can get my significant other to join as well. Didn’t know there were teams. Which coaster is it? I was Queen of the 2010 TPR water cup challenge on Medusa, but I’ve never tried one on a wooden coaster.

[anonymouscactus]

Voyage was running absolutely insane last night in the dark. I talked to one of the supervisors and I don't remember the exact number he said but they said the run time was (at least 5, 6 seconds, or 9 (lol sorry I don't remember) faster than a normal run. You could definitely tell the difference. And with actual facts to back it up from the ride system instead of it just feeling crazier in the dark.

[Canobie Coaster]

Yeah it was flying! That was the reason I came to Holiwood Nights and it didn't disappoint. That speed with the darkness was completely out-of-control. And the trim was off for my ride earlier today as well.

 

Would the other TPR members here want to make a water cup challenge team? I have 3 spots left for Team 9 at 10 pm tomorrow.

 

I fully expect it to be a disaster on a ride with this many laterals, but it'll be a fun disaster.

I’ll do it! Maybe I can get my significant other to join as well. Didn’t know there were teams. Which coaster is it? I was Queen of the 2010 TPR water cup challenge on Medusa, but I’ve never tried one on a wooden coaster.

 

I signed up a team for 10 pm. It's on Legend so those lats will be killer with a water cup.

[JT325]

Water cup challenge on Legend during HWN 2018: in the top 10 single most fun times I've ever had on a coaster. I didn't make it this year, but I'll be back next year eager to do that challenge!

[Midgetman82]

Yeah, Voyage?... Holy cow, that coaster was flying high these past two nights! I'm so glad to have made it to this year's event, because the whole vibe and overall atmosphere was so much better than many of the past years too.

[Canobie Coaster]

The park knocked the event out of the park. I had only heard good things and it exceeded those lofty expectations. I'll definitely be returning.

 

The water cup challenge was a challenge, but I miraculously got back with a full cup! I saw one other person do it to. Neither of us will reveal the tricks of the trade.

[bluestreak]

I'll post a full report at some point but wow, wow, wow, and more WOW. This was my first Holiwood Nights and Holiday World absolutely knocked it out of the park. Definitely one of the best weekends of my life. Oh and.... OMG. TRIMLESS VOYAGE IN THE FRONT SEAT

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Voyage in the front row is still my favorite seat, but I did love riding further back in the train to get the full effect of that trimless triple down.

[Raven Maven]

So nice to see all the praise for The Voyage, with all the new track work. How 'bout a vote for the old girl? https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-roller-coaster/the-voyage-holiday-world/ Thanks!

[Intaman]

Yeah, Voyage?... Holy cow, that coaster was flying high these past two nights! I'm so glad to have made it to this year's event, because the whole vibe and overall atmosphere was so much better than many of the past years too.

 

I agree. Although the attendance was reported higher than any previous year (and it showed), it didn't detract from the experience. The energy was incredible, especially in the Voyage station. Of course, Voyage was running awesome both nights and the triple-down into the second-half (minus the trims), was insane!

[bluestreak]

So nice to see all the praise for The Voyage, with all the new track work. How 'bout a vote for the old girl? https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-roller-coaster/the-voyage-holiday-world/ Thanks!

 

Done and done lol

[i305isdaddy]

I got my first rides on Voyage in during the day before HoliWood Nights started and thought "holy crap, that is the most insane coaster ever, how...." not even knowing what I was in for when they turned those trims off later in the night. HOLY ******* **** BALLS that girl hauls when they unleash her 2nd half. I wish I could have purchased my picture because I know I had a look of terror on my face bracing on the lap bar as she just absolutely screamed us back to the station. The noises those PTC's make on an untrimmed lap are just mental. The Voyage (untrimmed) is very clearly the edge of what you can do with those cars / traditional wood and oh man was I living for it.

 

I'll be back to HoliWood Nights just to get more trimless laps, that thing is INSANE. /voted

[i305isdaddy]

Overall HN was an incredible event... thanks to the park staff that made it all happen!

 

I did have two questions about Holiday World in general though. Are their operations and food always so terrible?

 

For some reason I thought I had read on here / elsewhere that HW had some decent food but yikes the options were tragic, Six Flags levels bad. The worst chicken fingers, nearly inedible pizza w/ weird sauce, soggy boneless wings w/ generic Tso sauce, the cheapest burger patties available from costco, the scariest looking mexican ground beef we'd ever seen (it's in little pellets), no interesting condiments to help the situations above... our group was a bit surprised at how awful the food was and how young/inexperienced the 14 year olds that seemed to be serving it all were.

 

As for ops, their need to lock and unlock containers every cycle was causing every major coaster except Thunderbird to stack for 30-45 seconds while someone fumbled with a lock.

 

Overall we left LOVING the park, its atmosphere, and its rides, but it was really a struggle finding anything edible and watching kids fumble with padlocks while full lines of people wait.

[Midgetman82]

If you ever return, I highly recommend trying Plymoth Rock Cafe. It's the restaurant in Thanksgiving right next to Voyage's lift hill and across from Gobbler's Getaway. I've always loved their fried chicken, green beans, and other side dinner options there. Sorry to hear ya had a less-than-stellar experience with the food.

 

So nice to see all the praise for The Voyage, with all the new track work. How 'bout a vote for the old girl? https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-roller-coaster/the-voyage-holiday-world/ Thanks!

Done and done

[i305isdaddy]

The fried chicken they gave us for the event was delicious, I should have noted that before, we never made it to Plymouth. I'll definitely be getting that chicken next year when we go back.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

Some thoughts on Holiday World/Holiwood Nights:

 

It was incredible. One of the best experiences I’ve had at a park. Voyage was insane, and as smooth as a wooden coaster with those kinds of forces can be. I was also shocked by how amazing Legend was. On the second night of ERT, I intended for Voyage to be my last ride of the event, around 11:30. Walking back up the hill towards the front gate of the park, I decided to stop at Legend one last time. Even after experiencing what is arguably the best coaster on earth in the best condition possible, the Legend still held up and didn’t feel weak in comparison. It beats Boulder Dash as my favorite CCI.

 

I also LOVED the water coasters. Mammoth was stupid amounts of fun, and Wildebeest had Jack Rabbit-style airtime during the drops into the tunnels/sheds. Both rides induced endless amounts of laughter from me and my group.

 

Even though Raven was the fourth or fifth best attraction in the park for me, it would easily make the top three for any other park. Thunderbird was also a great winged coaster, and I think I like it slightly more than Gatekeeper.

 

Most of the food I had at the park was solid, especially at Plymouth Rock Cafe.

[anonymouscactus]

Plymouth Rock Cafe has always been my go-to as well for food. Love the turkey dinner in the past. No chance to go this year because they fed us way too much for the event. Some of the employees mentioned the Alamo being their go-to, but I've never been.

 

Super duper minor disappointments:

 

1) the Dole whip machine was down at sweet stuff so we couldn't have a Dole Whip float... one is my favorite treats at Disney. We walked to the stand in the back of Splashin Safari for our fix (no pineapple float, though) -- later I thought we could have just carried over a cup of pineapple juice I'm sure they would have obliged lol

 

2) they must have gotten rid of the sweet tea around the park (I specifically remember Plymouth Rock and Kringles having it previously -- though I remember they switched to a pseudo brewed tea looking canister that was just fountain, lol) though they did have a Lipton brisk sweet tea in the pavilion / picnic dinner. Diet peach tea doesn't count I think long ago they had the fresh brewed stuff but it may have been awhile. Oh well. I was happy to see Gatorade fruit punch at some of the oasis', much preferred to the more common orange ones.

 

3) the lineup at the coffee shop area in Merry marketplace made no sense. There was an "enter here" line for the coffee area and it had it's own register, so people would stand there waiting to be addressed. Eventually an employee would tell everyone to go to a different register to get taken care of. Rinse and repeat. Nobody was acknowledging those in lines I think because they thought they were waiting for their drinks? Whatever the reason, it was really disorganized and confusing. My drink was good though

 

4) Auction off a golf cart cheuffer for the event!! The long walks between attractions can be brutal

 

Seriously though those are my only complaints if you were to force me to make some up just to feel slightly disappointed at Holiday World

 

Had a full cup for the water cup challenge left so I felt special, lol.

 

Awesome event. If you think the rides aren't great during the day, they are a whole nother beast at night.

 

Oh, and the famous Raven "ball tingle"[emoji769] was absent this year. lol. That's a good thing.

 

OHH, and the gobbler getaway walkthrough was fun 8) -- I'm still trying to figure out how my wife got a score ending in "9" on two separate occasions as the targets are supposedly 30 or 60 (with the two different color targets seemingly not making a difference?) -- this ride continues to confuse me, yet very entertaining. Love the addition of the photo and the candy shop exit.

[Canobie Coaster]

I too love Plymouth Rock Cafe. For those who were at Holiwood Nights, is the fried chicken they gave us on Saturday's dinner the same as what is sold at Plymouth Rock Cafe? I thought about trying the fried chicken there, but I couldn't go against the tried and true turkey.

[Midwesterner]

Holiwood nights is amazing, obviously and Voyage was running incredible.

 

I do have a small gripe though that I wasn't expecting regarding the new for 2019 Santa's Merry Marketplace. It's a huge improvement inside with all the options I was really blown away and there are exterior improvements as well, it looks like they built a lot more there. My gripe is simply the exterior styling. I guess I had only seen photos of it at night. But on the outside, they replaced the traditional classy white and brown German architecture theme that included murals, etc, and that really had a Santa's village feel, with sort of cartoonish red and yellow walls and roofing //: Maybe I just go to Holiday World too much to notice things like that, but was a little disappointed in that aspect.

[I Like Theme Parks.]

I too love Plymouth Rock Cafe. For those who were at Holiwood Nights, is the fried chicken they gave us on Saturday's dinner the same as what is sold at Plymouth Rock Cafe? I thought about trying the fried chicken there, but I couldn't go against the tried and true turkey.

I had both fried chickens, and I think it’s the same stuff, except the dinner was probably made a while before it was served. The chicken from dinner was fine, but the Plymouth Rock chicken I had was excellent and way more juicy.

[Canobie Coaster]

^ Thanks! I'll consider it next time, but it's going to be hard to go against the turkey.

 

Or I can just eat there twice. Hmmm...

[The username]

At the park today and the Legend has been down apparently for three days, really hoping they get it back up and running before we leave as I don't know when I'll be back.