Photo TR: Holiwood Nights 2012

[Godwyn]

It that time again for Holiwood Nights. I'm going to try to do this report while we are here. We arrived Thursday as the sky opened up and dumped buckets on us. Oh, and it got pretty chilly. Started out being 87 degrees on Thursday and Friday it was a high of 60. So that being said we didn't do the waterpark like we were wanting to do.

 

We are taking a little break from the park before we head back for the actual event to start so the captions might not be the best.

 

So on to the pictures.

We made it to Santa Claus!

This is our home for the next 3 days. This cabin at Lake Rudolph Campground is awesome!

We made sure to bring Domo along!

This mini golf comes with water hazards.

Because it rained so much we couldn't get the fire going to we had to use the gas grill to roast marshmallows the ghetto way.

Marshmallow abuse or snowman poop. You decide.

Jelly made it home again!

Max and Jessie channeling the turkey.

Maybe they channeled it a little to much.

Then it was off to shoot, err, call turkeys.

I have no idea what Max is doing.

Its Holidog!

John is a little over excited to be riding a kiddie coaster.

Jessie getting her credit. She is such a whore.

Time to hit the playground!

The look on Johns face is priceless.

Not sure why the train scares them so much.

Yo Ho Yo Ho.

So John, what kind of a pirate are you?

Off to the Thanksgiving area for a certain reason.

For Thanksgiving Dinner!

Oh, and Voyage (over the trees!)

We wanted to ride Pilgrims Plunge, but it was still to chilly.

Too cold for this today also, hopefully tomorrow is warmer.

And with this picture of Legend, we are heading back to the park.

[Erik Johnson]

Your cabin looks quite nice.

[DBru]

The first night of the event was GREAT! Can't wait for tomorrow, and I'm excited to see the rest of your report.

[Godwyn]

Eric --The cabin is really nice. We have pretty much everything that you would get at a hotel plus some. The only thing is that the wifi is really slow! I'll try to post some pictures from the inside later.

 

We headed back for the actual event and had a really good time. More of our TPR friends finally showed up and we pretty much had an IntimidaTour reunion (plus a couple of new friends). I wasn't able to get too many pictures cause we were too busy riding. But here are a few that I did take.

As we were waiting for the park to get emptied out, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man showed up.

Good thing Dan Koch came dressed as a ghost buster!

He came prepared with a song, but had to use a cheat sheet.

As it turned out, the Marshmallow Man was his Mom, Pat.

This is what that had for us for dinner. There was also chips and vegetables, but this was enough for me.

Here are a couple of freaky looking elves. How many weird things can you find?

This was actually the only picture I took of a coaster all night. The camera I'm using is new and I was just playing around with the shutter speed.

It was still pretty cold as you can see here as Jessie is hibernating.

As brothers will be brothers, Max ended up tying her up to a pole. Guess we wouldn't lose her that way!

How fitting as the theme of this years event is Coastbusters.

One last shot playing around with my new camera. Hopefully tomorrow is warmer and the sun is out so I can get some better shots.

[Hang And Bang]

I won't say what I told the TPR crew my theory is on what those hands are praying for. It rhymes with really good, um, flick. Photo walkbacks start soon and more ERT tonight. Everything's been great so far!

[rollin_n_coastin]

Guys, this is awesome! Glad you're having a great time and hope the weather gets better!

 

The cabin looks amazing compared to other campgrounds. Hopefully you can get on Mammoth--really looking forward to hearing how that is compared to Wildebeest.

 

Cheers,

Jason

[Godwyn]

Thanks Jason! We had an excellent time. The worst part is trying to do this report being that the wifi here is REALLY slow. I tried doing an update after we had our waterpark ERT but I couldn't even get the page to load.

 

Mammoth was amazing! Really freakin' cold, but so much fun. We ended up riding it 3 different times. Only once did we not spin. We also got about 6 rides on Wildebeest. The bad part is that we were having such a good time, I wasn't able to get many pictures. And some of the ones I did get were quick last minute shots, so please excuse them.

 

We also had a great time on nite ERT. So many things from riding Voyage in the rain and getting the most wild ride on it that we have ever had to just laughing our butts off just hanging out with some awesome people. The second half of Saturday is going to have to wait till I get back home and go threw all my pictures from the walkbacks and so that I can have faster internet. But I'm going to go ahead and post what little I have from the morning.

Yes, we are all crazy for being here for waterpark ERT when its not even 60 degrees out!

But we are here for this, Wildebeest!

Oh, and this! Mammoth! It really is one great ride!

I think even this guy thought we were crazy for being there when its so chilly.

We also had ERT on Bakuli. Or as John likes to call it, The Ride of Death, because of his experience last year.

Really long family raft ride. This is a really neat enclosed slide with holes drilled in the top to make Tiki faces to see as you go threw it.

We also hit up their tornado (can't remember what they call it) did a couple of runs on the racers, and then headed back to the cabin to eat and relax a bit.

While waiting for the campground shuttle to show up, Jessie went back into hibernation.

And Max decided to just pass out on the pavement!

But when we get back, we will be getting up close with some coasters.

[Hilltopper39]

Great report so far, looks like Holiday World is as amazing as ever. I really regret not going to Hollywood Nights at least once all the years I live less than 3 hours away from Holiday World.

 

I know they are completely different but what did you like better, Wildebeest or Mammoth?

 

Just curious, but were there any Q&A session with park management, and if so did anyone ask about Bluegrass Boardwalk?

[Godwyn]

I think I liked Mammoth a little bit more. You don't get airtime like you do on Wildebeest, but having everyone face each other and the chance that your raft can spin, really adds a lot of fun to it.

 

I don't think they had a Q&A session (if they did, we missed it). We didn't see Pat all day Friday until ERT, so my wife went to go say hi to her. She said that she was in Louisville all day.

[Midgetman82]

Holiwood Nights was awesome! I rode Wildebeest and Mammoth once each, and I was done after that. It was freezing! I wish I could have ridden them more like I did last year.

 

Great report, seemed like you had fun. I'm going through my photos now, though I'm now starting to realize how trigger-happy I am with my camera.

Edited June 3, 2012 by Midgetman82

[Meteornotes]

You guys are extra-brave for even trying water rides at those temperatures.

 

dt

[Midgetman82]

^I'm surprised at how many times Godwyn went on Wildebeest! Although his Wildebeest-to-Mammoth re-ride ratio makes sense since Mammoth gets you absolutely drenched!

[Godwyn]

^^ The whole time we kept saying we were nuts for doing it.

 

^ We weren't even going to ride Mammoth the last two times because it was so cold. But after our last rides on Wildebeest, we seen that there was no waiting for Mammoth and headed on over. After our first ride we just had a one raft wait and we were back on. On our last ride, it shut down right as we were getting on the belt to bring you back into the station. Because we weren't moving, water started to come over the raft making it sink. Of course I was on the side that was sinking and the next thing I knew I was sitting in chest deep cold water. I started yelling to my wife who was sitting on the opposite side "Rose, Rose, I'm sinking!" The ride op that was standing at the station just started laughing.

 

 

So here are some more pictures from Saturday.

Raven out over the lake.

I realized that I didn't get many good pictures of Raven cause I was too busy chatting with friends. But I did get this picture of a breast examination in progress.

Maybe I needed a cheaper camera and tripod to get the good shots.

We were wondering if Chad was trying to help save The Big Dipper.

So if you need first aid, you have to climb to the top of Legend.

Some first drop fun.

Did you get that?

Take the Tunnel!!!

Can I get some peanut butter with this jam?

I guess the single rider didn't want to be recognized.

I know your pain lady.

Maybe if I had a blue shirt, I could have gotten better pictures too... Naahhhh

[Godwyn]

Ok, now it is time for the Voyage pictures. While walking back, my wife talked with one of the mechanics and he said that the last 1/4th of the track will be re-tracked this winter. That is great because that is the only part that hurts right now. Hopefully what they did last winter won't be torn up too much and the whole ride will be awesome. He also said they were not going to put the railing up on the big turn around out in the spaghetti bowl because it adds a little something to it. And it really does. You get used to having it there the whole way and when you get to that point, it give the illusion that you are going to fly right off.

Some 90 degree fun. Would have been nice if it was 90 degrees for the waterpark ERT.

When you are in the first couple of cars, you just hang there.

First drop seems so far away.

And there she goes.

Hmph. Nerds.

Look at that hair time.

This is the rebuilt section where they are going to leave out the railing.

[Jojo19799]

This was probably the single greatest weekend ever. I had so much fun, and I can't wait to see what shenanigans we will get into next year!!

[better_by_design]

Ok, now it is time for the Voyage pictures. While walking back, my wife talked with one of the mechanics and he said that the last 1/4th of the track will be re-tracked this winter. That is great because that is the only part that hurts right now. Hopefully what they did last winter won't be torn up too much and the whole ride will be awesome.

 

To this I say THANK GOD. Voyage is a completely awesome/insane ride, and with the great reconstruction work done on it, you can absolutely tell when the rework ends... the last 1/4 of the ride is definitely past intense and into painful, and if they can get it back into "intense/insane", it'll be HUGE in terms of my ability to enjoy it even more.

 

My wife & I were part of the crazies lining up for morning ERT on the water coasters, although we cheated and wore rain jackets, which helped with the cold morning.

 

It was our first time back to Holiday World since Wildebeest opened, so ERT on it & Mammoth side by side was a huge treat, even with the temperatures.

 

As others here have said, the two rides really are very different - though several of the GP in the park said "Oh, they're EXACTLY the same". Sigh.

 

Wildebeest comes across very much as an attempt to simulate a rollercoaster with a waterslide... it plays with speed and airtime, and with the ERT and only 2 people in our raft, we got a lot of air, and a lot of slamming back down, and completely loved it, riding at least 6 times.

 

Mammoth is... well, MAMMOTH. The pictures do not represent how BIG it is... I'm pretty sure you could set up 3 tennis courts on the lifthill conveyor belt. As far as a ride, it isn't really coaster-like, but is much more like a traditional waterslide/family raft ride after being given massive doses of Hulk-style gamma radiation - everything is BIGGER, FASTER, STEEPER, and more powerful, but the feel is that of a waterslide. This is at least true with the current 6 person round rafts... the non-spinning rafts may change this up a bit.

 

I will also say that if you're going straight backwards down the big hills (45 degree or the double hill) you have to white knuckle hold on to the handles or you would absolutely get dumped out of the boat... which is AWESOME! We got some good spins on some of our 5 or 6 Mammoth runs, though it definitely pays to have a full (empty seats squish against the channel walls and don't cause spins) & unbalanced raft.

 

Mammoth also gets you much, much wetter than Wildebeest... during the ride, but especially in the u-turn right before unloading, which with the frigid water Saturday morning (as an earlier poster mentioned) induced Titanic-style near-hypothermia, especially since waves of water are needed to push around the bend! During the summer months, I'm sure this will be a different story.

 

Mammoth apparently valleyed a raft later on the course during one of our rides up the lifthill and caused a few minute delay; the ride ops seemed to be getting much more particular about getting rafts in the sweet spot as far as weight (not too heavy or too light) after that.

 

Another big point on both rides I hadn't thought too much about is how awesome having the conveyor lifthills are - it makes ERT a heck of a lot less of a cardio workout than traditional waterslides! It also makes it possible for folks unable to climb stairs to ride easily, something I hadn't thought about until we had a chance to ride Mammoth with a fellow who needs a wheelchair and normally didn't get to ride most waterslides. A huge benefit in terms of accessibility of thrills to more people!

 

Overall, a great event, with a wonderful effort put forth by Holiday World and their incredibly friendly staff!

[Godwyn]

This was probably the single greatest weekend ever. I had so much fun, and I can't wait to see what shenanigans we will get into next year!!

 

Can't wait!

 

My wife & I were part of the crazies lining up for morning ERT on the water coasters, although we cheated and wore rain jackets, which helped with the cold morning.

 

 

We seen you heading towards Wildebeest that morning. We were wondering how well the jackets were going to work. A friend of ours used a poncho on Mammoth and he said it did pretty good at keeping his top half dry.

 

Wildebeest comes across very much as an attempt to simulate a rollercoaster with a waterslide... it plays with speed and airtime, and with the ERT and only 2 people in our raft, we got a lot of air, and a lot of slamming back down,

 

When it was just my wife and I in the raft we were getting insane air too. We learned quickly to try to lift your butt up off the raft so it doesn't hurt as much. Although, on the 5 hour drive home yesterday, my tailbone was killing me! You get a pretty good headchopper effect on the drop with the wooden tunnel that goes under the lift because you fly over that hill and catch air going over.

 

We got some good spins on some of our 5 or 6 Mammoth runs, though it definitely pays to have a full (empty seats squish against the channel walls and don't cause spins) & unbalanced raft.

 

I was kind of wondering if it depends on the raft also. First ride we only had one empty seat and we spun pretty good. Second ride we only had 4 and we all sat on one side and didn't spin at all. Third ride it was the same 4 but we spread out a bit and spun like crazy! We spun so fast that I had that feeling you get on the corners when you ride a Whip.

 

Another big point on both rides I hadn't thought too much about is how awesome having the conveyor lifthills are - it makes ERT a heck of a lot less of a cardio workout than traditional waterslides! It also makes it possible for folks unable to climb stairs to ride easily, something I hadn't thought about until we had a chance to ride Mammoth with a fellow who needs a wheelchair and normally didn't get to ride most waterslides. A huge benefit in terms of accessibility of thrills to more people!

 

The lift hills are a godsend. After riding Bakuli, ZOOMbabwe, Zinga, and the racers twice, our calves were burning.

 

We seen the guy in the wheelchair get on. We always like to seen people with a disability being able to go on rides.

[jynx242]

I'm loving the "channel the turkey" reference. Wish I had been there. We all know I'm masochistic and love the Voyage, but the main reason is that I miss the heck out of you guys!!!

 

Glad you all had a great time!

 

David

[Godwyn]

I made the reference just for you guys! I told Chris that I needed to take a picture and send it to you, Scott and Jenn.

 

And you would have really loved the Voyage Saturday night. It started raining and I swear it was going about 10 to 15 mph faster! So much more airtime than earlier on in the day. And talking about being masochistic, is it sad that I'm proud of the bruises on my legs from the lapbar?

 

And we had even more fun just hanging out and walking around and laughing our asses off! I haven't had that much fun in a park in a LONG time.

[chadster]

Hey I wasn't the last one out of that tour!

 

Epic weekend for sure. I'm sick from the morning ERT on Wildebeast and Mammoth but super glad I did, possibly from the rain during ERT, and I had my poncho! (But failed to use it...) Go figure. The one interesting thing I learned was all the water for those two rides is kept underground which explained why it was slightly warmer than freshly melted ice cubes.

 

The Voyage

[Godwyn]

On to the last part of my report.

 

After the walkbacks we headed over to the kiddie section where Kevin's wife and daughter were hanging out.

Then later on was an epic night of laughs and rides on Voyage in the rain! Here again we were having so much fun that I didn't get many night pictures.

Here is Jojo about killing herself in the kiddie playground.

After that she decided it would be better if she just made a little fort and stayed there a bit.

Here is Kevin's daughter getting her Howler credit.

Not to be out done, Chad had to get his Howler credit, and he made a friend at the same time.

Chad or Macaulay Culkin. You decide.

From what I hear, you find new shoes here. (inside joke)

Missed out on ERT on this by a couple of minutes. If it was like last year, they ran a long cycle.

Max is happy and ready to fly!

John doing, well, what John does.

Jessie was glad to ride this on her terms.

Be careful riding this at night, you may puke.

Our awesome group that made this event even better. Haven't had this much fun in a long time. Thanks to all of you and hope to be able to do it again soon!

Evil looking Santa says "See you next year!"

[comet]

Had an awesome time with you guys!! Nice trip report. Would love to get my hands on that Howler pic with Katie. Maybe you could facebook it...hint hint..lol. Hope to do another trip with you guys in the near future...Remember, SAVE THE DIPPER!

[Jojo19799]

I miss my fort.

[jynx242]

^ Whatever did you do without your harem?????

[jlines]

This was our first year to attend this event and we had a blast. My husband is in the pic of Saturday morning waiting - I must have been in the ladies room at the time you took it. All I can say about Mammoth is.....BEST water slide/ride EVER!!!!! In fact, as far as variety of things to do I think Splashin' Safari is the best waterpark we have ever been to (and we have been to a lot). I still have bruises on both of my hips from the insane coaster rides but they were well worth it. Hopefully we will be back!