Photo TR: An Ape takes his family to Holiday World.

[Ape]

A couple of weeks ago we decided to fill the void of our abandoned Dollywood trip by going to Holiday world and meeting close friends there. We got up at 6am, loaded up the car, and got some food to start our 3 hour drive to the park. We were a bit early though it was planned this way in case we had to make stops for our 6 month old which we ended up not needing the extra time. Being there an hour early made for a nice leisurely start to the day with getting everything we would need ready and sun screened up for the 80 degree sunny day. We hung out up front snapped some photos and waited for our friends to arrive with their 3 month old. They had stopped and picked up tickets at Kroger for us to get the cheaper price which I believe was $40.

 

By the time ropes dropped at 10 we were in the park and ready to go, the first stop would be Splashin' Safari to rent a Cabana. The Cabana was $179 and was well worth it especially with having the kids with us. The only thing I wish was different would be being able to fully close off the cabana with the curtains. We took one of the the two that were off to the side by themselves and was the closest to the dry park where we could take the tunnel by Voyage and just jump back and forth as we please with a home base. I have only been to the park once and we did not enter Splashin Safari. I thought the park was fun and I loved with then (2 years ago) but thought it was only a one day park. I learned when you are doing both sides of the park two days is needed to fully enjoy everything. We had an absolute blast, Parent swap was a lifesaver for us and made it so we would enjoy more while handling the two young babies that require feeding every two hours and all the diaper changes to go along with that. We were pretty much non stop until we left around 7. Every park employee I came across was incredibly nice and tried to make us feel right at home and we did. I think after this awesome visit we will be making an annual trip back with the kids and bringing more family along. I am going to have to look into camping right across the lake and doing multiple days.

 

Every ride we did today felt world class to me and I loved every minute of them. Being back at work today is kind of a drag with how well yesterday went. The park felt crowded but we managed to do everything a little before the rest of the crowd made their transition to each side of the park throughout the day. Operations were painfully slow at times on the coasters but with little to no wait it wasn't annoying.

 

My ride count ended up being:

 

Thunderbird 4x

Voyage 2x

Legend 1x

Raven 1x

Mammoth 3x

Wildebeast 1x

Bakuli 1x

 

 

Thunderbird

Our first ride of the day and my 3rd wing coaster, this was by far the best. I ended up riding all four corners, I think I like the ride side more but every seat was a winner and I love this thing. THIS IS HOW A WING COASTER SHOULD BE. For me the ride felt powerful and intense I was surprised. Really the only negative that can be associated with the ride is that you have to walk a mile to get to it, worth it though. When we rode later in the day and I was a little worn down the launch was strong enough to make my stomach feel like it was flipping (which is a good thing). The longest we waited was our last ride which was just at a 20 minute wait. Every other time it was about a ten minute wait.

 

Voyage

I know it shouldn't matter much and for the rest of our group they enjoyed it but I personally loath that the MCBR fully engages now. In the back seat you still get the pops of air from the downs in the tunnel but the front I felt nothing and it made me sad. I still love this thing but it may have brought it down a bit for me. Other than that it rode pretty much the same as my last visit to me. We only had a few train wait for the front seat and back seat both times. We would have rode it more but the babies and the wives were not feeling this as much as it was late in the day and we were pretty exhausted.

 

Legend

I enjoyed this on my first visit, I loved it on this visit. I guess the work they did took it from fun to outstanding for me. I would have marathoned it all day had I had time. We rode in the front seat and only had a one train wait. I saw some reports that people felt like it didn't carry enough speed at some point but I never felt like it let up. You still get the intense laterals through out the beginning and middle without getting killed from the last bit before the final brake run. This ride felt so smooth as well I could not believe it.

 

Raven

Last ride of the day heading out. Rode the back seat and tried to leave a little room for floating as it seems with my big thighs I get stapled every time. It was a success and holy crap was that airtime on drop 5 insane. Best ride I have had a this as well.

 

Mammoth

This is a waterslide, yet it rides like an airtime filled B&M. What a great ride. I could not get enough of this thing. I want to go and spend a day just riding Mammoth. The longest the line got for us was about ten minutes.

 

Wildebeest

I loved this almost as much as Mammoth (my wife said she enjoyed this one more). We waited maybe 5 minutes for our ride. We had planned to go back but didn't make it.

 

Bakuli

Holy hell does this slide have a fun and seemingly never ending drop in the dark. I took the drop backwards which made it even more intense for me. I wanted to ride again but it had a long line when we returned so we skipped it.

 

Some final thoughts before the pictures. Next time we go we are spending more than one day and will probably do an entire day just on the water park with a cabana. Thunderbird is a huge win for the park. We did some shopping before heading out and got some pretty awesome stuff for cheap. I was sad though I had already bought myself a shirt but the time we ended up and the shop right by the gate. They had some awesome Legend shirts that I wanted to get. Next time I am there hopefully they still have them and I will pick one up.

 

Holiday Worlds water park makes me hate Kings Island (home park). The water park has been successful for Kings Island and that's all that matters for parks is pulling in numbers, however if I am a higher up at KI and I visit Splashin Safari I would just shake my head at all the decision making involved at Kings Island. Those two water coasters at SS push people through pretty quick for water slides and is the type of thing these big parks need and yet we have seen nothing even close.

 

onto pictures! I didn't get a whole lot with how busy we were and at the water park my phone stayed locked up.

 

There she is! our destination.

 

People gathering before open.

 

Raven testing, watch out for that 5th drop

 

a thing of beauty

 

I love this whole area around Thunderbird

 

Our cabana for the day.

 

The view from our cabana

 

Peanut Butter Burger and cheddar seasoned fries from Goblin Burgers. It was very good. The sweet from the peanut butter is not over whelming. If you get the seasoned fries make sure you really like seasoning because there is a lot. reminded me of the flavoring on cheddar Ruffles.

 

Thunderbird doing its thing.

Edited June 7, 2016 by Ape

[prozach626]

Nice TR. Glad you had a good time.

[Ape]

Thank you sir, I am already trying to figure out if I can make it back for the water park this season.

[Nrthwnd]

Nice TR. Glad you had a good time and everything went great for all of you.

 

I wanted to ask...are there any amenities that come with the cabana? Besides

what I could make out in the photo? Just curious.

 

Very nice shot of Thunderbird, by the way.

[viking86]

Nice TR! I like that first picture, it gives that sensation of anticipation as you approach a park and you see the various rides appearing one after another. Thanks for sharing!

[ZeroGravity55]

I wanted to ask...are there any amenities that come with the cabana? Besides

what I could make out in the photo? Just curious.

 

Pretty much. You do have the option of having food delivered to the cabana.

[Vonni]

Such a beautiful park! I cant wait to return!

[Ape]

Nice TR. Glad you had a good time and everything went great for all of you.

 

I wanted to ask...are there any amenities that come with the cabana? Besides

what I could make out in the photo? Just curious.

 

Very nice shot of Thunderbird, by the way.

 

 

It has a refrigerator that has 8 bottles of water already stocked in it. these ended up being nice to have instead of drinking soda the whole time and water out of a small cup. The only other thing you can't see in the picture is a pretty large lockable cabinet. We were able to fit multiple backpacks/bags in it and a baby car seat/carrier. It felt like a hefty price but with it being split between the two couple it wasn't bad especially since we each had a young baby with us. Having the space and shade was a must.

[VegasBaby]

Thanks for sharing your trip report, I really need to get out to HW. I'm hoping to visit in the next year or two as part of a KI, KK, and HW trip. KI is rumored to be getting a new coaster next year, so I might finally go if that happens. I like that they have cabanas available at the waterpark, it would be nice to have a homebase and to get food delivered. Can you rent the cabanas ahead of time or just the day of your visit?

[Henry M]

Nice pictures, work on your spelling though . However it looks nice and I think you summed up the rides well.

[Ape]

Can you rent the cabanas ahead of time or just the day of your visit?

 

Yes you can rent them ahead of time and you can select which one specifically you would want. If you're a non smoker I would avoid the ones next to the wave pool near the entrance of Splashin' Safari. We opted to wait until day of because you never know if these trips will get cancelled while dealing with a kids.

 

Nice pictures, work on your spelling though . However it looks nice and I think you summed up the rides well.

Wildebeest has been fixed.

[gp1086]

Great report! I somehow convinced my girlfriend last year to trek to Indiana with me and go to this park - loved it. Nice change of pace around there from city life.

 

Glad you went on the good water rides.

[prozach626]

Nice TR. Glad you had a good time and everything went great for all of you.

 

I wanted to ask...are there any amenities that come with the cabana? Besides

what I could make out in the photo? Just curious.

 

Very nice shot of Thunderbird, by the way.

 

 

It has a refrigerator that has 8 bottles of water already stocked in it. these ended up being nice to have instead of drinking soda the whole time and water out of a small cup. The only other thing you can't see in the picture is a pretty large lockable cabinet. We were able to fit multiple backpacks/bags in it and a baby car seat/carrier. It felt like a hefty price but with it being split between the two couple it wasn't bad especially since we each had a young baby with us. Having the space and shade was a must.

 

Sounds like a great place to relax and enjoy adult beverages... if only...

[Ape]

I have never paid attention to if they sell alcohol as I very rarely drink.

[prozach626]

I have never paid attention to if they sell alcohol as I very rarely drink.

 

Trust me, they don't.

[TBpony414]

I've never been to Holiday World and enjoyed reading your report. Wing riders are a lot of fun and one with a launch is right up my alley! Honestly don't like water parks that much... but after hearing from you and others that they have such a good water park with outstanding rides like Mammoth and Wildebeest, I think I would love it! Kings Dominion and KI could take a few notes from HW in that department, for sure.

[larrygator]

Nice pictures, work on your spelling though .

 

With all the stupidity you spew and annoyance you spread in these forums, it would behoove you not to correct others.

[Ape]

I've never been to Holiday World and enjoyed reading your report. Wing riders are a lot of fun and one with a launch is right up my alley! Honestly don't like water parks that much... but after hearing from you and others that they have such a good water park with outstanding rides like Mammoth and Wildebeest, I think I would love it! Kings Dominion and KI could take a few notes from HW in that department, for sure.

 

 

I have a whole new take on water parks after visiting this one.