Holiday World (HW) Discussion Thread

This cannot just be a coincidence:

Coincidences happen all the time here, my friend!

Cheetah Hunt: Water Coaster edition

Cheetaka

This cannot just be a coincidence:

 

I was at the park last Sunday and noticed orange cheetah stuffed animals in the gift shops. I've only been to the park twice so these may always have been there and I never noticed.

I know this is ridiculously early, but I also know that some official HW people peruse this thread, and others may know as well, so I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. What days will Holiwood Nights be next year? I tried to figure it out, but I wasn't sure if it would be the 29th and 30th of May, or the first weekend of June as it typically is, even though that weekend is later than normal, the 5th and 6th. If it's always a certain weekend, or if somebody official knows, it'd be great to know for my early planning! Thanks!

^ It's always the weekend after Memorial Day, so it would be the 29th and 30th of May next year.

Cool, thanks! I figured it was a set weekend all the time, but wasn't sure what determined it!

They're making it pretty obvious now or it's the best troll job of all time. "Water Coaster Family Geteway" contest that ends 15 mins after the announcement.

New teaser!

HoliWood Nights will be May 29 & 30.

^Wait... So does that troll face mean it won't be those dates? Great, now I'm more confused! lol

^Wait... So does that troll face mean it won't be those dates? Great, now I'm more confused! lol

I don't know what the troll face is for, but HW's website says May 29/30, 2020.

https://www.holidayworld.com/shows-events/holiwood-nights/

^Cool, thank you! That certainly helps my planning!

lol @ random troll face trolling in its own right.

Lap it up? Sounds like a racing water coaster.

Trip Report. New member, 200 coaster credits. Home park SFSTL

Went to HW for the first time in a decade today. Crowds were insufferable, and it did not help that the park was under a boil order! So handing out bottled drinks instead of using the oasis. I think this park really needs to look at capping numbers for the day. With both lots full, the waterpark was an absolute mess and the main park as well. Forget about getting any food. They are too small to handle major crowds.

To the rides, I did voyage first and hated it as much as I did 10 years ago. I love woodies but I never have understood this ride. No matter where I sit I am waiting for it to end. Thunderbird is great, and easily their best coaster. But it does not quite measure up to gatekeeper for me. The Raven is running well and still provides great thrills. If Legend was retracked you could have fooled me. It was a rough mess. Painful mostly.

The waterpark and 2 water coasters are awesome, but wait times were through the roof as early as 12:30 pm. And the wave pools were so full it was practically dangerous. But the area was clean and nice.

Didn't ride any flats.

Overall, the park is great for splashin safari, until it gets busy, but coaster wise, for us at least, its not worth the drive with nothing else in the area to do. We will stick to CP, KI, Magic Mountain, SFGAM, SFGADV and BGW as our top parks.

Are we getting trolled right now?

Are we getting trolled right now?

Not be me, I am just posting a report. I see you love the legend, sorry that I didn't!

Hey group!

I just got back from an abbreviated trip to HW. Haven't been in 3 years. I say abbreviated because storms rolled in and I ended up leaving early afternoon.

Voyage is way better than I remember with the retrack. But one thing I noticed is that the triple down after the MCBR is now a double down. Is this correct? I only got one lap on it before so I could be wrong. can some one who goes there a lot verify this for me.

^ It's still a triple down if you wondering if there as been any track changes? However some might argue that's it's more of a double down now that the MCBR acts as a trim and takes most of the airtime out of the first down

Went to HW for the first time in a decade today. Crowds were insufferable, and it did not help that the park was under a boil order! So handing out bottled drinks instead of using the oasis. I think this park really needs to look at capping numbers for the day. With both lots full, the waterpark was an absolute mess and the main park as well. Forget about getting any food. They are too small to handle major crowds.

No offense but going on the last weekend of daily operation wasn't your best choice. HW goes to weekend operation this week and reduced their hours last week, which tells me a lot of their seasonal staff is done for the year. HW also isn't gonna cap crowds when they have people driving 3+ hours to visit their park. I will say this. (and I'm not defending HW's wait times on food as that's something they still need to drastically improve, especially in the waterpark) having worked in food service for a lot of years, anytime there is a boil water order, it slows all food operations down. Anything that requires water has to be boiled before it can be used. There's no way to prepare for that nor could you staff enough people keep up when there is probably 20,000+ people in the park. Sounds like it was just an all around crapy day for guests and workers too.

Well, today is the day of HW's 2020 announcement! I'm very excited to see what this awesome park is adding for next season, even if it's a water ride (which it almost certainly is), because they have the best water park and rides, as far as I'm concerned! Plus, taking my kids to HW for their first visit is one of the no doubt trips that's happening next year, so it'll be great to have something else new to experience!

I'm really excited for this announcement. HW still seems pretty darn good at keeping their Cap Ex investments under wraps until they're ready to announce. Still think this is a waterpark addition or some sort of "water coaster." But I'll just say my coaster enthusiasts wet dream would be for a Intamin Megalite to pop up here.. Or maybe a Mack version.

Does anyone know if the announcement is happening live anywhere online? (edit - couldn't find anything live.)

I couldn't find the announcement live online, but the park posted a video of the new ride to their YouTube channel already. I'm not going to link it since I assume the mods will make a big post shortly.

Went to HW for the first time in a decade today. Crowds were insufferable, and it did not help that the park was under a boil order! So handing out bottled drinks instead of using the oasis. I think this park really needs to look at capping numbers for the day. With both lots full, the waterpark was an absolute mess and the main park as well. Forget about getting any food. They are too small to handle major crowds.

 

No offense but going on the last weekend of daily operation wasn't your best choice. HW goes to weekend operation this week and reduced their hours last week, which tells me a lot of their seasonal staff is done for the year. HW also isn't gonna cap crowds when they have people driving 3+ hours to visit their park. I will say this. (and I'm not defending HW's wait times on food as that's something they still need to drastically improve, especially in the waterpark) having worked in food service for a lot of years, anytime there is a boil water order, it slows all food operations down. Anything that requires water has to be boiled before it can be used. There's no way to prepare for that nor could you staff enough people keep up when there is probably 20,000+ people in the park. Sounds like it was just an all around crapy day for guests and workers too.

I remember consistently waiting in hour plus lines on rides like Mine Train at SFSTL when I was very young. Parks used to be a lot more packed. But now it's 2019, so #capthenumbers. That's all great in theory until you arrive right when the attendance is capped. Maybe we can cap the numbers and then complain about the park not having enough money to add attractions?

I think if people can go to events like Cedar Point's Haunt and still have fun despite the massive crowds and three hour waits then coaster enthusiasts can deal with a few packed days. It probably wouldn't have felt so bad if the boil order hadn't happened.