Holiwood Nights 2010 PTR

[Beast1979]

Holiwood Nights has been an annual event at Holiday World for quite a while now. However, this year it happened to fall on the same date as the other popular enthusiast event, CoasterMania! at Cedar Point. Enthusiasts were forced to make a difficult decision: Holiday World, or Cedar Point? Apparently, the choice was clear for many a coaster fan, for attendance at Holiwood Nights was none too shabby. In fact, crowds were rather large for the event.

For me, the choice was rather easy too, considering I had attended CoasterMania! last year, and have never visited Holiday World. And boy, am I glad I picked Holiday World! The park is superior in nearly every aspect, from attention to detail to ride quality, free drinks, sunscreen, parking, practically everything is fantastic.

Please note that these pictures were taken from my cellphone. Quality isn't spectacular, and my battery died so there will periods without pictures. I'll do my best with my writing skills.

Like last year, Trooper Mom worked a half day at work in Dayton while I stayed home and packed. And also like last year, we didn't plan to get to the park until the festivities started. We left the house at about 3:30, hoping to get to the park by about 6-7 pm Central Time.

Passing through downtown Cincinnati is always fun for me, I love city skylines and exploring downtowns.

Procter And Gamble's twin headquarters.

The new skyscraper is nearly complete (Height wise) and is looking very impressive.

Is it football season yet?

Crossing the Ohio River....

...Into Kentucky. Oh God.

Some music for the road?

Florence, Y'All!

Through the magic of PTR's, you have now been transported from Northern Kentucky to Louisville.

The mighty Ohio River Again.

It was downtown Louisville when we saw our first Holiday World sign.

Shortly after crossing the Ohio again into Indiana, we hit some major traffic. Kat (violakat03) was just 10 miles or so ahead of us, so we kept in touch about road conditions. Adam (pkiboy) and Shawn (beastman) were just a mile or so from Kat, and Kevin (KiKevin) was about 30 miles behind us. We ended up forming a Coaster Enthusiast Convoy!

While at a rest stop I saw this poster. Hmm...wrong park.

As we were leaving the Rest stop, we found Keith (KIFan 1980) there! It was quite comical how he ended up tailing us for the rest of the 20 miles to Santa Claus!

I nearly went crazy went I saw this sign.

After we exited the highway, Keith went South to Holiday World, about 10 miles. We had to stop at our hotel, 20 miles North. So we spent the next half hour riding through farms and several small rural towns.

I believe this Ferdinand.

The funny thing about all of the houses here? They don't have Cable! They all have antennas with satallites! Mom said since we were driving so fast on the highway, we must have hit 88 miles per hour and time warped back to before Cable.

There were several ads for Holiday World at our hotel.

We stayed at The Jasper Inn, a hotel in another county from Holiday World, and therefore in a different time zone. Confusing? You bet.

The hotel had no elevators, and our room was in an adjacent building from the rest of the hotel, so it was very inconvenient.

Our room was....modest. Which is a nice way of saying it was bare bones and awful if it weren't for the fact that we wouldn't be spending any time there.

We headed out, and it wasn't long before we saw Holiday World signs!

We popped over a hill, and all of the sudden Holiday World became visible.

I was shaking with excitement. I had finally made it.

Holiday World's parking lot is a pain to get to.

Plus it's all gravel where the spaces are. However, it's free, so no complaints here!

Out by the parking lot are the white and colored Water Towers. No need for a sign, just a water tower! Epic!

The Legend lot is actually divided from the entrance thanks to a road. So we had to walk under the road to get to the park.

Many compare Raven to Beast, but there are several things that make it different. One is the fact that Raven stands proud and tall next to the parking lot!

Holiday World's entrance kicks the crap out of KI's brown building.

Christmas theming at the front of the park.

This is basically HW's equivalent of the Royal Fountains.

Trooper Mom and I found everyone at Kringle's Kafe.

I love the decor in this place. It's just so obvious that they actually care about what it looks like.

First ride up, the Raven.

Everyone who we didn't find at the Kafe we found at Raven. Soon we had Kat, Nick (dare-to-fly), Paul (Runs Negative-G.com), Adam, Jared (rotag1299) and Angie (gigacoaster2k), and probably a few others I can't remember.

Holiday World is too awesome to have an entire room. Just put it in the middle of the station!

Raven, named after the Edgar Allen Poe Poem, has a station themed to a New England mansion of years ago. It's so awesome looking.

Woosh! Raven comes out of the Transfer Shed

When asked to describe Raven, I'd describe it as "Everything that Beast should have been but never was." It's trimless. It's fast. It's got airtime, laterals, positive G's, everything one could look for in a Woodie. The memorable element, unlike Beast's Helix, is in the middle of the ride, the swooping turn over lake Rudolph. Even though they have no actual midcourse, Raven and Legend both have visible midpoints in the ride, and the 5th drop is Raven's. It's always surprising how long it ends up being, even despite riding it several times. The first half is more of a classic woodie style, with hills and airtime and decent drops, while the second half is Beastlike. In short, the ride owns.

Me and Paul in the backseat for my first ride, with Adam, Elizabeth, Adam, Jared, and Angie ahead of us.

Kat, Nick, and Bond further ahead.

We then went off to ride Legend. This, until I discovered 1-1 on Voyage, was my favorite ride at Holiday World. It's themed to the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and the station is designed to look just like a schoolhouse, complete with a bell that a ride op rings. The ride had laterals, airtime, positive G's, an awesome layout with a great helix, and at the top of the lift hill the speakers play a wolf howl and a voice tells you "Don't Look Back!" I love it!

Kat called me for my Legend ride. People were basically calling me for my first rides like they would call shotgun in a car.

Who's ready to ride Legend?

We then headed to the Thanksgiving area. I was thirsty so I went to get some water. You should have seen the look on my face when I saw you could serve yourself your own drinks!

Afterwards we rode Voyage. My first ride on it was somewhat rough, however I didn't really notice because I was in awe of the awesomeness. My second ride was relatively smooth, but my third ride was rough. Very rough. Approaching Son of Beast rough. This is my main case against the ride, it's layout is incredible and it has the opportunity to be absolute, complete, total and 100% win. However, it is so violent and rough that if you ride in any other seat besides the front, you'll end up in pain. Many people say "The pain doesn't bother me", but how can you love a ride when it hurts you? I have faith that the Timberliners will fix this problem. The main issue with this is consistency, one ride on Voyage will be great and the other will suck, and the seat you sit in makes a difference. I hope that when the Timberliners are installed, they will solve the problem and provide an enjoyable experience no matter where you sit. I wanted to love this ride, but for a good period of time, I didn't.

After we were finished riding, we all got our picture taken with Pat and Will Koch. Someone commented that Kat Adam and I looked demonic.

More in a second....

[The Interpreter]

Fantastic TR!

A few things:

You doubtless stayed north of I-64, as the park is south of I-64...and Jasper is north!

Legend is the coaster most compare to the legendary Beast, helices and all...

That antenna picture you show is for ham radio. It has a satellite dish mounted on it about halfway up it...

As for Holiday World's version of the Royal Fountain, that is a recognition of the Applause Award from IAAPA in it...the hands are applauding (not praying as some in the park almost always speculate...though I can see why...from that fountain you can also see a manger scene...)

[Beast1979]

We got back to our hotel and showered, took some Advil (Voyage hurt my side like you wouldn't believe) and slept in till 7:30 Eastern. By 8:30 eastern, we were on our way back.

This is Holiday's World of saying "Welcome back for another day of epicness!"

We met up with Kevin and later found Kat, Nick and Angie.

Trooper Mom commented that it was like they were "Herding" us to the Waterpark like Sheep. Sheep with Fannypacks.

I spy Voyage through the Waterslides.

We got down to the waterpark where they were serving breakfast. People always complain about the lack of healthy choices at amusement parks, so I was fairly pleased when I saw that they were serving fruits, orange juice and apple cinnamon muffins. I had already eaten at the hotel, but it was good to see Holiday World was taking the time to do the right think healthwise.

Kat found a strawberry that was actually 2 strawberries mixed into one. She stared lovingly into the Siamese Strawberry.

After a quick dip in the wavepool, Kat, Jared and I took a ride on Wildebeest. Surprisingly, it had a Single Rider Line, so we chose to wait 20 minutes in that. The ride itself was very fun, not too unique from other rides like it (The ones Great Wolf Lodge and Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom), but very long and with pretty decent airtime. You don't get extremely soaked, but you do get wet enough to remind yourself you're at a waterpark after drying off in line. We got back in line in the regular line so we could ride again, but it closed down halfway through our wait. Apparently someone got stuck on the ride and they had to reset it. However we got on for a second ride before we moved on.

We met up with Jesse (Avatar), Scott, Nick probably a few others I'm forgetting, and moved on to the other features of the waterpark.

We first rode Zinga, the Purple, mirrored counterpart of Kings Island's Tasmanian Typhoon. It was a pretty fun ride, but like many others like it relied on the gimmick of the giant funnel.

Afterwards we made the ridiculous trek to the top of Zoombabwe. The ride is dark purple on the outside and pitch black on the inside. Throughout the course of the ride there are several lights arranged in the pattern of the faces of Tiki Gods. Pretty cool!

We then went to ride Pilgrims plunge. This ride relies heavily on the gimmick of height. I personally didn't find it very memorable, not bad but not good.

The elevator lift was very cool, however. Since the top and bottom of the elevator are only one boat wide, they needed to find a way to get a boat down and another boat up simultaneously. So, the center of the elevator is bent outwards to fit two, therefore, going up the lift the boat tilts. Nice!

We took a ride on the Lazy river and stumbled upon Rachel, Keith, Gary, Nick (DropZone99), Mitchel, Adam and more.

Since we had everyone together, we took a ride on Jungle Jets, their racing slides. Since they didn't fit enough people, we broke up into the bigger and smaller people and had 2 races. I didn't win, but thought it was a fun ride none the less.

We then started to change into our clothes and head out into the normal park for lunch. I snapped a few shots of the park on the way out.

One of the many play places in Splashin Safari.

Red Ravage climbs the lift hill.

Kiddie area ahead.

From certain areas of Splashin Safari you can get good views of Legend and Voyage.

Legend doesn't take great advantage of the terrain it sits on, but it's still a fun ride none the less.

The first drop is a little twisted!

The last turn on Legend is quite a twisted one!

The pre-drop has you set going towards the right, then you make a sudden turn to the left. The first drop's radius is continuously increasing to keep the laterals strong.

A lot of the turns on Legend are minimally banked, which translates to some pretty wicked lateral gs!

Exiting Splashin Safari, walking past the Fourth of July section.

The ERT on the night before also featured HallowSwings, quite possibly one of the most epic swing rides ever thanks to it's awesome theme and it's awesome ride ops.

Trooper Mom and I grabbed lunch at Goblin Burgers.

Would you believe, all of this for just $13? Well, believe it!

We also managed to find Adam and Matt!

Goblin Burgers is right next to Legend's Station.

The pre-drop on Legend is eerily Son of Beast like.

Let's ride!

Holiday World's coasters have nets on the side where they're close to the midway.

Part of the ride comes close to the station, and the entire station house shakes when it flies by.

The trains are purple. The Spiel? "It's Purple, it's fast, it's really a blast! Enjoy your ride on Legend"

EPIC Line Jumping sign!

Making it even more like a schoolhouse, they have a chalkboard! The sign says "No phones, cameras, hats, bags, purses, fannypacks or loose items."

Welcome back Legend, how was that ride? INCREDIBLE!

It's hard to find the small little theaters in the park.

Adam Matt and I went to the Alamo to pick up Dave and his family, Nick and Mitchel.

Since I was the Holiday World virgin, they had to get me on the necessary rides while I was there. So, up next was Liberty Launch.

The ride itself is rather small, only about 60 feet by eyeballing it, and it launches you up once then bounces you a few times. However, the thrust upward and the airtime on the bounces is so awesome it already surpasses Power Tower at Cedar Point. Holiday World's entrance and front area of the park is at the top of a hill, and from then on as you progress into the park the terrain falls downward into a valley. So if you sit the right way on Liberty Launch, you can get a great view of the park sitting in the valley. Unfortunately I sat the other way, facing the midway.

Tucked in a corner of the park is the Freedom Train, the only remaining ride from when the park first opened.

Next to it is the park's "Kiddie Section", Holidogs Fun Town!

Sponsored by the park mascot himself, Holidog!

Time to ride Holiday World's only steel coaster, the Howler.

Howler is a steel kiddie coaster in the Holidog section, about 20 feet tall and more jerky then Raven. (That guy is totally taking a POV)

Gotta ride the front seat!

After we finished Howler we progressed on to the Raven/Legend Walkback.

The sign for the Halloween section.

Pilgrims Plunge is visible from nearly the entire park it's so dang tall!

We all got tired waiting for the walkback so people got a little wako. Angie being crazy to Adam.

Rachel being her typical cool.

Jared expressing his inability to do a normal face.

More in a second.....

[Beast1979]

Onward we go!

Epic drop!

This is one of my desktop backgrounds.

I guess it's pretty obvious to see who was anxious for the walkback. Front of the group ftw!

The ride really screams through this tunnel.

You can see the bends and the sways in the track. Sweet!

Wee! Awesome drop!

Angie Approves Legend!

Looking upward

Moar wood! Jackson want moar wood!

Legend has a double helix with tunnels just like Beast, however Legends is more disorganized and intense.

Some people like Beast's helix more, I think Legend's is more fun but it doesn't have the same climatic payoff that Beast's does.

This is Raven.

Raven, while very fun, is very short in the second half. As a matter of fact, there are only 3 real direction changes after the fifth drop. This is part of one it's turns.

Part of the ride is in a forest, but part of it is on the edge of this open field.

See? I think there needs to be more trees here.

Random Wood Maintenance shop!

Legend flies through it's minimally banked helix!

Raven's swooping turn over Lake Rudolph.

Flying through the turn.

The fifth hill is about 50 feet high and has a 60 foot drop. You always think it'll be smaller and then you're surprised at how big the drop is.

Crazy little "S" turn at the bottom of the fifth drop.

The vertical timbers have numbers on them. We actually spent a good 3 minutes talking about what they're for. Apparently they're for ease of maintenance so that it's less difficult to identify supports.

It's always a deeply moving experience to touch a roller coaster.

Didyaknow that the straightaway inside the tunnel on Raven is actually at a slight degree downward, not flat?

Raven through the trees!

Ending the walkback.

Angie Approves of Holiday World!

The station you see is Raven's. The lift you see is Legend's.

Another one of Holiday World's live shows is Dive. I'll let you guess what it's about.

Time to go to Thanksgiving....

And ride the Voyage!

Hawtness.

I rode Voyage for the 6th time on the trip, and it still failed to impress me.

I mean, I could see going through the ride how it would be very, very fun, but the roughness and violence of the ride just ruined it for me. I still had yet to find the magic seat where it's smooth.

All of the ladies of the trip (Where were you, Rachel?)

Time for the Voyage walkback (Conveniently, when my camera lens started to fog up.)

90 Degrees!

Crossover

Are those Club TPR shirts?! LOL!!!

90 Degrees!

Flying down the first drop!

One of the few minimally banked sections on Voyage

Transition WIN!!!!

WIN!!!!

The second hill dominates over the path.

Bunny hill under the second hill. (What, no hands up?)

First drop

The third hill is taken at a slight bank throughout the rise and fall, so it feels really weird.

Woo hoo! Hands up, that's more like it!

More in a second....

[Beast1979]

Going down the second drop.

Bunny hill through the structure.

Ravage going into the tunnel

The Voyage is full of surprising little pops of airtime and other little quick turns like this one.

Like the ride or not, it looks HOT!

This little hill here is the last one before the ride switches from tall airtime hills to quick turns and high banking

People have described these tunnels as smelling like everything from rotting cow manure to moldy cheese.

Voyage sits in the back of the park, and reaches far into the woods. So the back portion of the ride is so far from the entrance of the park that it sits on a hill on the other side of the valley. Since it's on a hill, the midcourse is just a few feet off of the ground!

Jared stares at the beauty of the Hybrid.

Red Ravage comes out of the second 90 Degree turn and through the quick transition.

They really couldn't come up with a decent turnaround for this ride, so they did twist after turn after turn before they ended up getting it to go the other direction.

"You try to take those home, and you'll have Tetanus before you reach Kentucky." - Me responding to Ryan

The blue train enters the "Spaghetti Bowl"!

I could watch Voyage run all day. Of course, I wouldn't mind riding it every now and again!

Angie approves of Voyage, and rightly so!

Kevin is about to go and touch the crooked supports.

KIC GROUP PHOTO!

Voyage ftw

After sitting around doing nothing for a while, we decided to do Gobler Getaway, aka "The Air Condition!"

Random turkeys on the walls, with the air smelling like Pumpkin Pie

Grandma's Got a Gun! Ha ha just kidding, it's just a Gobler Turkey call, apparently to try and lure the turkeys to catch them.

Here's the opening scene of the ride.

The rooms are very cute and cartoony, which appeals very well to it's family audience.

Keith creamed Nancy and I with 1,400. I only scored 480, the difference between Boo Blasters guns and Gobler Getaway guns means a lot.

After Gobler, we went to ride Voyage. I waited with Matt for the front seat, and got the left side of the blue train. Only one word can describe my experience: WOW. I was skeptical of the ride since my first rough trip on it last night, but this experience on it blew. me. away. It was smooth as glass. It was fast as lightning. It was....incredible. The turns, the airtime, the tunnels, just, WOW!!!

Matt and I got separated from the rest of the group since we waited for the front seat. Trooper Mom went out shopping in the park, so we ended up wandering for a while. Finally Matt and I met up with Trooper Mom after a ride on Legend. We met up with Adam and the group at the Blue Ice Cream shop, and hopped on for a ride on the Lewis and Clark Trail.

The Lewis and Clark Trail is an old antique car ride like Kings Island's. However, unlike Kings Island's, there's only one course, not two, and the landscaping is not near as good. However, it's a cute little ride, and is a very mellow and subtle attraction. I got to drive Adam and Trooper Mom, and I didn't do half bad if I do say so myself!

We got in line for Eagles Flight, however, everyone except Trooper Mom and I bailed because of the line. Eagles Flight is your typical flying scooters ride, painted vibrant blue with eagles on the tubs. Some say the ride is nearly un-snappable, and if you could you shouldn't snap them due to park policy. I got them to snap, not very well but snapping, none the less. Afterwards we took a spin on the Star Spangled Carousel, a fun little merry go round with some very unique animals! Trooper Mom rode the Horse/Bunny mutant! The official buffet dinner was in an hour, but anticipating long lines and such, Trooper Mom and I had dinner at Hot Diggity Dogs in Holidog's Fun Town. As anticipated, there was a huge line for the buffet, so we spent the time shopping for T-Shirts and playing Volleyball with Bond.

ERT Started a little after 9:30 central, when it was supposed to. As everyone predictably flocked to Voyage, the KICers worked our way up to Voyage. We started out at Raven, everyone running at a brisk pace to get there. We were greeted with an empty station, happy, nice employees who were glad to see us, and some "Hot hot hot!" music! Thanks to everyone being in the Thanksgiving section, we got re-rides galore. We tried to stick together, but in the end it ended up being, find an empty seat! I thought Raven was fun during the day, but the ride it provided at night was spectacular. Boy, it was screaming! The g-forces, positive, negative, lateral, were ridiculously awesome! I loved it! I ended up getting 3 rides on Raven before moving on.

Next up was Legend. Again, it was a find an empty seat situation. This wasn't too hard though, considering the train was roughly 3 ACErs up front, 2 ACErs in the back, and me and Elizabeth in the middle of the train. I'm talking rides without getting out of my seat! Again, the ride was running great! I love CCI's design of the ride, it's the fundamental wooden coaster in every way. I ended up getting 6 rides in a row without getting out of the station, and the decision to leave was made only because I wanted to get a Voyage ride in before I headed out. I could have lapped that ride all, night, long!

So we headed out to Voyage. Elizabeth and I got in line for the front seat, both hoping to get a night time, front seat, red ravage ride. While waiting in line we met a fellow KICer (CoasterFreak45) and the wait itself was only about 10 minutes long. Our wish ended up being granted, I got a left side, front seat, night time, red Ravage train ride on Voyage. By the time we left the station, it was black outside. Pitch black. Dead of night! Going up the lift hill, the silence of the night around you was deafening. The experience of the ride was incredible. You know how people describe Beast at night, a wild, untamed wooden coaster, tearing through the dark trees of the night, with not a sense of direction ahead of you? That doesn't hold a candle to Voyage. I mean, WOW! You sit in your seat, being thrown from side to side, not a clue where you're going, flying through the forest in a ridiculously epic trip of speed. WOW is the only word to describe it.

All in all, it was an incredible day and a half. Holiday World has left a lasting impression on me, and set a new standard of how I think a park should operate. They do it right. Also, I had a fantastic time being the typical KICentral member, goofy, wacky, and having a ball with all my other KIC friends. You guys make the trip worth it. Raven, Legend and Voyage are quite possibly some of the best rides ever designed, and, well, I love Holiday World. Need more be said?

Thank you KICentral members for being so awesome and having such a great time, and thank you Holiday World for this event! I hope to see you all again in 2011!

[The Interpreter]

1-1 is definitely worth waiting for on Voyage...that being said, I have also been known to take the occasional spin in the back. I love 1-1 on Raven, too....and the back.

Thanks for your incredibly detailed, wonderful trip report. I truly enjoyed it, and loved your captions!

[windshawne]

Great pics-I love that park!! I especially love the fact its in the middle of nowhere, and still has that family feel to it. I have only ridden Voyage in the back, so I can't comment on the ride from the front. It can be rough, but I have found just keeping your arms down during the turns will prevent problems. Very well built coaster, and great report!!

[CincyMan98]

I will go to Holiwood Nights next year! I will!

It seems like you had a ton of fun. I was disappointed to hear you disliked the Voyage, but then my spirits were brought back up again when you said 1-1 was unbelievable! From the pictures of the park though, it doesn't really look that great - I mean, I know you'd rather want quality than quantity, but it seems like there's barely any rides there. Maybe I just have to go there to understand how awesome Holiday Word is.

[CoasterFreak45]

It was so nice to meet you and all the other KIC'ers. I couldn't believe how hot and humid it was that weekend. I'm surprised we all didn't melt.

[Jasper]

You stayed at my Hotel I see, very nice choice! Great PTR, hopefully I'll get to experience Holiday World in the next couple of months.

[The Interpreter]

Do you also remanufacture engines?

[thekidd33]

Awesome pics and report! Glad you had such a good time. Thanks for sharing!

[KIfan1980]

Thanks for posting this report (well except that one picture of me looking like ->). What a great time we had, although you failed to mention your reaction after riding Voyage the first time - I recall you falling down in the station and then lying down at the entrance to the ride where people proceeded to literally walk over you!

[Guest Millennium]

Good pics...it was even better than last year. I wish HW had a hotel right next to it though..it was a hassle to drive 30 minutes back and forth from Jasper to Santa Clause. quote name='CincyMan98' date='13 June 2010 - 09:48 AM' timestamp='1276440524' post='384039']

I will go to Holiwood Nights next year! I will!

It seems like you had a ton of fun. I was disappointed to hear you disliked the Voyage, but then my spirits were brought back up again when you said 1-1 was unbelievable! From the pictures of the park though, it doesn't really look that great - I mean, I know you'd rather want quality than quantity, but it seems like there's barely any rides there. Maybe I just have to go there to understand how awesome Holiday Word is.

Holiday World has dozens of rides.

[Guest Millennium]

Good pics...it was even better than last year. I wish HW had a hotel right next to it though..it was a hassle to drive 30 minutes back and forth from Jasper to Santa Clause. quote name='CincyMan98' date='13 June 2010 - 09:48 AM' timestamp='1276440524' post='384039']

I will go to Holiwood Nights next year! I will!

It seems like you had a ton of fun. I was disappointed to hear you disliked the Voyage, but then my spirits were brought back up again when you said 1-1 was unbelievable! From the pictures of the park though, it doesn't really look that great - I mean, I know you'd rather want quality than quantity, but it seems like there's barely any rides there. Maybe I just have to go there to understand how awesome Holiday Word is.

Holiday World has dozens of rides.

[CoasterFreak45]

Did anyone get a CD left on their cars? I just discovered it on my windshield today, and it's actually quite catching.

[TombRaiderFTW]

Great PTR, Jackson. I'm glad to hear you had fun. It's so enjoyable to read about your new coaster experiences.

Just one thing as far as Voyage goes, though... Did you not try the back seat? I'm not a Holiday World expert by any means, but it seems to me like the closer you get to the front car (without being in it) the rougher the ride. The back seat is where it's at for me- I've had many rougher any-seat Beast rides, and the out-of-control feeling is... absolutely indescribable back there. I've honestly never tried 1-1, but my money's on you (or anyone else, for that matter) liking Voyage at least a little better when given a 6- or 7-1 experience like I've had multiple times.

[DropZone99]

GREAT PTR Jackson! It actually made me really sad reading this because Holiwood Nights was one of the best days of my life, and to make it even more sad, it was just over a week ago and I was talking to Will about Timberliners and well everyone knows the news Anyways, I'm still mad you weren't impressed with Voyage except in the front seat! I mean it is a little rough if you ride in the back seat of a car, but it's not Son of Beast rough (which I don't think is too rough, and speaking of SOB- it was 1 year ago from today when I last rode it).

I had a blast at Holiwood Nights, I want to thank you for help making it so memorable. I have to say my favorite part was the water park ERT, mainly just because it was all the KICers (and -G) riding slides and acting crazy in the wave pool! And that breakfast was sooo gooooood! Did you see Ricky Racoon at Bakuli right as Splashin' Safari opened to the public?

[KICoasterGirl]

Awesome PTR! I had a ton of fun hanging out with everyone!

[Beast1979]

1-1 is definitely worth waiting for on Voyage...that being said, I have also been known to take the occasional spin in the back. I love 1-1 on Raven, too....and the back.

Thanks for your incredibly detailed, wonderful trip report. I truly enjoyed it, and loved your captions!

Thanks Terpy! I hope you enjoyed whatever you were doing that weekend. My first ride on Raven was in the very back, and during ERT Saturday night I tried Raven in 1-1. I like 1-1 better, maybe it's just because I love driving.

Great pics-I love that park!! I especially love the fact its in the middle of nowhere, and still has that family feel to it. I have only ridden Voyage in the back, so I can't comment on the ride from the front. It can be rough, but I have found just keeping your arms down during the turns will prevent problems. Very well built coaster, and great report!!

I put my arms down on the turns and it still hurts a bit. Hopefully I'll find the secret to smoother rides later this season. As I said, I hope the Timberliners fix the issue. I also love the small beauty of the park. Thanks.

I will go to Holiwood Nights next year! I will!

It seems like you had a ton of fun. I was disappointed to hear you disliked the Voyage, but then my spirits were brought back up again when you said 1-1 was unbelievable! From the pictures of the park though, it doesn't really look that great - I mean, I know you'd rather want quality than quantity, but it seems like there's barely any rides there. Maybe I just have to go there to understand how awesome Holiday Word is.

Uh, Holiday World has: Raven, Legend, Voyage, Freedom Train, Eagles Flight, Hallowswings, Lewis and Clark Trail, Paul Revere's Midnight Run, Liberty Launch, Gobler Getaway, and not to mention the tons of rides in Splashin Safari. To put it in a relation you'd get, Splashin Safari is easily bigger then Boomerang Bay, and the Holiday World park is about as big as Action Zone, Oktoberfest and International Street put together.

It was so nice to meet you and all the other KIC'ers. I couldn't believe how hot and humid it was that weekend. I'm surprised we all didn't melt.

It was nice meeting you too! It was hot, and it's not getting any colder this summer!

You stayed at my Hotel I see, very nice choice! Great PTR, hopefully I'll get to experience Holiday World in the next couple of months.

I did? Oh yeah, you're JASPER! LOL! No offense, but next time I go I'm staying closer to the park. XD No hard feelings.

Awesome pics and report! Glad you had such a good time. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks!

Thanks for posting this report (well except that one picture of me looking like ->). What a great time we had, although you failed to mention your reaction after riding Voyage the first time - I recall you falling down in the station and then lying down at the entrance to the ride where people proceeded to literally walk over you!

LOL! I thought your facial expression made the shot! And yeah, the ride was so incredible I did fall down in the station, and again in the queue. I mean, it's Voyage! Come on! Are you going to be at the park on Sunday?

Great PTR, Jackson. I'm glad to hear you had fun. It's so enjoyable to read about your new coaster experiences.

Just one thing as far as Voyage goes, though... Did you not try the back seat? I'm not a Holiday World expert by any means, but it seems to me like the closer you get to the front car (without being in it) the rougher the ride. The back seat is where it's at for me- I've had many rougher any-seat Beast rides, and the out-of-control feeling is... absolutely indescribable back there. I've honestly never tried 1-1, but my money's on you (or anyone else, for that matter) liking Voyage at least a little better when given a 6- or 7-1 experience like I've had multiple times.

Thanks! I guess I'll try the back seat on Voyage, but every other seat besides the front has been inconsistent, and quite frankly rough.

GREAT PTR Jackson! It actually made me really sad reading this because Holiwood Nights was one of the best days of my life, and to make it even more sad, it was just over a week ago and I was talking to Will about Timberliners and well everyone knows the news Anyways, I'm still mad you weren't impressed with Voyage except in the front seat! I mean it is a little rough if you ride in the back seat of a car, but it's not Son of Beast rough (which I don't think is too rough, and speaking of SOB- it was 1 year ago from today when I last rode it).

I had a blast at Holiwood Nights, I want to thank you for help making it so memorable. I have to say my favorite part was the water park ERT, mainly just because it was all the KICers (and -G) riding slides and acting crazy in the wave pool! And that breakfast was sooo gooooood! Did you see Ricky Racoon at Bakuli right as Splashin' Safari opened to the public?

Thanks! Yeah, the news about Will is heartbreaking. That's why a lot of us are going on Sunday. I don't give you any credibility as far as opinions on smoothness of rides, you like Son of Beast! I didn't see Ricky Racoon, I don't even know who he is!

[BavarianBeatle]

I love The Voyage, and Holiday World! It was very sad to hear of Mr. Koch's passing! Yet it never ceases to amaze my that people want wooden roller coasters to be "smooth." Complaining about a rough wooden coaster is like going to a comedy club and complaining that the show wasn't serious enough! IMO, wooden coasters should be designed for people like me who enjoy being sore the day after a park and enjoy it even more if they have visible bruising the next day! Other than that, very nice pictures, and I'm glad you enjoyed your trip!

--Beatle, having fond memories of The Racer in its heyday, games of Bloody Knuckles, and playing Hide and Seek with a pellet gun. LOL!

[Beast1979]

I don't mind Wooden Coaster roughness, Beast pre-2009, Blue Racer pre-2008, Blue Streak, Etc. Legend is pretty jerky, but I love it. The problem with Voyage is that it is rough, which doesn't bother me, but it's painfully rough. There's a difference between simple bruises and shooting pain in your side.

[IBEW_Sparky]

Riding Voyage without getting beaten up is as blatantly simple as doing two things. Ride it in the same fashion as you would a crotch rocket on a winding road.... lean INTO the turns (obviously hands up which you would NOT do on a crotch rocket) as the turn approaches. Ask Jesse and Brad how much that helps... they were "following" me visually every time they sat behind me at Holiday Hustle, and Jesse and Keith were doing it at HWN until it was too dark to follow me by sight. Another simple solution is to switch seats every other ride... right to left to right repeat as necessary. I didnt do that well enough Friday night, and my left ribs are still slightly tender.... but its a lesson learned and I was MUCH better Saturday when I did that.

[Beast1979]

I'll remember that for Sunday when I go again. Thanks for the tips.

[KIfan1980]

Are you going to be at the park on Sunday?

Did you see Ricky Racoon at Bakuli right as Splashin' Safari opened to the public?

I didn't see Ricky Racoon, I don't even know who he is!

Jackson - unfortunately I'm not going to HW on Sunday, although I'm sure y'all/Will we cross my mind more than once. The good news is my wife scheduled a trip to CP to celebrate Fathers Day.

Nick - I don't think the Ricky Racoon story has been told, so time to step up and share.

IMO, wooden coasters should be designed for people like me who enjoy being sore the day after a park and enjoy it even more if they have visible bruising the next day!

Agree - proudly showed my HWN bruise more than once last week.

Riding Voyage without getting beaten up is as blatantly simple as doing two things. Ride it in the same fashion as you would a crotch rocket on a winding road.... lean INTO the turns (obviously hands up which you would NOT do on a crotch rocket) as the turn approaches. Ask Jesse and Brad how much that helps... they were "following" me visually every time they sat behind me at Holiday Hustle, and Jesse and Keith were doing it at HWN until it was too dark to follow me by sight. Another simple solution is to switch seats every other ride... right to left to right repeat as necessary. I didnt do that well enough Friday night, and my left ribs are still slightly tender.... but its a lesson learned and I was MUCH better Saturday when I did that.

I highly encourage folks to sit behind Sparky and watch him doing this - even if you can't keep up, it is hysterical to watch, but in truth - it does help.