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HW: Matt Eckert named new President and CEO


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Update from HoliWood Nights: As expected, Dan was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Pat. Paula Werne handled the main duties of going over the schedule with everyone, etc. before the event started.

I noticed that the opening meeting seemed to put a lot of emphasis on Lori's kids; they had William give the Timberliners update (he has ridden them and loves them, and says they "should be ready next year"), and Lauren (?) gave some talk about how her and each of here siblings have a "sister coaster" in the park that most resembles them. Leah is studying abroad in Austria and isn't here. (Not sure I got the names right there.)

I did not see any ill effects on service or park operations that would appear to be a result of the family feud. Hopefully it will continue that way until the legal mess is properly resolved, hopefully with Dan back in control.

One of the silent auction items tonight will be a plaque with a piece of track from the Freedom Train and a photo of the train from its earliest days. Will be interesting to see how much that goes for.

Anyway, I have to get ready for morning ERT, so I'm outta here.

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In deference to the Koch family that I know well, and especially to Pat and Dan, both of whom I adore (and Natalie..any omissions involving current park operations are intentional), I am posting this from the place where I feel I belong for this HoliWood Night:

The Busch Gardens Europe England parking lot. I could also post pictures of the footings of a B&M hyper, a B&M inverted, a B&M dive coaster, an Arrow multi-looper, and others, but instead I'll post this. We were today informed BGW's Pirates in 4D will play its last, probably June 14. And then the building will be removed, for "something. I can't tell you." -BGW Park GM.

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I hate to say this, I really don't want to make a big deal out of the situation but I can't help it.

Holiday World has lost charm for me. Of all the time I've spent there, the thing that really sold me on HW is Pat and the Koch family (and some KIC buddies). I've spent some time talking with Pat on multiple occasions, gotten help from her when we had some stroller problems, seen her sweeping the midway and realized that, on those occasions, I was seeing examples of what made HW so great.

Don't get me wrong, I adore the place but this legal battle sickens me and hurts my desire to make the large commitment of time to go there. We cancelled our family trip to HoliWood nights to reschedule for a more convenient time and because I was loosing heart for the place and now I'm not that motivated to go back.

On the other hand, HW is a very special place and I feel like I should support them/it through this and honor the Koch legacy for all it's beauty and the joy it brings to this world. With this legal battle though, I'm just not as motivated to go.

What do you think? Am I overreacting? Should I support the park through this? Wanna talk it over at Coastermania next weekend?

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Holiday world is to amusement parks like nustin bieber to music: OVERHYPED!

Raven and legend are both crappy woodies but enthusiasts rave cause holiday world would bend over backwards for enthusiasts. The voyage is crappy too. El toro is a wood jewel. Hell thunder road at kentucky kingdom was way better than raven or legend. Friendliest and cleanest park accolades are crap too. I have the same service at any park I have been at and I never see trash.

Sounds like lori and matt may have something going on? Why else fire dan and bring in a outside person nota koch?

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I hate to say this, I really don't want to make a big deal out of the situation but I can't help it.

Holiday World has lost charm for me. Of all the time I've spent there, the thing that really sold me on HW is Pat and the Koch family (and some KIC buddies). I've spent some time talking with Pat on multiple occasions, gotten help from her when we had some stroller problems, seen her sweeping the midway and realized that, on those occasions, I was seeing examples of what made HW so great.

Don't get me wrong, I adore the place but this legal battle sickens me and hurts my desire to make the large commitment of time to go there. We cancelled our family trip to HoliWood nights to reschedule for a more convenient time and because I was loosing heart for the place and now I'm not that motivated to go back.

On the other hand, HW is a very special place and I feel like I should support them/it through this and honor the Koch legacy for all it's beauty and the joy it brings to this world. With this legal battle though, I'm just not as motivated to go.

What do you think? Am I overreacting? Should I support the park through this? Wanna talk it over at Coastermania next weekend?

HW has definitely lost some of its charm with the effective loss of Pat and Dan, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the place since, as I said, it doesn't seem to have spilled over into other areas. I'll be at CoasterMania as well, so if we find each other, I'd be happy to talk about it.

Other notes:

The bag checks were very quick and easy, and they weren't looking too closely. I just unzipped my fanny pack and held it open, and they just glanced inside and waved me on. They didn't require me to take it off, nor did they hold it open themselves to poke around inside. So very easy to deal with.

I did notice today that they do seem to run single-train operation on the coasters now when the crowds are very light. Even with single-train operation, the place was so dead yesterday that I did a 30-minute marathon on Raven in the middle of the afternoon on a Saturday without getting off. Legend and Voyage were station waits all day. They were nice enough to put the second train on all of them for ERT both nights, as well as on the Voyage during the walkback.

Speaking of the walkback, there was no Raven/Legend walkback this year, but the Voyage one was expanded to go around and into the spaghetti bowl, where they had a tent set up with free snacks (cookies, pita chips, apples, caramel dip, milk, water, and Gatorade). They also did a "guess the part" game, where volunteers were blindfolded and reached into a bucket full of coaster parts, pulled one out, and had to identify it from feel alone. The two fastest times won a piece of wood from one of the coasters with a photo printed on the wood.

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Im with you, Gibson, you summed up everything I am feeling in your post (minus some of my personal feelings about the "Koch by name only" which I certainly cant post on a Family Forum) and I genuinely have less-than-zero desire to attend that park now... even though I only live an hour away now. The two, and only two, things that will change that are 1)for Pat and Dan to return full time to the park with that other one being shown the door and 2)For everyone to quit B.S.-ing and make the Timberliners run on The Voyage.

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I had a dream last night. I was at HW, and I was walking by Voyage. I saw a Timberliner on the transfer track, and there seemed to be a line, but Voyage seemed to be closed as no one was loading. I went up to the station, and they offered me to try out a ride in one of the Timberliners. What I rode in did not look like a Timberliner, and the ride was completely different; it had inversions. My dream self thought it was fun.

I think it's a sign that the Timberliners are actually going to run... eventually. Or this could have been a diversion created by my brain.

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The building? Here, it was affirmed the building itself shall be no more. About time for the Terp to go do his thing a bit more this evening.

That I do not know. I have heard a rumor that they will announce a new drop ride on June 11.

Also Gwazi may or may not be giving it's final rides.

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Thanks you jcgoble3. We should definitely meet up at Coastermania! Especially since I'm a 5th wheel in my group :) No trucker joke intended

ON the Timberliners topic, I learned from Giga2K that anti rollbacks were added, to The Voyage, on the hill leading up to the final break run during Timberliner testing because they kept not making it up that final hill. She had noticed that they had been added and asked the manufacturer rep who was there for HoliWood nights 2011(?). He was the one who told her the Timberliners weren't completing the circuit and it sounded to her like it happened a lot. If I remember right, they are lighter than the PTC's and that was causing problems. If that's the case, there may be no easy fix and possibly no fix at all.

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The building? Here, it was affirmed the building itself shall be no more. About time for the Terp to go do his thing a bit more this evening.

That I do not know. I have heard a rumor that they will announce a new drop ride on June 11.

Also Gwazi may or may not be giving it's final rides.

He is talking about BG Williamsburg. Not Tampa. Williamsburg already has a drop ride.

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Is the train not completing the circuit with or without water dummies?

I was taking prescription pain killers and can't remember for sure but I'm pretty sure it was with and keep in mind it was 2 years ago.

By the way, who are we to call them dummies. They get to mini-marathon for a living :D

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