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Thunderbird has launched!


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I already talked to my parents about this. xD I'm doing the Coke rewards thing for the Cedar Fair stuff, Hopefully I can possibly earn 3000 points, for 3 tickets to CP, But maybe if Holiday World is on there, I can get 6000 for 3 to HW

Edit: I looked it up, There is no Holiday World for the Coke Rewards. That sucks. xD

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The real question is: no matter how good or bad this ride is, no matter if they still get 1 million in attendance or get 2 million, no matter whether Kentucky Kingdom is affected or not... was $22 million simply too large of a single capital investment for a park the size of Holiday World?

Stay tuned, kids. The next few years is going to be interesting.

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The real question is: no matter how good or bad this ride is, no matter if they still get 1 million in attendance or get 2 million, no matter whether Kentucky Kingdom is affected or not... was $22 million simply too large of a single capital investment for a park the size of Holiday World?

Stay tuned, kids. The next few years is going to be interesting.

I'm not trying to single you out on this but,

I'm not sure why people think HW would be unwise in making this capital decision. Think about their last large additions... since 2007 or 7 years ago they have spent only 14.5 million dollars or just over $2 million per year. They have been saving capital for the longest time. They have had 7 years of saving money with smaller additions. Add on the fact they have a huge water park thus people needing lockers to tore their item at $10 a piece. Then add the 31 cabanas that are rented at $125 per day (every time I have gone I have seen everyone of them sold out to a group or family). Plus tickets are near $40 a piece. I mean during the legal battles over the park it was released that Dan Koch nearly quadrupled his position's salary to over $1 million per year.You can see where they could easily afford this move.

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Afford the move? Sure.

Handle the large crowds this will draw?

That we will soon see.

Hopefully this isn't a case like when Six Flags created Worlds of Adventure. Paths too small, insufficient food stands, rest rooms, employees, and on and on.

People visited once or twice. Attendance zoomed. Then after the insufficiently supported experience (compared to, say, Cedar Point), they didn't come back. In droves.

To be fair, Geauga Lake also had very poor access, which is not true of Holiday World. Both, however, are in fairly remote, relatively sparsely populated areas.

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^^
Uhh, they spent more than 14.5 million since 2007. They spent $10,000,000 last year alone on park improvements, mainly in the parking lot, and Mammoth was $9 million, etc etc. I also assume Hyena Falls and Wildebeest weren't dirt cheap, nor the now-already-defunct Pilgrims Plunge/Giraffica.

However, even if Holiday World can afford this (and perhaps they still can, I dunno) there could be one more issue- a crowd spike.But Terpy beat me to this and explained that.

I do hope this does work out though- if it does, it could help push Holiday World to "the next level" and we could see more big things at the park.

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Truly did anyone expect Holiday World to spend $22 Million? That is twice as much as any capital expenditure in the past.

The potential reopening of an SLC will not be much competition next year.

B&M now does launched coasters! B&M now does launched coasters! Did I mention B&M now does launched coasters. For them that is a game changer.

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^
Yep- in the last few years, we have started to see B&M begin doing stuff that once they would not touch- mainly Giga Coasters (their famous "We won't go higher than 300 feet" thing is now dead) and now launched coasters. A 4th Dimension coaster could also be coming soon. For B&M, I see nothing but good things in the near future- they are pretty firmly established as the #1 supplier for big steel coasters right now, especially in the US and for larger parks.

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That is true but you have to assume they are prepared for this. HW is a very smart park. They have been planning for this for years. I think next year's attendance will most definitely increase but they have the capital and room to make infrastructure improvements if need be. I would predict that the attendance will spike and return to the normal 1.1 million attendees after the first year. They would need 3 additions of this size to start truly drawing from KI, CP, and SIX parks. The only problem is those parks will out spend HW because they make these additions every 3-5 years not 8 years plus like HW.

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^^

Uhh, they spent more than 14.5 million since 2007. They spent $10,000,000 last year alone on park improvements, mainly in the parking lot, and Mammoth was $9 million, etc etc. I also assume Hyena Falls and Wildebeest weren't dirt cheap, nor the now-already-defunct Pilgrims Plunge/Giraffica.

However, even if Holiday World can afford this (and perhaps they still can, I dunno) there could be one more issue- a crowd spike.But Terpy beat me to this and explained that.

I do hope this does work out though- if it does, it could help push Holiday World to "the next level" and we could see more big things at the park.

Oops forgot about PP and hyena falls. I just calculated Mammoth and Wildebeest because I figured the cabanas have already paid for themselves and possibly the parking lot as well.

I think this will be a great addition to the park and maybe will set them up for another addition of this size 8 years from now.

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I like it! The whole Gator family is excited about this ride. We didn't make it to HW this year for the first time in years, but we will be there in 2015! I even forsee a return to HoliWood Nights, which I haven't been to since 2011.

The name and theme are great. I like that they took a Native American legend and incorporated it into a ride. I especially look forward to the barn flythrough.

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That is true but you have to assume they are prepared for this. HW is a very smart park. They have been planning for this for years. I think next year's attendance will most definitely increase but they have the capital and room to make infrastructure improvements if need be. I would preduct that the attendance will spike and return to the normal 1.1 million attendees after the first year. They would need 3 additions of this size to start truly drawing from KI, CP, and SIX parks. The only problem is those parks will out spend HW because they make these additions every 3-5 years not 8 years plus like HW.

If they only get a one year attendance boost, then this is going to be a financial loss. The park cannot afford to return to their normal attendance figures. It was only a few years ago that the park had a "management" change. I'm not sure that many of their past business decisions were made with this future coaster in mind.

A B&M coaster really surprised me. If it wasn't for all the hints, I really would have expected a ride similar in cost and design to Lightning Run.

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That is true but you have to assume they are prepared for this. HW is a very smart park. They have been planning for this for years. I think next year's attendance will most definitely increase but they have the capital and room to make infrastructure improvements if need be. I would preduct that the attendance will spike and return to the normal 1.1 million attendees after the first year. They would need 3 additions of this size to start truly drawing from KI, CP, and SIX parks. The only problem is those parks will out spend HW because they make these additions every 3-5 years not 8 years plus like HW.

If they only get a one year attendance boost, then this is going to be a financial loss. The park cannot afford to return to their normal attendance figures. It was only a few years ago that the park had a "management" change. I'm not sure that many of their past business decisions were made with this future coaster in mind.

A B&M coaster really surprised me. If it wasn't for all the hints, I really would have expected a ride similar in cost and design to Lightning Run.

You are correct. I didn't really explain my thought well. I just don't see this ride having a 50% or more increase on attendance. Many people still view this as a family park catered towards families. At least that's what most of my friends think when I talk with them about HW. Don't get me wrong this is a flat out awesome ride (I know I will be riding that thing all night during our annual Holiwood Nights trip), and it made a huge splash here on the news here in Indy. So maybe I am wrong in the fact that this may change the perception of HW to the GP here. I will always love my home park, I consider it the perfect park for families and thrill seekers. I think maybe I was being a little pessimistic this morning.

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The thing I like most about this coaster is probably something many haven't noticed or may have overlooked. It has nothing to do with the track, trains, elements, launch etc. It has everything to do with a man, without whom, none of us would be talking about ANY coaster at Holiday World. Thunderbird has an extremely touching and terribly bittersweet nod to someone taken way too soon.

Capture.png

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Afford the move? Sure.

Handle the large crowds this will draw?

That we will soon see.

Hopefully this isn't a case like when Six Flags created Worlds of Adventure. Paths too small, insufficient food stands, rest rooms, employees, and on and on.

People visited once or twice. Attendance zoomed. Then after the insufficiently supported experience (compared to, say, Cedar Point), they didn't come back. In droves.

To be fair, Geauga Lake also had very poor access, which is not true of Holiday World. Both, however, are in fairly remote, relatively sparsely populated areas.

Keep in mind Terpy that by Spring of 2015, the next huge chunk of I-69 through Indiana will be open, so it will now be a straight shot from Martinsville to Evansville. That will make access to HW MUCH faster (shaves 30 min off the drive), so I'm sure HW perhaps wanted this ride to coincide with improved access next year. Having said that, welcome welcome welcome B & M to the great state of Indiana! I will be making my first visit to HW next season specifically to ride this.

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Just the fact that B&M now has a launching coaster has boosted my appreciation of them way up. I can only hope that this will be the first of many. As of right now, that's what I thought what they were lacking the most between them and Intamin.

As others have said, Intamin better start watching out. B&Ms suddenly taking huge leaps and bounds in the industry.

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