McSalsa

Backlot Stunt Coaster actually is a very fun ride- if it had better capacity, I'd ride that thing a lot more. It has good forcefulness, and even some pops of airtime, and the helicopter attack and dark tunnel afterwards are awesome. I'd give it a solid 8/10. It is, however, my 3rd least favorite of all the big coasters- beating only Invertigo and BARELY Firehawk (which is also very fun but has the same capacity problem). So yeah, I really adore a LOT of the park's roller coasters if this is 3rd worst...oh, Firehawk is also an 8/10 from me and Invertigo I'd give a 7...yeah, I do really like KI's coasters...and most of the flats too.

^ It kept breaking down apparently and had numerous issues with the track work. I'd also think the Shoot-The-Rapids incident may have been a slight factor as well. It was a fun ride though- I do wish it had worked because the concept alone was very cool. Which seems to be a common theme among most modern Intamins- they are very fun rides that are held back simply because they are often so complex, they break a lot or don't work as intended. Modern HUSS has a lot of the same problems with its giant flat ride line. And now other companies are offering similar coasters/rides that seem to work better, which is bad news for Intamin unless they can get their stuff together and fix their issues.

Well, Cedar Point did keep going back to Intamin under Kinzel, and then it seemed every single addition from them starting with and after Wicked Twister (WT, TTD, Maverick, and Shoot-The-Rapids) has given the park numerous headaches- especially Shoot-The-Rapids which has likely been the attraction that has killed Cedar Fair's interest in anything Intamin based. There were also the issues with Intimidator 305, where the ride was so forceful it was causing riders to black out and thus needed major modifications, and then outside Cedar Fair you have the issues with SkyRush (most reviews state the restraints are terrible), Kingda Ka (mostly the same problems TTD had), and now Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens with the constant hydraulic breakdowns. If Holiday World has been paying ANY attention to the issues other parks have been having with modern Intamin rides- and they likely have- as well as their own experience with Giraffica/Plunge, they are probably going to go with a different company instead. Yes, Intamins do top enthusiast poll charts (though in recent years RMC has been coming VERY strong with their wood coaster conversions), but generally as long as a ride is good the GP doesn't care whatsoever who builds it. And there are other companies that do build similar rides to what Intamin offers- for example, Cheetah Hunt. SeaWorld also built 2 similar coasters at other parks- Verbolten @ Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Zierier) and and Manta @ Sea World San Diego (Mack). If Holiday World wants a Cheetah Hunt-like ride, they could go with either of those companies instead and likely not have as many issues. Intamin would likely have to offer Holiday World a HUGE (50% off or more) discount and then give them a nearly problem-free ride to get them back on their side by this point.

My least favorite "adult" coaster in the park? Invertigo...it's still a decent ride, but it's short, has uncomfortable seats, and can have some mild headbanging (I got a headache from my last ride on it). I would feel bad waiting more than 30 minutes for it, but it's worth a short wait if it has one (and if it does have a short wait, park is DEAD because this thing's capacity sucks). Every other one of the park's adult coasters has something about them I really like...Invertigo has its sheer forcefulness, but I'd put that below what the other coasters offer in comparison.

You're also missing a lot more- mainly wooden coaster manufacturers like the Gravity Group, Great Coasters International, the now-defunct Custom Coasters International, Philadelphia Tobbogan Coasters Inc., etc etc. Now if this is just an all steel list (Rocky Mountain Coasters, you could argue, doesn't actually make wooden coasters but instead wood-steel hybrids) then you have most of the "big" current names listed...though there are still companies like Mack, Zierier and Zamperla too... Though there are so darn many coaster manufacturers out there, it's actually crazy...

True- they have so many great raft-or-tube style slides, the lack of body slides really wasn't something I'd ever even notice when at Holiday World. In fact I didn't notice it until I read someone else say it in a review of the park. And the only body slide I could think of that would live up to the park's waterpark rep would be one of those "floor drop" slides, or a "looping" one, but the latter could also probably be done with a tube slide.

Actually, thinking hard about it, I don't think Holiday World has any body slides anymore, save the kiddie ones attached to the 2 water play structures. Wildebeest has a 4-in-a-row raft, Mammoth has a circle-clover-like raft that can hold 6 riders, ZOOMbabwe, Zinga, and Bakuli have circular 4-person rafts, Hyena Falls gives you the choice of a 1-or-2 person tube raft, and Jungle Racer gives you a mat to slide on. Even the family slides like Watubee (4 seat circle raft) and Otorongo (single rider tube) aren't body slides. Huh- I guess the lack of a major body slide would be the one weak spot in Holiday World's waterpark lineup...

I wouldn't have called myself a big waterpark person before too- but the waterpark at Holiday World is huge, so I'd suggest at least trying the "Water Coasters" Wildebeest & Mammoth as they are incredible- but they can also get 1-2 hour waits, so I'd hit them as soon as the waterpark opens if possible. There's also numerous waterslides that I could call nothing less than huge- ZOOMbabwe (100+ foot tall enclosed raft slide), Zinga (Giant Funnel), Jungle Racer (huge mat racing slide), Bakuli (Giant Bowl Slide), and Hyena Falls' biggest slide (with a half pipe) would be the standouts there. They also have a great lazy river, 2 huge wave pools, and 2 water play structures. However the waterpark can get really crowded really fast on most days so if you do make it a priority, it will eat most of your day right there though you should still be able to fit in the 3 wood coasters as well. They also have a decent log flume & river rapids ride. As for the flat rides, there really isn't much that stands out. Basically, Holiday World isn't a huge park like Kings Island, and one good thing about that is that you should really be able to hit all their big A-List attractions (which I'd say are the 3 woodies & water coasters) in one day with time to spare even if it's crowded. At Kings Island, on a crowded day, it's MUCH harder since there are even more people and also more "AAA" attractions you'd need to hit, so you may need to pick & choose.

I've waited 90 minutes for Flight of Fear and Beast at Kings Island before- Flight of Fear was on a fairly crowded Saturday, and Beast I've waited that long twice (Haunt 2010 & Opening Day 2014, both for night rides that were epic and made the wait worth it). At Holiday World, I waited 2 hours for Wildebeest, their water coaster, its debut season of 2010. Longest wait EVER so far, however, was 4 1/2 hours for Banshee on opening day. But that'd be a "special case" since it was, after all, the ride's public opening.

This. So much this- a classic, normal-sized Top Spin placed in The Crypt building and themed as described would be a HUGE plus to Kings Island's flat ride lineup for not too extreme a cost, since the building is already there. Add a few more classic flats (Flying Eagles, Tilt-A-Whirl, etc etc.) and perhaps a smaller family coaster and then add some new slides to the waterpark, continue to improve the food and shows- and all of this could be done in the 5-year span between coasters. Then, at the end of the 5-year period, you add the big, awe-inspiring, possibly record breaking (so long as it doesn't hurt the ride experience or anything) coaster. And then BAM- Kings Island would suddenly be an A+ park ready to take on seemingly anyone with its well-rounded lineup of diverse attractions.

^ Which can also be said of Firehawk, Backlot Stunt Coaster, and Invertigo...

Also- Big Droppy Thing POV & Off-ride!

Son of Beast would also like to say "Hi", as would Hades 360 and all those vintage looping woodies from before the Great Depression in the 1930's.

^ That was the channel, yes.

I agree 100%- drop size is FAR more important than height. Which would you find more intense- a 50 foot tall coaster that dives over a cliff edge for a 200-foot drop, or a 300-foot coaster with drops no larger than 10 feet? I'll ride the "tiny" one.

^ From what I have heard, those things are supposed to be painful. Never ridden one myself though. Now, imagine if Polercoaster is the same way, but far larger...ouch. "WE PAID $20 TO RIDE THAT!?!?" It'd be Roller Coaster @ NYNY Hotel and Casino all over again...I hope, for those who do end up riding this, that it's smooth...

^ A pure 500'+ foot drop, yes. But for that, the track would need to stretch out from the tower pretty far. A bunch of 50-foot or so drops (perhaps 100 at most) with tight turns wrapping around a tower? Trim brake city, otherwise we are talking a very painful or even deadly ride. The view would be incredible but as for pure thrill factor...I don't see it. What boggles my mind is I watched a Youtube video that suggested this as Cedar Point's next big coaster after Gatekeeper. He made one valid point- it would also be able to feature an observation tower- but with how gimmicky this looks, and how low capacity it'd be...it would not be a smash hit for Cedar Point. The Tower Part might be, since Space Spiral is gone, but the coaster...I'd go with a GCI/RMC Woodie or B&M Flying Coaster over one of these if I ran that park.

This would be a ride taking a record simply for the sake of taking a record- it's a kinda interesting concept, but there would be trim brakes galore slowing it down to keep the G-Forces safe, and capacity is going to be dreadful on this thing...once the initial hype and buzz over a 500-foot coaster wears off, I really don't see Polercoasters taking over the coaster world.

^ Depending on if the SFGadv or SFGam numbers are anywhere close to accurate. Kings Island is probably Top 5 though.

Remove a high capacity, popular, family-friendly attraction that likely very well has more than 30+ years still on its service life (there are many Arrow Mine Trains from the 60's still running today- see Cedar Creek Mine Ride for example- and AE opened in 1991)? Yeah, not really a good idea in my opinion if you just want to "clear some land"- there are plenty of other spots you could put new rides in and not remove anything. As for the backlash the park would get if they DID do this? Remember the Antique Cars and Flying Eagles removal Paramount did for BLSC? People STILL are hating that move, 10 years later. Adventure Express being removed would likely be an even worse backlash.

^ Oh- yeah, that likely would be a huge factor- even only running 2 trains, you could have that second train sent out quicker using MCBR and thus increasing capacity. Never mind that comment in my first post then.

^ It also should have better capacity than FOF. Not by too much, but they run 6-cars per train versus 5 for Flight of Fear... Also, very happy to hear no one was injured. And no, random news station, this does NOT compare at all to what happened on Son of Beast back in 2006...that was far worse. Edit: Nevermind, see below...

^ Yeah, true...d'oh. If all this is just for some random waterslide that happens to go over Voyage, I'd be kind of bummed. Then again, Holiday World themselves once did a super-big tease that turned out to be Kima Bay...

^ Well, that pretty much ends any speculation I'd have on this NOT being a roller coaster (I seriously doubt it's a Splashin' Safari addition now- and it'll 99% be in the Thanksgiving section IMO). So now... 1995: The Raven 2000: The Legend 2006: The Voyage 2015: ??? ...what will ??? be? Yet ANOTHER woodie? The park's first large steel coaster? Hmm...this will be interesting...

^ Personally, I like slow, over-dramatic lift hills. Builds up tension.