McSalsa

Last year, the 21st was a Saturday. Which was the reason we picked the 21st- it was a Sunday, and Sunday is almost always going to be less crowded than a Saturday. However, the difference this time was HUGE. The day before this trip, I checked the HW Webcam and they were PACKED. And then Sunday...there was a crowd, but it was so well spread out, few rides had any waits and nothing longer than 30 minutes. We got exhausted simply from riding so much, and walking to so many rides!

Hello! I went to Holiday World yesterday, so now, prepare for a very unique trip report. First though, the ride rating system...as usual. 10=Amazing. A briliant ride with only super minor flaws I adored. 9=Excellent. A great ride with only minor flaws. 8=Very Good. A solid ride, but it has a flaw or two. 7=Good. Worth riding. 6=Decent. Worth riding if there's a super short line. 5=Meh. Skip it. 4=Bad. Avoid it! 3=Garbage. RUN! 2=Poop. AAAAHHHH!!! 1=Superpoop. The worst ever? 0=Ultrapoop. I stand corrected on the above. DEPATURE AND ARRIVAL AT HOLIDAY WORLD Our group consisted of me, my best friend, my sister, and her friend. We left our house at 6:00AM, and were headed for Holiday World by 6:30. Around 8:00AM, we got hungry and stopped at a truck stop McDonalds- first time I had ever been to a truck stop before. It was cool, they had lots of neat stuff. None of the 3 stores inside (McDonalds, Subway, or Truck Stop) were able to sell fountain drinks, however, due to a water main break nearby. Thankfully, the Truck Stop had bottled $0.99 Pepsi! After 3 hours of driving, at 9:30, we arrived at Holiday World. The clock went back one hour as HW runs on a different time zone, so we waited for the Halloween section to open so we could run to The Raven. The hour went by quite fast, during which my sister and her friend took pictures with Santa, not avaliable here though. Sorry. The park opened at 9:30, and we headed for Raven, where we got on Train #1 of the day! RIDE #1: THE RAVEN Wait Time: Walk-On (Ran and beat the crowd!) The Raven, a legendary wooden roller coaster famous for its sudden drops, steep turns, and airtime...did something SHOCKING. And, for a coaster enthusiast, the next line may horrify you: RAVEN HAD NO AIRTIME ON THIS RIDE!!! This came as a complete and utter shock to me as well, as I rode Raven back in May 2010 and then it was PACKED with the stuff. This time, nothing. However, even with this key element missing, The Raven was still a fun ride. The twists and turns through the woods, over the lake, and tunnels still did their job. A very good, fun ride but the lack of airtime on a woodie known for it was NOT a good thing. Score: 9/10 After Raven, we headed for Legend. We found the ride had a very short line, in fact, some seats were walk-ons. I began to doubt some comments I heard on another topic I started "Holiday World crowds on a Sunday in Late August" that said "THE PARK WILL BE SUPER CROWDED!". Turns out, my doubts were correct. More on that later. RIDE #2: THE LEGEND Wait Time: 5 Minutes (some seats were Walk-On, but we wanted to ride together) Legend climbed its lift hill, and dropped into its first drop...guess what? Legend didn't have any airtime on its first few drops, either. As I began to loose hope, Legend suddenly came to life midway through the ride...a sudden burst of ejector air, and then strong laterals and roughness...and stronger laterals...stronger! Stronger! Stronger! Well, guess Legend wanted to prove it was still the King of Lateral Gs after Beast showed some to me earlier this year. Legend is by far the most FORCEFUL coaster I have ever been on. Not so much "rough", but the laterals are legendary. The only reason I'm not giving Legend the full 10/10 is because of the slow start. Score: 9/10 Legend was good, but still not running at 100% and left me craving still more airtime. There was ONE wooden coaster left. The Voyage. The #1 rated wooden roller coaster in the world, according to Amusement Today. Surely, it could not fail to give airtime...could it? RIDE #3: THE VOYAGE Wait Time: 5 Minutes (Oh crowds, where art thou?) If my memory serves me correct, last time I rode Voyage, I nearly flew out of my seat and thought I was going to get my head chopped off on every airtime-then-tunnel combo Voyage threw at me, creating an epic ride that launched Voyage into my #1 favorite coaster spot at the time. This time, however, my butt barley even left the seat until the turn-around course, where I got just a little floater air on some of the small hills. What to blame for this? Well, I was STAPLED IN by the ride ops, which was probably a big factor- I don't remember all the way, but I think the lapbar was a little higher when I rode in May 2010, resulting in MUCH more airtime. Add the roughness to the mix, which had increased since my last ride and the wheels sounded like the needed some serious work as though the train hadn't been worked on in a few years. All 3 woodies were good, but not their finest showing... Score: 9/10 Good rides on the 3 woodies, but the lack of any ejector air, save that one burst on Legend, kept them from 10/10 status- especially since I've had better rides on all 3. Well, we moved on to our next ride, and our 1st water ride- Pilgrums Plunge. RIDE #4: PILGRIMS PLUNGE Wait Time: 5 Minutes (are you seeing a theme here yet?) Well, the woodies weren't at their best, but good old Pilgrims Plunge was running great! Rising 140 feet up, tilting, and then coming down at over 50mph into a wave of water...pure fun. Simple, but fun. Score: 9/10 After PP, Splashin' Safari opened up for the day and we headed in. We realized we needed to get a locker and did so, then headed for a nearby attraction... RIDE #5: THE WAVE Wait Time: None (Seriously, why would this have a wait time?) A nice, refreshing dip into cool water...always nice. I made sure to get wet here, even though I would get much wetter soon... Score: 7/10 After the Wave, it was time for a ride I had yet to ride, Bakuli. RIDE #6: BAKULI Wait Time: 5 Minutes (not even Splashin' Safari had long waits...) HOLY COW!!! Bakuli kicks butt! This waterslide sends riders into total darkness, spins them around and ejects you into a giant "toilet bowl"! And at HIGH SPEED! What a fun ride. Sorry ZOOMbabwe, I have a new #1 water ride... Score: 10/10 After Bakuli, we decided to try the ONE thing that would really determine crowd levels. How long was the line for...WILDEBEEST? RIDE #7: WILDEBEEST Wait Time: 20 Minutes (confirmed, not crowded today! ) After being dissapointed with the airtime levels on the 3 woodies, a sudden hero emerged and its name was Wildebeest! Last time, my eyes were sore and I could not enjoy the ride 100%. This time, that was not the case...and wow! A waterslide with airtime!?!? Epic. Even better than Bakuli! And something even greater looms in 2012...Mammoth. Score: 10/10 After Wildebeest, we hit up the Bahari Wave Pool. RIDE #8: BAHARI WAVE POOL Wait: These things get wait times!?!? Not quite as relaxing as The Wave, since the waves are much bigger here...but they have TIKI TIKI WATER DUDES! Always nice to see them. Score: 7/10 Next up was...Jungle Racer. However, I FLOPPED and could not for the life of me figure out how to "Go!". I threw in the white flag and gave up after the ride op seemed to ignore me asking for help. Result: DNF After that flop, we headed to ZOOMbabwe. My former favorite waterslide at Splashin' Safari. RIDE #9: ZOOMbabwe Wait: 15 Minutes ZOOMbabwe was pretty much Bakuli, minus the funnel at the end and much taller and longer. A fun ride but now that I have seen Bakuli, this otherwise great waterslide is just outclassed. Still well worth riding though, and the 3rd best water ride Splashin' Safari has to offer. Score: 9/10 The crowds were FINALLY starting to build up at this point (some attractions finally had some short lines besides Wildebeest). My sister, who had been eyeballing Monsoon Lagoon before this trip, finally saw it in real life and so we did it next. RIDE #10: Monsoon Lagoon This is like a army-style training challenge, but with lots and lots of water thrown in! Climb nets, shoot cannons, and all that good stuff. There were also a few waterslides, but the one I tried sucked. It was super slow and a 5-year-old crashed into me as I hit the bottom! Ouch! Score: 7/10 Next up, we needed some R&R, so it was off to Bahari River. RIDE #11: Bahari River Wait: None, of course...they have like a million tubes for this ride! This was a nice attraction. Basically, you float down a river with canyons of water around you...it is fun when you go right under a waterfall. Or team up with your friends and form a "fleet"! Score: 7/10 After the Bahari River, we got hungry and headed for some snacks. I got the Cheese-Filled Breadsticks, which is supposed to be a Holiday World favorite. They were pretty good, and my sister didn't finish her french fries, which were...ok, but nothing worth writing home about. I'd go as far to say that I perfer most fast-food places fries to these. Afterwords, we got dressed and decided to check out the 4th of July section that I had skipped the previous visit (well, besides Raging Rapids). First ride: Raging Rapids! (LOLZ) RIDE #12: Raging Rapids Wait: Walk-On Raging Rapids is a good ride, but I didn't get very wet at all, but the theming was well done and these are just fun to ride with friends and family. However, I perfer Kings Island's Whiter Water Canyon over this. Score: 7/10 After Raging Rapids, we started to hit up some rides I didn't ride during my previous visit, beginning with Liberty Launch, Holiday World's S&S Power Double Shot ride. RIDE #13: Liberty Launch Wait: 10 Minutes "OK...this thing looks weak and tame...well...OH FUDGE!!!" Liberty Launch actually packs a decent punch, and it's because it has some solid airtime. Besides this, though, it is a little weak. A good flatride, but not great. Worth the short wait it had. Score: 7/10 After LL, it was on to Paul Revere's Midnight Ride. According to Terpy, this ride was better than KI's version. Ride #14: Paul Revere's Midnight Ride Wait: 15 Minutes (loading/unloading is super slow here!) Well, Terpy...you were right! This ride spun a bit more, and had a few tricks up its sleeve compared to the KI version. A fun, underrated ride. Score: 8/10 And then, we decided to head for Pilgrums Plunge, but realized Voyage had a short wait. Might as well give it another chance...it couldn't lack airtime twice, could it? Ride #15: The Voyage II Wait: Walk-On BEFORE THE RIDE... Me: Yay! I am not stapled in this time! Now I will get more airtime! WHOO... (Ride op comes up and staples me in) Me: ...NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!! Well, ok, I was stapled in again...however, we also sat in the middle this time, not the front, so there was an increase in airtime. From "very little" to "lots of...floater fair that would probably be ejector air but haha you are stapled in!". And, the ride was EXTREMELY ROUGH. We were getting thrown around, tossed, turned, and everything in between. My friends all had some sort of pain after the ride. However, what about me? I...was fine. No pain, nothing, actually enjoyed the ride quite a bit in spite of no ejector air. I must be one of those hardcore wooden coaster fans who isn't bothered by roughness or something. Nonetheless, I am well aware that not everyone enjoys rides THIS rough, so...WHERE ARE THE TIMBERLINERS? (Another reason I want them: from the looks of it, seems you cannot be stapled in them like PTC trains!) Score: 10/10, but my friends loathed it due to roughness After Voyage, everyone (save me) was so "roughed up" we headed only for the smooth rides- and Gobbler Getaway was right there for us. Ride #16: Gobbler Getaway Wait Time: 5 Minutes This dark shoot-em-up ride is fun, and well themed. The animatronics were great, and there are a few suprises along the way. Only thing is, I SUCK! My score? 150... Score (Ride Rating): 8/10 My On-Ride Points Score: 150 After Gobbler Getaway, we hit our "target" at last for another ride on Pilgrims Plunge. It was the same as the above, so no need to make more comments on it. Ride #17: Pilgrims Plunge Wait Time: 10 Minutes SEE ABOVE FOR COMMENTS ON THIS RIDE. Then we went to Splashin' Safari again. First up, Congo River. Ride #18: Congo River Pretty similar to the Bahari river, but shorter and less interesting. And I nearly fell out of my raft a few times. Not as well themed either. Still respectable. Score: 7/10 Then, it was time to conquer the FINAL huge waterslide, ZINGA! Ride #19: ZINGA Zinga packed an intense drop and dark tunnel, and the funnel section was crazy. More fun then I remembered this ride being last time. Still only 4th best in the waterpark, though, behind Wildebeest, Bakuli, and ZOOMbabwe. Score: 8/10 After Zinga, we hit Wildbeest and Bakuli again before we decided we had had "a full day", as were all sore (me from sunburn, not wooden roughness) and wanted to get home. Ride #20: Wildebeest II (30 Minute Wait, longest of day) Ride #21: Bakuli II (5 Minute Wait) SEE ABOVE FOR THESE RIDES! However, before we left, there was unfinished business. Last time, I was unable to buy Fudge because my best friend's uncle bulled me into helping buy a Pizza. But this time...FUDGE!!! REVIEW OF HOLIDAY WORLD'S FUDGE AND MS. KLAUS' KITCHEN STORE The fudge at Holiday World is, to put it lightly...AMAZING! It comes in a variety of flavors, all of which looked great. I went with classic chocolate. However, my best friend, upon tasting the fudge, bought 5 of them for $12 (Buy-4-get-1-free sale today!). The store that sells this fudge also boasts a HUGE collection of antique toys and Abraham Lincoln memorabila, so if you ever visit Holiday World, you need to see this shop and try this fudge! They also have free samples. Well, after we got the fudge, we left and now here I am. Final overview: THE GOOD STUFF +Wooden Roller Coasters, even if they weren't 100% on this day. +The Waterpark. This place rocks, and will be even better next year when Mammoth joins the party. +The Staff. Clean and friendly...but everyone knows that! +Clean Park. Do I need say more? +Free drinks, and sunsreen, and more. +Short Lines for almost EVERYTHING...all day! (or 90% of it, at least) THE BAD STUFF -Why did I have to catch the woodies on a bad day...not the park's fault, but it sucks. -Park needs more dry thrill rides. The wooden coasters are great, but the park needs more. We, as thrill seekers, would have gotten bored had it not been for the waterpark. OVERALL Holiday World is a great park, even if it is a bit small, the waterpark makes up for it. With 3 great wooden coasters (read my old HW trip report, they are better than they showed today) and free soda, what more do you want? I hope you enjoyed this trip report. Comments and questions welcome. MCSALSA AWAY!!! UPDATE: 8/27/2011 Forgot about Raging Rapids while writing this trip report! OOPS! Put it in now though, raising my daily ride total to 21 rides on the day...a new McSalsa record!

OK, just thought of something- will this Giga have a chain lift or cable lift? It seems chain, and I am wondering...is it going to be 2 chains like Steel Dragon 2000, or one really heavy single chain?

^ BEHEMOTH BEHEMOTH BEHEMOTH BEHEMOTH BEHEMOTH X99999!!! LOL. In all seriousness, this looks cool- I had a feeling, some day, B&M would go over 300 feet. And yes, it does look completley different from Behemoth, like how Millennium Force at CP is completley different from Magnum XL200- Milennium focuses on speed with low-to-the-ground turns, while Magnum is all about hills and airtime. This is a similar concept, or so it looks that way from the preview images. However, how do you advertise Behemoth now? It was marketed as "the tallest coaster in Canada!". And if the same things happens to KI (we get a B&M Giga)...Diamondback, still "tallest, fastest, meanest?". I guess you could advertise about how much airtime they have, but...

The Beast, and I have ridden it a whopping...SEVEN TIMES! (DA DA DUM!!!)

Yes, I am pretty sure Canada's Wonderland has more than 14. Also Kings Dominion. And there are probably others too.

^ Once upon a time, we were. Paramount actually went for the title too, during the late 90s. However, once Son of Beast tanked and CP got Millennium Force, they gave up and pursed other interests. For those who are interested, here's how Kings Island, SFMM, and CP have stacked up in their coaster collections over the years, using RCDB as a guide. For simplicity, all coasters are going by their most recent names. 1972 ***** The first year all 3 parks existed. Kings Island: The Racer, Woodstock Express, Bavarian Beetle Total: 3 Cedar Point: Blue Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Original Wildcat (the one they have now was, according to RCDB, not the original), Jumbo Jet Total: 4 Six Flags Magic Mountain: Gold Rusher, Magic Flyer Total: 2 1980 ***** End of the 1970s. Beginning of the 1980s. Kings Island: The Racer, Woodstock Express, The Demon, The Beast Removed between '72 and '80: Bavarian Beetle Total: 4 (+1) Cedar Point: Blue Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Gemini, Junior Gemini, Wildcat (current one) Removed between '72 and '80: Original Wildcat, Jumbo Jet Total: 6 (+2) Six Flags Magic Mountain: Gold Rusher, Magic Flyer, Mountain Express, Revolution, Colossus Removed between '72 and '80: None Total: 5 (+3) 1985 ***** Middle of the 1980s. Kings Island: The Racer, Woodstock Express, The Demon, The Beast, King Cobra Removed between '80 and '85: The Bat Total: 5 (+1) Cedar Point: Blue Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Gemini, Junior Gemini, Wildcat, Disaster Transport Removed between '80 and '85: None Total: 7 (+1) Six Flags Magic Mountain: Gold Rusher, Magic Flyer, Revolution, Colossus, Sarajevo Bobsleds Removed between '80 and '85: Mountain Express Total: 5 (No Change) 1990 ***** The 90s begin. Kings Island: The Racer, Woodstock Express, The Beast, King Cobra, Vortex Removed between '85 and '90: The Demon Total: 5 (No Change) Cedar Point: Blue Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Gemini, Junior Gemini, Wildcat, Disaster Transport, Iron Dragon, Magnum XL-200 Removed between '85 and '90: None Total: 9 (+2) Six Flags Magic Mountain: Gold Rusher, Magic Flyer, Revolution, Colossus, Ninja, Viper Removed between '85 and '90: Sarajevo Bobsleds, Shockwave Total: 6 (+1) 1995 ***** The mid 90's. Kings Island: The Racer, Woodstock Express, The Beast, King Cobra, Vortex, Adventure Express, Great Pumpkin Coaster, Flight Deck Removed from '90 to '95: None Total: 8 (+3) Cedar Point: Blue Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Gemini, Junior Gemini, Wildcat, Disaster Transport, Iron Dragon, Magnum XL-200, Mean Streak, Raptor Removed from '90 to '95: None Total: 11 (+2) Six Flags Magic Mountain: Gold Rusher, Magic Flyer, Revolution, Colossus, Ninja, Viper, Psyclone, Flashback, Batman The Ride Removed from '90 to '95: None Total: 9 (+3) 2000 ***** The early 2000s. Kings Island: The Racer, Woodstock Express, The Beast, King Cobra, Vortex, Adventure Express, Great Pumpkin Coaster, Flight Deck, Flight of Fear, Scooby's Ghoster Coaster, Invertigo, Son of Beast Removed from '95 to '00: None Total: 12 (+4) Cedar Point: Blue Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Gemini, Junior Gemini, Wildcat, Disaster Transport, Iron Dragon, Magnum XL-200, Mean Streak, Raptor, Mantis, Woodstock Express, Millennium Force Removed from '95 to '00: None Total: 14 (+3) Six Flags Magic Mountain: Gold Rusher, Magic Flyer, Revolution, Colossus, Ninja, Viper, Psyclone, Flashback, Batman The Ride, Superman: Escape from Krypton, Riddler's Revenge, Canyon Blaster, Goliath Removed from '95 to '00: None Total: 13 (+4) 2005 ***** The mid 2000s. Kings Island: The Racer, Woodstock Express, The Beast, Vortex, Adventure Express, Great Pumpkin Coaster, Flight Deck, Flight of Fear, Scooby's Ghoster Coaster, Invertigo, Son of Beast, Flying Ace Aerial Chase, Backlot Stunt Coaster Removed from '00 to '05: King Cobra Total: 13 (+1) Cedar Point: Blue Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Gemini, Junior Gemini, Wildcat, Disaster Transport, Iron Dragon, Magnum XL-200, Mean Streak, Raptor, Mantis, Woodstock Express, Millennium Force, Wicked Twister, Top Thrill Dragster Removed from '00 to '05: None Total: 16 (+2) Six Flags Magic Mountain: Gold Rusher, Magic Flyer, Revolution, Colossus, Ninja, Viper, Psyclone, Flashback, Batman The Ride, Superman: Escape from Krypton, Riddler's Revenge, Canyon Blaster, Goliath, Deja Vu, X2, Scream! Removed from '00 to '05: None Total: 16 (+3) 2011 ***** Present day! Kings Island: The Racer, Woodstock Express, The Beast, Vortex, Adventure Express, Great Pumpkin Coaster, Flight Deck, Flight of Fear, Invertigo, Son of Beast (SBNO), Flying Ace Aerial Chase, Backlot Stunt Coaster, Firehawk, Diamondback Removed from '05 to '11: Scooby's Ghoster Coaster Total: 14 (+1) Cedar Point: Blue Streak, Cedar Creek Mine Ride, Corkscrew, Gemini, Junior Gemini, Wildcat, Disaster Transport, Iron Dragon, Magnum XL-200, Mean Streak, Raptor, Mantis, Woodstock Express, Millennium Force, Wicked Twister, Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick Removed from '05 to '11: None Total: 17 (+1) Six Flags Magic Mountain: Gold Rusher, Magic Flyer, Revolution, Colossus, Ninja, Viper, Batman The Ride, Superman: Escape from Krypton, Riddler's Revenge, Canyon Blaster, Goliath, Deja Vu, X2, Scream!, Tatsu, Apocalypse, Road Runner Express, Green Lantern: First Flight Removed from '05 to '11: Psyclone, Flashback Total: 18 (+2) And that's how this got the way it is. PS: Was bored and did this for fun.

Yep, Saturdays during Haunt are VERY busy. Even Racer had a 30+ minute wait, and Beast at night was 2+ hours. While crowds early in the day were OK (Action Zone was pretty empty when the park opened, only 30 minutes for Invertigo, 15 for Drop Tower, walk-on Flight Deck) by 2:00, the crowds really began to build up. We were still able to ride Adventure Express and Vortex with under 25 minute waits (Vortex's line may look long, but in reality it isn't- I've been out near BLSC and the wait was 20 minutes!), but that was about it. By the time we rode Beast around 11:00, the wait for it was 2 hours. Well worth it, however, as in addition to the usual awesome Beast night ride they added fog effects and cool haunt props for Beast. This is all based on my visit to Kings Island for Haunt in October 2010.

Don't know if anyone already knew this, but this week Kings Island will be selling Fast Lane passes for $25. However, only on Monday-Friday. Aka the park might not be too crowded since it's just a weekday. They are probably doing this to attempt to boost slow weekday sales- who's gonna pay $50 when it's not going to be all that crowded anyway? Source: www.visitkingsisland.com

AND NOW THE FINALS BEGIN!!! What coaster will be #1? The Beast(0) vs. Millennium Force(0) It's a classic woodie up against a world-class steel monster. Who would have thunk it? (Yes, I meant to spell it that way!)

THANK YOU...this was annoying me too. Did no one read my first post? And oh look, if one more person votes for MF or Diamondback can somehow make a comeback, we will reach...THE SEMI FINALS!

Well, it WAS pretty packed when I visited on Memorial Day too...but, it was hot out and the waterpark was far more crowded than the dry park. For example: DRY PARK The Voyage: 10-20 minute wait WATERPARK Watubee, a "regular" waterslide: 45 minutes Wildebeest, the "big new" water coaster: 2+ hours! I guess I should expect something similar again? Now, these wait times were for the waterpark around noon-2PM when it was the most packed, they dropped considerably by 6:00-6:30 when I rode ZOOMbabwe and Zinga with under 15 minute waits.

The Animated POV for Mammoth, thanks to HW: But remember, you will be SPINNING during the REAL ride...so this isn't 100% accurate.

At least this one has better capacity (or so it seems), and spins...so, it's a spinning water coaster? Holiday World must really be trying to take down Schlitterbahn (hope I spelled that right) and become the #1 waterpark... The video also shows Wildebeest, so I'm wondering if these two were planned at the same time or not...anyhow, I am now more convinced then ever that Splashin' Safari, not Holiday World, is the big draw for the park. Well, a new steel coaster would be a good addition...next time. (2013?) PS: Mammoth does look cool, by the way...even if it is another Water Coaster.

WARNING: THIS SECTION IS ME RANTING! SKIP IF YOU WISH! OK, is this a joke? 3 times now, I have ALMOST gone to Cedar Point. I was building excitement when suddenly, 2 weeks before the trip was to take place, my best friend tells me he has to work that weekend and HE WAS OUR RIDE THERE! So I suggested we delay the trip 1 week, and guess what? My sister has to start school by then! UGH! Cedar Point, why do you avoid me like this!?!? END OF RANT SECTION However, I am not that upset, as a new plan has emerged: Holiday World. MUCH cheaper than Cedar Point and also closer. And we don't need to go for 2 days. I was just wondering, how crowded are they on Sundays in late August? My last (and only previous) trip, I went on Memorial Day Weekend on a Saturday. The park closed at 8:30, and besides waiting 2+ hours for Wildebeest, the longest I waited for anything in the "dry" park was 15 minutes for Legend. Using the "general" rule of thumb, they close an hour EARLIER this time, so should I expect lighter crowds? I'd like to ride Wildebeest with less than a 30-minute wait...the exact day we are aiming for is Sunday, August 21st. PS: No need for "ride this!" tips and stuff...as stated earlier, I have been to Holiday World before. I know what to expect from the rides and all.

Wow...seriously? These guys "claim" one coaster is better than another simply becuase it's bigger, or longer, rather than on ride experience? That is NOT how you choose what park has the best coaster collection! "Raven at Holiday World is fun and airtime-filled, but Son of Beast is so much bigger, it wins!"

OK, I just realized something: in the event I cannot be here when all the battles are over, the next round will go like this: Winner of Match #1 vs Winner of Match #16, Winner of Match #2 versus Match #15, etc etc. And again when Round 3 starts. If I can be here when it happens, I'll do it myself, but am letting you guys how to do it since I might not be here...

Commentary: And thus far, Top Thrill Dragster, Maverick, Diamondback, Flight Deck, Flight of Fear, Millennium Force, Gemini, and Raptor have gotten all 10 of the votes they needed and move on to Round 2! There are still a few matches left, however, that could be decided by ONE vote.

Match 1 The Beast(1) vs. Wicked Twister(0) Match 2 Firehawk(2) vs. Adventure Express(0) Match 3 Invertigo(0) vs. Top Thrill Dragster(1) Match 4 Flying Ace Aerial Chase(0) vs. Maverick(1) Match 5 Son of Beast(0) vs. Diamondback(2) Match 6 Wildcat(1) vs. Iron Dragon(0) Match 7 Mantis(0) vs. Vortex(1) Match 8 Surf Dog(1) vs. Blue Streak(0) Match 9 Woodstock Express CP(0) vs. Flight Deck(2) Match 10 Woodstock Express KI(1) vs. Mean Streak(0) Match 11 The Racer(1) vs. Corkscrew(0) Match 12 Flight of Fear(2) vs. Great Pumpkin Coaster(0) Match 13 Millennium Force(1) vs. Backlot Stunt Coaster(0) Match 14 Gemini(1) vs. Junior Gemini(0) Match 15 Magnum XL-200(1) vs. Disaster Transport(0) Match 16 Cedar Creek Mine Ride(0) vs. Raptor(1) Update to Scores: I decided to null my vote between Vortex & Mantis since I kinda just "quickie" voted on it due to my love of Vortex, but I'll have to give Mantis a chance. Here are current scores after Kingsrattler's votes.

Also, you can change your vote, if the battle has not ended...to do so, take 1 point away from your old vote and give it to the other coaster.

My Votes: ROUND 1: Match 1 The Beast(0) vs. Wicked Twister(0) Match 2 Firehawk(1) vs. Adventure Express(0) Match 3 Invertigo(0) vs. Top Thrill Dragster(0) Match 4 Flying Ace Aerial Chase(0) vs. Maverick(0) Match 5 Son of Beast(0) vs. Diamondback(1) Match 6 Wildcat(0) vs. Iron Dragon(0) Match 7 Mantis(0) vs. Vortex(0) Match 8 Surf Dog(0) vs. Blue Streak(0) Match 9 Woodstock Express CP(0) vs. Flight Deck(1) Match 10 Woodstock Express KI(0) vs. Mean Streak(0) Match 11 The Racer(0) vs. Corkscrew(0) Match 12 Flight of Fear(1) vs. Great Pumpkin Coaster(0) Match 13 Millennium Force(0) vs. Backlot Stunt Coaster(0) Match 14 Gemini(0) vs. Junior Gemini(0) Match 15 Magnum XL-200(0) vs. Disaster Transport(0) Match 16 Cedar Creek Mine Ride(0) vs. Raptor(0) Having not been to CP just yet (will go August 13th-14th), I couldn't vote on much but I will return to vote on more of these if this is still active when I go in 3 weeks...

OK, I was thinking around and realized something- if you count Son of Beast and Surf Dog, Cedar Fair's 2 dry parks in Ohio (Kings Island and Cedar Point) have a total of 32 coasters. A nice, even number. Perfect for a tournament. Using Excel to "generate" random matchups, I came up with this: 2 coasters will "do battle". You may give ONE point to ONE coaster in each battle, but can vote on as many or as few battles as you like. First coaster to reach 10 points wins the battle, and the opponent goes home in shame. When all the "battles" are over, the round ends and the rides will be re-scrambled and pitted up against new opponents who also survived the earlier rounds. When only 1 coaster remains, the poll ends and we have the winning coaster. Got it? Here's Round 1. These matches were generated randomly and some of them are very stupid...in fact, the best matches I see are Beast vs. Wicked Twister and Vortex vs. Mantis. But some of these are kinda funny...to vote, copy the below battles and when you vote, increase the number following each coaster's name by 1, until it reaches 10. Once a coaster has 10 votes, that battle is over and no more votes can be taken for it. ROUND 1: Match 1 The Beast(0) vs. Wicked Twister(0) Match 2 Firehawk(0) vs. Adventure Express(0) Match 3 Invertigo(0) vs. Top Thrill Dragster(0) Match 4 Flying Ace Aerial Chase(0) vs. Maverick(0) Match 5 Son of Beast(0) vs. Diamondback(0) Match 6 Wildcat(0) vs. Iron Dragon(0) Match 7 Mantis(0) vs. Vortex(0) Match 8 Surf Dog(0) vs. Blue Streak(0) Match 9 Woodstock Express CP(0) vs. Flight Deck(0) Match 10 Woodstock Express KI(0) vs. Mean Streak(0) Match 11 The Racer(0) vs. Corkscrew(0) Match 12 Flight of Fear(0) vs. Great Pumpkin Coaster(0) Match 13 Millennium Force(0) vs. Backlot Stunt Coaster(0) Match 14 Gemini(0) vs. Junior Gemini(0) Match 15 Magnum XL-200(0) vs. Disaster Transport(0) Match 16 Cedar Creek Mine Ride(0) vs. Raptor(0) Enjoy the poll. If you dislike, click back, as usual.

IT IS CHOSEN...my sister, in spite of having gone there previously, has made up her mind, and since is the one behind the majority of the $$ for this trip, we cannot argue against her. She wants to visit...Cedar Point. However, a friend of hers, whom will also probably be supplying a large sum of funding for the gas, wants to go, and since he could save us money we have to let him- and by letting him, we MUST visit on a weekday. Because of this, we will probably get 2-day passes. We talked about staying on-site for ERT, but a quick search showed that the Cedar Point Hotels, even at $150 per night, are too expensive for us. We will probably go for that cheap $50-ish one we saw. And a date is set: 8-13-2011...and 8-14-2011. My friend sounded OK with the trip. A few things haven't been set in stone (who all is going, etc etc), but the groundwork has been laid. I apologize to Six Flags Great America, you were strongly considered, however the "allure" of Cedar Point's massive collection of thrill rides (our entire group is made up of NOTHING but thrill seekers!) was too much. And to Holiday World, which was considered...but my sister seemed much more intent on visiting a larger park. I hope one day trips to these two parks will happen (again, in the case of Holiday World) but for now, Cedar Point has won. Now, I look forward to riding Millennium, Magnum, Dragster, Maverick, WindSeeker (never rode KI's, it was not open yet when I went), Raptor, MaXair, Skyhawk, Blue Streak, and Cedar Point's world-class collection of other rides. Even Mean Streak to an extent, although that one I am a little hesitant about given its reputation...is it still running great this year? Thanks for all the advice thus far. And more would still be welcome.

QUICK UPDATE: Just read that article and it seems Iron Wolf is being relocated, not destroyed...so it still has life in it, it seems...well, the "urgency" to ride it just dropped a bit if it is just being moved...

Oops. I was talking about Great America, I just thought Great Adventure was abbreviated "Gadv"...I'll remember this from now on. And for the record, I do really want to visit SFGadv, however, right now it is a LOOOONG trip (Gas+Hotel prices can really add up) and there are still other parks I haven't been to that are well worth a visit, but much closer. Now about Iron Wolf...yes, I would like to ride that, even if it's garbage, simply because it WAS the first B&M ever. That alone makes it worth adding to my coaster count. That is, if my sister and friend agree to visit SFGam, they may want to do one of the other two...I need to talk it over. When we make a choice, I will post it...and then the trip report will, of course, follow.