gigacoaster2k Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Kat (violakat03) and I both decided to go to Holiday World for her birthday yesterday. Her birthday was June 18, but we needed an excuse to go to this amazing park! We left her house around 6:30 am. When we got to Louisville, Kentucky, we stopped at Walmart to grab some things we needed. I had been keeping an eye on my weather radar, and we exited Walmart to see very dark and nasty storm clouds. I checked the radar to see a giant red storm with black and purple in it, heading straight for our next part of the route. We attempted to go around the storm, but the rain got so torrential that Kat couldn't see out her windshield even with her wipers on high. The clouds were turning a sickly shade of green and looked like it would drop a tornado at any second. We booked it away from the storm, parked under the awning of a gas station and waited for the storm to clear our part of the route. It finally did, and we were off! We got to the park around 11:30 am CDT. The main lot and Legend lot were both full, and they were directing people to overflow parking. I prayed and hoped that we hadn't driven this far just to see a jam packed park.. but thinking that many might be at the water park. The temperature was already at 90 with a heat index of 99.. and was supposed to get hotter. We had to park way in the way back, so we took the tram to the front of the park. Kat bought her one day ticket, and I went to the season pass center to get my season pass! Regular price is $139.95, and if you have a coupon you get it for $109.95.. as an ACE member, I got my pass for $84.95! Kat has a pic of me with it. We entered the park, applied about a gallon of sunscreen, and Kat got her funnel cake that she had ben craving. Then it was off to none other than Voyage! We got in 2 rides on that, and then headed to Legend. After this, we noticed that we were both getting sunburnt even after applying 2 layers of SPF 30. I rarely burn, so this was very strange. We hit up the free sunscreen station, and then got a ride on Liberty Launch. This ride was slightly painful for me. It bounced so hard that my shoulders hit the top of my restraint.. and my shoulders were a good 3 inches below the restraint. Kat wanted to get her credit on Howler, so we rode that, and then went for Raven. It was so blazing hot by this time that we decided we were ready to hit Splashin Safari. The temperature was 93 with a heat index of 109. It was terrible.. my clothes were damp with sweat and I could not drink enough liquids or apply enough sunscreen to stop myself from getting light headed. We took the tram out to Spooky (nickname for Kat's Vue) and drove it to a spot way up front. We grabbed our water park stuff, re-entered the park, and made a beeline for the water park. First was The Wave, one of two wave pools. This was quite refreshing, but the waves weren't that big and didn't last long. Next was the water slide Otorongo. Of course we chose the craziest one we could find. That was a lot of fun.. although I was starting to feel exhausted from the heat. Next was their lazy river called Congo River. It cooled us off quite a bit. But when I went up the steps to exit the pool, I nearly passed out from dehydration and had to grab onto a rail to hold myself up. I got myself to the Oasis and chugged a cup of Gatorade, and felt much better. Next was the Bahari Wave Pool. This one was interesting. The waves were so choppy that they nearly knocked people over and were going a good 5 feet high. One of the waves nearly knocked off my bikini top, and while I was fixing that, the next wave took my bikini bottom off. Kat came out of her top a few times too, and hilarious as it was, we decided to back off of the wave pool before we were kicked out for indecency! Our last water ride was the lazy river called Bahari River. We went to ride Pilgrims Plunge, but wouldn't you know it broke down as soon as we got to the queue entrance. They lowered the boat back down and turned the water off. We were hungry by this time, so we got some nachos and burritos at The Alamo. Great food, and their prices are reasonable too. While eating, we started to hear thunder. It was our plan at the end of the day to marathon Voyage, so we ducked into Plymouth Rock Cafe until the storm passed. (How come it ALWAYS storms when I go to Holiday World??) After the storm went away, we made a beeline for Voyage. We ended up getting 9 more rides in before the queue closed. I got stapled on 2 of my rides, which ticked me off.. who wants to be stapled on Voyage?? NOT ME! After the rides had closed, Kat and I went to the fudge and glass blowing shop to get some fudge (which reminds me, she still has my chocolate fudge!). She got a caramel apple with that, and I was suddenly very depressed about having to leave. I went to a souvenir shop and got a Voyage shot glass and a Holiday World bumper sticker. We left the park around 9:30 CDT. Somewhere around the northern part of Kentucky, we got very, very tired and pulled over to a rest stop (one of the few we saw), and slept until about 6 am (our time). We finally woke up long enough to get back on the road. I got back to my house around 8:15 this morning. Though blazing hot, stormy, and somewhat tiring (we must have applied about 20 layers of sunblock, no exaggeration), I had a great time. It's nice to just have a girls day out once in a while.. even though my throat is all scratchy from yelling "90 DEGREEEEES!!!" every time on every one of Voyage's 90 degree banks. Ride count: Voyage - 11 Legend - 1 Raven - 1 Liberty Launch - 1 Howler - 1 Otorongo - 1 Bahari Wave Pool - 1 The Wave - 1 Bahari River - 1 Congo River - 1 Season Pass - 1 (yes, I'm counting that!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast79 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Glad to see you girls had some fun and it didn't end up being a total rain out. It sounds like they have their wave pools set on different settings, one being more tame then the other. Hope to see the pictures soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thrill_Biscuit Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks for such a vivid report! I can't wait to try Holiday World soon; I've heard so much about it, and it sounds like you had a great time (except for Pilgrim's Plunge shutting down...bummer!) Water parks are best experienced on really hot days. Sounds like you got about the hottest day you can get! Plus this is the first time I've heard of free sunscreen stations. Does KI or CP have these? Anyway, great report! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 My last Holiday World PTR had almost 100 photos in it, so I figured that was enough for now. I really love Holiday World. Sparkling clean park, sincerely friendly and helpful employees, great tasting food, low prices, well done theming in the park areas and in ride queues, free parking, free sunscreen, free drinks, no trims on the coasters.. it's a dream come true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Edit: Removed by poster Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast79 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 If Holiday World would ever need to hire maintenance again I wouldn't mind relocating and working for them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 I know it would sound crazy, but I'm not sure I wish Holiday World was closer. The charm and excitement probably wouldn't be as great if I lived, say, an hour away.. I'd get used to the park too fast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast79 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I think Beast1979 needs a timeout , I'm glad you GIRLS had a nice time. I am wondering why HW is having such a hard time with PP, could be new ride trouble shooting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast79 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 While I think it's nice that we all have been able to meet up at KI and other parks, we also need to respect everyone's privacy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Just goes to show ya, don't mess with karma, especially when that karma is not taking your friends to parks! Kat and I went for her birthday as a girls day out. I told you that more than once. We told Adam (pkiboy) and Gary (Beast79) as well that it was a girls day out. They understood. You don't seem to get it. You texted that "karma" to me, wrote it on my Facebook wall repeatedly, and now you're writing it in my TR? It's getting annoying real fast. Sorry, giga, I'm just really upset when other people get to do things and I don't. I'm 13, still yet to master that skill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justin_M17 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 I'm glad you guys had a good time. Sounds like I need to head out to Holiday World sometime soon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Angie-- did you say a season pass at HW is normally 140 bucks??? If so, that's insane! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Angie-- did you say a season pass at HW is normally 140 bucks??? If so, that's insane! I disagree. HW offers free parking, free sunscreen, and free drinks. Their food prices are very low. On the back of my season pass, it states that you can get 10% off your food and merchandise purchases all season when you present your pass. You also get to bring up to 4 guests and save $4 on each guest's admission.. that makes your friend's 1 day admission ticket to HW $31.95 (very reasonable, if you ask me). A CF platinum pass is now $160, and people still buy them. CP's season pass is $109.95 now. KI's regular season pass is $99, but doesn't include parking, so there is an extra $40 for the parking pass.. there's $139.98 right there. Neither KI nor CP's regular season pass offers any of the special benefits of gold or platinum, not to mention that CP and KI's food and merchandise prices are much higher than HW's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violakat03 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 It was a caramel apple, not a candy apple, and I noticed I had your fudge as soon as I carried the bag inside but figured we were both too tired to mess with it at that point. I also have your beer still somehow. And I only took the one picture. I took my camera in the park but was so focused on enjoying myself, combined with the fact after the water park it was buried under all my water park stuff, that I never dug it out. So no PTR from me, sorry guys. The only thing I was disappointed by yesterday was that they were not running the sound effects on Legend. I absolutely love the school bell ringing as you leave the station and the wolf howl as you come down the first drop and was incredibly sad that I didn't get to hear them yesterday. When I go with my husband (it'll be his first visit), I'm going to ask them to make sure they have them on!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 The School Bell is not a sound effect. It's a ride Op literally pulling a cord mid-station to ring the actual bell on the roof. They typically ring it as a train comes into the final brake run during 2 train operation. BTW, the bell once fell during Stark Raven Mad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violakat03 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 The School Bell is not a sound effect. It's a ride Op literally pulling a cord mid-station to ring the actual bell on the roof. They typically ring it as a train comes into the final brake run during 2 train operation. BTW, the bell once fell during Stark Raven Mad... I thought that was the case but wasn't sure. So now it annoys me even more that it wasn't ringing yesterday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KYJoe Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 The bell was not ringing when i was there either. Also the lights where on in all of the Voyages tunnel all day. It looked like the rope had broke up in that tube, you can still see some rope hanging down from the bell. The Legend was running really really good, compared to last year, it really surprised me how fast it seemed to be going. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabe Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Angie-- did you say a season pass at HW is normally 140 bucks??? If so, that's insane! well, early renewal for KI gold pass is 89 and that includes parking. a plat pass gets you into every CF park, whereas HW is just one. I'm not knocking the park (in fact I'm dying to go, as I"ve never been), I'm just a little perplexed over how much they charge for a season pass. 4.00 off admission is good, but you can do much better. Still, I'm glad you guys had fun. I really enjoy hanging out with you gals at KI and hope to do so again soon! I disagree. HW offers free parking, free sunscreen, and free drinks. Their food prices are very low. On the back of my season pass, it states that you can get 10% off your food and merchandise purchases all season when you present your pass. You also get to bring up to 4 guests and save $4 on each guest's admission.. that makes your friend's 1 day admission ticket to HW $31.95 (very reasonable, if you ask me). A CF platinum pass is now $160, and people still buy them. CP's season pass is $109.95 now. KI's regular season pass is $99, but doesn't include parking, so there is an extra $40 for the parking pass.. there's $139.98 right there. Neither KI nor CP's regular season pass offers any of the special benefits of gold or platinum, not to mention that CP and KI's food and merchandise prices are much higher than HW's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks for such a vivid report! I can't wait to try Holiday World soon; I've heard so much about it, and it sounds like you had a great time (except for Pilgrim's Plunge shutting down...bummer!) Water parks are best experienced on really hot days. Sounds like you got about the hottest day you can get! Plus this is the first time I've heard of free sunscreen stations. Does KI or CP have these? Anyway, great report! Holiday World is well worth the trip. GO!!! KI and CP do not have free sunscreen stations.. I really wish they did. Hot doesn't begin to cover it. The heat and humidity combined with direct sunlight was awful, and the heat index temp was almost unbearable. Around 5 pm, the temp was 100 with a heat index of 110. When we applied sunscreen, we didn't feel the heat on our skin anymore. So it not only saved us from sunburn, it saved us from heat exhaustion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 Oh I almost forgot.. here is a photo of the Voyage shot glass I got. I really like it. There was another smaller one with a boat inside it that I want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast79 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Sweet! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KI Kevin Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 It seems like every TR Giga posts has something about bad weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coaster_junky Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 (How come it ALWAYS storms when I go to Holiday World??) most likely the same reason whenever i'm going up the lift of maverick it starts raining, even when the weather forcast says it's going to be clear all day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigacoaster2k Posted June 23, 2009 Author Share Posted June 23, 2009 It seems like every TR Giga posts has something about bad weather. Haha I know right? But there is an up side to that.. once the rain stopped and the rides reopened, Kat and I didn't wait over 10 minutes for Voyage.. in fact, our last few rides were a station wait, with a 2 train wait for the very front seat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DropZone99 Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Awesome shot glass! And awesome Trip Report. It makes me really excited for Holiday World. I'm supposed to be going sometime soon for my birthday present from my aunt (My birthday was April 16. she's just giving me it.) I haven't been since 2001, so I haven't ridden Howler or Voyage. Lastly, glad you girls had fun, happy late birthday Kat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 The School Bell is not a sound effect. It's a ride Op literally pulling a cord mid-station to ring the actual bell on the roof. They typically ring it as a train comes into the final brake run during 2 train operation. BTW, the bell once fell during Stark Raven Mad... Indeed it did...and some people have been raven about that legend ever since... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beast1979 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Terpy you never dissapoint! I wonder how many puns you can fit in one post..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flightoffear1996 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 I am debating if I want to go to Holiday World or not. Its about a 2.5 hour drive. It just seems a long way to for 3 coasters. Whats the airtime on Voyage compare to Diamondback? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Not a very fair comparison, since one is a steel coaster and the other is wood. Both are superb coasters among the very best of their kind. Holiday World is worth the trip for many from Great Britain, Spain, Russia, etc. Others who live four miles from the park would say it isn't. It's all in what you want. If you want to ride three world class wooden coasters, enjoy a great atmosphere and free Pepsi and suntan lotion and tubes all day, Holiday World may be for you. It really does very much depend on what it is you seek. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
violakat03 Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 Angie and I drove over 4 hours to get there. It was worth every second of the drive. Not only is Voyage the most amazing wood coaster I've ever ridden, the atmosphere is so dramatically different than what you see at a chain park that you can't really describe it. Even though I live 4 hours away, I will be purchasing a season pass there next summer. As for Voyage to Diamondback... I've determined I cannot compare them. I love Diamondback because it's smooth as glass with forceful elements and great reride potential. I love Voyage because it's out of control with an insane layout, though I determined that power lapping for 9 rides I was about to reach my reride limit on it. It is that insane. Those two coasters are the reason I started separating my top coasters between wood and steel because I just cannot decide which would be my overall number 1! Posted from my BlackBerry mobile device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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