New at Holiday World for 2012

[BavarianBeatle]

Last year when I visited Holiday World, Wildebeest had a two and a half hour long wait. I was so disappointed, and didn't ride it. I was heartbroken, and I still am today!

Mammoth will definitley get the longer lines now, MWAHAAHAH!

And there will be a segment of the general public who will see that HW has the world's biggest water slide, and will say "Oh yeah, I waited 2 and a half hours for that thing last year," not realizing that Mammoth is a new ride.......

[XGatorHead 8904]

I can't wait to ride Mammoth! I was debating whether to go to HWN again next year, but Mammoth has made up my mind for me. I love waterslides/water coasters, so I am thrilled by this announcement.

I'm frankly disappointed in everyone's disappointment. Mammoth will be a fantastic addition to Splashin' Safari that will help lessen the lines for everything else, including your precious coasters.

Truthfully, I will say that the Halloween event was a little more exciting for me. The park has one of the best atmospheres for a fall event--can you imagine zooming by a sea of changing trees while riding any of the wooden coasters?

I'm a little disappointed in everyone's disappointment too, but it doesn't surprise me at all. At least a few more people have commented that they like the addition though.

I'd like to see their Halloween event next year, but with me working Haunt that makes it a little difficult. But you're right, it would be great to ride the coasters with the changing leaves, especially Raven since the trees are so close.

(edit) this post is by DaveStroem, seems that my daughter forgot to logout on my computer again.

I was thinking as I was reading this post that it doesn't sound like a KICoasterGirl post...

The Plymouth Rock Cafe had its seating area enclosed and air conditioned

I greatly thank them for that. During HWN the heat really got to me, and I ended up leaving the Voyage walkback earlier than everyone else and took a nice long nap at one of the air conditioned tables in the new PRC addition!

They only complain about the fact that they're not steel coasters. Seriously, think about it. What's the one thing everyone here wanted out of Holiday World prior to this announcement?

Not everyone. I'm perfectly content that HW only has one steel coaster (that a lot of people forget about since it's not exactly a "thrill" coaster). It's just one more thing that makes it different from my home park of KI. I'm not saying that I'd be upset if HW did get a bigger one though...

With this level of complaining though, I may have to boycott KIC after the KI announcement (especially if my guess is correct)

I guess that you're guessing along the same lines that I'm guessing. If my guess is the same as your guess and our guesses are correct, it may be hard to muddle through the coaster fanboy posts of disappointment. (Me, I'm not a coaster fanboy... I consider myself a park enthusiast).

[thekidd33]

I think this is a great addition for HW. Splashin' Safari is the parks bread and butter and I think its a smart decision on their part to continue to invest in it.

[Coney Islander]

Holiday World, once again, made a genius decision in maximizing the popularity and enjoyability of Holiday World and Splashing Safari. The Kochs are exceptionally good at catering to the desires of the general public, and, in turn, are awarded almost every year with increasingly gratifying attendance numbers.

I myself visited Splashin' Safari a few years ago and had only two issues:

The first of which, being long lines, has been continually addressed by park management with new attractions. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the point of view), attendance has increased at such a rate that lines have remained about the same... The park is SO successful, that there isn't anything reasonable the park can do (in the near future) to eliminate the problem.

The second issue, being the lack of shade, is easily pardoned because Splashin' Safari just has yet to develop large-scale tree growth.

[Tanna]

Well, it seems to be enough of an addition to get the mister to break out his old "Build your own teardrop camper" plans again.

Do they have a campground? And if not, is there a motel around that would accommodate a Scottie Dog?

[XGatorHead 8904]

^Lake Rudolph campground is right next door: http://www.lakerudolph.com/

[Tanna]

Perfect! Thank you. Looks right up my alley.

[Beast1979]

For anyone who is still bitter from the disappointment, here's something to leave a better taste in your mouth:

“We are going to build a steel coaster,” said Koch. “Let me go out on two limbs here. One, the Mammoth is going to be the number one water park ride in the world next year. And two, we are going to build a steel coaster, but I don’t know exactly when. We want to build the right kind of steel coaster, so we have been very actively seeking input from coaster enthusiasts to build the appropriate steel coaster for Holiday World. When we built the Voyage, we put in every kind of element that the enthusiasts love and that our guests love. So we are working very hard on the location and design for a steel coaster to best suit our needs. But it is looming on the horizon.”

http://www.courierpress.com/news/2011/aug/03/holiday-world-build-mammoth-new-1753-foot-water-co/

[Cpt Crunch]

That was a great article, possibly the best that covered Holiday World's story, unlike this one: http://www.usnewsinn.com/holiday-world.html

The trip is scheduled to open in May 2012 and sit next to her sister, traveling in the water, the wildebeest little.

It's obviously a translation problem, but it's a good laugh!

[rotag]

That was a great article, possibly the best that covered Holiday World's story, unlike this one: http://www.usnewsinn...iday-world.html

The trip is scheduled to open in May 2012 and sit next to her sister, traveling in the water, the wildebeest little.

It's obviously a translation problem, but it's a good laugh!

that sounded coded...

[Dieseltech20]

From what I've heard, the wait times on Wildebeest justify adding a second water coaster. I personally think that this will be a good add for the park and that the desired steel coaster will come later.

We were at the park last Sunday and while the wait times for most everything was around 20 minutes. Wildebeest was the one exception and took about an hour. Couple this with the very short ride and I am happy to see a bigger one coming to the park

[IndyGuy4KI]

This article made the front page of the paper her in indy.

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011108040351

[HWBeast1039]

Dang. I was fully expecting Proslide's new RocketLOOP water coaster. It was supposed to be a 215' watercoaster with a loop. It was to be called Son of 'Beest

[thekidd33]

There are a couple photos of the new Mammoth rafts in TPR's IAAPA coverage. They look pretty comfortable, I really like that they have some back support (apparently I am getting old!).

Link: Photo is 2/3ish of the way down.

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1111262#p1111262

[IndyGuy4KI]

There are a couple photos of the new Mammoth rafts in TPR's IAAPA coverage. They look pretty comfortable, I really like that they have some back support (apparently I am getting old!).

Link: Photo is 2/3ish of the way down.

http://www.themepark...111262#p1111262

A lot more padding than you would expect! Ready for a ride on that thing! I am anxious to know with the size of that raft if there is any airtime?

[flightoffear1996]

When did Splashing Safari open?

[thekidd33]

^I believe it was 1993 (but I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong).

^^I'm thinking probably not as much as there is on Wildebeest but looking at the ride layout it certainly looks like there are a few areas where its possible. I am expecting 'Wildebeest Lite' based on the family marketing so far, so any airtime at all would be great as far as I am concerned.

[The Interpreter]

Right you are!

http://www.holidayworld.com/news/timeline-santa-claus-land-holiday-world-splashin-safari

[westcoaster]

Look how much better holiday world splashin safari is getting!!! compared to Kings Islands....

We need a water coaster!!!

[The Interpreter]

Some parks are Soak City, others have unlimited soft drinks, free parking, suntan lotion and tubes, &c.

Terpy, who just HAD to (now where did I put my Yellow Submarine? Did somebody say sumthin' about Pittsburgh? Look, over there, it's the Fast Lane!)

[IndyGuy4KI]

Mammoth construction update.

[IndyGuy4KI]

So I am questioning if we will see Timberliner trains on Voyage for 2012 after seeing a post on FB.

PTC posted pictures of Voyage train rehab on their FB page and stated:

Yesterday, February 28, 2012, Train B of The Voyage for Holiday World was completed and shipped back to Santa Claus, Indiana to get back on the tracks."

http://www.facebook....113632142069127

[TombRaiderFTW]

I think the park's made it pretty clear that they're hopeful the Timberliners will run in 2012*, but they aren't making promises. One of the most prominent things I noticed about the video with Chad Miller from The Gravity Group and Dan Koch was that they never explicitly confirmed which trains will be running in 2012.

I personally believe that, given the fact that they entirely rebuilt half the spaghetti bowl, they're more optimistic than ever that the TLs will be on this year. Unless I'm mistaken, one of the reasons they did it is that they wanted to reduce the variance in the track gauge. If they weren't confident the new trains would be on the track this year, why would they go above and beyond the usual retracking just for this season? Unless the ride was really just so poorly designed or maintained that it became necessary, something I'm not prone to believe when it comes to The Gravity Group or Holiday World, it seems like the best time to finally let the public experience the new, "smoother" trains is when the track's in its best shape since opening (i.e., this year).

And, on TGG's side of the deal, I keep imagining that, if Holiday World suggested an extensive retracking, they'd suggest it happen when they're most confident their product will be ready to go. The better shape the track's in, the better impression the Timberliners will make on their first genuinely large-scale coaster. And really, isn't that all the trains have left to prove for themselves at this point? Some of TGG's biggest promises with these trains were improved/lessened maintenance costs, exceptional dynamic capability, and compatibility with existing rides. Two of those things have been proven by 2011's rides (Wooden Warrior and Twister); the last is currently depending on these trains making their public rides on The Voyage. I'm sure they'll want to showcase their product in the best light possible.

(Millennium Flyers on Hersheypark's Wildcat keep coming to mind here... A great ride in the right seat, but the way those things jerk around on that track and rattle is unsettling. Sit in the wrong row, and it's right up there with Son of Beast. It's an incredible contrast to the Lightning Racers just down the midway, where those trains glide much more smoothly.)

*In my head, this sounds like I'm snapping at you. I'm not! I'm just saying.

EDIT: I also have to say: I love seeing photos like that from PTC. They have very interesting albums on their Facebook page! I'm also very, very happy to see Mean Streak's train(s) getting refurbished by their manufacturer. Those things have been in pretty poor shape lately, and PTC did a wonderful job on one of Blue Streak's trains last year.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Someone on my FB page mentioned that these trains could go to Bluegrass Boardwalk for a coaster there if things work out well for the timberliners. Something that I had not considered when looking at the pictures!