coasterfanatic83 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 My cousin (TTD-420-120) and I went to Holiday World on Monday and Tuesday. It was my first time there, and needless to say, I was beyond excited. On Monday, it rained until about 10:30, so we went to Gobbler Getaway for about 10 times in a row. After that, we wanted to ride Voyage, but it was closed so we went over to Legend and Raven. From there, we went to Splashin' Safari for a while. Wildebeest was closed all day on Monday. By the time we left the water park, Voyage was open, so we enjoyed that several times. We continued over to the 4th of July area, and rode the flats there. After that, we went back to Legend and Raven, rode the two water rides in the park, and walked around and looked at all of the Christmas stuff. On Tuesday, we started by riding Voyage multiple times. From there, we walked around and hopped from attraction to attraction. We went to the water park around 11:30, and we stayed there until about 3. Wildebeest was still closed, so we enjoyed all of the other attractions. We went back to the main park, and rode various other rides, and on a ride on Legend, I saw that Wildebeest was finally open. We hurried over there to ride it once before we left, and after we got off we rode Mammoth one more time. We ended our trip with one more round on Voyage, and it was incredible. Overall, I loved it there. The park is beautiful and very clean, the employees were friendly, and the entire town of Santa Claus is a magical place. Voyage: 10/10 It meets all expectations and more. This is now my favorite wooden roller coaster. The airtime is phenomenal, and it wasn't horribly rough. Nothing like it. Legend: 8/10 This was a very fun ride, with a whole lot of lateral G's. Raven: 7/10 Great ride with fun speed and hills, but the ride is very short. Gobbler Getaway: 6/10 Better than Boo Blasters, and there are many fun aspects to this ride. Maybe I'm crazy, but it even smelled like pumpkin pie in there. Mammoth: 7/10 Fun ride with many aspects to it. I have never experienced something quite like it. The water was very cold though. Wildebeest: 6/10 This was another ride that I have never experienced anything similar too, but it didn't do a whole lot for me. It was not quite as fun as Mammoth. Pilgrim's Plunge: 4/10 This ride was boring, other than the elevator lift. The fall was anti-climatic, and the splash was not exciting. There was also a painful jolt at the bottom of the ride. Food: 8/10 It was very good and not too expensive. Shows: 5/10 We only saw one, and it was nothing to write home about. Atmosphere: 9/10 This is a beautiful park and the Christmas area was magical. I loved being in the park. Thanks for reading, and if you sneezed while reading this, bless you. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 I was also at Holiday World on Monday - my first time as well. I too was amazed at how clean the park was. Despite the very light crowds, staff with cleaning supplies roamed the park all day looking for (and usually not finding) things to clean. I saw one carefully cleaning a few drips of sunscreen off of one of the walkways in Splashin' Safari. After finding Voyage closed, I asked the gift shop attendants which coaster would open first, and they informed me that maintenance usually starts at the front of the park. So, I walked through the rain to Raven and found it "operating" - in the rain - with 0 riders. I was the 1st (and 2nd, and 3rd) rider of the day, and I got every bit as soaked as I would on Mammoth. Raven was the most comfortable ride of the day, in my opinion. Voyage and Legend were great, but the roughness kept me from doing these more than twice. Since Voyage wasn't rough for you, perhaps I just sat in bad seats? After riding Raven and Voyage a few times, next up was Splashin' Safari to try out the water coasters. I was disappointed that Wildebeest stayed closed the entire day, but I guess this leaves something "new" for me to experience on a return visit! According to the ride operators on Mammoth, it was closed because they found discoloration in the water that morning and had to drain the entire attraction. Filling it back up takes quite some time, apparently. Mammoth was great, and I got at least 9 laps in. The wait on this was reasonably short early in the day, considering that the temperature was in the 70s. The water certainly was cold, and you get absolutely drenched with waterfalls and waves crashing over your head. If you ride this, hold on tight, lean back, and don't let go for any reason. (This really is important. On my first time through, someone apparently wasn't holding on and I got hit in the face.) If you don't like your ears filling up with water, earplugs would be good to wear as well. It would have been nice to meet someone from KIC there, if I had known. You should have been marathoning Raven in the rain instead of Gobbler Getaway! Anyway, thanks for the nice TR. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdawg1998 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Your reviews are a lot different than I'd expect - I've heard great things from Wildebeest, like best water ride, great airtime, etc. And Mammoth I heard isn't as good as it. Also, I would give Gobbler Getaway a 8. I loved it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfanatic83 Posted August 15, 2012 Author Share Posted August 15, 2012 It just didn't do much for me. There are a lot of hills, but it seemed repetitive. I only rode it once because it was only open late in the day on Tuesday, so I might be a little off with my report on it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted August 15, 2012 Share Posted August 15, 2012 Sounds like both of you had good days! rode the two water rides in the park Which two? There's three water rides outside the waterpark: Raging Rapids, Frightful Falls, and Pilgrim's Plunge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coasterfanatic83 Posted August 16, 2012 Author Share Posted August 16, 2012 Haha I forgot about Pilgrim's Plunge! Maybe because there is a path connecting it to the water park, or because it just wasn't fun... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malem Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Pilgrim's Plunge did seem much less thrilling than STR at CP (even less than RFYLCB at KI) - probably a combination of the restraint and a seemingly sluggish drop. It's a decent ride, but it really is anticlimactic when you know you're riding the world's tallest flume. You really don't get wet at all unless you sit in the front, so the connection to Splashin' Safari is indeed odd. While this is a negative to enthusiasts, I suspect that many families and small children would appreciate the less intense drop. Keep in mind that just being up that high is a thrill to many, though probably not to those who hang around on these forums. Many people find even WindSeeker terrifying. I didn't get to ride Wildebeest, but I heard from others on Mammoth that it doesn't get you near as wet. On Mammoth, you're sitting down into a raft already filled with water, so your suit and feet are submerged from the get-go. While riding, you often can't see where you're going because you're facing backwards, taking huge waves in your face, or both. It can be hard to truly appreciate Mammoth's hills when you can't see them, which is why you should ride it multiple times. If you're a group of 2, you can use the single rider line on Mammoth (and presumably Wildebeest) to cut your wait substantially. You'll end up riding with just strangers on most cycles, but you will end up together on many. (They seat groups of 2 in the single line together if possible.) If you want to marathon it, pick a cool morning like we did and brave the cold. There were many shrieks at the first wave of <80° water and much visible shivering after the ride ended. Everyone seemed to think it was completely worth it afterwards, of course. If you go, the Voyage gift shop has most t-shirts marked down to $8, so definitely pick one up. On the topic of savings, the Carrollton, KY Kroger (on the way to HW) has 1-day KI tickets for $25.99. Since Wildebeest was closed and I only tried 2 seats on Voyage, I'm already thinking about a return trip - perhaps getting a coaster club membership for next year's HoliWood Nights. I know some people from KIC met up there this year, so perhaps this will happen again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcgoble3 Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 If you're the type that wants to take advantage of cold temperatures to marathon a water ride, you would have loved this year's HoliWood Nights. Temperatures were in the 60s both Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, creating perfect opportunities to do just that. (P.S. If you get the chance to ride Wildebeest when there's little or no line, ask to ride by yourself, choose the second seat from the front, and hold one tight. You'll get tons of airtime—so much that they will not allow a single rider to ride in the front seat.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VortexBFForever Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 Gobbler Getaway: Maybe I'm crazy, but it even smelled like pumpkin pie in there. Is Gobbler Getaway themed like Thanksgiving? If it is, it would make sense for it to smell like pumpkin pie. Just sayin'. P.S. I've never been to Holiday World Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted August 16, 2012 Share Posted August 16, 2012 ^ It is in the Thanksgiving section, so yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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