seems like a short ride

So does Banshee if you're judging by cycle time. It's over 3,000 feet long. Sure, it isn't the longest, but it is definitely not short.

As much as I like the in-line-roll on Banshee, that element in itself is enough to make me want to go out and try Thunderbird next Spring.

whatever, all i know is that it craps all over Gatekeeper

It looks much better than Gatekeeper.

Quick question for anyone who may be more in the know as far as costs are concerned. Thunderbird is a full 1100+ feet shorter than Banshee and yet comes in only $2 million less. Is the launch hardware that expensive?

Seems to be quite a bit more theming than Banshee, too.

I've been wanting to get to Holiday World for years. I've heard absolutely nothing but good things about The Voyage.

Next year I will be there, without a doubt.

Ed Hart- ball is in your court, sir

^^^That or the hardware on the trains. Dive machine trains by themselves are pretty expensive from what I read, and wing coaster trains are of similar size (sort of).

I'm impressed. Holiday World and B&M trying new things. I hope it works out for everybody.

Dang, where's a certain stud at now?

I AM SO STOKED TO RIDE THIS!!!!

And not to mention as an Indiana native, I am proud and happy to finally see something besides the Indy 500 to put my home state on the map. Thunderbird looks beautiful and as a friend instilled hope in me, I am seriously wanting there to be that beautiful B&M roar that i always hope for with each of their new installs.

Count me in for next spring!

Who gives a rats backside how it ties in? Is it really the end of the world?

As for the ride, it looks amazing and I am looking forward to riding it next year.

Quick question for anyone who may be more in the know as far as costs are concerned. Thunderbird is a full 1100+ feet shorter than Banshee and yet comes in only $2 million less. Is the launch hardware that expensive?

The hardware might not be that expensive, but as this is a first for B&M, I'm sure that a lot of money went into R&D, and if a park wants a "first of its kind" attraction, they're going to have to fork over a large portion of that R&D expense.

Go to http://www.coasterradio.com/live.html at 10:15 for an interview with Paula Werne!

I am happy for Holiday World. This looks like it is going to be a good ride, but I think next time they should seek advice from the masters of marketing at Kings Island for hint dropping. We now return to our regularly scheduled programming……...

Looks like Gatekeeper, Banshee, Furius Baco, and Full Throttle mixed!

Gatekeeper is nothing huge and it was 25 million

Gatekeeper is nothing huge and it was 25 million

Gatekeeper is much longer and had two massive steel towers that had to be produced as well. I'd bet each of those towers was a million or two.

Gatekeeper is nothing huge and it was 25 million

Nothing huge?

Even if you think the ride is "lame" or some silly thing like that, it's 4,200 feet long and 170 feet tall with 6 inversions. Your personal preference for the ride aside, it's a BIG ride.

Gatekeeper is nothing huge and it was 25 million

Have you been up to Cedar Point since they installed Gatekeeper? It's a huge ride that stands out against the rest of the coasters.

Keep in mind that Thunderbird will only have 2 trains, which saved the Koch's a pretty penny as well...

Great, now I have this stuck in my head:

Gatekeeper is nothing huge and it was 25 million

Have you been up to Cedar Point since they installed Gatekeeper? It's a huge ride that stands out against the rest of the coasters.

Keep in mind that Thunderbird will only have 2 trains, which saved the Koch's a pretty penny as well...

Not to mention, the trains looked shorter than the ones on Gatekeeper. I recall seeing only 5 or 6 rows in the animation.

Either way, Thunderbird will be Fun, Fun, Fun... at least until daddy takes it away.

Great, now I have this stuck in my head:

(video)

This is what was going through my head:

Gatekeeper is nothing huge and it was 25 million

You say that yet you still have it as your avatar?

I have rode it over 50 times

^^^^^ (Homestar92)
Yep- each train only has 5 cars versus 8 for Gatekeeper. Though the launch needing to have less weight was likely a factor for that.

And now that I'm cooled off a bit and have watched more videos, some thoughts:
-Probably won't be Banshee-level forcefulness, but it doesn't need to be really. The shorter trains may allow it to be a bit more forceful than Gatekeeper though.

-The level of theming is very good, and the fact the woods around the ride should be intact (this is Holiday World- not Cedar Fair) should be a plus.

-Interaction with Voyage is cool.

-Nice choice of colors.

-Great name even if it has to be "squeezed in" to fit the theme of the area.

-According to Ed Hart's bid to re-open Kentucky Kingdom I read a while back, he didn't think Holiday World could build something like this...Mr. Hart, I fear you have underestimated your "opponent" in this case.

-I'll bet this will push HW Attendance from 1 million or so to around 1.5 million. Holiday World will be MUCH more crowded in 2015 IMO.

-B&M has been kickin' butt in recent years with their new rides and this seems it will continue that trend- not to mention the rumored Carowinds Giga will also likely help this recent push.

Overall, this ride looks awesome. Nice job, Holiday World. I think Will would be proud...Raven. Legend. Voyage. Wildebeest. Mammoth. And now Thunderbird. A pretty darn solid "coaster"* lineup if you ask me...
*=Counting the water coasters as coasters of course.

Gatekeeper is nothing huge and it was 25 million

Have you been up to Cedar Point since they installed Gatekeeper? It's a huge ride that stands out against the rest of the coasters.

Keep in mind that Thunderbird will only have 2 trains, which saved the Koch's a pretty penny as well...

Not to mention, the trains looked shorter than the ones on Gatekeeper. I recall seeing only 5 or 6 rows in the animation.

Either way, Thunderbird will be Fun, Fun, Fun... at least until daddy takes it away.

Two trains with 5 rows each according to the website, so 20 riders per train.

That second pass while inverting through the roof of the building is awesome. Absolutely love it.

Time for a info-flush.

(Blurb: Today, I was wondering what this was called, I kept calling it thunderhawk but Thunderbird is the true name, ironic?)

Thunderbird, finally a piece of Thanksgiving devoted to the Native Americans. The whole attraction looks like my kind of deal. In the lower 100's, it still reaches 60 MPH and it still has some amazing turn around capabilities. I love the shed as well, interesting piece if you ask me. In regards to the campaign though, I will have to agree that this makes little sense. Sure, I can see how the Thunderbird ties in, but at the same time, that POV doesn't make me feel like the Voyage will be dominated, or canopied by it. Thunderbird seems to have its' own feel, own vibe, own taste and will almost be a standalone coaster not being related to Voyage.

Onto the favorite piece, the overall view: Dear heavens I think I may have found my new favorite ride. (Have yet to ride Banshee though, it's on my list for this Aug.).

Sorry looks like boring to me. Wing coaster just don't do it for me. It's not themed at all.

Not themed? Did you watch the video?

This coaster looks so awesome. I'm very impressed, not only with Holiday World adding a (STEEL!!) coaster of this scale, but also for B&M for incorporating a launch.

I really need to go to Holiday World even more so than I did before this announcement.