Holiday World

[CoastersRZ]

Holiday World has a good water park.  On my recent visit to Kentucky Kingdom (this past Friday, June 30th), the rides side of the park had minimal wait times.  Storm Chaser was walk on, and Thunder Run was a couple train wait, same with Lightning Run.  We had had our share of rides by around 2, and headed to the water park.  Holiday World can have some longer lines from what I hear.  Personally, I wouldn`t want to feel rushed, and I loved the two water coasters at Holiday World (which can each have close to an hour wait).  I would visit both parks on separate days.  But Kentucky Kingdom isn`t an all day park unless you also do the water park, and several of the flat rides that they offer.

[jcgoble3]

I would recommend an overnight trip. Spend all day at Holiday World, then stay in a hotel in that area (I like Santa's Lodge just down the street). Then in the morning, drive east (remember to account for the time zone change) and get to Kentucky Kingdom at opening. Stay there until you get bored, then head home.

[TheRickster]

An overnight stay really isn't possible.  

[jcgoble3]

4 hours ago, TheRickster said:

An overnight stay really isn't possible.  

Then I would suggest picking just one park. While KK can be done in half a day if you're not keen on the waterpark, HW, despite its size, deserves a full day to truly appreciate it. I would not recommend doing a half day at Holiday World.

[Rallyomalley]

3 hours ago, jcgoble3 said:

Then I would suggest picking just one park. While KK can be done in half a day if you're not keen on the waterpark, HW, despite its size, deserves a full day to truly appreciate it. I would not recommend doing a half day at Holiday World.

I agree.  We came back for a second day and are still here.  It's possible even a full day might not be enough, especially if it's busy. Today hasn't been that bad, but yesterday was packed.  Several of their associates said yesterday was the busiest they've seen it.

[jcgoble3]

3 hours ago, Rallyomalley said:

I agree.  We came back for a second day and are still here.  It's possible even a full day might not be enough, especially if it's busy. Today hasn't been that bad, but yesterday was packed.  Several of their associates said yesterday was the busiest they've seen it.

If you plan to spend a significant amount of time in the waterpark, with rerides on the water coasters and/or hitting up all of the slides, then yes, two days is a must even with moderate crowds. The park might not be as big as KI, but there is certainly a lot to do, and the major stuff is generally very rerideable, which eats up more time.

[JubJester]

I did my first ever trip to Holliday World yesterday, and I absolutely loved it. The crowds were low, and it was cloudy (but very humid) for the whole day. I think that would have to be due to the rain storms earlier. We got there around 2:30 and stayed til about 8:30. It absolutely wore me out. I can understand why you call it Mt. Thunderbird, but I didn't mind it. The park is super clean, has great theming, and the food is awesome. I got in a good amount of rides in that time:

The Raven: 3
Thunderbird: 4
The Voyage: 4
The Legend: 3

I thought every ride there was fantastic. The Voyage was an amazing ride, and really knocked the sails out of me (no pun intended). Very thrown off by that drop followed immediately by another drop. Thunderbird's launch really threw me off guard. I think I may like it more than Gatekeeper. I think the biggest suprise for me would be Gobbler Getaway. I really enjoyed that ride, and rode it more than once.

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

Very much a great park we have in Indiana! Glad you enjoyed it.

[TheRickster]

Just got back from Holiday World, I woke up a bit late so just decided to spend the day at HW instead of HW/KK. I went in with some great expectations... and well I'm not sure they were met.

 

I don't want to post a whole Trip Report... but I might just make a post more in depth about my thoughts. But long story short. A lot of people act like Beast and Racer are rough. But after riding Raven, Legend and Voyage beast felt like a stones throw away from a new GCI. Maybe it's also because I'm a bigger person and just how I fit in the trains, but The Voyage severely reminded me of SOB. My legs did the same left and right lateral shemi through a lot of the turns. 

I was happy I went, but man, I kind of wish they could fix Voyage or I'd have went 10 years ago when I was doing this stuff.  I was expecting this world class wood coaster maintenance that I thought I'd heard about.

Anyone else feel the same way?

[FoF96"]

I haven't had problems with Legend or Raven being rough.  However Voyage usually (I think it was tolerable last time I rode a year ago) makes my young 21 year old body feel like a trip to the chiropractor is in order.  

[ComfortCounsular#1]

Just came back from Holiday World this past weekend! We had a blast! If you like wooden coasters then you're going to have a blast!

 

• The Raven is short, but fun. Expect a wait with only having one train car, but hey, someone died on this ride so you gotta at least give it a try.
• The legend is fun, and a complete walk on at night. We rode it four times, my girl bruised her hip. Get ready, it's wicked and will push you into the left of the car, hard!
• THE VOYAGE!!! That ride was AmAzInG.... I frickin loved it. It's as if The Racer and Mystic Timbers had a really fast baby. Unfortunately, it was shut down the majority of our visit, but we managed to squeeze one ride in before they closed it for the night.
• Obviously, the winged coaster is a ton of fun, but I love a good beating so my heart stayed with the Voyage. For your first ride on the Thunderbird ride back left I promise it's worth the small extra wait.

I haven't been to another park in a long time, forgot how spoiled I was by KI ride ops. Bless their heart, but the HW employees moved so slow. I think some of it is on purpose because their aren't too many dry thrill rides, so you know, keeping in the park longer and all that. Free soda, sun screen and parking, can't beat that! Also, after 3pm it's only $40. If you aren't into water slides it's worth it to go after 3pm. 

[TombRaiderFTW]

^^ I used to think people who reported super rough rides on Raven, Legend, and/or Voyage were crazy. Having visited HW a couple times in different seasons over the last seven or so years, I think I'm starting to notice a trend: the coasters seem to run with above-average smoothness in the cooler spring/fall months. When the hot summer weather rolls in, they jackhammer like crazy. I used to only visit during their first two weekends and during their Halloween event--during both, all woodies run great. Now that I've made some more mid-summer visits, I now get why people claim to have bad experiences there. They all (especially Legend and Voyage, although I haven't ridden Legend since the GCI redo) can be brutal. I've never noticed such a drastic change at any other park, but it does seem to exist at HW.

 

3 minutes ago, ComfortCounsular#1 said:

• The Raven is short, but fun. Expect a wait with only having one train car, but hey, someone died on this ride so you gotta at least give it a try.

I appreciate you posting a review of your day and I'm glad you had a good time, but this is a little tasteless. Also, for the record, Raven does have two trains, although HW doesn't seem to be terribly consistent with when they run the second one.

[TheRickster]

3 hours ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

^^ I used to think people who reported super rough rides on Raven, Legend, and/or Voyage were crazy. Having visited HW a couple times in different seasons over the last seven or so years, I think I'm starting to notice a trend: the coasters seem to run with above-average smoothness in the cooler spring/fall months. When the hot summer weather rolls in, they jackhammer like crazy. I used to only visit during their first two weekends and during their Halloween event--during both, all woodies run great. Now that I've made some more mid-summer visits, I now get why people claim to have bad experiences there. They all (especially Legend and Voyage, although I haven't ridden Legend since the GCI redo) can be brutal. I've never noticed such a drastic change at any other park, but it does seem to exist at HW.

 

I appreciate you posting a review of your day and I'm glad you had a good time, but this is a little tasteless. Also, for the record, Raven does have two trains, although HW doesn't seem to be terribly consistent with when they run the second one.

It was a 90 degree day... So maybe that played into it. 

[McSalsa]

5 hours ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

^^ I used to think people who reported super rough rides on Raven, Legend, and/or Voyage were crazy. Having visited HW a couple times in different seasons over the last seven or so years, I think I'm starting to notice a trend: the coasters seem to run with above-average smoothness in the cooler spring/fall months. When the hot summer weather rolls in, they jackhammer like crazy. I used to only visit during their first two weekends and during their Halloween event--during both, all woodies run great. Now that I've made some more mid-summer visits, I now get why people claim to have bad experiences there. They all (especially Legend and Voyage, although I haven't ridden Legend since the GCI redo) can be brutal. I've never noticed such a drastic change at any other park, but it does seem to exist at HW.

 

I appreciate you posting a review of your day and I'm glad you had a good time, but this is a little tasteless. Also, for the record, Raven does have two trains, although HW doesn't seem to be terribly consistent with when they run the second one.

Maybe this is part of the reason I keep having very rough rides on Voyage- I have only ever been to Holiday World in very late spring (Memorial Day) or summertime. I've noticed on my many trips to Kings Island the woodies there (Beast & Racer at least- only have 1 ride on Mystic Timbers so far so can't really judge its consistency yet) seemed to run better in cool weather, so the same probably is true at Holiday World, and possibly even more extreme.

[silver2005]

One thing I've noticed with riding in the 2 bench PTC trains is that the front row of each car is smoother than the back row.  Row 6-1 on Voyage is my favorite seat on it.

[TheRickster]

1 hour ago, silver2005 said:

One thing I've noticed with riding in the 2 bench PTC trains is that the front row of each car is smoother than the back row.  Row 6-1 on Voyage is my favorite seat on it.

Yeah that's the tradition on both. I also think maybe I'm used to 3 row cars that have the lovely middle row. 

I strictly rode in the front of a car each time except for one time on raven in the very back. 

[Vortex lover]

I used to think the people who said they were rough were crazy to, however I was wrong. Voyage ran glass smooth today in the morning, with only slight vibrations and 1 jackhammer in the Spaghetti Bowl. However when the day went on and temps rose to 90+ I felt like Voyage tried to kill me! (I also had to put my hands down to hold on and brace!) However all the other woodies were running pretty good. Thunderbird was running great as always but for some odd reason had a very loud squeak. But that went away as the day went on.

 

 

[silver2005]

I wouldn't call it roughness that bothers me about Voyage, but it has too many positive g's for a woodie. Yes, it does have some decent air time, but all those 90 degree turns and tight corners really takes a toll with it being over 6,000 ft long.  I thought it was a tad too intense coupled with that length.  In addition, on the return journey, I thought it could have used a few bigger camel back hills instead of all those smaller hills.  The MCBR serves as a bit of a breather, but the triple dip just turns up the intensity again. 

There's another way I want to describe it.  The best way I can put it is that it runs too hard on the rails, in a way that the positive g's along with even slight deviations in the track just wore me out, probably because the trains' wheels are very snug on the rails, much like B&M and Intamin steel coasters.  I think it needs a bit of bounce as it traverses the track.  It's like Gravity Group was designing it to try and do what a steel coaster can do.  Heartlining and having the wheels so tightly gripping the track are things that PTC's aren't really meant to do.  They're better off when they have wiggle room to bounce around.  Raven and Legend had a bit of a welcome rattle and shimmy by comparison. They felt more loose and comfortable with the way they tracked. 

[TheRickster]

2 hours ago, Vortex lover said:

I used to think the people who said they were rough were crazy to, however I was wrong. Voyage ran glass smooth today in the morning, with only slight vibrations and 1 jackhammer in the Spaghetti Bowl. However when the day went on and temps rose to 90+ I felt like Voyage tried to kill me! (I also had to put my hands down to hold on and brace!) However all the other woodies were running pretty good. Thunderbird was running great as always but for some odd reason had a very loud squeak. But that went away as the day went on.

 

 

That HAS to have been my problem.

 

I wonder if maybe the steel structure and a decade of changes and upkeep from the original "as built" design prints have made so temperamental.  What I rode was just as bad as SOB. Except it lasted quite a bit longer.

I really want to go back this fall now. :\ 

[Rivertown Rider]

I finally got the chance to go to Holiday World for the first time yesterday.  My thoughts and observations:

The Voyage- I had high expectations of The Voyage going in and I am a huge wooden fan.  The first half of The Voyage was probably the best wooden coaster I have ever been on and then with the second half after the MCBR it beat me to death.  I would be curious to ride it in cooler temperatures as others have said if that would calm it down.  It is hard for me to figure out where to place it in my personal rankings as the first half it does as well as anything I have ever ridden but the second half brought back memories of SOB and Mean Streak.  It is certainly top three with Beast and Mystic Timbers but neither of those have the roughness I experienced yesterday.  I would certainly rank it above the Kennywood woodies and the Dollywood woodies though.  I rode it a couple times and would definitely ride it again.

The Legend- I rode front seat and it was a great ride. The second half of the ride felt like it just kept pulling me to the left so it wasn't the most comfortable ride but still a solid ride.

The Raven- Short but fun ride.  I felt it was the roughest of the three woodies as it jackhammered a lot.

Thunderbird- I really enjoyed Thunderbird as well.  I've only ridden this and Wild Eagle as wing coaster.  Overall I probably like this one better due to the near-miss elements with the barn and trees.

We got there before opening and I went over toward the Thanksgiving coasters first.  Voyage was closed when the park first opened so I made the walk toward Thunderbird.  I discovered why it is called Mt. Thunderbird.   After riding Thunderbird, Voyage started testing and I went down and rode it after it opened.  We also did Gobbler Getaway and it was a fun ride.  After lunch I headed over to Halloween and did the other two coasters.  Legend was down at first but eventually opened.  I also did Frightful Falls and the Scrambler.

It was a pretty busy day at the park and all of the coasters were running two trains but operations were still slow.  It was a fun park and I would definitely go back.  As far as the mid-sized parks I would still rank it behind Dollywood and Kennywood overall.  I didn't get a chance to do the water park this time so I plan to do the two water coasters next time. 

[TheRickster]

I really didn't want to make a second trip to HW so soon, but I might have to go in the fall when it's cooler. A lot of people recently are acting like Voyage was super rough.

It would probably be one of my top coasters if it wasn't for that. I REALLY want to love it.

[Vortex lover]

I really didn't want to make a second trip to HW so soon, but I might have to go in the fall when it's cooler. A lot of people recently are acting like Voyage was super rough.
It would probably be one of my top coasters if it wasn't for that. I REALLY want to love it.

Ive always thought it was smooth for how much intensity it had. The ride I had during the middle of the day shocked me on how rough it can be.

[TheRickster]

Yeah, I remember the time I rode Meanstreak I actually liked it... I remember thinking IDK why everyone acts like this ride is so rough. Then people on another forum have acted like I'm crazy for the description of voyage lol.

[jcgoble3]

Having not ridden Voyage since 2014, I'm not currently qualified to offer my opinion on this, but keep in mind that there is a difference between a rough coaster and a violent coaster. Being violent is part of the design of a ride; being rough is not. Voyage has always been violent, but not always rough. It was certainly rough when I first visited in 2011, then in either 2012 or 2013, they did MAJOR track work that eliminated most of the roughness, without neutering the violence. It was still running like that when I was there in 2014, but it sounds as if it may have developed some new roughness since then.

I just want to make sure that people aren't experiencing violence and mistaking it for roughness, because they are two different things, though not mutually exclusive.

[Vortex lover]

Having not ridden Voyage since 2014, I'm not currently qualified to offer my opinion on this, but keep in mind that there is a difference between a rough coaster and a violent coaster. Being violent is part of the design of a ride; being rough is not. Voyage has always been violent, but not always rough. It was certainly rough when I first visited in 2011, then in either 2012 or 2013, they did MAJOR track work that eliminated most of the roughness, without neutering the violence. It was still running like that when I was there in 2014, but it sounds as if it may have developed some new roughness since then. I just want to make sure that people aren't experiencing violence and mistaking it for roughness, because they are two different things, though not mutually exclusive. 

 

It has a really bad jackhammer once you get past the MCBR. it is violent (what I really love about Voyage) but has gotten so much rougher than it was running in 2014/2015. I was that person who was always thinking Voyage was smooth and was always going what when people called it rough. Now i feel like I have a insight on that and can understand  

 

 

 

 

[jcgoble3]

12 minutes ago, Vortex lover said:

It has a really bad jackhammer once you get past the MCBR. it is violent (what I really love about Voyage) but has gotten so much rougher than it was running in 2014/2015. I was that person who was always thinking Voyage was smooth and was always going what when people called it rough. Now i feel like I have a insight on that and can understand

So it's still smooth until the MCBR, but after that you hit a bumpy road? Got it.

[Vortex lover]

So it's still smooth until the MCBR, but after that you hit a bumpy road? Got it.

If I could go back and delete that post I wouldn’t, it gets me every time.

 

 

 

 

[calakapepe]

For what it's worth, I've had mid 80s and had only wonderful rides on the coaster. the only bad ride was when I got the one seat the tightens too tight and my legs feel all the flying around my body is doing.. It's like Skyrush having all the forces on the middle of your thigh.
If you can get a front row of whatever car you have, do it.. Make sure you have your belt tight-ish so that THAT is what take in your forces, not the lapbar. The belt on your waist will be much more comfy than a lapbar on your thighs. Keep your legs forward, try to lean forward on parts that you expect roughness. You'll be fine.

[jentrye.white]

My family and I are going to Holiday World this Saturday as Saturday is the only day the whole family can go. With that being said, does anybody here been there on a Saturday can tell me about how pack and busy should we expect it to be and the wait times

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337Z using Tapatalk
 

[TopThrill]

One of the things I've noticed at there water park is the water is warm, almost like bath water warm.  Not like some of the other water parks where the temperature is 85 degrees plus outside, and then the water temp is cold.  Kinda like going into to the Atlantic ocean during the summer.  It does seem like the ride lines for ThunderBird, Voyage drop when the water park fills up.  Along with free soft drinks, they also have free sunscreen located outside and next to every restroom.  Bahari wave pool creates real waves up to three feet high. it can be a real work out.