Stark Raven Mad 2001

A lot has already been said, so I'll keep my take on things brief.

First time to Holiday World, and I was surprised at the level of service and hospitality of the park. These folks treat you like you're visiting their home.

There is so much charm to the place. It's the little things that make a difference. For example, on The Legend, they ring a bell every time the train approaches the station. (For those of you not familiar with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, the townspeople rang a bell every time the Headless Horseman approached the town.) Add in little perks like reasonable food prices and unlimited soda and you have an outstanding experience!

There were a lot of CoasterBuzz members there, including 2Hostyl, GregLeg, DEK and Mrs. DEK, Legnendary, ShiveringTim, RideMan and others that I probably forgot.

As for the coasters, I don't like to rank them myself, but these are easily two of the best wood coasters I've ever been on. CCI deserves a Nobel Peace Prize or something for these works of art.

First Steph and I rode The Raven. We were blown away by the intensity. I couldn't help but notice how thick the trees were around the ride. It was pretty obvious that this thing was going to be completely unseen when it got darker.

Then we headed to The Legend, where we queued with Mike Graham from CCI. Mike is one of the most intelligent guys I've ever met, and has perhaps one of the best grips on coaster enthusiast culture I've ever seen. It was fun to pick his brain about stuff. It's also neat that someone is working in what many of us would think is a dream job (though he reminded me that it's still work).

The Legend was also brilliant, especially that crazy insane drop and intense double helix. This is one you need to do near the front and back, because it offers two very different rides. The pops of airtime are wild. There's even one in the front as you climb into the last turn. Crazy stuff! Very cool in the dark.

However, Raven in the dark is nothing short of a religious experience. I'm talking like I think I saw Jesus on that ride! Not knowing much about the layout of the course, everything is totally unexpected. It's fast, it's intense and you get tossed all over the place. The ride deserves its awards for number one, because quite frankly, I think it is.

The ERT wasn't really that "E," given the number of people there. I heard everything from 500 to 800 (enthusiasts like to exaggerate). Still, it was worth the trip, and I can't wait to do it next year.

Unfortunately, we had to leave a little early so I could coach at 8am the next morning in Columbus. My JO volleyball team (16C) placed second in our division. Not bad!

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

Hey I was there Jeff!!! SRM was an absolutely great time. The Raven was indeed nothing short of religous, and Legend was not far behind. I was gonna try to see if i could spot some coasterbuzz members there, but damn, there were a lot of people. Like i said in another post, if u would have stayed around on saturday there was some true ERT, as no one was at the park at all (though granted they would not have been night rides) All hail the Raven!!
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I dinna cry when me own father was hung for stealing a pig. But I'll cry now.- Willie

Yep, this has to of been the most crowded SRM I have seen. But the "E" was there the next morning, as I got around 20 rides in the next day, and still a hefty numder for ERT, sine it went on to 1 AM. I also did a few rides at the Kindom on the way home. :) Very FUN. :)

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Six Flags: The ULTIMATE Resource Admin/Webmangler

It was very interesting to say the least. Last year offered a bit more ERT. I couldn't believe the number of people there this year.

Also I was sitting in the last row of the train that had to be evacuated when the bell fell from the roof. Pretty cool stuff.

The Raven is insane, and it is running better than ever.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

Even though it was very crowded the night rides were worth it. The Raven was just out of control and the back seat on the Legend, oh my god! CCI rules! I must agree the real ERT was on Saturday as I got 33 rides in including every seat on the Raven.

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Go Bucks Go!!!
Beat the Hornets!!!

Jeff,
It was nice meeting you and Stephanie. It was good to put a face with the name (your picture on CB doesn't do you justice :) ).

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"I'm going off the rails on a crazy train." - Ozzie Osbourne

It was nice to finally get a chance to talk to you, Jeff. I'd spotted you a few times at various parks (Kennywood, Cedar Point) but never had the opportunity to walk over and chat.

SRM may have been THE event for me this year. CoasterMania, the ACE Con, and PPP are still on tap, but in terms of sheer enjoyment it's going to be tough to top this one...

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--Greg

http://www.pobox.com/~gregleg/

Hey Jeff,

It was nice (briefly) meeting you. I'm OVERJOYED
to hear that you and everyone else on CoasterBuzz
loved Legend, Raven, and Holiday World in general.

And Greg, TRUST ME, SRM is unbeatable! ;)

-Rob( 14 Legend rides, 14 Raven rides ;) )

PS- Just got in the door a few hours ago from SFoG.
It was quite a looong trip, starting in NJ, traveling
to MO for SFStL, then to HW for SRM, followed by
Visionland on Sat, SFoG on Sunday, and a looong
drive home today. Trip reports'll be up sometime this week. I have wash to do, film to develop, video
segments to edit, e-mail to answer, and phone calls to return. (Don't hold your breath on those TR's ;) )

Wow... this sounds great. I am thinking of going next year if I'm out of school in time. What is admission cost? Does one have to be an ACE member to go?

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Coasters...the best natural buzz available.

Jeff, was that you walking around in the CoasterBuzz shirt? I was thinking so, but never got a chance to talk to you.

I was the only guy there in an Astroworld shirt (haha), with the girl in the Pee Wee Herman jacket.

That the weather held up with minimal thunderstorms was lucky, I got rained on a little, but for the most part the weather added a nice ambience.

Pancake, were you by any chance wearing an Atari shirt at KK the next day?

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--Greg

http://www.pobox.com/~gregleg/

Yes, that was me with the CoasterBuzz T-shirt. The only people who had them at the time was my Red Cross mini-golf team. Others will have them very soon!

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

I was looking for the CoasterBuzz shirts and I never saw one.

Oh Well.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

Yes, that was me in the Atari shirt on Saturday at Holiday World and SFKK.

I thought Kentucky Kingdom was a pretty nice park, after hearing folks rag on it previously. Thunder Run was a great surprise, that's an airtime machine! I love how it changed directions while you're still floating.

I want to go to this so bad, but I live in NE Indiana. SO it would be a bit of a drive for me. Maybe I can go when I'm in college. :) Hopefully be then, they'll build another CCI masterpiece.

You think NE Indiana is a bit of a drive, try starting out from TEXAS! Now THOSE people were on a REAL road trip! :-)

--Greg, who "only" had to drive from Pittsburgh...

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--Greg

http://www.pobox.com/~gregleg/
*** This post was edited by GregLeg on 5/15/2001. ***

And did you happen to see the license plates from California? Don't they have airports out there?

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Jeff
Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com

You people are all making me jealous. Since I work in the live sound industry I work every weekend, so I can't go any further than my homepark right now. How do you people afford the time and money to go to all these parks?

Heh, I know that myself, Jeremy Murphy, and Jason Knutson all flew in from Texas. Way too far to drive... Was there more of us there?

I forget their names, but there was a family that had driven up from Texas. Their minivan was soaped up with several messages:

"American Coaster Enthusiasts Roadtrip 2001: Texas to Ohio"

"Holiday World / Six Flags Kentucky / Cedar Point!"

"Stark Raven Mad 2001! :)"

"American Coaster Enthusiasts R.R-C"

(I got a bunch of pics ;) )

I chatted with them on Thursday while eating dinner in the Santa's Lodge gazebo. They were considering adding Kennywood to their itinerary as well.

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--Greg

http://www.pobox.com/~gregleg/