Holiday World - Opening Day 5/6/06

I woke up bright and early at 6:30, got ready and headed out the door to get Eric.

We gassed up and hit the road. Once we got out of Ohio it was time to speed. If you get a ticket out of state it doesn't count as points, plus I wouldn't pay it anyways, lol.

We then call Cory and pick him up just out of Louisville. Then we were back on our merry way.

HW exit coming up soon. We get off, and there are those guys with the boots out there begging for money. So I decided to just roll through the stop sign and ignore them.

Voyage came into view, very impressive. The first hill is real noticeable, the second one barely, and the third isn't. But the trees are huge, so who cares?

We get there right at open. We walkled in and had to wait about two minutes for the ropes to drop. Then we hauled ass down to Voyage.

The area looks pretty well done and landscaped already. But we didn't care if it was or wasn't, Voyage was calling our name.

Voyage: (250)

WOW!!!!!! This is the most unbelievable ride of all time. The airtime, the pacing, the intensity, the laterals, everything about it. This is by far and away my new number one. I counted tweny four points of airtime. We rode in the front seat the first ride, then we got two back seat rides. The back seat is where its at. More ejector air in the back over the first three hills than in the front, and way more intense.

We then stopped at the Pepsi Oasis and quenched our parched throats. Talked to some enthusiasts. How awesome is it Craig and Matt? We hung out with John Blakemore a little bit and then headed up for lunch.

MMMMMM Kringels. Take a note PKI. Better food for cheaper. That makes me want to eat instead of starving myself and eating when I leave.

Off to The Raven. It was running really well. The lake turn had some work done and it is running really smooth through there.

Off to Legend, oh wait, I mean back to Voyage. We didn't ride Legend because Voyage was just to awesome.

We grabbed a few more rides, hung out talked a little bit more, and then made our way back home.

I'm telling you right now, Voyage is very, very intense. I can't see myself riding it more than a few times in a row, and I once marathoned Legend with g-trains. Get over there and ride it right now.

See you guys at HWN.

Uh, Tickets out of state do go against your Ohio licence LOL and if your lucky, They won't keep your licence until payment is made. (Just some words from experience there Mr. Bucknut :) )

Was this just a quickie trip or what?

Anyhow, Im glad to hear it's insane as everyone it saying. I also have a hard time riding Legend more than maybe 5 times in a row but Im willing to try on Voyage if possible.

Is it really that good? I mean I love Legend running in insane mode so I should love this right?

Chuck, friggin thinking bout burning some vac time next weekend so he don't have to wait for HWN.

It's way more intense than Legend IMO. It runs completely insane. And yes, it really is that good.

It was a quickie, we were there form bout 10-3:30 CST.

Cool, thanks for the TR Kris.

Im wondering if the too intense syndrome will keep it off the #1 list.

Chuck

Rode the voyage 7 times this morning. WOW and WOW again, You guys, THIS THING IS REALLY< REALLY INTENSE! I wanted to say I was gonna ride it all morning during the Ebay auction hour but, I did not, I could only take so much. WOW is it intense. And the crazy thing to me anyway, is that it gets more intense as the ride goes on. The End wrap around the station is CRAZY! wait you'll see!

It's easily more intense than The Legend, this thing is mindblowing. I bought a last minute plane ticket from Orlando to Louisville on Thursday and it was worth every penny. All three of the big drops are very good in the back seat. I think every single hill on the return run (except the 90 turn obviously) gives sustained major airtime. Even the hills that twist over the lift and brake run, they give great airtime.

The track work is really good, but the transitions into and out of the curves literally throw you on the person next to you. It's such a fight to stay on your side of the train that it leaves you out of breath by the block brake, much less the brake run.

I just wonder if some people may think it's TOO much? I know I don't, but it pushes the limit.

I wondered the same thing my whole way home today. I will let you know how my back feels in the morning. It was not painfull really, Just Intense and it takes your breathe away. I was not thinking it would be as intense as it is. It is mind jarring!

You guys all have got to go ride this thing.

The crazy thing is, They could have made it even longer with the speed it has left over, but, I could not take anymore anyway. This is the first coaster I have ever been on that I actually look forward to the end break run.. HEHE... :)

Great park, Holiday World is too. I had a wonderful first visit. I am eager to return.. Thanks

L. Kris Allen and Cory it was nice meeting you today!

My wife and I were in front of you guys in the ticket line today and we talked about ohio state football.

the voyage was...SO GOOD. it was extremely intense as the ride went along but i never felt like it was too intense.

it seemed as though everyone getting on and off the ride generally had a great time.

another fantastic addition for a truly fantastic park.

You guys are such teases. ;-)

I CANNOT wait until May 26th!

Johnathan, you going to Holiwood Nights? I haven't seen you guys in so long. I think the last time I saw you and your wife was at Dollywood. :-)

-Tina

*** Edited 5/7/2006 4:57:25 AM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***

Advil.
I need Advil.

Oh Voyage. Never have I enjoyed pain and disorientation more! *goes to bed for 3 weeks* *** Edited 5/7/2006 5:26:58 AM UTC by B&M Guy***

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Johnathan said:
L. Kris Allen and Cory it was nice meeting you today!

My wife and I were in front of you guys in the ticket line today and we talked about ohio state football.

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It was nice meeting you as well. People who know me know that it's no surprise that OSU popped up somewhere in the mix. :)

Corey, L.KA...it was great seeing you guys too. Been awhile. Still speechless about that thing we were riding yesterday. Where do you go from here? I can't imagine a more intense and powerfull ride than Voyage.

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Thrillerman said:
I can't imagine a more intense and powerfull ride than Voyage.

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ya know, i had the exact same feelings. how do you top something like that? not too painful or too rough...just intense and powerful. unbelievable ride.

There are two questions that come to mind after riding Voyage:

Where does TGG go from here? I mean, is one of their first coasters really going to be their best. Why would you do that. I can't imagine anything being more intense, people just can't take that much.

Where does HW go from here? Whether you guys like it or not, HW just jumped up in the league of the big boys. They always have been in enthusiasts eyes, but now the GP is going to look at that park and really want to try to get there. Voyage is a top notch coaster, with the stats to back it up. Raven and Legend never had that, and that is really important to the GP. With three top ten wooden coasters, the number two water park, plus free drinks and parking, they are going to really get some people to start coming. I could see them breaking a million visitors pretty easlily this year. But what happens five years down the road when they want to add another coaster? Are they really going to build another wood? I don't think they could. It just isn't going to keep pulling in the people like it is. I could really see a steel coaster in HW's future, and really knocking down the door as a major park, but it will always have that small park feel I believe.

For me, no coaster, not even Superman Ride of Steel nor Top Thrill Dragster, has created such a sense of urgency, excitement, and anxiety as the intensity and tension built throughout the return leg of The Voyage. It ends about 20 seconds *after* you're already satisfied with it and exhausted from it. I was so taken and speechless from it that when I got off the first time, my voice was sore enough to have felt like I screamed the entire ride when I hadn't even let out a squeak until the sigh of relief at the end. Along with the two coasters mentioned earlier, this is the third ever where I had to remind myself to breathe. It's an overwhelming masterpiece that I have no fear in overrating with my description. It is that good.

+Danny

Running a stop sign to avoid giving to charity - that's classy.

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Den said:
Running a stop sign to avoid giving to charity - that's classy.

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Isn't it though. I mean I did the right thing there. If you can't sense any sarcasm there then you have issues.

I bet when you run, it looks like you have a potato chip up your ass and you can't break it or you'd die. Well guess what, you can pull it out, you won't die.

Wow. If I had to write a reply that proved what I already thought about you, I couldn't have done better than you just did.

Now, I won't get into college football, speeding, ethics, or other stuff - that will get too heated.

But I couldn't agree more with other people who have done The Voyage. Even after 50 intense rides in the same day (Media Day), I still look forward to my 51st. I'm not sure it will be a part of HoliWood nights, but I will be back to that fine park sometime in 2006!

Here are my pics from opening day:

Gallery 1

Gallery 2