Holiday World 9/4

We made our annual Holiday World visit this weekend. Since we've filed trip reports every year for several years, I won't rehash the usual details, but here were our overall thoughts the day after:

l. HW had the biggest crowd we've ever seen there. All lots were overflowing, and lines were long at every ride. In 2006 when they open Voyager, the new dark ride and the brand new TiltaWhirl, they'll need to expand that employee parking lot over on the east side into a whole new customer lot.

2. They don't have a sit down restaurant like KW, IB or Dollywood, but their pizza and wraps are the best of any park.

3. Raven and Legend were really smokin' on the hot sunny day. However, we did agree that they both seemed to be running a little rougher than usual. Maybe it's just getting toward the end of a long, busy season.

4. HW has the best incarnation of the Giant Swings and Spider of any park. We award the Golden Wrench to their maintenance crews. Even in September after a long hot summer, both rides look and run like they were just restored last week.

5. This is an incredible water park. The brand new, much larger wave pool is magnificent. HW has the best Proslide Tornado out there. The various slides are higher, longer and faster than the competition. And the food stands are the best of any water park's.

6. This weekend, every campsite, motel and bed and breakfast in the area were full. Next year, there will definitely be a need for an additional motel and restaurant.

7. We saw vans and buses from Kentucky, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Tennessee in the parking lots. There were basketball teams, Scout troops, church groups and schools there. This means HW is pulling people who live closer to Kings Island, Kentucky Kingdom, Michigan Adventure, Silver Dollar City and possibly a few other parks.

8. They open that whole new section next year and add one more major ride to the water park and HW will become a two day park.