Holiday World announces Mammoth, the longest water coaster in the world
Posted
[Ed. note: The following is an excerpt of a press release. -J]
The largest single-ride investment in Holiday World’s history is announced today: The World’s Longest Water Coaster will open in Splashin' Safari next May.
“We added Wildebeest water coaster last year and it was a runaway hit,” says park president Dan Koch. “So we asked our designers for something even bigger. It’s so huge, we’re calling it Mammoth.”
Located east of Wildebeest, Mammoth will begin with a conveyor ride up the water coaster’s lifthill. Following the five-story drop at a 45-degree angle, linear induction motors (LIMs) will propel the six-person round boats up additional hills, into dark enclosed sections and through twists and turns. Mammoth will cover three acres, increasing the water park’s size to 30 acres.
“The new twist to this water coaster is the six-passenger boats—this is a brand-new design,” says Koch. “These round boats add tremendous capacity, plus riders may be facing forward, backward or even sideways. It’s all the fun of Wildebeest, plus Mammoth is taller, longer and wider. Starting next season we’ll have the two longest water coasters on the planet!”
Mammoth’s tallest elevation is 69 feet higher than its lowest drop. The conveyor-style lifthill replaces any slide-tower stairs, making the water coaster accessible to riders who might have difficulty walking up stairs.
Today’s announcement, on the 65th anniversary of the park’s opening as Santa Claus Land, marks the largest single-ride investment in the park’s history. Koch says the price tag for Mammoth is $9 million. In addition, Koch announced that the park’s 2012 season will be extended to include a family-friendly event called Holiday World’s Happy Halloween Weekends throughout the month of October.
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^Shliterbahn is the best according to many people, of course.
I'll take being next to 3 deluxe woodies, free pop, etc.. Besides, I don't think they need to compete. There is room for everyone's favorite waterpark.
CoasterDemon said:
I'll take being next to 3 deluxe woodies, free pop, etc.. Besides, I don't think they need to compete. There is room for everyone's favorite waterpark.
If you were any more passive you'd be invisible.
Are there that many people who are deciding between going to Schlitterbahn and going to Splashin' Safari?
Hobbes: "What's the point of attaching a number to everything you do?"
Calvin: "If your numbers go up, it means you're having more fun."
We drove *past* Splashin' Safari to go to Schlitter.... eh, never mind, I've used that reference too many times already. ;)
Splashin' Safari is now officially in the top-3 waterparks in the country....personally, I think only the original 'Bahn has more to offer - this moves SS ahead of Noah's Ark in my "semi-professional opinion".
So how long until we start seeing OTSR's on water slides?
I call Cedar Point my home park even though I live in the Chicago Suburbs.
While I think this is great for capacity, it reminds me of the Spiderman remake. Welcome to the redundant department of redundancy.
That's kind of like suggesting that building Legend and Voyage was redundant. I personally would love to see more water parks do multiple water coasters.
Jeff - Editor - CoasterBuzz.com - My Blog
Wooly Mammoth! Does anyone know what the capacity numbers are? And/or compared to Wildebeest? The rafts hold an extra 2, but I don't think the formula is that simple. I could see some folks wanting to ride in a raft with only their friends, I mean - some people's feet can be pretty gross!
Just their feet? A sizable portion (no pun intended) of people who inhabit water parks should put on more clothing, not remove it.
The capacity issue is all about dispatch interval.. Interval, then, is determined by the ride design. From Wildebeest, we know that there can be more than one raft on the lift. If we assume that the lift can handle rafts stacked "bumper to bumper" then the interval is determined by the longest segment of the ride. By "longest" I mean time, not distance.
If I remember correctly, the interval on Wildebeest is on the order of 20 seconds.
Hmmm...each block would have to be from peak to peak. Wildebeest has...what...nine motors on it? That means the blocks would be from the top of the lift to the top of the first motor, top of the first to top of second, top of second to top of third, and so on until the final block ends in the unload station.
In practice, there needs to be a bit more padding between rafts, but that is generally how you would block it out.
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
/X\ _ *** Respect rides. They do not respect you. ***
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At Fall Affair last year, didn't Pat state that a guest told her they waited through a 3 hour line for Wildebeest, and it was worth every minute in line? That ride seems to be a super attraction for the park. Seems like adding another similar ride to add capacity is a very good idea.
I was just thinking how Mammoth is kinda like Mammosh, in it's lettering. That's pretty cool, Moosh loved HW.
CoasterDemon said:
^^Is that good or bad?
Good if you're trying to disappear, bad if you're not. :)
It looks like an absolute blast! I am a huge fan of Wildebeest so I can imagine how much crazy fun this will be!
I love the raft! :)
-Tina
CoasterDemon said:
The rafts hold an extra 2, but I don't think the formula is that simple. I could see some folks wanting to ride in a raft with only their friends,
Same thing could be said for Wildebeest, that's why they have a single rider line and fill every seat in the boat - riders don't have a say whether to leave a seat empty or not.
--George H
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