Holiday World announces new water slides for 2013

I am surprised by this announcement. Dan said this year may not be the biggest, but to expect big, big, big things in 14-16. To me, this is a big addition, or additions. The Tornado Wave slide looks awesome, and all the other additions are very nice. The "moving" of Pilgrim's Plunge only makes sense to me, and it will probably become more easily accessible without having to go through the whole concrete tunnel thing.

This leaves me with a major question still. They said the land behind Plunge would be expansion for Both parks. How will the expansion of Holiday World fit in with the water park being there too? Will the Thanksgiving Smoking section be extended to become the connecting piece to the future of Holiday World?

I agree this looks pretty big so I don't know what Dan meant. Maybe they're adding another holiday in a few years. Seems like they have all the big ones covered though.

After the hugeness of Mammoth as a single project, I think Dan really wanted to avoid "anticipointment." (Was that a Moosh word? Miss him ...)

We do have "something big" planned for those years, but not a new huge project *each* of those years, as I know that statement was interpreted.

I miss Moosh too... was thinking about him the other day.

Yes, very happily surprised about the announcement, and I always love the Holiday World motto "Under Promise and Over Deliver"

I'm noticing a lot of parks buy the small 6-cup Zamperla Tea Cup Model. Is the large 15-cup multi-rotating model (like what Disney has) just too expensive or just too big of a footprint?

That is a Huge ride. Six Flags Great America has one and it takes up a ton of space. I think GAm is the only one I've seen outside the Magic Kingdom. I really look forward to this year's additions and the "something big" in the near future!

This is a must-see park. Good thing it's first on my list for a long trip for 2013. I hear nothing but great things about this park.

Every year that HW adds more to the waterpark it changes the dynamic of my HWN experience. Where I used to spend the entire day at the park in my earlier SRM/HWN days, I now find myself spending more time at Splashin' Safari and only doing HW later in the day. And why not? It seems to work very well with families.

Not a complaint, just a simple observation. It seems as though HW & SS is becoming more like a waterpark that happens to have a themepark. Who knows when they'll rename the park Splashin' Safari & Holiday World, right?

~Rob

I've never been to Holiday World yet (looking forward to going in the future), so I'm not familiar with the attendance patterns, lines and capacity.

When I see the park saying something big is coming in the near future, I naturally think it's a thrilling steel coaster, since they don't have one. On the other hand, when I see amusement parks aggressively building up their water park, I tend to think it's because the dry side can't support major investment as well (think Michigan's Adventure).

So, my question for the Holiday World veterans is: Can HW support a major $25 million steel coaster with high capacity from a top manufacturer like B&M or Intamin? Or is HW more of an outstanding waterpark, with a dry side that entertains you in the evening hours with some world-class rides? In other words, would it be more realistic to expect a spinning mouse or something as HW's new steel coaster if they were to get one?

Why would they ever spend $25 million on a roller coaster?

I haven't been to HW yet either. It's only a five-hour drive, so I have no good excuses. I guess I have been waiting for KK to reopen so I could get a few parks in one trip.

So having not been there myself, is the often spoken of Led Zepplin purchase a good fit for the park, like everyone is saying? If so, wouldn't it cost just as much as a brand new B&M after taking into consideration moving it?

Jeff said:

Why would they ever spend $25 million on a roller coaster?

Because all the other kids are doing it. Duh.

I think this is what all the boys and girls are doing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvvy0pydeyY

Say what you will about that movie, but that is some "excellent" camera work right there!

Well Jeff, I was a little shocked when they spent $9 million on a fancy water slide this year. Don't get me wrong...Mammoth looks awesome. But, it made it appear to me that HW was now playing with the big guys. They clearly want some of the best stuff around in their park...not just generic slides in their water park or generic steel coasters in their dry park. I believe I even recall reading a statement from a Koch that when HW gets a steel coaster, they want it to be something very special.

So, from the vibe I get, I couldn't see the park throwing in a Wild Mouse or Vekoma Boomerang as their big steel coaster. If they want an iconic steel coaster, I'd guess that it'd be custom and cost some serious money. By 2016, will $25 million be an absurd amount of money to invest in a steel coaster? I don't know. That's why I was asking if that was something realistic to expect out of the park in the near future.

I expect a steel coaster at Holiday World to be similar to Voyage in that it won't be the tallest/fastest/longest, but it will be BEST at whatever it does. That being said, I don't expect a ride that is physically anything like Voyage. I think a common misconception is that all wooden coasters are the same. HW proves this is not the case, as all 3 have completely unique identities, and rock at what they do, so I expect any new coaster to also have its own identity. Should be pretty exciting in the next several years (2013 included) in Southern Indiana.

On a similar note, has anybody noticed the slow growth of the area surrounding the park? Both HW exits on I-64 have gotten new restaurants (and a CVS!) in recent years. I'm hoping Santa Claus can one day become more of a destination in itself and offer more to do when you're not at the park.

Jeph said:

I believe I even recall reading a statement from a Koch that when HW gets a steel coaster, they want it to be something very special.

That's marketing. What should they have said? That they want a generic, boring steel coaster?

I dunno. The Kochs seem to be awfully honest, genuine people. And they've tended to back up with action most of the statements they make, whether it be in the media or just to ordinary folks strolling the midways.

I'm not saying they don't want their steel coaster to be special. But special doesn't require $25 million.

Contrary to popular enthusiast belief, with a few exceptions, capital investments are not ego driven. The question isn't "How big a ride can they reasonably install?" The question is "How small a ride can they install and still drive interest and attendance?"