Holiday World announces Thunderbird, a launched B&M wing roller coaster

I get the sense that for some folks, Holiday World has been a "hidden enthusiast treasure": a great park with great coasters that most people outside of HW's market didn't know about. When Thunderbird opens, that's going to change.

Maybe the concerns about atmosphere arise from a desire, a wish, to have Holiday World always be the park it's always been?

If Thunderbird, several years down the line, is going to be at the center of the park, the size and scale of the operation are clearly going to change significantly.

slithernoggin said:

I get the sense that for some folks, Holiday World has been a "hidden enthusiast treasure": a great park with great coasters that most people outside of HW's market didn't know about. When Thunderbird opens, that's going to change.

Yes. This.

Holiday World was always the charming little family-owned darling of the enthusiast community.

I think this, more than anything they've done this century, feels like they're finally growing up, stepping away from that and making the move to a larger, almost regional, amusement park.

I do think that when we look back in a decade or so, that the addition of Thunderbird will be the fulcrum of that transition.

I think it contributes to that transition, but even if you take out The Voyage, which was a pretty serious endeavor that made headlines, the gradual but massive water park expansion is where the growth is. The coasters certainly are great for marketing and enthusiast endorsement, but I still think it's that massive (and awesome) water park that has really been the core of its growth.

You're right, I think.

I probably tend to discount water parks as I don't really enjoy water parks much, so they kind of "fall off my radar".

Congrats to Holiday World - I'm sure it'll be a great addition, and I'll be there next year to ride it. After over 20 years of B&M's and especially after Banshee, I still think their invert is what they do best. However, maybe a launch is just what it takes to get the massive Wingrider trains feeling a little quicker. Also, it appears HW is taking full advantage of the head-chopping strength of this style. It should be very rideable for everyone, which is something that can't be said of their wooden coasters. I can't wait to see how this launch pans out and what it means for the future of B&M's.

I'm not entirely sure the wing trains are any larger (in terms of mass, anyway) than an inverted train. Maybe a little, but spending some time up close to those trains, they're mostly a lot of empty space. The center beams are similar to the other train models, but the bogie slightly longer than that of an invert, and there's a single box shaped arm on each side. The new invert trains might be a little lighter, as they use two supports for the seats, instead of four, but I'm totally guessing.

If it's my first coaster from B&M, and I'm insistent on inversions, there is NO CHANCE I'd end with anything but one of them there "feet-dangly" rides. The inverts are simply that good...

Note: edited because my spelling has gotten atrocious. Apologies...

Side note, I rode Batman: The Ride again for the first time in several years (Great America) and I was wrong for comparing Banshee to it. Banshee is its own kind of intense, unrelenting ride, but it's sustained intensity and speed. Batman is just boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, brakes.

I had a platinum Q-Bot so I got 2 rides in a row, and that was enough for me.

Even if the mass of the invert and wingrider are comparable, I wonder if the moment of inertia is larger on the wingrider, disallowing quick rolls.

Well, heartline is out of the question, so I'd have to agree with you. Slow and graceful is the reason I enjoy Gatekeeper so much, despite the fact that I'd rather sit above the track, the way god intended.

(Okay, that and the rollover on the first drop... Love that rollover... rollunder to be precise.)

Bump. In their latest "Hard Hat Chronicles" YouTube video, Holiday World announced that they are moving a ride to the Thunderbird plaza. They are also adding a few more choppers/near misses to Thunderbird. They were not specific on either but said they will reveal more soon.

Guesses? I'll call it right now and say the Flying Scooters get moved up by Thunderbird. And I imagine they'll keep the birdie theme, maybe with new paint though.

I doubt it... Those birds have had a home there for quite some time and not much else could go in that space.

a_hoffman50 said:

I doubt it... Those birds have had a home there for quite some time and not much else could go in that space.

Well, there are only a few adult rides in the park that would be realistic options, and I don't think they are going to move a kiddie ride all the way back there. Scrambler, Revolution, Antique Cars, bumper cars are the only options.

That leaves the Eagles as the most obvious option.

Lord Gonchar said:

slithernoggin said:

I get the sense that for some folks, Holiday World has been a "hidden enthusiast treasure": a great park with great coasters that most people outside of HW's market didn't know about. When Thunderbird opens, that's going to change.

Yes. This.

Holiday World was always the charming little family-owned darling of the enthusiast community.

I think this....making the move to a larger, almost regional, amusement park.

I do think that when we look back in a decade or so, that the addition of Thunderbird will be the fulcrum of that transition.

Sorry for keeping both the embedded quotes, but it's important to my point. While those opinions are real and valid for enthusiasts, for people who live in and outside of HW's market, they are ALREADY a regional amusement park. My family that lives 3 hours from HW, and only 1.5 hrs from KI, have only been to KI twice in the last 13 years. They've gone to HW almost every year. Same opinion is held by other families that I know that live that same distance away. The quality/quantity of the crowds, cleanliness, free soda, but most of all that water park, all trump whatever offerings Kentucky Kingdom and KI have (had) for that crowd. My family used to drive right past Kentucky Kingdom on their way to HW. Sure they don't pull in the numbers like Cedar Point, but HW long ago moved away from being a tiny "Santa Claus Land" and morphed into a major player in that regional market years ago. As Jeff said, that amazingly huge water park is the driver of that growth. We as enthusiasts just got the woodies as a side benefit (primarily thanks to Will's love of them).

CreditWh0re said:
My family used to drive right past Kentucky Kingdom on their way to HW.

But did you drive right past Cedar Point to visit Six Flags Worlds Of Adventure?

CreditWh0re, I am still certain it isn't the Eagles. And those are not the only options.

I'm not a fan of water parks. I'm not a fan of frolicking in water, generally, and I'm not a fan of exposing my pasty white flesh in broad daylight. I've been to two: Soak City and Blizzard Beach*, as I had the opportunity to enjoy them for free, and I love free.

So I find this interesting: I see HW as a local park with great coaster enthusiast cred. CreditWhOre sees HW as a regional draw on the strength of its water park. Maybe I'm discounting the water park (for the record, I've never set foot in Splashin' Safari) because I don't appreciate the appeal?

*Summit Plummet is one of the three park attractions that actually scared me, the other two being Expedition Everest when the Yeti was working and Kennywood's Jack Rabbit. (The first time I rode Jack Rabbit I'd never been on a coaster with a double down. Thought I was going to fly out of the car.)

Ok, now in all seriousness.

CreditWh0re said:
While those opinions are real and valid for enthusiasts, for people who live in and outside of HW's market, they are ALREADY a regional amusement park. My family that lives 3 hours from HW, and only 1.5 hrs from KI, have only been to KI twice in the last 13 years. They've gone to HW almost every year. Same opinion is held by other families that I know that live that same distance away. The quality/quantity of the crowds, cleanliness, free soda, but most of all that water park, all trump whatever offerings Kentucky Kingdom and KI have (had) for that crowd. My family used to drive right past Kentucky Kingdom on their way to HW.

All anecdotal and opinion. You like the place. We get it.

Sure they don't pull in the numbers like Cedar Point...

You can't really gloss over the one main metric that defines market share, but ok.

...but HW long ago moved away from being a tiny "Santa Claus Land" and morphed into a major player in that regional market years ago.

Not really if they're doing 1/3rd of the attendance of the big regional in the area.

Which kind of was my point. This is opening the box. Big B&M steel. It redefines what they're doing moving forward and draws the attention of those same people (the overwhelming majority) visiting the big regionals around them.

Note that I said "larger, regional park" in the post you quoted - the point is the growth, not the love.

As real growth (actual numbers, not the "rah rah we love it" mentality) happens, HW is going to become more and more like the parks you drive right by to get to your beloved little family park in the woods. You simply can't do the things on the level that they have the past decade or so (the things that make you drive right by larger and more popular parks) on that same level once you're playing on the larger scale. (unless your park has 'Disney' in its name)

You may feel they're the best option in the region, but once they continue to grow with actual numbers (revenue, attenedance, attention) and not just feels, the park IS going to change.

I think Thunderbird is significant because this is pretty much the folks at HW saying, "All right. It's time to grow up." and heading down that road into the sunset towards their inevitable future.

I don't think it's a bad thing. But I think those that have a certain affinity for the park (like yourself and your immediate circle) might not still feel the same way in another 10 or 15 years or so.

Yes. One of the things I enjoy about Holiday World is that it's a small, friendly park experience.

But with HW stepping up and adding a game-changer attraction like Thunderbird, and with HW saying that in the near-ish future Thunderbird will be at the center of the park, they seem to be aiming at becoming a park that competes directly with the larger regional parks, rather than a park that draw a third of their attendance.

I'll still be going, and I'll still be enjoying Holiday World, but it's not going to be the park that we know today. I love going to Cedar Point, but it is definitely not the park I experienced on my first visit in 1973, when the Midway ended at the far end of the Sky Ride, and the tallest coaster in the park was Blue Streak.