Holiday World/Memorial Day, 5/31
Associated parks:
None
Add some great flats, a great atmosphere, and an awesome staff. I have visited the park once or twice a year since my first visit in 2001 and it just keeps getting better.....:-D
We got to HW on Memorial Day around noon-ish (central time). It felt awesome being "home" again. The last time I was at HW was last year's Stark Raven Mad, which happened to be one of the best times/saddest times of my life. The best times were meeting some great friends for the first time including Moosh, Dawn, Gator and Jill, Nasai, Peabody, Brent, among others. The saddest time would obviously be the unfortunate fatality that all of us has put behind us but will never forget.
It was great to be back though, and I was feeling that peaceful and happy feeling you always get while visiting this place. I was looking forward to having nothing but a fun, relaxing day with my friend.
Much to our delight, we learned that most of Splashin Safari was open, including Zinga, which I fell in love with last year. The day promised to be clear, sunny, and not too humid. It was crowded but not TOO crowded. We headed straight for the waterpark, but not without a quick spin on Raven and Legend. Unfortunately Raven went down as soon as we got in line and would stay down most of the day. Oh well...onto my baby. :-P
Ahhhhh....yes! Legend was just as awesome as ever. That first drop ALWAYS freaks me out, but in the best ways possible. Soooo freakin awesome!
After a long overdue blissful ride on Legend, it was time to get wet. Once we entered Spashin Safari we noticed that Congo River, as well as Otorongo (the three black slides)and Zoombabwe were still closed due the the flooding that hit the park several days before. The slides to your right immediately after the entrance were also closed (the name escapes me right now).
Most everything else was open. After getting our lockers and changing into our swimsuits we headed straight for Zinga. I noticed that they now have a conveyer belt for the rafts which is a HUGE relief. I HATE carrying those things, especially for Zinga. Awesome addition!
Zinga is just nuts! You can't help but laugh your butt off all the way down. The new Jungle Racers are also quite fun, except I got a huge gush of water up my nose. Being that I wear contacts, I HAVE to wear goggles anytime I am near water. If it wasn't for these goggles my contacts would of been gone. It was a blast though....much more fun than using a sack on a dry slide. :-D
After the Racers we hit Watubee and then chilled out in The Wave pool. The Monsoon Lagoon and a new attraction for the kids called the Jungle Jets was also open and was fun to watch.
After getting changed back into our clothes (and buying some new shades) we went out to the car to drop off our stuff. We went back into the park and grabbed some pizza at Kringles Cafe. We then hit Liberty Launch which didn't have much of a line. That second "launch" is intense! Even Elvis himself liked it. lol. Yes, Elvis was seen at Holiday World! He must of lost a ton of weight though, but I am sure he enjoyed the new Jungle Jake's Fish/Chicken Wraps, as well as the burgers and pizza. Elvis seemed to love Liberty Launch as well. ;-)
After Liberty Launch we caught up with Ms. Koch herself. She was telling us how the staff had been working around the clock to get the Splashin Safari cleaned up and how they had been handing out free passes for several days. Can you believe there were a few people that STILL complained? I guess you can't please everyone.
It was great seeing Mrs. Koch. She looked good and was just as talkative and friendly as ever. On any given day you will see her, Will, or Paula around doing various things from greeting people to fixing things to helping out one of their employees. They always go that extra mile and that influence shows through the rest of the employees. They are literally the most down-to-earth, personable crew I have ever met in my life.
After catching up with Mrs. Koch, we rode the Hallo Swings and Scrambler and headed for the Legend once again! I saw my good friend and fellow West Virginian and Cbuzzer Johnathan and his wife Jessica behind us. It was great to catch up with them again as they are awesome peeps!
While standing in line for Legend we heard an announcement over the station PA that Raven was NOW open!
After another blissful ride on Legend we rush over to Raven......back seat. AWESOME! Short but VERY sweet....the fly-by the lake is still my favorite part of the ride.
After Raven we decided to hit Legend again one more time before calling it a day. We left the park tired and happy, and looking forward to visiting again soon.
We drove back to my friend's home in Dayton, OH which took about three hours. We were both exhausted but thankful of the quality time we got to spend at Holiday World. The next day I drove back home to Charleston, WV as peaceful as ever, thinking about visiting HW again later in the summer, probably around Lost Coaster Weekend at Indiana Beach.
Driving through Cinci I stopped by for a Chipotle Burrito and noticed that the cicadas were in full force in that area. They leave NASTY messes on your windshield BTW. Ugh.
My only real complaint is that Holiday World needs a DDR machine or two. :-D (hint, hint Paula).
Thanks again guys for the awesome time!
-Tina
*** Edited 6/3/2004 11:46:40 AM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***
Tina, you touched on just about everything that makes this park, IMO, by far the classiest place on the planet! I'm sooooo jealous of, and happy for, you. What I wouldn't give to visit there. What I wouldn't give to work there!!
-Jim
I'd rather die living than live like I'm dead
Linda, I am sure they will LOVE it. I have been trying for years to get newbies from my area to visit Holiday World. Since it's only about 5 hours away from Charleston I think I have convinced quite a few, especially those with kids.
Paula, you guys should consider stretching your advertising a little farther east to my neck of the woods someday. I think you will attract them to Holiday World in droves, especially since it's a straight stretch on I-64. :-)
-Tina
seriously guys, the legend is kicking some serious butt this year. the retracking of the first drop has significantly changed the pacing of the ride. it is fantastic.
coasterqueenTRN said:Paula, you guys should consider stretching your advertising a little farther east to my neck of the woods someday. I think you will attract them to Holiday World in droves, especially since it's a straight stretch on I-64. :-)
-Tina
yes. i used to live in charleston and work with teenagers. we took a group to HW every spring...i think that that would be a fantastic market for the park to expand to. honestly lexington and nashville markets would also be excellent.
-Tina
-Tina
:-)
Added a few pics from my visit. Wasn't much in the picture-taking mood that day but I did get a few of the Jungle Racers. :-)
-Tina
*** Edited 6/12/2004 4:40:21 PM UTC by coasterqueenTRN***
You must be logged in to post
