Holiday World's Future

Incidentalist, I was thinking the same thing. A wild mouse would be something that would fit. Maybe a red-white-and blue steel mouse in the 4th of July area. Something like LoCoSuMo that winds through the forest with lots and lots of tunnels would be nice, too. HW, although a small park, has a lot of room to build some major stuff. A B&M is not a possibility in my mind, HW is a "family park", and a B&M wouldn't really fit the park.

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HuKeD oNN fonickS dusinT wOrK"[;.

Two words: mine ride!

No, you are all wrong! I think Six Flags should buy Holiday World, brake Legend and Raven all over the place, eliminate everything that has to do with people in coaster clubs getting benefits, no Stark Raven Mad, and add 3 Vekomas: A SLC, A small invertigo, and a sit down looper. J/K. Maybe it's too early to think about what's coming to Holiday World. There was a 5 year gap in between Raven and Legend.

Maybe what Holiday World needs is for people to stop posting what Holiday World needs?

Matthew [who thinks a carousel and dark ride is just what they need...LOL]

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N.U.T.S. - National Union of Thrill Seekers! Be a member and tell everyone you're NUTS! [Brought to you by the maker of LoCoSuMo! NOTE: NUTS is not a real club; void where prohibited; your mileage may vary; where's the beef?]

....but only a one-year gap b/w Legend and the new waterless urinals....:).....the only park, IMO, that could add nothing and still be a must-visit park year after year....

Why not just build more wood. Make this place a CCI landmark. I wood love a whole park full of wood.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

Why don't we analyze their finances like we do every other park and try to find out?

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Off with the trims!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com

Another 3rd world classs CCI for Holdiay World :). Holiday World could become the captial for CCI's. Also a nice addition to the park could be a: Mine Train, like to see something like Adventure Express (Kings Island).

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Valleyfair Security 2002! 8Years working at Valleyfair :)! Wild Thing Laps: 130.

All Holiday World needs is time. This past Saturday, with more than 12,000 people in the park -- traffic up 23% -- all the growth can't be attributed to Zoombabwe, the new Legend trains and the free Rocky Mountain sunscreen.

I made my first trip to Holiday World over the weekend only to find Pat Koch sweeping by the entrance to the water park by noon and when my family was the last four people out of the park Saturday night, Will Koch personally came over to ask if we were waiting for the tram or the campground shuttle. Forget the interaction. I'm talking about a guy who owns this place that is so hands-on that he's there until the last guest leaves.

So, even if Holiday World nickel and dimes its way to the future, the substance is more in the approach and attitude than the actual attractions.

If you want to know what the park needs, realistically tempered moneywise and logical given the Koch approach to wholesome fun, here are a few rides that would help make a great park even better.

-- Gut the fountain at the park entrance and replace it with a Christmas themed carousel. Jeweled out reindeers, make the sled's Santa styled. Pump out Christmas classics on the organ, possibly using that very score piped in as the land's soundtrack.

-- A skyway from the bottom of the the water park to the park entrance. I realize that it might be a tough move since it might destroy the sight lines, but this is the first park that I have been to that is TOO hilly. I didn't see any wheelchairs and few strollers and wagons in use and it's easy to see why. The walk up from Halloween to the gate is brutal at the end of the day. A skyway would do two things. It would help folks who are coming over just for Surfin' Safari get there efficiently and it would be a welcome close to the end of the day.

-- A Christmas Sally shoot 'em up dark ride. Only small parks like Lake Compounce and Carowinds can pull off these low capacity rides as iconic. I'm guessing that Pat would have to swallow hard for a traditional shooting gallery ride. That is where the Christmas theme kicks in. Instead of a haunted dark ride like the two other Sally attractions, these can be special snow guns, hitting a town on Christmas Eve looking for a White Christmas. Hitting the targets generate the action -- and a small burst of soap snow.

-- It was a bit surprising to see nearly half of the arcade redemption games "temporarily out of order" -- that's just bad show. If you can maintain them, trash them. Replace half of the games with Fascination. It's addictive, a relic and good for repeat business (and season ticket sales). While we're at it, if any park should realize that basketball games create a bigger problem with park dribbling than any feasible replacement it should be Holiday World.

-- Work the themes. Painting a scrambler orange and calling it Scarecrow is not themed. With Lincoln's Boyhood Memorial just a few miles away and Abe featured prominently in the county's website, why not a bigger Lincoln imprint in 4th of July? Any chance of talking Disney into replicating Great Moments with Abraham Lincoln? At the very least, what's the harm in a spinning teacup attraction only the actual ride vehicles black-painted stovepipe hats rimmed upside down? It's not in as much bad taste as it would appear. Were there any penny pressers at the park? I didn't see them, but, again, who is on the penny?

-- Another coaster. Sure, the uphill side of the park could use some balance with a major coaster to even out the crowd flow, but my concern here is that budget woes will find Holiday World going for a mouse coaster or a run-of-the-mill mine train coaster. Maybe there is a coaster worth shipping over? Is King Cobra still on the market? Hoping for a hyper or next generation coaster just doesn't seem fiscally feasible.

-- Merchandising. Actually, kudos to the park for cool Americana inspired parkstuff, but I think I floored the sales clerk when I bought up nearly a dozen shirts to take to family back home. If much of the park traffic remains local it has to be more than just t-shirts and Holidogs. Not one ornament in the Chirstmas store had the Holday World name? There is so much that can be done on that front. And you can theme to the land as well. A costume shop and large candy store in Halloween. More Christmas decor than just ornaments. More country crafts in 4th of July land. You don't want Holdiay World to do what everyone else is doing, but don't you think that Zoombabwe-branded glow in the dark necklaces at the slide entrance would be a big seller given the ride's darkness?

Wow, I rambled plenty.

Indiana is already the CCI coaster capital of the world with 5...and no sign of stopping. Too bad that CCI's home state only has one...and at a Six Flags!

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Snoopy Rocks! On Ice opens on June 22nd

Think they'll let me drive the Zamboni machine?

I have never been to Holiday World but from reading all the positive reviews, don't you think a good steel coaster would complement their wood collection? How much did Silver Dollar City pay for Wildfire?

X Factor

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SFWoA: An Unofficial Guide
http://sfohio.tripod.com

Paris said:

Is King Cobra still on the market? Hoping for a hyper or next generation coaster just doesn't seem fiscally feasible.

Yes.

http://www.italintl.com . Click used rides, then coasters.

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Off with the trims!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com

....how about a red, white and blue S&S turbo-shot, the "small" version, put in 4th of July section and named the M-80.....they're 80' tall, and it fits perfectly....short enough to keep the theme, intense enough to provide a thrill....

or, crank up the motor on the flyers just a *bit*, and let us really fly those things....

X Factor said:
I have never been to Holiday World but from reading all the positive reviews, don't you think a good steel coaster would complement their wood collection? How much did Silver Dollar City pay for Wildfire?
X Factor
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SFWoA: An Unofficial Guide
http://sfohio.tripod.com

14 million dollars.. but Silver Dollar City also has over 2 million visitors a year and is owned by a large company. 14 million is waaaaaaay over Holiday World's budget. :)

*cough DARK RIDE PLEASE WILL cough*

Chris Godsey

President of the "HW NEEDS A DARK RIDE" club ;)

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WCUSA-The World's largest theme park is coming!
Theme parks will NEVER be the same!

It seems to me that Holiday World knows the correct formula for getting people to the park. They dont need to build big in order to be good. They know exactly what they are doin, as you can see with the Legend and Raven. To me, a B&M or some huge steel coaster would definitely ruin the atmosphere of Holiday World. A Wild Mouse coaster themed to maybe Santa's Sleigh would be an idea. Remember, bigger doesn't mean better.

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Take a Virtual Ride:
http://badnitrus.coasterbuzz.com
Mike "Viper" Semtak

Agreed, Viper........I am a big fan of B&M coasters, but HW just isn't the type of park you stick a big, sleek, brightly colored steel monster. HW is about old-fashioned fun and old-fashioned coasters. Let's leave it that way. Lord knows, we have enough amusement parks going the Six Flags route. We need to keep some of the "oldies but goodies" around.

This goes for Knoebel's, Canobie Lake, and Boomers as well. No frills, flash, or colorful, commercialized steel needed at any of those either, thank you very much. ;)

I say build a woodie on the other side of the park. That would help spread things out and maybe build things up around the park. I just feel that eventually all the coasters would be in the Halloween section of the park.

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BMCOASTER

bmcoaster@wi.rr.com

Viper423 said:

A Wild Mouse coaster themed to maybe Santa's Sleigh would be an idea.
Santa's Sleigh sounds like a perfect name for a Mack bobsled coaster :)
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Off with the trims!
My fellow Americans; Let's Roll!
Woodencoaster.com

A huge steel coaster would ruin the family atmosphere at HW. I think that they should just stick with the family rides and build a carousel. Maybe they should build a ride like It's A Small World at Disney World and instead of little kids singing It's A Small World Afterall, they could be singing Christmas tunes. Sure it wouldn't have very much of a thrill at all, but it would be a great ride for everyone in the whole family to enjoy.

-sarcasm on-

Holiday World should cater to our every whim and build what we want because only enthusiasts know what's good for parks, not the people who run them.

-sarcasm off-

Matthew [who still think a carousel and dark ride would be perfect...LOL!]

-----------------
N.U.T.S. - National Union of Thrill Seekers! Be a member and tell everyone you're NUTS! [Brought to you by the maker of LoCoSuMo! NOTE: NUTS is not a real club; void where prohibited; your mileage may vary; where's the beef?]

*** This post was edited by Mamoosh on 6/26/2002. ***