Holiwood Nights 2012

We had another fantastic time at Holiwood Nights this year. The number of attendees seemed lower than we expected. We figured since Coastermania was moved we would see a large crowd but not so to our eyes. The Voyage was a great ride this year and the track updates really did a great job!

We did do the ERT in the waterpark as we always have. Well air temperature was 49 - 50 degrees, water temperature felt very cold, Priceless! That was quite a shock to all in our party. So after a ride on the freezing Mammoth we did about 8 laps on Wildebeast and it 'felt' warmer. Then we finally did another on Mammoth and it was not as bad but still a cold ride.

Mammoth is a great hit and will be really liked by all who ride it. It has some amazing launches in the ride and really moves. Now we did not see any of the rafts there and I am assuming they did not arrive yet?

Other park rides were not long waits and the people were fun to interact with. Definitely another great time at Holiday World and thanks to all the very polite staff and crew who made it so much fun!

I noticed this year's event was held the night closest to a FULL Moon. (Past Events were held during the weekend closest to a NEW (Dark) Moon. This couldn't have been due to the Solar Eclipse on May 20 could it?

It's all just coincidence. Paula has stated that (for the foreseeable future) Holiwood Nights would be held the week after Memorial Day. If Cedar Point continues holding CoasterMania on the First Friday in June, (not counting this year) the 2 events will fall on the same week for 3 years followed by consecutive weeks for 3 years. Then of course Leap years can screw with that a bit too. As it stands now, we should have 3 more years of non-conflicting. :-)

Doing a water park in 49-degree temperatures? That's an enthusiast.

I loved the moon view on Legend Saturday night. Cresting one of the hills it was right in front of the track. I thought it made for a really neat setting especially when the clouds broke after the rain shower.

Thanks to the colder weather, most of the folks I was hanging with opted to move the traditional mid-afternoon heat-exhaustion nap to Saturday morning. ;) Presumably, actual mammoths would've been perfectly comfortable riding Mammoth. I figure I can always give it a shot next time.

Last year I was just blown away by Legend and Raven, both of which I had been ambivalent about up until then. They were still good this year, but I wasn't "wowed" the same way. That distinctive double-pop moment on the front of Legend I mentioned in that post didn't happen consistently this time.

But the true magic came with the front row of Voyage. I first rode it in 2009, so this was by far the smoothest experience I've ever had. I mean, "magical" is really the only way I can describe some of those moments -- elements where previously I'd brace for a battering, it now deftly glided through in the most beautiful way. Now, moving back to rows 2 and 3 reminded me of Ye Olde Voyage, particularly on the second half, but it was worth the extra wait for the front. And my face is now silky smooth after the rain-induced exfoliation during our last two rounds, but holy snap, the second half on wet track after sailing through those trims............ wow.

As usual, a great event, and thank you to HW for making it possible!

This was a wonderful event. I had a great time. The rain that came through during ERT Saturday night made for some epic Voyage rides! It seemed to make the ride even faster and more out of control.

If I recall, the temps during morning ERT on Zinga at SRM 2003 were low- to mid-40s. Definitely didn't need coffee that morning.

Something I'd like to point out, that a lot of people may not realize. Wildebeest has just as much, or more airtime than a comparable roller coaster. Just because it is a slide, it should not be taken for granted. Especially if you are in a raft alone in the front, you will literally fly over the hills and be airborne more than you could imagine. This is why I rode Wildebeest over 30 times in temperatures under 60 haha.

Yeah, I had a solo lap on Wildebeest last year, and I'd take that experience before virtually any roller coaster I've been on to date.

I do agree that Wildebeast has some amazing air time. We had a group of 5 so we broke up into 3 and 2 and I rode with my oldest son. I think it was more air time with 3 of us than 2 however. We felt our rears being a little sore and would like some fluff under the seat area for those moments :-) But Mammoth in its size gives some amazing rides and lifting action as well.

Wildebeest is an awesome ride, chock full of airtime, and (relatively) sauna-like. My *issue* is that there's really not much coasting...it's almost entirely launches and drops. Mammoth involved a lot more coasting, and I think is a more "complete" ride experience. That being said, it was SO cold on mammoth that one lap was all us Floridians could really tolerate, and that was after waiting until around noon. I'm sure the morning ERT was exclusive as all get-out, but there was NO way on Earth I could make it given the temps. Mammoth is already fabulous, and will only get better with warmer weather and the boat-style rafts (when they come online).

Do want to note that I like the structural change to how waterpark ERT is being run...makes it much more enticing. Several friends did make the ERT Saturday morning, and said it was a blast (note: all who made it were from OH or NY).

Got Jill on her maiden lap(s) on The Voyage, and she came away very impressed. To quote Sir Elton John: "The b*tch is back!"

Thanks as always to HW for putting on such an exceptional event - see ya next year! :)

I think Mammoth might be the tip of the iceberg. If she runs successfully with 8 person rafts, I think we might start seeing rides like that pop up at major parks across the country. Maybe not just waterparks even!