Making the "Voyage" - For the First Time
Possibly looking to go Saturday June 3rd, or Sunday June 4th. Are the crowds insane on the weekends? Or will it not be too bad since it is still relatively early in the year?
There are tons of hotels listed on their website. Anybody have a favorite? Or which hotel in the area offers the best discount tickets, and how much?
Any other insider tips are appreciated. Thanks!
If you are into WWE Wrestling, OVW is putting a show on at SFKK on Friday June 2.
I have stayed at the Santa's Lodge everytime I have gone to Holiday World. I cant really compare them. Though I cant see me going to stay anywhere else except maybe Lake Rudolph campground. *** Edited 5/12/2006 3:24:39 PM UTC by beast7369***
In my 3 trips to Holiday World (peak weekends in 00, 02, 05), the coasters averaged 20 minute waits. They all have multiple trains and efficient staff. I've got no "Voyage experience", but the TRs I've read indicate reasonable wait times.
"Insider tips":
1. Water park busiest/Dry park slowest from 11-4
2. Raven will likely be shortest from 11-12
3. Ride the coasters as much as you can! ;^)
Some rides have lower capacity and may have long waits: Bumper Boats, Log Flume, Antique cars, etc. I've still never seen the Bumper Boats have a wait under 40 min.
Don't worry about the crowds. Even if everybody comes out of the woodwork that day, you will still get plenty of coaster rides in.
Good luck in your job interview! I've lived in Cincinnati all my life, and (despite what you may have heard)it does have redeeming qualities (besides it's proximity to Holiday World)
-Buckeye Brad *** Edited 5/12/2006 5:20:45 PM UTC by buckeye brad*** *** Edited 5/12/2006 5:39:16 PM UTC by ***
buckeye brad said:
Good luck in your job interview! I've lived in Cincinnati all my life, and (despite what you may have heard)it does have redeeming qualities (besides it's proximity to Holiday World)
I went to college at UC, so I'm very familiar with it. My wife and I are thinking of moving back to be closer to our families. Problem is I've been living in L.A. for the last 3 years and loving it, so the transition back to Cincy (otherwise known as 'da 'Natti, Cincinnasty, or Cincitucky) might be a little rough in the early goings!
*** Edited 5/12/2006 5:41:57 PM UTC by Danimales***
Anyways I only live 30 minutes from HW. But you guys are right next to KI too :(
Anyway, as for advice on your first visit - We recently visited this past weekend (5/20) On what we thought would be a pretty slow weekend for them since schools are still in session and the temperatures are still a bit to chilly to enjoy the waterpark without getting hypothermia (lol, just exaggerating a bit). Anyway, we arrived at opening and they had quite a larger crowd at that time then I expected. I also noticed a sign out front that let us know that the Raven was NOT in operation. I later learned from a friend who worked there that they were having some kind of issues and hoped to have it going by the afternoon (which they did). We headed straight for the Voyage and waited for about 45 min. in line. They had all 3 trains running although I got the feeling that they were having some issues with the ride. They had staff there timing the intervals between trains arriving at the station, and were having trouble getting trains to dispatch...but the ride never closed and things seemed to be running smoother later in the day. Generally, you would want to save the coasters (I know that is hard to do) until later in the afternoon. Normally everybody rushes to the coasters first thing in the order you come upon them in the park: The Raven then the Legend. This year with the Voyage getting all the hype you might try doing them in the following order if you must do them first thing: The Legend, The Raven, THEN the Voyage. Although I REALLY recommend going to the waterpark first. Just as mentioned above, the staff at Holiday World do a GREAT job of managing the crowds. We noticed on Saturday they were very quick and efficient(still friendly too of course) in moving people through lines, getting people buckled in, ect.
As far as the dates you plan on going, I still don't think you'll have to worry about HUGE crowds yet, but schools will be out of session then and if you could pick either day, I'd pick Sunday.
As far as the lodging, I've never had to mess with it really since HW is only a 45 min. drive for me. Although I DO know that some of the hotels they list on their site are some distance away from the park. I think one is as much as a 25 min. drive away. I've never stayed at Santa's Lodge, although I've heard nothing but GREAT things about it. If you wanted to stay anywhere close to the park, you will want to be sure to make reservations as soon as you can. They've already had lots of groups from around the country(and around the world) visit already due to The Voyage...I'm sure they are grabbing the closest hotel rooms they can find. If you are an outdoors person at all you might try out Lake Rudolph Campsite, its a really nice campground albit expensive. I think its around $35 a night for a standard no-frills site. You will get the satisfaction of supporting the family business though as it is owned by the Koch family as well. If that price is too steep there is the nearby Lincoln State Park/Lincoln Boyhood memorial. Primitive sites there are only $8 a night, its kept up well, only 10 min from the park, and the boyhood memorial is a neat place to visit for history buffs.
Anyway, I hope I've helped somewhat, and I look forward to learning more from you all here in the future. *** Edited 5/22/2006 9:16:56 AM UTC by HoliJohn*** *** Edited 5/22/2006 9:17:32 AM UTC by HoliJohn*** *** Edited 5/22/2006 9:21:19 AM UTC by HoliJohn***
Also, Saturday felt busier than it was, because not all that many Guests went into the water park. As we get into the season a bit more, Saturday's numbers will seem like a slow day, and the crowd will balance better between the two parks.
Paula
Paula Werne
Holiday World
As for the numbers of people Saturday.. I agree, there seemed to me a lot more people in the dry park than in Splashin' Safari. Reguardless, the staff did an excellent job. I want to take this moment and thank all of you for such a wonderful park. I've never left Holiday World thinking I paid too much, and always leave with a huge smile on my face. This last visit was no different. It truly is amazing to see how far the park has come in the last 10-15 years.
Also, thanks for your great work on the HoliBlog. There hasn't been a day since the big announcement that I haven't checked for new posts. It was great seeing all the construction photos and reading all the little extra tidbits of info. So, to you and all the Holiday World staff - Thanks for the great experiences in the past and in the future, and keep up the great work!
gamester990 said:
ive been to Cinci a couple times, but I live in Western KY in a small town about 100k people. I don't think I could handle the big city living from a smaller type city.Anyways I only live 30 minutes from HW. But you guys are right next to KI too
I don't mean to call you out, but UK football games advertise as the third biggest city in Kentucky at about 65k. Are you sure such a place exists in Western Kentucky?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_metropolitan_statistical_areas_by_population
This sounds like UK's other slogan "70,000 strong" which wasn't true either. =) Obviously this isn't the place to start joking on UK football, so...
Is it May 26th yet?
Of course, people just go there to say they were at a Kentucky game, it's not as if they are there to actually hope to see quality football. That sort of football happens about a mile from Kentucky Kingdom. (or even 4-5 miles from Beech Bend, if you like smaller teams!) *** Edited 5/23/2006 12:54:38 PM UTC by Isca***
And here I thought there was suddenly lots of advice for a Holiday World newbie. Oh well. At least I'm now well educated on the population sizes of towns in the middle of nowhere. Metro areas... LOL!
buckeye brad said:
Even with new attractions, I doubt the crowds will be prohibitively big. If they are, Holiday World really strives to handle large crowds.In my 3 trips to Holiday World (peak weekends in 00, 02, 05), the coasters averaged 20 minute waits. They all have multiple trains and efficient staff. I've got no "Voyage experience", but the TRs I've read indicate reasonable wait times.
That wasnt the case this past Monday. The park was pretty busy with school kids and wait times for voyage were at least an hour at peak times with only one train operations on all coasters. Dont get me wrong, I love the park. I just couldnt believe holiday world was asleep at the wheel and didnt put more trains on for voyage. An hour wait is a bit much.
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