Pondering about Holiday World... / thank you!

Went to Holiwood Nights from NY and had an amazing time. After experiencing the park, however, I do have a few things on my mind...

1) what is that smell in the one voyage tunnel? our group has a few theories, but an official answer would be nice :)

2) when were the bumper boats [thunder bumpers?] removed? I seem to remember them where the carousel is back in '06... -- reason for removal? Maintenance issues / costs? no other location for the carousel? When was the carousel put in?

3) what is your personal high score on gobbler getaway?
(1920 here, though admittedly I "cheated" because the one clock target doesn't have a delay after you hit it and you can shoot it repeatedly). Just wanted to get an idea for comparisons sake!

4) has anyone seen a bigger ceiling fan than the one in line for pilgrims plunge?!

5) seriously... how is everyone in the park so friendly? it still boggles my mind. Can I sit-in during training?

6) what happened to the "food pyramid" song in the thanksgiving section!? I remember randomly bursting into song all the time in 2006 when I was there, but never managed to catch the song last weekend and I think it is out of rotation in the park. Anyone anyone help me find the song / artist / lyrics? I don't really remember how it goes or anything about it so google isn't helping me much

7) is there anywhere in the park that sells sno-cones [christmas section, anyone?] -- or did I miss it? I found it unusual to notice the same thing at Darien Lake as well. you would think it is a pure cash-cow with the 2 ingredients being ice and corn syrup :) -- cedar point got away with selling me one for $5.00 [albeit it was gigantic].

8) are these the correct sayings for the coasters?

VOYAGE: People have come from far and wide, to laugh and scream on the pilgrims' ride. the time has come to sail away, your voyage begins without delay...

LEGEND: It's purple... it's fast... it's really a blast... - enjoy your ride on the legend.

**** what is the raven's spiel?

Other random notes:
-- hooray for [free!] fresh brewed sweet tea
-- hooray for ERT on pretty much every ride in the park on friday :)
-- hooray for turkey legs
-- hooray for udderly blue ice cream (does anyone else do red/yellow sprinkles?)
-- hooray for music in the pavillion
-- hooray for wildebeast! my first ride on wildebeast was INSANE. I couldn't believe the airtime I was getting, especially on one hill. The following 3 rides I did not experience any. My guess is due to weight distribution. If at all possible, get a lightweight boat; at least during my few trials that is what I have determined.
-- hooray for having an area to take off your shoes / leave your stuff for pilgrims plunge. It's great that you can take off your shoes / socks so you dont have squishy feet all day
-- hooray for prices! you could get away with charging more for almost everything... i can't believe how reasonable everything is. It's not unusual to pay $5.00 for a twist ice cream at other parks... but $1.60? etc. etc. etc. -- I didn't even have a chance to try the churros or fried oreos I really wanted because I couldn't stop buying (cheap) things and I kept losing track of what I wanted to try out at the park as I was distracted by other things :)

Minor inconveniences / nitpicking:
- The extremely hot surfaces in the water park... yikes! It was difficult walking around barefoot in many areas / from ride to ride. Every step was OW OW OW OW OW. Maybe I just have weird feet?
- Voyage was kicking my butt; I am looking forward to trying the new trains
- Condiments /toppings should go at the end of the food line, not the beginning :) -- not a huge deal, just seemed a bit out of order I had no idea what to take since I wasn't sure what I'd be eating :) -- food was EXCELLENT, even being one of the last through the line. so so good.
- the time board / stopwatch on the racing waterslide was not working. I always loved comparing times with friends / myself and was always one of my favorite things in the waterpark since the line was always so short for it

I think that's it... thanks to everyone at the park for a fantastic weekend!! I'll see when I can get back with that free ticket... (seriously, you didn't need to do this just because the trains were not ready yet).

That smell is interesting, its some good country air with some other things mixed in, I really have no clue.

It's big, it's fast, it's what you have been craving it's the Raven. I know I have heard that one before, but I think there is more.

I love the jungle racer, I think it would be cool if they did a big tournament one time, to see who the best jungle racer was.

You can get three meals at Holiday World for the price of one at a Cedar Fair park.

The concrete does get very hot, that's why I like to wear my vibram five fingers.

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.cfm

1.) To me it smelled like soured mulch (you can google it). They probably put down mulch to prevent weeds from growing in the tunnel. If there is not enough air circulation, the anaerobic bacteria can take over and the mulch develops a bad smell.

4.) Schlitterbahn Galveston had one (pre-hurricane). See bigassfans.com

5.) I think the geographic area and the people have something to do with it as well. If you tried that same Holiday World training on the New Yorkers/Jerseyites at SFGAd, I don't think you would get the same results.

Bigassfans are becoming very popular in warehouses and in turn are becoming a problem for fire protection. They move so much air, that in the event of a fire, they are keeping sprinklers heads from operating properly.

6) The food pyramid song was definitely playing in Thanksgiving this weekend, because several of us in our group noted it.

I agree about the hot concrete -- ouch! I don't know what that stuff is in the older section of Splashin' Safari, with the bird feet and shell design impressed on it, but it's sure a lot cooler and more comfortable to walk on. It wouldn't be as much of a problem if the water park weren't so huge, with such a long walk to Pilgrim's Plunge (which also features hard, foot-aching concrete in the queues, although at least it's shaded).

I also agree that Wildabeest was awesome. I rode it four times, once in each seat. The first time we only had three people in our boat, and I did notice more airtime on that round than the next three trips. I just wish I didn't have to keep my eyes closed so much with my contact lenses -- although flying blind was fun too. :)

1.) I was told the smell is from corn spilt from testing the new trains, Having trouble getting it all out through the track and out of the tunnel.

Not confirmed just what I heard at the park!.

What about the smell in the voyage station for the ERT Friday night. My god was that the worst BO I have smelled since a high school locker room.

4) has anyone seen a bigger ceiling fan than the one in line for pilgrims plunge?!

---Many indoor water parks have even larger ones, yes. They are manufactured by a company called Big Ass Fan, no joke. They are often used to just distribute the air around an indoor facility to try to keep utility bills lower, and help to remove toxic chlorine gases which aren't a problem outdoors.

5) seriously... how is everyone in the park so friendly? it still boggles my mind. Can I sit-in during training?

---I'd like to as well! (Being from the Heartland, sure helps though, I'd imagine.

7) is there anywhere in the park that sells sno-cones [christmas section, anyone?]

---Don't think so, but the Udderly blue ice cream rocked for under $2. And mini melts were $3.50 compared to dippin dots at six flags for $5.50.

8) are these the correct sayings for the coasters?

---I believe Raven was: "There's nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, so sit back and enjoy your ride. On the Raven!"

- Rotting corn was one of our theories as well for the tunnel.

- I can't believe I never heard the food pyramid song! Do you happen to remember one or two lines from it so I can try to find it online?

- i also noticed the pavement near the wavepool w/ the shell imprints was fine on my feet and didn't have any burning going on and could stand on it all day if i wanted.

- the smell at the wildebeest queue was worse than the voyage queue... but the tunnel smell beat them all :-P

- the raven spiel that alex mentioned is the one I remember hearing a small snippet of but couldn't remember... that rings a bell and sounds about right.

I love the jungle racer, I think it would be cool if they did a big tournament one time, to see who the best jungle racer was.

--- holliwood nights 2011, please :)

thanks!

-About the Voyage tunnel smell - excuse me :)

- Not only are they very friendly there, but its genuinely genuine. I don't know what their secret it - must be a 'trickle down' effect or something.

I'm still beside myself with what happens at Holiday World and just how they do it. The one word that pops in my head is LOVE.

Okay, we started with the corn mash stench and then called in a couple of skunks.

Can't you guys take a hint?! :)

Glad you had a good time -- so did we!

Paula

I really have no complaints, Every year this event is the epitome of how it should be done. The more that come the more thats offered ect ect.

Being from the country, The smell was nothing less than a rodent of some type, Skunk/ Opossum that had fettered in the heat for a day or two.

Saturday night we were all treated to a skunk who'd sprayed somewhere in the Raven/Lake Rudolph area but it was right at the end of the night on my last ride of a nine ride straight Legend run to end the event.

Nit Pickin, The pizza this year just had no flavor. As if there was no sauce or the sauce has no spices. Kinda bland. Everything else was great though.

The price of the event isn't much more than what two meals at CP would be. Why would you miss it?

Oh, BTW, KUDOS!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you for the free return ticket, While I have been offered freebies before at other parks for a ride closure during my wait. HW gave everyone a ticket for any operating day to return.

This was super nice of them, We are now planning another Weekend at the park. What was strange to me is, Everything ran and as advertised, I don't think the Timberliners were ever promissed and I know they are doing everything possible. The ride operated, Operated with two trains and lines were very very short. About three trains for most seats.

THANK YOU!

Okay, we started with the corn mash stench and then called in a couple of skunks.

Like I said Saturday nite, next year I'd be happy with less skunk and more outdoor air conditioning ;).

And for the record, I had like 10 pieces of Pizza, I thought it was just fine.

the smell at the wildebeest queue was worse than the voyage queue...

OMG yes. And wow to the full body wetsuits. Just...Wow.

As we were discussing the smell, one of the "local kids" told me that the corn was rotting because the clay-ey soil meant the water didn't drain too well and led to the corn rotting...I quickly learned to take a deep breath on the hill prior to the first section of that tunnnel on the outbound leg, and on the MCBR prior to the triple-down.

Sweet tea is the greatest thing to come out of the South since....well....ever? ;)

Next year, Timberliners - this year, very thankful to have a final HWN with the (two) PTCs. A return ticket because the T-liners weren't ready yet? Just another instance of WAY above and beyond....sure wish I could use it for a 2010 re-visit! :)

How about using it for the Fall Affair? :)

That's a fantastic idea, Carrie!

Is there a way for us to use the ticket for Fall Affair at a discounted price to Fall Affair? The wife and I are strongly looking at that angle to return to Holiday World this year.

~Rob

^I would think it would be the equivalent of having a season pass discount. ;) By the way, thanks so much for the return ticket! What a nice gesture!

HWN was one of my favorites so far, the smell aside. I too felt the pizza was just fine and had four slices. I much prefer it to Cesari's at PPP.

ERT was fantastic. I have never enjoyed Legend so much in ten years of riding it. Wow! I was so happy to get one last event on the Voyage with PTC's. It's just so great the way it is. The shorter trains did not disappoint. The ride has never been better! Hopefully the "more re-rideable" Timberliners won't tame the beast. And Raven was running great as well. So glad I made it to morning ERT for Wildebeest. It's a lot of fun and a shame the line gets so long.

It was great seeing so many friends. So glad I got to talk with Apollo Andy for a bit. It had been so long since we hung out in Texas. Shame I missed out on meeting some new Buzzers, but at least I met up with DKNY. Canada! lol And I finally divulged my identity to Paula. ;)

One of my favorite moments was when Clint asked Mike Graham if he could build Clint a woodie with a 500 foot drop. Mike's immediate response was, "Why would you want that!?"

But the funniest thing I heard all weekend was in The Beast's station on Sunday when the spieler said, "The Beast is going to turn you upside down not once, not twice, not three times, but zero times, because a wooden coaster that went upside-down would just be silly."

^Hmm... that was pretty good! However, I don't think it's that silly an idea.

A 218 foot tall woodie built and designed with 'too many cooks in the kitchen' with a horrible layout and horrible trains, thats a silly idea!

^But the fact that the op "went there"....classic! :)

Glad I shamed AV into introducing himself to Paula...hehehe. ;)