Safety is #1 at Holiday World

I was rather dismayed to see the thread (now closed) about "major problems" at Holiday World.

Of course any Guest who has questions is encouraged to ask--and my email address appears regularly on this board. I would have been happy to address the concerns quickly and thoroughly.

We want our Guests to know that they are safe--and to feel safe. I assure you, none of the problems Sunday were safety related.

the Banshee has been closed for quite awhile now,

Yes, we definitely aren't happy with The Banshee this season. Basically, the thing keeps blowing fuses. This is not a safety concern, because the ride comes safely to rest at the loading platform (one of those physics things). So no one has been "stuck"; they just get an abbreviated ride.

In case you're wondering, those fuses are expensive--$100 each! And that's if you buy the six-pack. :) We have had the motor manufacturer out here over and over to observe, but the fuse-blowing phenomenon is intermittant enough that he's never been around when it has happened.

We've also taken the motor out (by crane) repeatedly to have it examined. It's a mystery--the experts can't figure out what's causing the problem.

Will Koch estimates that the ride has only operated 30-40% of the season thus far. That's unacceptable to us and we are working to find and fix the problem, but I do want you to know that it has operated some and that it is safe.

The Legend must have broken down about 6 times, About 3 times the train got stuck while going up the lift hill!

John "Shaggy" Keeter gave a very good explanation to this on the original thread. In a nutshell, the safety sensors are working *too* well. They are flagging a "problem" that doesn't exist. Now that we have a two-train operation on The Legend, there is the added safety system that prevent one train from leaving the lift hill until the other train is in the station. If the timing is off even a fraction of a second, the train will stop on the lifthill and the system must be rebooted (which takes approximately 70 seconds). Adjustments are being made, as the stop on the lifthill still happens occasionally even when the other train is safely in the station.

the lap bars got stuck,

Actually...while the system is being rebooted (see above), the lapbars *cannot* be released through the console. Rather than making our Guests wait 70 seconds for their lapbars to be released, we were releasing them manually.

Yes, Sunday was not a perfect day. But none of the problems were safety related.

Thanks for the opportunity to straighten this out.

Paula

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Paula Werne
Director of Public Relations
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Santa Claus, Ind.
JPWerne@holidayworld.com

Thank you, Paula.

This demonstrates exactly why it's a GOOD thing for parks to have representatives online. More parks should follow this lead (even if Paula does this on her own time, it's still a great precedent.)

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--Greg
"Are you justified in taking life to save life?" -- The Great Debate, Dream Theater
My page

Thank you for posting, Paula... there wasn't any doubt about your priorities for most of us. That's why we close topics of allgeged lack of safety when the post is more about a lack of understanding.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

I'd just like to say that if you do e-mail Holiday World, they will respond in fact when I e-mailed them Paula responded within 5 minutes and it wasn't one of those cookie cut e-mails either.

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Tuesday's Gone With The Wind.
Elijah Rock.
Is it written in the stars?
La Vie Boheme!!!

Holiday World continues to show it's class.

I've been kinda buisy lately...what happened on Sunday?

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It's his turn to feast, when you ride the Son of Beast.

Holiday World is a class act, there is no doubt that safety and guest satisfaction are priorities! Problems can happen with any machine, that motor problem has got to have some people pulling their hair out! Hope you have luck in resolving the problem soon!

Pete said:
that motor problem has got to have some people pulling their hair out!

You know, I meant to use that phrase. No wonder all our maintenance guys wear caps! :)

I know Jeff Hammersley gets a ton of praise from enthusiasts, but indeed it takes a team to keep our coasters and other rides running in top form. Jeff is fabulous, and by far the most outgoing maintenance man we've ever had, but there are many other dedicated employees who also deserve a huge pat on the back (not to be confused with a Pat on the back...that can be trouble!). :)

I meant to mention the maintenance crew earlier also, so I thought it would be okay to tack it on this post.

Thanks, Paula

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Paula Werne
Director of Public Relations
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Santa Claus, Ind.
JPWerne@holidayworld.com

I don't know, Paula...Pat's pretty petite, it can't be that bad having her on your back. Oh wait...that's not what you meant, was it?

Moosh

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NUTS - National Union of Thrill Seekers! [Brought to you by the maker of 'LoCoSuMo!']

Oh brother......

john peck said:
Holiday World continues to show it's class.

Right On. Major Parks that *can't* get it right should be visiting this park with a notepad and pencil.

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Formally Known as Ozzyhead.

Raven Maven said:
"Yes, we definitely aren't happy with The Banshee this season. Basically, the thing keeps blowing fuses."

When I was game tech, I found that people often replaced pinball machine fuses with nails, tin-foil, saftey-pins, etc .. Why don't you try that? ;-)

(Yes, of COURSE I'm joking...)

Cam.

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Cameron Silver

If worse comes to worse, the Banshee site would be a great location for a Chance Gondola Wheel!

www.rides.com/gwheel_home.html

*** This post was edited by john peck on 6/21/2002. ***

Or a classic 1920s Denzel carousel:

http://www.carousel.com/antique/

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

From talking to Pat at SRM, she indeed wants a dark ride and a very nice carousel for the Christmas area in the future. I would love to see Chance/Morgan do a custom Christmas carousel like the one at IOA... That would be simply amazing!

Banshee needs to be replaced with a thrilling flat like pirate ship or a kamikazee...Kamikazee, Banshee.. pretty much the same fit name wise..hehehe

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

*** This post was edited by Chris Godsey on 6/21/2002. ***

If Banshee is going to go can I put in my vote for a Frisbee??

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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?]

Ummmm...The Banshee is up and running today.

You guys crack me up. :)

Paula

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Paula Werne
Director of Public Relations
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Santa Claus, Ind.
JPWerne@holidayworld.com

That's our job :)

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

Yeah any amusement park that doesn't put safety first is going to be in serious trouble down the line. I completely believe that Holiday World is dedicated to a full vision of safety and guest satisfaction and it sounds like the park is getting better all of the time. Also, you're right in that ride closings aren't always safety related. Sometimes they can be mechanical nightmares to open at the time or could be missing essential parts. While running these rides may not be extremely dangerous (there are other safety systems on many of these rides to prevent anything happening to the guest) it's still a good idea not to run them until they are ready for operation.

Thanks Paula for taking the time to come online and explain what was wrong and why. As I'm sure you know, people who post here crave that kind of information, and you are one of the few (if not the only one) to actually provide it.

My hat's off to all of you there at HW (tries to conceal bald spot).

George

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Sometimes it's up. Sometimes it's down.
But with God, life is one thrill ride that you'll never regret being on.