Stark Raven Mad and SFKK Trip 5/31 - 6/1 LONG!
Associated parks:
None
We headed down to Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (SFKK) to get our cheap Six Flags season passes on Friday May 31 prior to Stark Raven Mad at Holiday World. The people in line to get their passes were rather rude but I expected that since I had prior experience at the park. However my girlfriend and our mutual friend Barb who tagged along were looking forward to experiencing a new park even if it was not one that was all that great.
By the time we got there around 12:30pm after getting stuck in broiling hot 95-100 degree heat in the parking lot known as I-65 on our way down from Indianapolis and practically becoming dehydrated we had already decided we wanted a water ride. We got in line for Penguins Blizzard River. What looked like a 10 to 15 minute wait was more like an hour due to very slow operations at the park. The themeing was spectacular for that park (as nothing else is themed hardly at all). We got ourselves a little cooled off.
Then we headed for Twisted Twins. We rode both sides of the coaster but I did not feel that it was of exceptional quality that I have come to know from CCI. Although I was not disappointed nor was I really thrilled. All I have to ask is where is the grease? We ended up getting what felt like a slow ride filled with lots of wheel squeals. The back of this coaster proved to be the more enjoyable. However I think that a PTC train would make this ride a little more memorable.
We then hit Thunder Run and I must say that by far is the best ride that we had at SFKK. The coaster seemed to speed smoothly through the ride like it had just been greased. The airtime on it was beyond description especially considering the last time I rode it, I don't remember so much airtime. I guess SFKK can get at least one thing right!
Due to my girlfriend, Lisa getting sunscreen in her eyes from all the sweat, we went to the first aid center. I must say that they have a small trailer for a first aid center. However the people there were beyond courteous and helpful. We do appreciate their help.
After we got her fixed up for the day, we rode Road Runner Express, which is a fairly standard wild mouse type ride. The top part of the ride where you go back and forth was quite fun as the brakes were barely on…. However after the dips started we quickly found it to be braked rather hard. Despites that it was still a very fun ride. Barb got to finally ride her first wild mouse ride and was quite thrilled especially at the top where she thought we were going to fly right off the track. I thoroughly enjoyed riding it with an inexperienced rider as it really made me see the ride from a non-enthusiast perspective. All in all a great ride. After this ride we decided to head to Holiday World to try to really kick start Stark Raven Mad off and to get some food!
We decided to go check into our hotel room at Santa's Lodge just a little bit down the street from Holiday World. The room was extremely nice, as was the rest of the hotel. After getting everything up into the room we decided to go to Holiday World to kick off our FIRST EVER Stark Raven Mad.
Since it was already after 7pm we went right to the pizza. We had a bite of pizza at SFKK earlier in the day and I must say this pizza at Holiday World was downright delightful in comparison. I was rather impressed by the pizza at Holiday World.
After eating pizza we headed for The Legend. Barb and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride while Lisa being a fairly tiny girl did not get quite as enjoyable of a ride and came off with quite a headache. She ended up sitting out the rest of the night. Personally I enjoyed how the Legend was quite zippy and throws you around like a sack of flour as it changes directions very frequently. There was some great head choppers as you passed under Zoombabwe. However due the laterals on the ride I don’t quite find it as re-rideable as other coasters…. Although still enjoyable. We did end up riding again while Lisa nursed her headache.
Since Lisa had a nasty little headache from The Legend, Barb and I decided to take her back to the hotel since she was not feeling to well. Since Barb and I will still very hot from our day at SFKK we decided to cool off in the hotel pool which was rather soothing. After spending about 45 minutes in the pool we left Lisa at the Hotel to further rest from her headache.
Barb and I got in a few more rides on The Legend. We did eventually make our way to the Raven after we had our fill of The Legend. I was completely amazed by the Raven and now understand why it makes it to the #1 spot on most polls despite the fact that I would make it a number 2 on my list. But that is only a personal opinion. Seeing that I am an airtime junkie I do like Shivering Timbers a little bit more. However the Raven does have laterals as well as good airtime which why I think is what takes it to the #1 spot for most people.
I loved how the ride is mostly hidden in the forest and all of the surprise airtime moments definitely make the ride. We ended up riding the front and the back of the ride. When we got our front row ride they had turned the station dark and we ended up going right through the station for a surprise reride. I personally liked the back the best on the ride but was more than thrilled when we went right through the station. We barely even slowed down on the brakes before the station. Heck we even got most of the way through the station before I realized what happened! LOL! Unfortunately they had closed the gates to the Raven after we got off so we went back to the hotel to rest up for the next morning.
On Saturday we woke up and Lisa had come down with a bad cold it seemed (we had been sick prior to going so it was little surprise she got worse again on the trip after being dehydrated and not getting much sleep on Thursday). I dropped Barb off for ERT on Zoombabwe while I took care of Lisa for a while. At about 11:30 I picked Barb back up and she told me how fun Zoombabwe was. I was convinced that I had to go to the park a while. After checking on Lisa she let me go to the park awhile.
I went and got to ride Zoombabwe. All I can say is it was simply amazing. It was really fast and climbs the walls on the curves. There were little figures drilled into the walls of the ride periodically that I thought increased the excitement of the ride. Oh and lets not forget the airtime we got when we had 4 people in the raft. I just had to ride again after the first breath-taking ride. We also spent some time in the wave pool, lazy river, and on a few other slides. Overall Splashin' Safari is a great water park at Holiday World and is a must for anyone who goes to Holiday World. You will not likely be disappointed.
After our time at Splashin' Safari we went back to the hotel to relax and check on Lisa. We went and ate at St. Nick's restaurant. The service was splendid and the food was decent. Not really anything all that extravagant however.
After the lunch break at St. Nicks, Lisa decided she was feeling bad enough to go to the hospital so we took a drive out to Huntingburg. We got right in to the ER there with no wait. Ended up that they only gave her a breathing treatment of Albuterol to loosen up her lungs a bit. This did her wonders as she was ready to go to Holiday World after that. We got back to the hotel just in time to go get more food at Holiday World and Lisa did go to ERT this time.
After chowing on a burger and some cookies it was ERT time. We rode Eagles Flight, Virginia Reel, and Roundhouse. All were very wonderful flat rides that we greatly enjoyed. Until recently I had forgotten how nice and fun flat rides could be so this was a nice break away from the high thrills of a rollercoaster.
After the few flat rides, Barb and I rode The Legend. Lisa chose to stay off since she wanted to enjoy the Raven. Well at least she wanted to try the Raven. I actually think that the Legend was running even faster on Saturday than on Friday night. Still a great ride…just takes a lot out of you with all of the high laterals. Upon exiting the ride I encountered Mick Foley. Barb and I had to say hi since we both are HUGE wrestling fans. We got to chat with him for a bit and got our pictures take with him. That was a highlight of the night…. But that was only the beginning of the highlights of night!
After parting ways with Mick Foley we went over to the Raven. Lisa wanted to ride towards the front since to her most wooden coasters are rougher in back. We obliged and she enjoyed the ride. However we were able to convince her that the back was better and we soon took another ride in back. After her ride in the back on the Raven she was definitely convinced it is better in the back as she wanted to ride in the back again. The third ride proved to be enough for her despite the fun she was having. She was just getting too tired to walk down to entrance of the Raven to get back in line. But while we were in line for our 3rd ride on the Raven we spotted Mick Foley in line. We waited for him to get off of the ride since we wanted to get a ride in with him. After he got off of the Raven he courteously obliged our request and rode with Barb, I sat in the row in front of them with a kid he brought with him to the park, which I believe was the son of one of the PR people of WWE. After our ride with Mick Foley we decided to end our eventful night and go back to hotel.
Barb, Lisa, and I would like to thank Holiday World for their most gracious hospitality and for the wonderful time we had at Holiday World. We promise that we will be back someday. Hopefully soon.
We also want to thank Mick Foley for being such a courteous and gracious person that he was to everyone who he talked to at Stark Raven Mad. We look forward to getting to ride coasters with again just because you made our day so much more enjoyable than we thought it could be.
To everyone else who was there I hope you had at least as wonderful of a time at Stark Raven Mad as we did despite our setbacks.
To everyone who was not there, You should give Holiday World a try sometime. I doubt you will be disappointed.
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X-Flight World's Only flying coaster!
Batwing World's only flying coaster!
S:UF World's only flying coaster! Don' you love SF ?
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Jeff-Jeff
Wood - Raven
Steel - Millennium Force
Generic, isn't it?
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Sorrrrrrrry folks! Parks closed. The moose out front should have told you.
Great Trip report!
I got a chance to hang out with him for about an hour or so right after the meal/auction and we rode raven and legend. Kristina read his book on the drive up the day before so she asked him some questions about it. He was very surprised to see that she read his book. I asked him if he read the boards and he said is totally computer illiterate and the only computer in the house was Dewey's(his son). Since Robert Coker was with me, Kristina, my sister, and her boyfriend, they both got to talking about the Coney Island Cyclone. Mick commented that due to his build, the cyclone was a painful brutal ride. Someone also asked him what his favorite coaster was and he answered "Aerosmith, just got back from there and that thing is phenomenal.". Since I am from Memphis, I know that he used to wrestle here. I mentioned the ACE event for the Zippin Pippin and he commented that he might attend because he just loved Memphis and had tons of friends there.
Mick's best comment... Kristina said, "pardon me if I sound like a dork when I ask you this..." Mick said, "don't worry, I am a dork!!!!"
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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 6/4/2002. ***
Todd said:
Very cool TR! Mankind rules! I wonder if he comes and visits Coasterbuzz!??
I agree -- Mankind is an exceptional human being! I had the remarkable pleasure of being his body guard Saturday. :) One of the best days of my professional life!
I'm pretty sure Mick doesn't go online...he told me he needs to get a computer one of these days. He writes all his books out long-hand and then someone has to type it for him. He does not have an email address.
I hinted that he'd be here on a CoasterBuzz thread about ZOOMbabwe being on E! Entertainment. Someone was teasing that soon Holiday World would soon be the hot spot for the likes of Tom Cruise.
I replied, "Soon all mankind will come to Holiday World."
GregLeg emailed me...did anyone else catch it?
BTW, GregLeg said I was mean...and he's absolutely right! :)
Paula
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Paula Werne
Director of Public Relations
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Santa Claus, Ind.
JPWerne@holidayworld.com
Todd said:
Very cool TR! Mankind rules! I wonder if he comes and visits Coasterbuzz!??
Todd,
I asked him a very similar question
His reponse was:
"Dude, I don't even know how to turn on a computer"
-Sean
Raven Maven said:
I hinted that he'd be here on a CoasterBuzz thread about ZOOMbabwe being on E! Entertainment. Someone was teasing that soon Holiday World would soon be the hot spot for the likes of Tom Cruise.
I replied, "Soon all mankind will come to Holiday World."
GregLeg emailed me...did anyone else catch it?
BTW, GregLeg said I was mean...and he's absolutely right!
Paula
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Paula Werne
Director of Public Relations
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Santa Claus, Ind.
JPWerne@holidayworld.com
WOW! Did that one go right over my head. LOL! BTW I will be back at Holiday World...its only a question of when. I am looking forward to my second SRM next year already! Actually I am hoping we will get a chance to come by Holiday World sooner than that. Anyway Thanks to Holiday World for making it such a spectacular event.
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She was just getting too tired to walk down to entrance of the Raven to get back in line. But while we were in line for our 3rd ride on the Raven we spotted Mick Foley in line. We waited for him to get off of the ride since we wanted to get a ride in with him. After he got off of the Raven he courteously obliged our request and rode with Barb, I sat in the row in front of them with a kid he brought with him to the park, which I believe was the son of one of the PR people of WWE.
Actually I was around the Raven at that point and am almost positive I remember this moment (I was next in line for the coaster on seats right by those) and the boy that you were riding with was actually none other than Paula's son John, who had been spending much of the day with Mick and who I had the pleasure of spending the morning with. John's a neat kid and I had a kick and a half spending time with him.
George Burnash (who just doesn't post enough on these forums to be known)
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Willow? Yes, my name is Willow. Would you stop pecking on me on this big droooopppppppppp......
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