Holiday World 2015 Project

shavethewhales · July 29, 2014, 01:20:45 PM

Giraffica was retired over a year ago due to incessant mechanical issues. I think it was indeed scrapped. Intamin sold at least one other ride of that type, haven't heard if it has the same trouble, but Holiday World's version was the prototype.

I watched the live stream of the Thunderbird announcement. Really excellent PR campaign and announcement, it was great to be able to be apart of it all. I'll be traveling to HW next summer to check it out in person.

History Buff · July 29, 2014, 01:58:46 PM

What do you mean when you say it was great to be a part of it all? Did you help with the campaign?

Swoosh · July 29, 2014, 07:01:48 PM

He knew someone who was involved in it and was fed insider information -- or that's what it read as over on TPR.

shavethewhales · July 29, 2014, 10:12:48 PM

No, I simply mean I followed along with it all and partook in a number of discussions. HW actually does a lot of interaction with the enthusiast community including special events, having a PR person hang out on TPR, and blog posts and other things directly aimed at the enthusiast community. They had a 66-day long teaser campaign for this ride, with a live-streamed announcement at the end. Somehow, they kept it all underwraps right up to the announcement. I'm pretty sure that virtually everyone watching the announcement wasn't completely sure what was actually going to be announced.

I hope SDC can get back to this sort of online interaction again. I miss conductor Sam.

Pudgy Jones · July 20, 2015, 12:54:21 PM

I rode on Holiday World's new launched, winged coaster over the weekend, and it is a fantastic ride. What impressed me the most, however, was the theming. Holiday World really stepped up their game in theming the exterior of the station and the areas around it (even though I'm not sure what the ride itself has to do with Thanksgiving). The inside of the station is pretty plain, but it is the best themed ride in the park. Theming isn't HW's strong suit.

The strangest thing about the ride is its location in the park. It is stuck off by itself away from the rest of the park, and it is quite a long walk to get there. Strange layout.

History Buff · July 20, 2015, 01:29:36 PM

If it's not themed to Thanksgiving, then it's not well-themed. Had they made it a flying turkey instead of an eagle, it would have worked.

runner1960 · July 20, 2015, 01:50:57 PM

Quote from: History Buff on July 20, 2015, 01:29:36 PM
If it's not themed to Thanksgiving, then it's not well-themed. Had they made it a flying turkey instead of an eagle, it would have worked.

You mean you have never had roasted Eagle on Thanksgiving.

History Buff · July 20, 2015, 01:54:57 PM

They might have. Franklin did propose the turkey as the national bird.

shavethewhales · July 20, 2015, 02:34:44 PM

I know what you mean about the "theming" semantics HB, but Thunderbird does have a theme and an interesting backstory related to a fictional alt-history of the pilgrim's voyage. The props and area don't really do a good job of telling the story, but it is all very pretty and looks much better than the rest of the park. The only allusions to the story are the little quips on the walls in the station. You have to go online to dig up all the "journal entries" that give the backstory though. They released them one by one during the teaser campaign.

I did finally get to ride Thunderbird last month. I had high expectations, and it exceeded them. It's smooth and comfortable, but the launch has a bit of kick to it and there are just enough G-forces throughout that it is fun and exhilarating without giving you a headache. It's one of those rides that it's tough to walk away from because it's so fun to ride over and over again.

The only thing to complain about, is that the layout of the park is getting bizzare. You have to walk a good quarter mile or more from the Voyage plaza to the Thunderbird plaza up a winding hill with nothing between those two points. Supposedly it fits within their "master plan" but it definitely seems nonsensical to me. They also have a waterslide tower nearby, which is also oddly separated from the rest of the water park. I think HW has some sort of hidden agenda to make people walk more.

Pudgy Jones · July 21, 2015, 10:53:38 AM

My favorite coaster is Powder Keg at SDC. I would venture to say that this coaster is a close second.

HW is a great park with great rides. However, you really learn to appreciate the atmosphere, theming, and attention to detail at SDC after visiting Holiday World. The two parks are just at completely different levels.

History Buff · July 21, 2015, 11:59:52 AM

Placing rides at the ends of long walks is one way to have patrons be in line for the ride long before the actual queue begins. Think about TnT: you walk a long way to be in a short line, but really aren't you in line when you start the walk?