gigacoaster2k

** DAY TWO: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 11: HOLIDAY WORLD CLOSING DAY, AND Kings Island ** Driving down I64 west toward *drumroll* HOLIDAY WORLD!! (with a nice close up of my fuzzy steering wheel cover lol) We saw a hitchhiker with a sign that said ANYWHERE BUT HERE.. lmao! OMG OMG OMG OMG Getting closer.. it's around the bend somewhere! LKLSDLJKFHSJFS w00t WE'RE HERE!! And check out the sweet ride in front of me! We were almost to the gate when I decided I was cold, and wanted my hoodie. We were walking back to my car when this guy in the parking lot offered Tom a one day ticket for $20.. he had four of them he couldn't use! Tom took him up on it.. our day was off to a very good start! First stop: Raven! Raven's empty station! Look at that, Terp.. don't you wish you were there (or were you)? hee hee We got 2 rides in a row without getting out of our seats! Then it was off to LEGEND! Tom loves his lats. We got THREE rides without exiting the station, and the school bell was working! Kat, this pic is for you. (inside joke) Then it was off to.. *intense drumroll* VOYAGE! The most beautiful thing I've seen at an amusement park.. VOYAGE'S EMPTY STATION AS SEEN FROM THE VERY BACK SEAT. THREE RIDES IN A ROW WITHOUT LEAVING OUR SEATS!! Yeah, we pretty much got 8 rides in 45 minutes.. the park was THAT dead. After all this, we were thirsty! Off to the Oasis we went, for some of Holiday World's free drinks. Walking around a bit, Tom pointed out this plaque dedicated to America's heroes. We ran back and rode Raven again, then Legend again, and decided it was time for Liberty Launch! We then decided to explore the park a little bit. Kat, I took a pic of the kiddie carousel for you, haha. I took this opportunity to take some photos. LOOK AT THE LINE FOR SCRAMBLER!! We rode Raven, and decided we were hungry, so it was back out to the car to eat. Got a little busy while we were in the park! My sweet tooth was driving me crazy, so we headed for Mrs. Klaus' Kitchen. I bought: a bag of candy corn flavored taffy, a giant chocolate chip cookie, and two candy sticks.. guess how much it cost total? $2.38. That's right. Back to Voyage we went! I've never eaten at Plymouth Rock Cafe (I've hid out in there LOL), but I need to.. this menu looks GOOD! Mean looking Voyage track! *shudders* YUMMY! We rode Voyage, which was killer sweet awesome amazing as usual, and then it was off to Turkey Whirl (yes, I have found out I can ride Tilt A Whirl rides!). And then it was back To Voyage, you know, since it WAS right there.. hehehehe We saw a kid wearing a shirt that said WHO NEEDS HALLOWEEN.. MY SISTER IS SCARY ENOUGH. lol Then we were both craving a ride on Legend, so off we went! z0mg LEGEND (can't tell, but we are both wearing DB shirts haha) We stopped for food at Goblin Burger.. which may have been a mistake. The food was a little greasier than I liked. Sitting in GB's eating area, I noticed we were right next to Legend, so I snapped a few photos. Legend structure shot! Then it was off to Eagles Flight! Hard as we tried to snap ours, they just wouldn't do it. We did get going pretty high, though! We hit Raven and Legend, and then back to We rode that, and Liberty Launch. It was getting close to closing time, and I wanted more rides on Voyage, but the food was getting to Tom and he sat out while I got 2 rides on Voyage without leaving my seat. He came with me for a third ride, but Voyage's train started smoking in the station, and it was about 5:10 pm CDT (park closed at 5:30), and Voyage showed no sign of reopening. So we said screw it and booked it for Legend. Tom rode with me once, and got off, then I got a solo ride. As Holiday World closed, I couldn't leave without some fudge. I went to Mrs Klaus' Kitchen and got some fudge for me and my family, then we went to a gift shop and Tom got the Legend shirt he'd been wanting. As we walked toward the exit, we were greeted by Pat and Will Koch.. Tom and I got our photo with Will! I'm going to miss you. Goodbye, my precious baby.. see you next year. *stifles a sob* STAY TUNED!

** DAY ONE: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10: SIX FLAGS KENTUCKY KINGDOM ** Tom and I packed bags for the trip, jam packed a cooler full of food, filled up Stormy (my Sebring) with gas, and we were off to Six Flags! Forecast was partly sunny with temps between the 40s and 60s, so we were excited to have a good day at Six Flags! Driving down I71 south to SFKK! The hills of Kentucky are so beautiful, I love driving through them! We arrived at SFKK around 12:30, I think. At first we thought this was horse crap that I parked in. It was some kind of muddy grass, and there was a lot of it. I parked there anyway because I didn't care. Tom and I are hopeful for a good day at SFKK after the fiasco last time. (Yes, my shirt says I <3 COASTERS.. lol) Since the last time we went, we hit my favorite ride first (Greezed Lightnin), so this time we hit Tom's favorite at SFKK.. Thunder Run! I high fived Tweety on the way. Thunder Run has some sweet airtime! It's a tad rattly, but what woodie isn't? We started walking over to *gulp* Chang's area, and I decided I wanted to ride the Giant Wheel. It was my first time on that.. I honestly like CP's Giant Wheel so much better. Nice views from this one though. Most Ferris wheels rope off the ones they aren't using. SFKK got creative with theirs. I'm going to miss you, Chang. Thunder Run going up the hill! Park was kind of busy, but not really bad. After that, it was time to face the reality of Chang being torn down. This pic just makes me mad.. YOU'RE REPLACING A B&M STANDUP WITH A WATER PARK??!!! I mean, are they for real? Back to Thunder Run we went, as we were both craving another ride on it! Then it was off to Greezed Lightnin.. my favorite! We rode that, and then decided we were hungry, so we went to the car and ate out of my ginormous cooler instead of spending $946 on a hot dog. We came back, and rode Greezed Lightnin again, because the queue was empty! Tom pointed out the logo on this trash can, from before Six owned the park. Then it was time for my favorite spinning ride.. Enterprise! I like this better than Witches Wheel at CP. After that, we headed to Himalaya, one of our favorite spinnies! These rides always make me a little dizzy, but worth it because they're so much fun! LOL at the clown riding. After this, we decided to explore the park for a little while.. because those who stop, look, and listen will often find more than what they are looking for. FOUR BUCKS FOR A 20 OUNCE BOTTLE OF "VITAMIN" WATER??!!! Why don't you just yank my wallet and run away?? Flying Dutchman.. can anyone clarify if this was the one that used to be at Kings Island? Tom and I weren't quite sure, I don't remember back that far. Twisted Twins.. I never got to ride you. I wish. I like the message on the trash cans. SFKK is probably one of the cleanest parks I've seen. I think I saw two pieces of trash on the ground throughout the whole park. This message is also on the back of the ride ops' shirts. That's how I feel about it.. Chang is the stand up coaster that made me like stand up coasters. Tom and I being dorks. I wanted to ride their swinging ship ride (I love swinging ships!), so we headed toward the front of the park. Greezed Lightnin, Skycoaster riders, Roadrunner Express, and Giant Wheel, all in one shot! Bluebeard's Bounty! Of course we chose a seat on the very end.. what other way to ride a swinging ship? They were having a screaming contest on our ride. This guy was screaming bloody murder like a girl and had everyone cracking up. Back to Greezed Lightnin we went! Here is a video I took while waiting for the very front seat! Back to Thunder Run we went! I took some pics on the way. FULL QUEUE FOR BREAKDANCE??!!! Greezed Lightnin and Thunder Run were walk ons! Give it back. Now. I looked up to see Thunder Run's empty train stuck on the lift, so we walked over by the water park deck to get a better look at when it would be running again. Hey SFKK.. drain your nasty wave pool. Who wants to go for a swim? Thunder Run was up and running again, so off we ran! We got hungry again, so it was back out to the car for more food, and for our hoodies since it was getting nippy. Roadrunner Express had a line almost all day, and it had finally died down, so we got in line. This is one fun wild mouse! We ran back over and rode Greezed Lightnin again, and then it was back to Thunder Run again! While we were back there, we rode Flying Dutchman. Heading back to the front of the park, we skipped out on the haunts because there was an up charge. So we hopped on Giant Wheel for a night ride. I don't have a good photo of it, in fact it's a terrible photo, but it was so cool to see the Louisville skyline at night from atop the wheel. I absolutely love big city skylines. We ran over and got a night ride on Greezed lightnin (which was totally awesome!), and ran back and got a night ride on Roadrunner Express. Back to Greezed Lightnin we went.. check this out! EMPTY station, AT NIGHT! I was one happy giga! We sat in the very back, and got 3 rides in a row without leaving our seat!! Our last ride of the night was Thunder Run.. again, EMPTY queue at night! We chose the very front seat this time. I found someone's LG Dare in the front seat.. unfortunately she had run out of the station before I could catch her, so I handed it to the ride op. We left SFKK cold, tired, and happy, and passed out for the night. Ride count: Greezed Lightnin - 8 Thunder Run - 5 Giant Wheel - 2 Roadrunner Express - 2 Flying Dutchman - 1 Bluebeard's Bounty - 1 Enterprise - 1 Himalaya - 1 STAY TUNED!

I am just glad that people like this do not go to Holiday World, or even know where it is. I think I still have PTC train imprints on my left side from all those rides on Legend on Sunday.. but hey, it's worth it.

Agreed. I've pretty much said the same thing myself. I was also part of the 3%. I visited 5 times, and was a season pass holder. Let's just say that I have never been so blown away by a park that I've considered getting a season pass within the first hour of my first visit. I highly suggest that any self respecting coaster enthusiast who has not been there should go.. HW is 260 miles from my house and crosses a time zone, but trust me, it is well worth the trip.

I'm sorry. It just reminds me of when Tom and I went to SFKK. The park opened at 11 am.. we got there at 11:30 am.. they announced at 12:15 pm that they were closing at 12:30 pm for the rest of the day due to rain (IT WAS BARELY SPRINKLING!!). And on Chang's last operating day at that park, I might add. FAIL. So I suppose that remembering such a craptacular incident may have been what prompted part of the disgust in my previous comment.

I feel bad for my friend Schuyler. He and his friends drove down from Bowling Green (Ohio) to go to KI to find that they were closed. That's a 3 hour drive. His response to my apology: "Well they decided to close it like an hour ago. I feel like that's something a park should do a day in advance." I'm sorry, but I have to agree with him there.

As far as I know, Diamondback. Weirdly enough, the second coaster that comes to mind is Wicked Twister at Cedar Point.. or Magnum XL-200. I don't have a count on either one, but WT is rarely more than a walk on, so my friends and I always take full advantage. And I just can't get enough of Maggie.

That chain does unhook pretty easily.

I'd forgotten about that. I in no way meant to demoralize or insult Cedar Point in my previous posts, I was merely trying to point out a difference in the way each park handles an event. Anyone who has been to the park with me KNOWS how much I love it.. they just have a way of organizing enthusiast events that I don't find particularly appealing. Last year, HW closed to the public Friday night, and held ERT for enthusiasts only. Then on Saturday, the park opened to enthusiasts before it opened to the public, we got walkbacks on all 3 woodies (each walkback took us ALL THE WAY BACK!), and then closed to the public for a few hours of ERT on all three woodies. I even shook hands with Korey Keipert from the Gravity Group. IT. WAS. AH-MAZING. I highly suggest that any self respecting coaster enthusiast who has never been to this event make plans to go to it. And yes, Voyage can not be hyped enough.. several months of friends raving about it did not prepare me for that insane, out of control, breathtaking coaster.. it even left ME speechless afterward (which is pretty hard to do ). You will NOT be disappointed.

Not what I meant. I meant people who think "more coasters equal better parks" just make no sense to me. Simmer down, you know I love ya.

If someone says that CP is the best park cause they have the most coasters, I agree. That's a horrible way to judge a park. That statement is why CP is not my favorite park. Thanks for pointing that out. You're welcome. Holiday World is truly a hidden gem, and knowing that people are going to shun the family owned and operated park for the big flashy money-hungry park "because they have more coasters" simply makes me shake my head in disgust.

That's the problem. ERT at Cedar Point is always packed, and the no reride policy kind of blows. On Maverick ERT night, I got 6 Mav rides in one hour. I've been to CP on a cool Sunday when it's 10 times less crowded than it was during an enthusiast event. ERT at Holiday World is pretty much a station wait.. that and they let you reride as much as you want, event or no event. I got 3 Voyage rides in less than 15 minutes at HoliWood Nights. CM offered us coffee, donuts, and OJ at only 2 ERT rides for breakfast. HW Nights took us ALL to the water park, sat us down, and offered us milk, orange juice, fresh fruit, and muffins for breakfast. HW Nights has ERT before and after the park closes, including ERT in their outstanding waterpark, and they run ERT until past midnight on all three top notch woodies. AND they run their coasters in the pouring rain.. plus their food is cheaper, their park is cleaner, and their employees are friendlier. More coasters isn't always better.. CP chooses quantity, HW chooses quality. It's HoliWood Nights for me, hands down (or shall I say hands up? ).

Completely agree. If they are the same weekend, I will undoubtedly go to HoliWood Nights.

Last Friday I heard the girl in front of me on the DB lift hill look at her friend and say, "This is like The Racer on crack."

Racer was the first thing I thought of when I thought "the average coaster." Although average on a larger scale seems like Millennium Force or Diamondback to me. Angie, who thinks in strange ways

ROFLMAO! THE FRICKIN THING GOES 93 MILES AN HOUR!! How much more "express" can you get?

What? I don't understand.

Really. I can't tell you how many scareactors brushed up against me on both Friday and Saturday night. I was checking my clothes for fake blood after every maze.

He wore a DB shirt under a Maverick shirt, and was carrying his hoodie. He took off his Maverick shirt so he could wear his DB shirt for his 100th ride, and tucked them both under his arm. He got to the station and realized his hoodie was still there, but his shirt wasn't.

Almost as if they were saying, "NO! GO HERE INSTEAD!" Which is exactly what we ended up doing after SFKK closed after less than 2 hours of operation.. FAIL, I SAY.

I would definitely leave Urgent Scare, Cornstalkers, and Club Blood the way they are. I think it would be interesting to have (don't laugh, yes, I work at one) a maze themed to a gas station. Something with robbers holding up the cashier and threatening the people who walk through, scareactors jumping out of cooler doors, gas hoses spraying in spots, people screaming and dying in bloody flaming pools of gasoline, hobos eating out of the wreckage of the shelves, maybe a car accident. I would have more people jumping out in the ends of the mazes. I noticed some of them didn't jump out until after we had walked by, and no one was behind us. Hide some of the roamers in the dense fog clouds on the midway. I walked through them expecting to be scared to death.. not once did that happen. As far as fog goes, use a LITTLE less in the mazes. I understand that it's meant to be creepy and scary, but not to the point where scareactors have to point us in the right direction because we can't see 2 inches in front of our face. I'd also use the fog around the rides. Action Zone looks TERRIFIC in the fog, especially at night, and made for an amazing ride experience on Drop Tower. I also overheard people raving about their foggy night rides on Skyflyer. I'd use the fog on AE, Beast, and DB.. I imagine they would all be fantastic foggy night rides!

I was curious to know the story of Tower Johnny too, but was too afraid to ask.. usually when I ask questions, I get looked at like I just announced that I was born on Jupiter.

crud. I forgot to re-join when I changed my phone number. I'll shoot you a text or an AIM message or something (if that works).

That was Ryan's idea. The BoddaH can be quite amusing. I found it FAR more hilarious than what I was originally going to send you, which was a 5 letter word that rhymed with ditch.. haha, you know I love you.

TOTALLY agree with Voyage.. although Maverick was the first to come to mind.