I have been really slow around here with the TR's. Let me try to catch back up....
Holiday World
Date: May 15, 2006
We arrived at the park right before opening, and I got the club discount rate. Its a good thing too, because I would have felt more than ripped off otherwise. I'm sorry but the park is overpriced compared to the industry standards - Cedar Point is only $3 more expensive, and though I think its under-priced, it offers a lot more than Holiday World. Yea, parking and a waterpark is included, but the perception of value for HW is horrible, in my opinion. Moving through the gates, we headed back to the Voyage.
Once we got back to the new Thanksgiving section, it didnt take long to realize that they were only running one train. On a three minute ride, this can cause for some lines. Fortunately, crowds were pretty light, but that doesn't mean middle rows didn't spawn 15-20 minute waits most of the day, with half an hour standard for the front or back by mid-day. That's pretty rediculous if you have three trains... put two on the tracks! Thats inexcusable, IMO.
As for the ride, I ended up riding 4 times. Once up front, three times in the back. I really liked the front best, which is rare for wood coasters in my mind, and I don't see whats so spectacular about the coaster. The air was ok, not as forceful as I expected nor as abundant. The intensity is cool but intensity doesn't make a ride great in my opinion (just ask Tsunami). A good ride, yes, but I'm not entirely sure its in my top 10 (it was initially but may have since been bumped down)
Voyage: 9/10
At that point, we were going to try to ride Gobbler Getaway, but it was still being worked on. So, we went up the hill to take a ride on Legend. The ride itself really is a legend of sorts in the coaster community, but I don't understand why. It's pretty intense, yes, but its basically a helix-centric ride, and of all the elements of a coaster to focus on, Legend picks one of the weakest. The first drop was cool as was the first hill, but after that, it was pretty pointless to me. One ride would be plenty.
Legend: 6/10
Continuing up the hill, we took a ride on the Raven first. Two woodies down, two disappointments. I figured worst comes to worst, at least I got an opprotunity to meet old man Jeff at Raven. Anyways, the ride delivered what I expected and more. There were three killer moments of airtime (whoops, probably a bad choice of words, oh well) and the jaunt through the woods was simply awesome. An excellent ride, one that I would take 5-6 laps on through the day.
Raven: 10/10
It might have been 11AM at that point, and I had already done the main attractions. So, we went ahead and did some of the flats. The flyers were pathetic, very little movement possible... quite possibly the worst in the world. Speaking of worst in the world, Liberty Launch is the weakest tower ride ever. Unfortunately, the weather was not exactly cooperating, so the waterpark would not have been a good choice. That left more rides on the woodies, a credit run on the kiddie coaster (weak - only 1 lap -
Howler: 2/10) and a lot of walking around.
Lunch was taken at the Kringle Cafe (I may be getting the name wrong but its near the Raven) where I ate a slice of pizza and part of a stromboli. The pizza was good but no industry-standard as many have said; the stromboli was downright attrocious, at least to me. The pricing was fair, but not far off what you'd expect at a corporate park.
Eventually we did get one ride on Gobbler later in the day, and though it was not finished, I was impressed with the quality of the ride. Sally put together a quality attraction considering the far-fetched storyline that HW wanted. Unfortunately, we only got one ride before it broke, but the walk-through tour was cool too
Gobbler Getaway: 9/10
After racking up more rides on the coasters, and getting bored real quick, we departed at the closing time of 6PM. I left that park overly disappointed, I didn't see it excel in anything other than being very clean. I won't turn this into an anti-Holiday World rant, but I would say its in the bottom 25% of parks I have been to. Not what I was expecting after all the awards over the years. Needless to say, I am not overly anxious to get back even though I probably will be forced to go next year.
Holiday World: 3/10
Six Flags Great America
Date: May 16, 2006
After Holiday World, I went to Louisville for dinner before R&E left, and made my way to Lafayette, IN for my hotel. I think it was a Residence Inn, and it was a fair joint. Anyways, to get to Great America, that meant I'd have to hit Chicago around 9AM... nice! Fortunately, traffic wasn't bad at all, and I made it to the park in about an hour from the IN-IL border, busting down the gates at 10AM.
My first ride was on Whizzer; I knew little about the park or its layout, but it ended up being REALLY easy to do. Whizzer was a fun ride, but not as cool as I had heard over the years. This coming from a hardcore Schwarzkopf fan, too. A good first coaster but nothing too thrilling.
Whizzer: 7/10
Continuing back, I hit Raging Bull next. The crew there was awesome, a pretty long line was eaten in 30 minutes, something Goliath GA could only dream of nowadays. Sadly, the ride isn't as good as my Goliath is - the first drop is excellent, my favorite of the B&M hypers (I really like the run-offs) but after that, the ride wasn't a very good hyper. Lots of twists, too many high-banked curves, a third hill which is castrated, and just a couple of nice bunny hops to compliment the first drop as far as air goes... very disappointing.
Raging Bull: 7/10
Next I walked over to Viper and waited one train for the back row. If this was Georgia, they would only have one train, but Great America's operations are fantastic. The Viper presented an awesome ride much like my Cyclone but without the bone-jarring experience. I ended up mini-marathoning this near the end of the day, and I'd say its probably in the middle of my top 10. All Cy-clones should be this good... and for an in-house job? Wow.
Viper: 10/10
Keeping in the circle pattern, I took a credit ride on Demon. Very mediocre ride in my mind, the brakes are on too hard.
Demon - 4/10 I did the same for American Eagle, it didn't do anything special in my mind. Limited air, a lame helix, a fairly rough ride considering its layout... sadly only one side was open (eh it leaves a credit for next year)
American Eagle: 5/10
Next up was Iron Wolf, B&M's first solo job. I was actually suprised by it, I was taken by its intensity. To me, it was a lot closer to the GA Scorcher than to a Vortex, just not quite as refined. A good ride, but not a great one.
Iron Wolf: 7/10 On my way back towards the entrance, I found Spacel'y Sprockets or whatever its called, and took a credit ride. Literally my 7th new roller skater for the year
. I then made my way to V2... yawn, I find Impulses boring.
Vertical Velocity: 6/10
The original BTR was next for me, and I enjoyed my ride.. however, deep down, its "just" a Batman so nothing too revealing to me. Major points for the water and trees as opposed to parking lot.
Batman the Ride: 9/10 The spinning coaster had a long line, so I skipped it at this time in favor for SUF. I pretty much walked on to Superman mainly due to two-train ops and a speedy loading, you won't see either in Georgia on a slow day. Eh, its still kind of boring.
Superman Ultimate Flight: 7/10
At that time, I went back and rode Raging Bull and Viper again, and then did another lap around the park, sampling their Schwarzkopf Enteprise (great), Huss Swing Around (great), Schwarzkopf Calypso (ok), Zamperla Joker (above average), Zierer Wave Swinger (good) and then eventually the Columbia Carousel, which was run incredibly slow and the artistic element of the piece wasn't even that impresssive. Very disappointing.
Overall, I was incredibly impressed with Great America. Fantastic operations, a clean and well-kept park, an emphasis on preserving the park's themes, a great assortment of flats, a nice coaster collection and what appeared to be a great waterpark. Throw in a great staff (one of the best I've ever experienced) and you've got a winner. I love Great America, I'll try to get back here every other year worst-case scenario.
Six Flags Great America: 10/10 Indiana Beach
Date: May 17, 2006
On my way back home (ok so I actually had to drive north from the hotel) I hit Indiana Beach. I only spent three hours due to the length of the drive home, but I would have gladly spent three days. Entering from the south right before opening, I went right towards the flyers.
After getting my ~$10 POP band, I walked over towards Cornball as the rides tested for the day. Cornball had formed a sizable line, so I opted for the Air Crow as it opened. Fairly-new Larson flying scooters, the ride is greatly aided by the cross-winds. Snapping wasn't easy nor as intense as the B/R flyers, but still very cool.
Air Crow: 8/10
By the time I got off, Cornball had opened up and I waited for the back row. Oh.. my.. god! What a ride, the airtime is simply amazing back there! It caused me to grin in joy, laugh at the Voyage, and race to get back in line. After a few rides, it secured a spot in my top 10, coming in at #3 (note - it has since been demoted to #4).
Cornball Express: 10/10
I then took my ride on Hoosier Hurricane, which yielded a pretty tame ride. Not the best, very Allen-esque... one ride was enough.
Hoosier Hurricane: 7/10 Keeping to the north end, I then rode the Double Shot which restored my faith in S&S towers.. GREAT air! Walking back, I got my Galaxi credit which ended up being better than I expected, really a pretty fun ride for a portable.
Galaxi: 7/10
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