Park Thoughts

We asked for your thoughts on water parks!  What did you think of them?  Great place to spend a hot day?  Hate them?  Maybe you love the idea but just isn’t your thing.  We asked Park Thoughts readers and an overwelming majority chose the 1st answer: “Love them, great way to cool off in the summer.”  Coming in 2nd with the votes was “Don’t care, great business idea, just not for me.”  And with nearly no votes was the final option: “They’re Horrible, tear them down!“

It appears that the water park is in fact a very popular place to cool down.  It doesn’t help that water slides like Bakuli (pictured in the poll header for this poll) are bridging the gap between roller coasters in water slides.  Thanks to technology, slide designers are able to do more with a rubber intertube and plexiglass slide than ever before.  Whether your favorite slide goes up hill, around a toilet bowl, or through a funnel, it seems like water slides are a real winner with parks these days.

 Loading ...

New poll!

For the next two weeks Park Thoughts readers are participating in a battle of the characters!  Of course Universal and Disney focus heavily on movie/character tie-ins as a big draw for their parks, but recently more and more parks have been bringing in characters to help their attendance.  Cedar Fair has been adding Planet Snoopy areas to their parks in the past few years and plans on adding three more in 2011.

But Cedar Fair isn’t the only ones!  We want you to decide on which characters you think best fit in the theme park world?  Is it Six Flags and the classic Looney Toons?  A wide variety of characters ranging from Tasmanian Devil to Bugs Bunny.  Perhaps it is Cedar Fair with the Peanuts gang?  Charlie Brown, Sally, Lucy, Linus, and who can forget everyone’s favorite beagle, Snoopy!  None of the above?  Well then, how about Sesame Street friends?  These whimsical creatures of a street called Sesame are perhaps best adjusted to fit in their enviornments.  So which class of characters do you feel is best implemented into the parks?  Choose in by picking your favorite option in the poll below ↓ or on the sidebar →.

 Loading ...

Leave a comment with your park thoughts below!

Respond To This

Respond to This

Today we learned that Will Koch, President of Holiday World and one of the greats in the amusement park world passed away at the age of 48. He was a highly respected figure in the industry, known for always putting the park guest first and over the last 20 years, he turned a small, local park into one that can not only compete, but generally outshines other corporate-owned parks today. He will truly be missed.

The flags at Holiday World fly at half-staff this morning in memory of Will Koch.

Respond To This

Respond to This

Since it’s opening in 1946, Holiday World in Santa Clause, Indiana has grown to become a power house in the theme park world.  When the park originally made its debut, it claimed the title as the first theme park in the world.  It began as just a small getaway where families could have fun riding the few attractions.  Now, Holiday World has expanded into a full time resort, with a world class theme park, Holiday World, as well as an award winning water park, Splashin’ Safari.

Back in 1995, the park introduced, Raven, a Custom Coasters International creation that curved with the forest not against it.  The coaster instantly became a hit recieving numerous awards and plenty of praise.  Continuing the craze, the park added the Legend in 2000.  Another creation by Custom Coasters Inc, yet again the park did not disapoint.  And in recent years, the park has added Pilgrim’s Plunge, a revolutionary water ride, Zinga, a massive ProSlide Tornado, and the Voyage, the world’s number 1 wooden coaster.

Wildebeest, the world's longest water coaster, at Splashin' Safari. Image Copyright Holiday World

2010 marks the arrival of Wildebeest, the world’s longest water coaster.  Wildebeest hurdles riders up and over numerous hills through magnetic technology.  Riders get a roller coaster like experience on a water slide.  Also  new for 2010 will be new Timberliner trains, made by the Gravity Group for the Voyage.  These new trains will create a much smoother voyage, for riders.

Park Thoughts had a chat with Paula Werne of Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari for a quick chat about Wildebeest, Timberliner Trains, and the park itself.  You might be surprised by her responses:

1. At what point in time did the park start considering the addition of Wildebeest? And for that matter, how far in advance does the park look for future additions?

Oh, we’ve been thinking about adding a water coaster for years. We studied all the different types, looking for the most exciting model with the highest capacity. We found that with Wildebeest.

2. What prompted the decision to replace the original PTC trains with the new Gravity Group Timberliner trains on the Voyage?

Since The Gravity Group designed these trains with The Voyage in mind, we were of course intrigued. TGG tested their prototype on The Raven a year ago and we truly liked what we saw. We thrilled to be able to have the first set.

3. Holiday World has some of the best wooden coasters in the world, the Raven, the Voyage, and the Legend.  Have you ever considered a major steel coaster?

Oh, we’re always talking … some folks post that they “know” we’ll never add a steelie. I wonder where they got that?

4. Can we expect to see the addition of unique, record breaking attractions as a continuing trend at Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari?

Well, not *every* season, but we definitely like to shake things up a bit. Sometimes just adding a bit of height or length can make the ride a record breaker. What’s not to love about that?

We would like to thank Paula and the rest of Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari for taking the time to answer our questions.  We hope you enjoyed it.  Leave a comment with your Park Thoughts below.

Respond To This

Respond to This

With just a few more weeks before the opening of Holiday World, the park is putting on the final details for excited guests.   2010 will bring Wildebeest, the world’s longest water coaster, new trains for the Voyage, and Real Country, a ...

Read the entire post »

Respond to This

Time to wrap up some of the recent news.

Six Flags America announced that the park’s new Thomas Town area will be making it’s grand debut around June 5th, 2010.  The opening will be done just in time for the upcoming Thomas ...

Read the entire post »

Respond to This

Both, Holiday World and Gravity Group are preparing for the arrival of the new Timberliner trains for The Voyage.  Holiday World has added a new gallery to their Facebook page about the preparation for the ride and Gravity ...

Read the entire post »

Respond to This

The HoliBlog recently teamed up with the great guys at Gravity Group to show off some of the features of the upcoming Timberliner trains ...

Read the entire post »

Respond to This