TR: Holiday World 05/11-12/2001 (Stark Raven Mad)
Dave Althoff Jr
Trip Report: Holiday World
Santa Claus, Indiana - 05/11-12/2001
====================================
"This year's event was a bell-ringer."
There are two annual coaster events that seem to be "must-do" events.
One, of course, is the Phabulous Phoenix Phall Phun Phest (PPPPP) at
Knoebel's in the autumn. That's understandable because ever since
Knoebel's relocated the Phoenix and preserved a top-ten ride, the park
has been a favorite among coaster nuts. Add a traditional park
seemingly custom-built for enthusiasts tastes, and you have a great
event. Besides, at that point in the season, there isn't much else
going on.
At the other end of the season there is Holiday World's Stark Raven
Mad. Holiday World is the original theme park, geared specifically to
families, especially those with small children. Several years ago,
Holiday World's forest became home to the Raven, an unexpectedly wild
coaster with some exceptional design elements including an incredible
fifth drop. Last year, Holiday World added The Legend, which winds
around over the log flume and waterpark. Like the Raven, The Legend
is a surprisingly aggressive ride. Add to all that the Koch family,
who treat all of their customers like VIPs to begin with, then extend
even greater hospitality to coaster nuts. What a combination: Two
awesome roller coasters run by fantastic park operators, combined with
a wild party especially for coaster nuts. Who could ask for anything
more? It's no wonder that some 650 people showed up for the largest
Stark Raven Mad event ever!
For me, the fun started at noontime on Friday. I was supposed to
collect John Peck and Brad Sherman from their apartment at about
12:30, so I packed up the car. Clothing, camera, spare tapes, battery
charger...I know I have a videotape for Paul Drabek here
someplace...(unfortunately I never found that one)...and since I have
all these tools I used last Monday to change out the water pump on the
car, I'll throw those in just to be safe. I filled the gas tank,
collected John and Brad, and just after 1:00pm we were off. The trip
down was uneventful for the first 280 miles. Then we headed on down
to Tell City, IN, the town on the river where we were staying.
Halfway down we encountered a furious, blinding rainstorm which was
highly localized. By the time we got to Tell City, the rain had quit.
We checked into our hotel. "Breakfast is from 4:30-10:30 in the
morning," we were informed. Apparently most of the people in our
hotel were in town for a fishing tournament, not a roller coaster
event. I noted that it might be 4:30 before we got back.
We checked our room, then headed for Holiday World. On the way, we
encountered another really, really intense thunderstorm, but by the
time we reached the park, the skies had dried up. We were just in
time for the official start time, but I was delayed by the walk-up
registration. I was a little disappointed that the coasters were not
yet running, but I met up with people I knew and headed for dinner.
Which was fine except that I wanted to be absolutely sure to get a
video ride on The Legend.
The Legend has a Gerstlauer train. When Gerstlauer's trains were
introduced, they had an inverted-U style 3-piece lap bar with a
small-diameter padded bar at the top end. These bars were intrusive,
leaving indequate leg room, and on a few coasters, they were breaking
into three pieces. Accordingly, Gerstlauer redesigned the lap bar.
The new bars are two-piece bars with a more roomy flat plate on the
outboard side, and a much stronger end bar design. Knowing that the
park would be full of crazy coaster people, and being a
community-minded company, Holiday World opted to sell off the old
Legend lap bars as a cancer research benefit. When he found out, Brad
just *had* to have one. So we tracked down Raven Maven Paula Werne,
who verified that there was one left, and she put Brad's name on it.
It was more or less at this point that we learned that Pat Koch is
herself a cancer patient. I never heard the nature of her case, but
she has started treatment, and it sounds like her prognosis is good.
As is typical for Stark Raven Mad, dinner was an opportunity to get
close to one another, but the banquet hall and cafe are too noisy and
too crowded for conversation. That's what midways are for. So we
finished our pizza, chips, and fudge, and headed out into the park.
My first ride of the night was in the front seat of the Legend, camera
in hand. So I was trying too hard not to smash the camera to truly
appreciate the ride. From Legend I headed to Raven in an effort to
get video there before darkness fell. It was almost embarassing...I
had complained last year about Raven not having grab bars to hold on
to, and now for my first Raven ride of the season, now that Raven has
grab bars, I wasn't going to use them, holding on to my camera
instead. I used them enough later in the evening. The grab bars
aren't the only change on Raven this year. The seat belts have been
reversed so that the non-adjustable short ends are to the outside now,
and now that the paint is safe from flailing seat belt buckles, the
plexiglass covers have been removed from the side panels of the train.
But the most dramatic change has little to do with the train. For
this season, the station has been finished with painted walls and a
metal ceiling! [Footnote 1]
The Legend footage, by the way, is fairly decent. By the time I rode
Raven it was really too dark. And besides, after the first tunnel, my
footage is marred by "Raven spit". I took the camera out to the car,
then proceeded to spend the rest of the evening riding the two
coasters. Both got progressively wilder as the night wore on. For
the most part, I was riding with Scott Short, Dave Bowers, Eric
Huelsman, John Peck, and Brad Sherman. And anybody else who happened
to be around, which means just about any coaster nut I've ever met.
Recall that The Legend's station was built to look like a one-room
schoolhouse, complete with chair-rail on the walls, a chalkboard (with
the message, "Welcome to Stark Raven Mad 2001" written on it) and a
bell on the roof.
By now, The Bell Incident has certainly become Legendary. I believe I
was riding with Scott when we stopped unexpectedly on Legend's ready
brake uptrack of the station. It took a few moments before I saw what
the hold up was. In front of us, a cast-iron bell was dangling
precariously from the roof, over the left-hand walkboard. Park staff
walked us off of the train, and I headed over to Raven, so I never saw
how they corrected the problem. But when I returned to The Legend
later, the message, "Nick will NOT operte the bell!" had been scrawled
on the chalkboard, the bell was gone, the ride was running, and the
jokes were flying. The ride had a bellhop. The event was a
bell-ringer. It was a bellbuster. Some of us just stared in
disbellief. We wondered if there would be a re-bellion by morning. I
suggested that we should notify the awards committee in Stockholm
about the gravity-defying Legend as it should now be eligible for
the...er...well, I haven't got the guts to say it... [Footnote 2
(spoiler)].
Unfortunately the crack got me a few dumb looks. What I do know is
that ten years from now a new mechanic is going to look at the daily
inspection checklist for the Legend and wonder why he has to climb up
to the roof every morning and check the @$!% bell.
The event turnout was huge, leading to long waits for the coasters.
But the fellowship was fantastic, and the coasters flew. They truly
were running "in insane mode" and I'm still trying to figure out
something I felt on The Legend. The first drop curves to the right,
then breaks left, through the tunnel and up to the first turnaround,
then down the spiral drop and over two big airtime hills. This is the
crossover past the lift hill that leads to the helix. There is a
twisting, shallow dip that leads into the first part of the helix. I
don't know how it is possible (perhaps this is what is meant by
"insane mode"), but on at least one of my rides I could swear that the
train was airborne when it went through *the lowest point* of that
dip-turn. As the night went on, the coasters got faster and wilder.
On Raven, only the increasing ride intensity made this apparent. The
Legend, on the other hand is computer controlled, and as it picked up
speed, it started overshooting the final block brake, giving us a
quantitative measurement of the increasing force of the ride; I heard
it was Paula who was putting chalk-marks on the station floor to
indicate the overshoots. Late in the evening I had walked into the
Raven station house when a downpour erupted outside. Just as I was
about to board the coaster, the rain quit, giving me the benefits of
the rain-slicked track without the attendant hassle of getting wet. I
developed a pattern: Ride the Raven, get a drink, ride the Legend,
get a drink, repeat. Could it get any better?
Turns out, it could. Because of the crowd, the ride time was extended
to 1:00am. I rejoined John and Brad, and we got as far as the parking
lot where Mike Graham showed us the train from his suspended inverted
large-scale model coaster (built for Soda Jack's somewhere in
Colorado), and I examined Brad's lap bar and pointed out how it had
been modified and how it differs from the new ones. Finally, at
nearly 2:00am, we departed for our respective hotels. We arrived at
our hotel just as the doughnuts were being delivered for the morning
continental breakfast.
Speaking of those doughnuts...we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in
Tell City. At breakfast I picked up one of those long doughnuts with
the chocolate icing on top. That's the only doughnut of that type I
have ever had that didn't have any cream filling inside whatsoever. I
felt a little like that raccoon in the Twinkies commercial ("Hey!
Where's the cream filling?"). I had slept in as late as I usefully
could, and we still arrived at the park just a few minutes after the
10:00am opening. Brad went off to join his family which had come down
for the day, and John and I were joined by Dave Bowers, Eric Huelsman,
Shawn Mamros, and much to our surprise, Scott Short who hadn't been
planning to attend this day.
We kicked off the day with rides on the coasters (of course), taking
advantage of lines that were a whole lot shorter than they had been
only hours before. Before long it was time to assemble at the
waterpark entrance for the traditional photo walk-back. This took us
around Legend, Frightful Falls, and the Raven, more or less tracing
each ride's route backwards, and ending at the Reindeer Ranch. As we
started down into the walkback area, we learned of another charity
fund-raiser: During the late-night ERT (and probably during normal
operation as well), a number of bolts had broken on the coasters, so
the park was selling those off. Coaster nuts will collect all kinds
of ride junk! On my way back up from the walk-back I chatted once
again with Paula and Dave. Paula indicated that they didn't yet have
an official attendance figure for the event, but that they thought it
was about 650 people. Dave told of the exciting things happening at
the ski resort where he works now...but hey, we still think of him in
terms of Stark Raven Mad event flyers and poetry!
Our photo safari completed, it was time to sample the rest of the
park. Scott Short had a running bet that nobody could get a Kings
Island-style cable snap out of the park's Flying Scooter, so everyone
in our small group had to give it a try. Shawn managed to get his tub
to fly backwards, but none of us was able to get that elusive snap. I
don't fully understand it, but I suspect the cables are shorter on the
Holiday World ride than on the Kings Island ride. It's still a fun
ride, though! We continued on to Hollidog's Funtown, where we didn't
climb all over the climbing structure or squeeze into the Doggone
Trail, but we did take a ride on the Howler, the Zamperla kid coaster.
Remember, sit on the left-hand side of the car, wrapping long legs
sideways around the lap bar...!
It was approaching lunchtime, and the mutual decision was made to go
to Kringle's for lunch. On the way there, we passed the bumper boats
("I don't want to have lunch in wet shorts.") and stopped at the
bumper cars. You may recall that Holiday World sold their old bumper
cars on eBay over the winter, so we knew they were getting new ones.
While waiting, we swapped stories of the best bumper cars we had
ridden. I think the ones at Oaks Park are the best I have ridden, but
most of those present hadn't been to Oaks Park and were extolling the
virtues of Knoebel's overcrowded Skooter arena. I remembered that
Holiday World's "Rough Riders" had given some pretty decent rides last
year.
Well, the new cars look great. They are variously decorated to look
like bison or horses, so you can stage a roundup right there in the
bumper car building. I looked at how the cars were equipped, and
groaned. Each car has a pair of incredibly short looped straps
wrapped around the stinger pole. We were instructed to put this belt
over one shoulder and under the opposite arm. Yeah, right. You're
kidding, certainly. That loop is so small I don't think my head will
fit through, let alone a head and one arm! I actually tried it and
realized that the strap was exerting an unacceptable pressure against
my windpipe, so I pulled my head out and draped the strap uselessly
over my left shoulder instead. Several other riders did the same, and
the attendant came around and instructed them to do otherwise, with
the strap around the neck and under one arm. For some reason, I was
not so instructed; perhaps the attendant was confused by the safety
strap on my camera bag and thought I was in compliance when I was not.
Folks, these continuous loop straps have got to be the worst idea
ever concieved for bumper cars. If a park is going to use them, then
they need to be long enough that they can go under BOTH arms, like the
strap on a Chance Twister. But why not do the obvious? Cut the strap
in half and attach a buckle. Safety belts on bumper cars are supposed
to prevent the rider from flying face-first into the steering wheel.
Putting a looped strap over one or both shoulders will not accomplish
this as the strap is too long for that. Putting the strap over one
shoulder and under the opposite arm insures that the crash force will
be concentrated in the worst possible position: the rider's neck.
Put a buckle on the strap and fasten it under both arms. Or use those
nifty lap bars that Majestic has come up with. I expected better than
this from a set of new bumper cars. Unfortunately, it got worse.
Holiday World has the coolest looking bumper cars I have ever seen,
but those cool cars are seriously lacking in horsepower. These are
apparently *geriatric* horses and buffalo, moving very VERY slowly. I
guess my concerns about crash forces with those "safety" belts are
unfounded because there are no crash forces. These cars are a huge
step backwards for Holiday World. They may well be the *worst* bumper
cars I have ridden. Perhaps the solution is as simple as a beefed-up
power supply, or just an adjustment to the ride. As those cars were
running for Stark Raven Mad, they're not even exciting enough for
small children.
On our way to lunch, our next stop was the park's Spider. Paul
Revere's Midnight Ride. Now, this ride is the antithesis of the
bumper cars. You would think that, in spite of the variations in
Eyerly Aircraft products over the years, most Spiders would give
similar rides under similar conditions, right? Wrong! The Spider at
Holiday World is a "Don't Miss!" ride with a combination of airtime
and tubs that spin faster than Twister cars in the hands of a sadistic
operator. This Spider is one of the two best I've ever ridden, the
other being the one at Camden Park. Unlike the one at Camden Park,
the one at Holiday World is (like everything else at Holiday World)
immaculately maintained, and far less likely to get grease on your
shirt.
We finally made it to Kringle's, where we all exhibited our
independence and originality by all ordering identical bacon
cheeseburgers. The burger was okay, a tremendous value (just under $5
for a complete meal!!) although it really wasn't anything spectacular.
After lunch, Scott left us to go to Kentucky Kingdom. I spent most
of the rest of the day riding Raven and The Legend, and even though I
cautioned John and Brad that, thanks to the time change, we had a
six-hour drive home (as opposed to the four-hour drive out) they were
having far too much fun to leave until almost park closing at 6pm. I
bought a very nice embroidered shirt ($9!!), and we hit the road.
Unfortunately our trip home got a little exciting just past
Louisville. I happened to glance down at the temperature gauge and
notice that the car was running a little hot, which I thought odd for
running mostly downhill at highway speeds. I pulled into a rest area
and coolant came gushing out of the water pump block seal. Thus began
our two-hour ordeal. I refilled the cooling system and limped the car
to some semblance of civilization (a Wal-Mart parking lot in
Nowheresville, KY) and the three of us set about removing and
reinstalling the car's water pump. Fortunately I had all the tools I
needed to do the job. Remember when I said I packed all the right
tools?? Was I ever glad I had done that!! 90 minutes (and $15 for
RTV sealant, flashlights, paper towels, a prophylactic bottle of
stop-leak, and a gallon of coolant) later we were on the road again.
200 miles later, we were back home, late enough for me to cancel my
plans to spend Sunday at Cedar Point. Oh, well, it's not as though I
didn't have lots of fun over the weekend. Holiday World is just as
fabulous as it ever was, Raven and The Legend are better than ever,
the bottomless drinks are one of the best ideas in the industry (and
make the park's other addition, the waterless urinals in the one men's
room, seem somehow appropriate), and the new bumper cars are terrible.
But Stark Raven Mad proved once again to be one of the best events of
the season. Many thanks to Will, Pat, Brandon, Paula, Santa, and the
countless other Holiday World people who make the oldest theme park in
America also one of the very nicest to visit. I'm looking forward to
coming back...if nothing else, Stark Raven Mad 2002 is only twelve
months away!
--Dave Althoff, Jr.
Footnote 1: From its first season, the Raven has had an unfinished
loading platform. The exterior looks like a house of some kind, but
on the inside the studs, roof trusses, and the back side of the outer
sheathing has always been visible and unpainted. Now the studs and
trusses are covered, and the interior walls are painted.
Footnote 2: Okay, since most people don't get it, I guess it has to
be said: "the No-Bell Prize."
--DCAjr
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Dave Sandborg
on, Dave Althoff Jr <dal...@gcfn.org> wrote:
> There is a
> twisting, shallow dip that leads into the first part of the helix. I
> don't know how it is possible (perhaps this is what is meant by
> "insane mode"), but on at least one of my rides I could swear that the
> train was airborne when it went through *the lowest point* of that
> dip-turn.
This particular dip is a "magic" moment of the ride for me. I never
quite perceived it in those terms, but I have never quite figured out
exactly what happens at that point either. I *suspect* it's something
like Rampage's last drop, in which one gets forces in all four
directions within a fraction of a second. Whatever it is that actually
happens there, amidst all of the intensity it's my favorite moment of
the ride.
--
Dave Sandborg
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