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Park News - (1/18/12) In an interesting turn of events the local news reports that the owners of Holiday World may be interested in taking over Kentucky Kingdom. According to the Koch family, nothing is near being finalized yet, they are just starting their initial investigation and fact finding process to even see if this is a business opportunity worth their effort to take on.
    To be brutally honest, I’d be very surprised to see Holiday World take over and reopen Kentucky Kingdom. After all, Holiday World was their closest competitor park and they have the most to gain from Kentucky Kingdom remaining closed. Plus the off-sided dealings and terms from the Kentucky State Fair Board was enough to drive away Six Flags and turn away Ed Hart, the man with the most experience to revive Kentucky Kingdom. So why would Holiday World and the Koch family want this kind of headache when they can simply keep on doing the excellent work they’ve been doing with Holiday World for years and profit from it?
    While it’s not quite the same situation, I’m reminded of when Cedar Point purchased Geauga Lake… and we know how well that ended. I can see Holiday World and the Koch family wanting to possibly expand their empire, but I think they would be better off doing it in another market and seeing if they can reenergize a failing park elsewhere with a little Holiday World magic.
    (1/13/12) You gotta love Holiday World… because there is so much to live about the park. Free sunscreen, free soda and now free WiFi throughout the entire park. This is really a feature all parks should look at offering.
    (10/24/11) Holiday World has posted a link to a new ‘tilt shift’ video shot featuring the rides and attractions of Holiday World. Check it out below.

    (9/9/11) Holiday World warns that if your planning on visiting the park in the near future, be sure to check their operational schedule on the official website. The park has three blackout dates in the near future where the park will be closed to the public, as it has been rented for a private event. The park will be closed to the public on Sept. 10, 11 and 18th.
    (6/10/11) I’m told that during the Holliwood Nights enthusiast event, Holiday World did a quick group survey of those there to see how they would feel about a possible steel coaster in the park eventually. There is also an online version of the survey you can find here where they want your opinion on just what kind of Steel coaster they should build. (Hmmm… wouldn’t it be fun to have a modern version of something like Big Bad Wolf, running through the forest, hugging the terrain under The Voyage?)

2012 - Sparkler / Zamperla Vertical Swing - (11/11/11) Holiday World has announced the new name for their new 65 ft. high in the sky spinning attraction will be Sparkler.
    (10/5/11) Holiday World is holding a contest to name their new Vertical Swing Ride, and the winner will get 4 one-day tickets to the park for the 2012 season. The ride will be located in the Forth of July section of the park, so keep that in mind as you pick your name. E-mail your entry to contest@holidayworld.com by 10am on Oct. 18 with you Name, Email, Daytime Phone Number and Mailing Address. You have to be at least 18 years old to enter and only one entry allowed per person.
    (9/29/11) Holiday World reported on Wednesday that they would be replacing their 33-year old Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride (a Spider flat ride) with a new 65 foot Zamperla Vertical Swing ride. They haven’t picked out a name for the ride yet, but you can click here to see concept artwork.

2012 - Mammoth - (1/24/12) Pictures of the massive slide tubes sections used for Mammoth at Holiday World have been posted to Facebook. SIMPLY HUGE!!
    (12/16/11) Holiday World has set up the official Mammoth Construction Cam, though I suspect it will only run in the daylight hours.
    (8/4/11) Holiday World will build Mammoth in 2012, the “NEW” World’s Longest Water Coaster. If you thought Wildebeest was awesome, as the former World’s Longest Water Coaster, you’ve got to see Mammoth. Not only is it longer, it’s biggest in ever sense of the word. A wider slide, bigger unique rafts that hold six riders, that will plunge down huge hills and then UP again using the same magnetic propulsion system used on Wildebeest. Mammoth will feature even more air-time, six large drops and five large dark tunnels along it’s 1,763 foot course.  Check out the official video preview below and then visit the official preview site to find even more. Like Wildebeest, Mammoth’s hardware will come from ProSlide.
    Oh, in addition to Mammoth, Holiday World will extend their season a bit starting next year to host a family friendly Halloween event as well.

    (8 /2/11) Apparently I’ve had this picture floating around in my mailbox for a month now, but never saw it until today. It shows off the location of several survey markers on the hillside next to Wildebeest. So is this the location of the 2012 project?
    (7/29/11) While we still don’t know exactly what Holiday World is up to, a local news station reports that the project seems to be worth about $9 million. Since they’ve focused on the waterpark the last couple of years, I’m guessing a big addition for the theme park will hopefully be on deck. And why does a park with an official Halloween land in the park, still not have a Halloween haunt style event?
    (7/27/11) Holiday World has teased that they have “big… really big” plans in store for 2012 in their latest news letter. They will unveil their plans on August 3rd, so stay tuned.

2012 -Timberliner Trains added to The Voyage - Planned - (9/7/11) With the news that Gravity Group’s Timberliner trains were no longer going to be used on the wood coaster in China, I checked in with Holiday World to see what their plans for the Timberliner trains were. According to Paula Werne, Holiday World is “still planning off-season testing with the intent to get the Timberliner trains on Voyage in 2012.”
    (3/21/11) Screamscape has received an official statement from Holiday World regarding the status of The Voyage and the Timerliner trains for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
    “In 2011, The Voyage will use two seven-car PTC trains (The Raven will have two six-car PTC trains).
    The Timberliner models tested here in 2010 will be upgraded after similar models are used at other parks this season. Because of the extreme speeds and forces on The Voyage, we feel it is better to wait until there has been a full season of Timberliner-use elsewhere (on less extreme coasters which were designed with Timberliners in mind). GravityKraft will then refurbish our trains so that we’ll have the most up-to-date models.
    We intend to introduce Voyage’s Timberliner trains at the start of the 2012 season.”
    (11/8/10) The first human “test riders” finally took a spin in the Timberliner trains on The Voyage this past week. Check out the video here.
    (8/24/10) Holiday World has posted a new video showing of the delayed Timberliner trains making a great test run on The Voyage.

    (7/12/10) Holiday World has issued an update on the Timberliner status for The Voyage. The Gravity Group are continuing the final test and adjust process on the new trains  but as the park is in the middle of the busy summer season, there just isn’t enough spare time to devote to testing the trains on the track right now. On site testing will begin again after August 15th once the park goes back to weekend only operations.
    (5/18/10) A few new pictures from Holiday World showing off The Timberliner train as well as some Wildebeest can be found here.
    (5/17/10) You can find a great close up photo of the new Timberliner train at Holiday World on The Voyage on the Coaster Warriors Facebook page.
    (1/27/10) Holiday World has posted a new piece of artwork showing off the colors that have been chosen for the new Timberliner trains coming to The Voyage this season.
    (11/10/09) Holiday World has confirmed that the first set of Timberliner trains from The Gravity Group will be added to run on The Voyage in 2010. In addition to this new train design built to allow for a more smooth and extreme ride on The Voyage, they were also designed to put less wear and tear on the track. Even better, the padded seats have been ergonomicially designed for greater comfort as well as being designed to accommodate riders with wider hips and longer legs! Two new 28 passenger trains, will be made in Indianapolis and should be ready to roll when the park opens in the spring. You can see the artwork showing off the new train design at the HoliBlog.