2006 - Midwest Voyage

Have something cool coming up you want to do? Have an idea of something we should do? Want to join us at our next outing? Come here and find out what's going on where!

Moderators: radial, AMartin777

User avatar
MarkT
Chicken Little
Posts: 6
Joined: Sat Apr 01, 2006 12:18 pm
Location: Kannapolis
Contact:

Post by MarkT »

I'm on the fence about Beech Bend. As much as I want to go I'll have to wait a bit before making up my mind.

I understand about car issues. My ideas on cars is they are a losing battle. You either get a decent used car, hopefuly without payments, and instead spend monthly $ on repair, or, you get a new car with high payments and prey you didn't get a lemon and it lasts as long as your payments.

For me, I do the used car bit as I am my own mechanic. 8)
Image
User avatar
Jonathan
Omnipresent Chicken
Posts: 882
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:53 am
Location: Raleigh
Contact:

Post by Jonathan »

OH SNAP.

Looked at the web cam this afternoon, and what did I see?

Image

OMF a train

According to the blog it has been testing successfully. Hopefully they will post some better pics of it in action soon.

Image

Image

Image

"OH SNAP"

Image
User avatar
bgwfreak777
Omnipresent Chicken
Posts: 599
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:43 am
Location: Charlotte, NC
Contact:

Six flags St. Louis

Post by bgwfreak777 »

Hello all,

I am planning on hitting Six flags St. Louis on that Friday during the day (since I've already been to red neck kingdom before).

I've got a season pass and I haven't been to St. Louie yet (the park or city).

So I will be leaving probably around 7:30 that morning if anyone wants to tag along with me I can fit about 3 in my bug. Unless you have long legs or are very tall, then the back is out of the question. I'm 5.9 and I can barely sit in the back seat.

My plan is to be at the park at 10:00 CST and leave around 3:00. It's a 3 hour drive and Holiday World said they will have the gates open for us to come in the park any time until 10:00pm.
User avatar
Jonathan
Omnipresent Chicken
Posts: 882
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:53 am
Location: Raleigh
Contact:

Post by Jonathan »

There are now a handful of people who know just how good Voyage is:

Image

Image
User avatar
AMartin777
OmniPotent Chicken
Posts: 1018
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:47 am

Post by AMartin777 »

Am I jealous? Oh yes, I am jealous...
Are we happy? Oh yes, we are soooooo happy! :D
Image
User avatar
Jonathan
Omnipresent Chicken
Posts: 882
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:53 am
Location: Raleigh
Contact:

Post by Jonathan »

On Thursday, April 20, I took the first ride on The Voyage.

On the first train, I rode with Steve Meunier (Director of Development) in the front seat. Mike Kamp (Director of Safety and Maintenance) and Jeff Mason (Construction Foreman) rode in the seat behind us.

I'd decided to try the front seat first because I wanted the most open view possible on the first ride. The station was packed with Holiday World employees, including Luis, Obri, and Jose (former Custom Coasters employees who were part of our coaster-experienced construction crew), and their entire crew.

It's hard to describe what a ride like this is like.

First, there's the thrill of actually experiencing something that we'd worked on so hard and so long. We'd started the project in earnest at IAAPA 2004, when we'd reviewed preliminary designs with Larry Bill, Chad Miller, Michael Graham, and Korey Kiepert of The Gravity Group.

This ride represents my vision of what an ultimate out-and-back-style roller coaster should be.

In all honesty, this coaster matches my initial vision more closely than our first two projects, Raven and Legend. It really is exactly what we envisioned and asked Gravity Group to design those 18 months ago.

Second, is the context within which all of this is occurring. During the past three weeks, our construction site has been an amazing zone of productivity. We have so many people (200 at last estimate) working so hard, and accomplishing so much in such a short time. I visit the site twice a day unless there's something specific I need to check on, and every time I visit, there is visible progress. So, the opening of The Voyage is one step in this amazing process of getting Thanksgiving and Bahari River prepared for opening day.

Third, is the raw pride that I feel in our family park as a whole. We've done so much in so few years, and have grown our park so much, while retaining family ownership and control. The Voyage is a new symbol of what we've accomplished during recent history, and of what we will do over the next 10 years. This isn't the end our growth cycle, it's a "midpoint."

I also take great pride in the level of commitment and productivity our wonderful team exhibits on a daily basis. It is such a pleasure to get to lead an organization that is so committed and devoted.

So, that's the "pre-ride" environment.

Then, we give the word, the brakes release, and we're rolling out of the station toward the lift hill.

While I love launch coasters, there's something to be said for the build-up of anticipation ascending a traditional lift hill.

As we ascend, I look back toward Holiday World and Splashin' Safari, admiring the view. It's beautiful in all directions. To our left, I notice that we've poured the concrete walkway leading from The Wave to Bahari River, taking that project one step closer to completion.

This is a big lift hill, and the feeling of being "way up there" sets the tone for the beginning of the ride. The first drop is 66 degrees (did I mention steepest on any U.S. wooden coaster?).

Hanging over the crest waiting to release, the hill looked and felt vertical.

Then we were off.

The first three air hills were very good. This was only the 24th circuit for the track and train, so I know it'll continue to get faster and faster. This increase in speed will have a big impact on the air moments on the hills on the out-run.

We caught great air on this ride, but I know the air hills will get better and better as the trains and track break in. In addition, I would find out shortly that the difference between the front and back seats on this ride is amazing. The Voyage, like Raven and Legend, is a back-seat ride. With a seven-car train, the difference between front and back is greater than on the Raven and Legend's six-car trains.

One of the first big surprises for me was the cool air in the first tunnel. The difference in air temperature was striking, and I'm sure our riders during the summer will really appreciate the cool moments in the tunnels.

In the front seat, the crest of the fourth hill was a little disappointing. It's better in the back seat, and again, I'm sure will improve dramatically with break-in. To me, this is the beginning of the turn-around, which feels like the "second part" of this monster ride.

The track gets very twisty all of a sudden. The pace picks up nicely. The Gravity Group Guys have done an incredible job filling every moment with something interesting, and keeping new things coming all the time.

Riders who've done the online ride will notice many subtle changes from that version to the finished product.

Thank The Gravity Group for not leaving well enough alone!

One of the great things about the turnaround is that it's completely hidden until you ride it. Because the bottom of the hill (the turnaround curve itself) is about 60 feet lower than the crest of the hill, and we chose to keep the track low and fast in the turnaround, this is a high speed, exciting element.

As we start back up the hill, we go through the reverse-banked curve (nice touch--adds variety), and then enter the back-to-back 90's.

This works very nicely, and is just a nice bit of track.

The 90's aren't a gimmick. They just work as track elements, and feel like a very natural part of the ride. In the front seat, I felt that the second 90-degree section was a little slow, but the push we felt as we passed through the curve and headed for tunnel three and the exit from the turn-around gave a big hint that this element would feel very different in the back seat, and as break-in progressed.

So, then, tunnel three, and a slow climb onto the spacing brake. This works exactly as I'd hoped. You kind of catch your breath, and enjoy the pause. I have a hunch many of our riders this summer will think the ride is slowing down and nearing the end.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth.

From here on, the ride accelerates relentlessly, as the pacing increases from medium to crazy.

The first element after the spacing brake is the underground triple down. I thought this worked extremely well. We're not moving extremely fast yet, but the three drops in the tunnel are a great "kick-off" to the "third part" of this ride. For me, this is the best part of the ride.

One of my fears in building such a long ride with only one lift hill was that the ride would run out of gas at the end. However, our topography is now working for us, as we accelerate down the hill toward the station. The pacing here works exactly as intended, with the time interval between "elements" getting shorter and shorter as we near the end.

As we roll down hill, the station gets closer and closer. The track entering and exiting the station and leading into tunnel five is some of the best on the ride.

I think many of our Guests will have forgotten by this point that the ride doesn't end at the station, but goes through it.

After exiting the station, the final section of track leading to the brake run is an exclamation point on the end of the ride.

This very long coaster ends with a bang.

We have plenty of energy left for a big finish and to hit the brake run strong. This track is also the most visible part of the ride for spectator viewing, and I'm sure will draw plenty of attention from both riders and non-riders.

I'm almost a little embarrassed to admit that the conclusion is almost a little more than I bargained for. At the end of this long ride, I almost found myself feeling ready for the ride to just end.

ALMOST.

I guess to summarize, it was everything I'd dreamed of. The Gravity Group outdid themselves in tweaking the design, and maximizing every moment.

Luis's track work is excellent.

Particularly in the high-speed sections, where the ride could be marred by a bad shimmy, the train moves very well. And I'm optimistic that the steel structure (and thicker side steel) will help us to postpone major track work for a very long time. It is a great ride now, and as it breaks in, it'll only get better.

Earlier, I mentioned that this is a back-seat ride. My first back-seat ride came about 40 minutes after my first front-seat ride. To me, the difference was striking.

Where there were a few slow moments in the front seat, in the back seat, there were no slow spots to gripe about. I've said many times that the best measure of a ride is the riders' expressions at the end. I couldn't see my own face after my first back seat ride.

But I know how I felt. I think my face showed my sense of awe.

After just a few more than 30 cycles, this was already an amazing ride.

It's hard to imagine what this ride will be like during the heat of the summer, after a thorough break-in period.

I think it's safe to say that a new era in wooden roller coasters has begun.

What a wonderful Voyage it is going to be!
Image
User avatar
montumax
Chicken on a Stick
Posts: 34
Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2006 5:51 pm
Location: Earl
Contact:

Post by montumax »

Yes, it looks like I will be going to RumbleFest after HWN. Does anybody gave any recommendations for me to stay near Beech Bend?

Max
User avatar
AMartin777
OmniPotent Chicken
Posts: 1018
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:47 am

Post by AMartin777 »

montumax wrote:Yes, it looks like I will be going to RumbleFest after HWN. Does anybody gave any recommendations for me to stay near Beech Bend?

Max
Well Max, we are staying at the Comfort Inn in Bowling Green. I assume it's not too far from the park.
Image
coasterfanatic
Chicken Little
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:07 am
Location: Weirton, WV
Contact:

Post by coasterfanatic »

Catrina and I's schedule for the weekend:

Thursday - Leave WV
Friday Morning - PKI (Still need to snag the IJ credit)
Friday Night - Holiday World
Saturday - Holiday World (We will be up early for the Water ERT)
Sunday - Beech Bend
Monday - Travel back to WV

Still haven't booked the hotel for Bowling Green. Is Comfort Inn the hotel of choice. Would like to hang out with some of the fine Whootah folks!
- Ted
User avatar
AMartin777
OmniPotent Chicken
Posts: 1018
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:47 am

Post by AMartin777 »

coasterfanatic wrote:Catrina and I's schedule for the weekend:

Thursday - Leave WV
Friday Morning - PKI (Still need to snag the IJ credit)
Friday Night - Holiday World
Saturday - Holiday World (We will be up early for the Water ERT)
Sunday - Beech Bend
Monday - Travel back to WV

Still haven't booked the hotel for Bowling Green. Is Comfort Inn the hotel of choice. Would like to hang out with some of the fine Whootah folks!
Yea, the Confort Inn is where we are gonna be. A little coordination should lead to us all getting together at HW too! Dave, you and Catrina, Jonathan, Chicken, John and Myself at the least!

Ted, I think one of us should take the lead on finding a location in BG that will provide the opportunity to get lit after the event on Sunday night. PS - I'm a liqour drinker so a place that serves beer and other forms of alcohol based elixers would be nice!
Image
User avatar
Jonathan
Omnipresent Chicken
Posts: 882
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:53 am
Location: Raleigh
Contact:

Post by Jonathan »

Also, since a certain member of our party won't be able to partake in such activities until September, a place that allows underage folks inside would be good as well. Or, a fake ID. That would also work.
coasterfanatic
Chicken Little
Posts: 9
Joined: Tue Apr 25, 2006 11:07 am
Location: Weirton, WV
Contact:

Post by coasterfanatic »

Ted, I think one of us should take the lead on finding a location in BG that will provide the opportunity to get lit after the event on Sunday night.
Sounds good to me. There is always one of the hotel rooms. Maybe we should make it BYOB!
- Ted
User avatar
AMartin777
OmniPotent Chicken
Posts: 1018
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:47 am

Post by AMartin777 »

Jonathan wrote:Also, since a certain member of our party won't be able to partake in such activities until September, a place that allows underage folks inside would be good as well. Or, a fake ID. That would also work.
Ohh yes, that's right. One of us is in "no man's land" when it comes to age. Not old enough to drink, not young enough to be acceptably irresponsible. I think we can arrange so that it works for everyone. :)
Image
User avatar
Jonathan
Omnipresent Chicken
Posts: 882
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:53 am
Location: Raleigh
Contact:

Post by Jonathan »

http://holidayworld.com/voyage_video.html

JESUS H CHRIST

That thing FLIES
User avatar
Jonathan
Omnipresent Chicken
Posts: 882
Joined: Tue Jul 05, 2005 8:53 am
Location: Raleigh
Contact:

Post by Jonathan »

I suggest that we pay the extra $19.99 and spend Friday at Holiday World.
Post Reply