I posted some initial thoughts already, but here's a "proper" trip report I did on CoasterBuzz.
Best event ever.
I recruited Kar-uh to be my marketing intern and ride pal, and she arrived at my house about noon on Friday. About six hours later we arrived in Santa Claus (with just one potty break!) and met Mike (onceler) and his wife Artemisa at the campground. The line of people checking in was crazy.
Most of the people we were hoping to see that night, including Rob (nasai) and Tomoko, were stuck somewhere in traffic between Indy and Chicago, but we got our RV, Mike and Artemisa procured supplies, and we unsuccessfully tried to start a fire.
Rob and Tomoko finally arrived and were fortunately put up in the very next RV. He sucked at fire building as well. We visited Corey and a few other cats down the road, then Kara and I took a walk, and got lost. I'm sure the alcohol had something to do with it, but honestly, that place is impossible to navigate at night. The pool and newer asphalt was familiar though, and we managed to find our way back. Don't try that at home.
Saturday we got out to the park to distribute tickets, and immediately after that, setup for the podcast recording. HW's entertainment guy, Chris, hooked us up with audio and we were off and running with a "studio audience" of a few dozen people, and the some folks from the general public that though we were going to sing and dance. They left.
Following the podcast, we knocked out a lap on each coaster. Good stuff, but they're just not the same animals that they are at night. Felt good to be on the rides, but we knew there was more to come.
Our posse went back to our RV, where I did a power nap and everyone else, well, I have no idea what they did. I was napping. Back to the park, we started the construction tour for The Voyage.
Aside from some of the lift and a couple of turns, The Voyage isn't even a shadow of what it's going to be, but even in that little piece, it's insane. Then when you go deeper into the woods and see the footers, the huge holes from the tunnels, and the land on either side of the ground-level mid-course brake, it's very clear, that this will be the most insane roller coaster ever built. I know that's a very Paul Ruben thing to say, but when you do the math and understand it'll be going 50 mph on the last drop, I just can't imagine how it could possibly suck. I am so there.
Dinner was yummy, because Holiday World makes good pizza. I only had a couple of bites of fudge, because honestly the pieces were too big, and I can't eat something that rich. The subsequent auction for the Red Cross was sweet, as they managed to collect several hundred dollars. Well done.
The exclusive ride time finally came, and it was the most intense two and a half hours of riding in my life. They were doing double visual checks of restraints, which is a shame they have to, but I totally would have as well. There are also infrared cameras on the lift and cameras all over the rides. It really is a different world now.
But enough serious stuff... If one-train waits for ERT wasn't enough, they were also doing double laps. Mike made the interesting point that for a family-oriented park, these are two of the most intense coasters anywhere. They're so physical, so fun, that it's hard to go somewhere else and ride other rides and still feel a strong attachment to coasters in general. Why can't they all be like this?
It was getting toward the end of the ERT period, when we rolled in to The Legend station after two laps. Awesome rides, but I was starting to reach the limit of what I could take. So they sent us a third time. I looked at Linda (CPLady) in the queue and just shook my head. I couldn't believe it.
But with all of that intensity came the kind of satisfaction that you get after a tough workout. You're a little sore, but you know it was totally worth it. It was totally worth it. That ended my night of riding, and I was greatly satisfied.
The party got a little nuts in the campground, as people I didn't really know wandered in and out. There were a few times where coaster discussion got a little too geeky too (how does this happen while consuming?), but overall it was a lot of fun being around friends. I seriously had the absolute best time of any event I've been to.
When we packed up our cars in the morning, it was kind of sad that it was over. The event itself was awesome, but the social aspect in the campground made it even better (or I beer-goggled how good of a time it was). I'm very grateful to the park and its staff for showing us a good time. It was really amazing to be there.
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