http://www.holidayworld.com/66days/
DAY 1
At last the day is here. After years of planning, we depart for the New World. The children can barely contain their excitement. I tell them they must be patient. And so must I. - See more at: http://www.holidayworld.com/66days/#sthash.9dS8oLT6.dpufDAY 2
The beauty of the ocean is indescribable. But still, its strength and power is frightening to me. We will not see land again for many days. - See more at: http://www.holidayworld.com/66days/#sthash.9dS8oLT6.dpufDAY 3
A member of the crew – a quartermaster – befriended the children today. He explained that gulls will not follow us far out to sea, teasing that we will forget the very likeness of a bird before we see land again. To comfort them, I was able to sketch a gull before the sun set, extinguishing our light.DAY 4 (just today)
We are told to remain below, however the children beg to stay on the deck of what they call “our Mayflower.” They are full of good cheer and stare endlessly at first the sky and then the sea, dreaming of what is to come.It seems like they're theming whatever ride this will be to the Mayflower. More evidence comes from Screamscape, where there are pictures posted of land clearing going on by Voyage:
2015 - New Attraction / Steel Coaster - (5/22/14) Have you been following along with 66 Days At Sea? So far it is playing along, as it should, like a set of diary entries as told by a mother making the journey across the Atlantic to the new world. It has got be thinking however… with the closure of Pilgrim’s Plunge (Giraffica), what would really be a great new attraction for the park, and unique to the area, would be some kind of water coaster attraction, similar to the Mack made Journey To Atlantis ride systems we’ve seen built at the SeaWorld parks. The combination flume / coaster ride concept could very well stand in to replicate the long journey at sea experience by the Pilgrims making the ocean crossing, with a well timed coaster portion of track to serve as a thrilling encounter with a storm at sea, before they make a final arrival (and splashdown) in the new world where guests exit into the Thanksgiving area of the park. (I like it!!)
Of course the other rumors about just what may be on the way are running the gambit of options… from a thrilling new steel coaster ride through the woods (also a good idea), to a new Gravity Group wooden coaster concept with inversions (and Timberliner trains), to a wild idea that would see The Voyage closed early for the season in late July, only to reopen next season aften being given a New Texas Giant / Iron Rattler style makeover as a hybrid coaster experience with overbanked turns and inversions.
To be honest, I can’t rule anything out at this point, as Holiday World has proven over the years to be mysterious and able to keep their secrets kept very close to the vest until they are ready to make the big announcement. So I can only say… stay tuned to 66DaysAtSea for the next couple months while we try to figure it out and decipher any clues they choose to drop.
(5/20/14) The big news from Holiday World this week was the launch of a new teaser website about the 2015 addition at www.66daysatsea.com. Each day you can follow along with the journey as they approach the big announcement to be made on July 24th. Some other interesting comments can also be found on the HoliBlog.
(4/30/14) Screamscape spies have sent in a couple of pictures showing off the approximate location of where Holiday World may have started clearing in the forest to make room for an unknown 2015 new coaster. It’s not much to look at yet, but gives us an idea of where to keep looking as the season goes on. As previously reported, this area is said to be in the vicinity of the second drop on The Voyage.
(4/26/14) It is still early to know for sure what Holiday World has planned for 2015, but according to one source, the park may finally be looking to add their first large steel coaster. They also claim that some early ground work (or site testing) may be going on in the woods out back by Voyager.
(10/10/12) Holiday World talks to the local news about their new Happy Halloween Weekends event and also confirms that they will likely not have a new project for 2013. But they also mention that they have big projects in the works for 2014, 2015 and 2016 already.Judging by the rumors, I believe there are two main options:
1. Holiday World goes for their first major steel coaster.
I believe they are pretty overdue for a new coaster, since Voyage, their last installment, opened in 2006. I also think it is time they get their first major steel coaster. As for what type?
Well, it's pretty out there, since, again, they have yet to install any major steel coasters. I'd guess a looper of some kind, possibly a B&M. I'm not sure what particular type HW would install. It could be anything, from a Floorless to even one of the new Wing Coasters.
Flyers haven't been installed in the USA for a long time, so I wouldn't count on it. That being said, it could happen, as we did see Kings Island resurrect the B&M Inverted in the USA with Banshee this year. HW could very well do the same with the Flying Coaster.
Though with that said, Kings Island did just install Banshee nearby, so I'd guess they want something unique to that competing market. That takes out Inverted Coasters.
A hyper just doesn't seem right for a park like Holiday World, unless it was a mini-hyper like Hollywood Dream. That park is pretty family oriented, so I would guess they don't want anything too big. Also, the park should start entering the inversion market, since they, again, have no inversions *cough*variety*cough*. So I'd say no hyper.
A Stand-Up is unlikely, because the popularity of those things have been gone since the beginning of the millennium. Unless they buy a Stand-Up from some other park (like a SF or Cedar Fair park) which would be a slap in the face (plus I don't think HW would even consider getting a relocated coaster), it just won't happen.
A Dive Machine, unless it's like Krake at Heide Park, I cannot see going to this park. Again, this place is family-oriented, and a dive machine the size of SheiKra and Griffon would be pretty extreme for this park. A Dive Machine, though, would stick out in the region.
A Sit-Down, I can see happening, around Kumba and Wildfire caliber. But I'd say they would want a Floorless over a Sit-Down.
A Floorless is very likely. It would stick out in the region, and give HW some of the inversions it needs. It has a similar situation with the flying coaster; not much installed in the USA as of lately. KI brought back the Inverted, like I said. HW could do the same with a Floorless. I definitely can see this happening. This would be my first option.
A Wing is also likely. It's a popular product, that's continuing to be installed in other parks. As of now, I've heard nothing about Wing Coasters being installed next year, but a SF park could be planning a surprise (like SFGAm's installations of X-Flight and Goliath). The only issue with this is that two nearby parks have gotten Wing Coasters recently: SFGAm with X-Flight and Cedar Point with GateKeeper. I'd guess they want something a little more... well, unique in the region. Though, like I said, Wing Coasters are getting popular as of lately, so that's my next option.
Of course, there are other steel coaster possibilities, but I think they would go with either a B&M Floorless or a B&M Wing Coaster. But here's what I really really think will happen. This is another growing product, that has installed some of their products and have become huge successes.
2.
Voyage has been rejected the Timberliners they were supposed to get for years, and the ride just isn't as great as it was in it's heyday (according to some, it was epic and it was just eight years ago). So what better way to remedy this denial, than to transform it into something even more spectacular.
If you haven't figured it out from the word "transform," here it is:
IRON VOYAGE - An RMC Iron Horse retrack of Voyage. Keep the height, but steepen the drop to 80-85 degrees. Keep the first two airtime hills as they are, as well as the portion with the first three tunnels. During the next sections, add beyond 90 degree banked turns, and possibly a barrel roll in the section that goes over the lift.
I'll look at the layout a bit, but from what I've seen, I think this ride has potential for a kick-ass layout much like Texas Giant and Iron Rattler. It could very well also restore the ride to it's awesome glory that it had when it opened.
Also it looks like the announcement will come sometime in late July, which would be a nice cue to close Voyage (according to the Screamscape). Also seeing that the land clearing is taking place by Voyage (with the addition being in the Thanksgiving section too), could this be evidence of an expanded layout of some kind in the works?
So, that's my two cents. I am pretty sure it will be one of these two options, but Holiday World apparently can be unpredictable. We'll probably see more evidence in the coming months, so stay tuned with this rather interesting project.
No comments:
Post a Comment