[RollerBee]

Out of curiosity, what is the general opinion here of Thunderbird as compared to Gatekeeper?

[Jonathan]

Well Thunderbird hasn't even opened yet so I'm not sure anyone could have too much of an opinion.

I liked Wild Eagle and The Swarm significantly more than Gatekeeper and suspect it will be the same with Thunderbird.

[Edwardo]

I've been on all three US wing riders, I've liked them all. Nothing ultra massive amazing, but they're fun, very middle of the road.

I expect the best parts of HW's wing coaster will be the launch, the theming, and the keyhole elements.

[tarheel1231]

New holiblog post with a reverse POV of Thunderbird. The transitions seem to be taken more lightly than what we saw in the sneak peak POV, but it's probably hard to judge from video alone.

[cwgator]

As far as wing coasters go, I've only been on Wild Eagle which was fun. I liked it more than the Dive Coasters since it was maybe the closest thing to them. I think since this one is launched it may make it better than the others. Of course I'll have to ride it for myself, but it does seem to add more of a thrill to this type than just your standard lift hill.

[coasterdave]

Maybe it is just me but this coaster does not really fit the park at all. Seems the regime is taken the place in a different direction but it could be a good thing or a bad thing. I am leaning towards the wrong way myself. Guess the charm that some of us that recalled and remembered the park is fading into what it use to be, a distant memory.

Just my two cents.

[arby]

I agree with you. I think the park is headed in a not so good direction. But I didn't expect anything less once they ran off Dan and Pat. Other than Thunderbird being launched, I honestly don't care if I ever make it back to HW to get that credit. Instead I'll support Dan and Pat in Alabama.

[Edwardo]

I'm guessing none of you saw Dan Koch's meltdown, lies, and what not on Coasterbuzz when he lost control of Holiday World (after underhandedly trying to get out of paying what was owed to Will's wife & kids). Personally, I'm glad he is out of there, and hope that someone has reigned him in at Alabama Adventures. Because there's no way I'd want him running a park or practicing law.

[arby]

I've never been to Coasterbuzz and never have any desire to do so. Many people have a meltdown at one point or another in their life so I don't hold that against them. It's not unusual for even the most level headed people to crack under pressure once in awhile. I've seen a few meltdowns on here recently that are right up there because it got way too out of hand and then posts got extremely unprofessional so I'd point fingers with caution.

I'm not as well versed as others in all the ins and outs of who is who for the past many years in the amusement industry, from what I've seen, Pat is a great lady and I have a lot of respect for her. If she left to help Dan then in my book that is who I am supporting.

[Jonathan]

I definitely did not see that.

The whole thing was a mess. I hope that everyone on both sides has put it behind them because it was ugly and wasn't good for anyone. I saw that Alabama Adventure employees can get into Holiday World free this year which suggests to me that they are at least working together a little bit now. That can only be a good thing.

Everyone knows I have not been a huge fan of the wingriders and don't think this is the best use of $20+ million. That said, this looks a lot more fun than I thought it would be. After riding Wild Eagle I have a more positive outlook on this one in particular. I really liked both The Swarm and Wild Eagle. Most of my negative opinions come from the much larger Gatekeeper. The video of the ride looks really good and the setting is great.

Nothing to me suggests this is that different than where the park was heading under Will Koch. He had already been working with B&M on an inverted design that was very similar in scale to this ride and in the exact same location. You can see it at the 18 second mark of the video here: http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/20 ... ill-power/

[Edwardo]

Sadly Dan deleted it all. Needless to say, I had a completely different opinion of him. He's a lawyer and was running a million plus attended amusement park. He should have known better than to start talking about it on a public forum, and then logging in anonymously as another person and backing himself up. Especially since at the time, it was all going on in court.

I have no issue with pointing fingers. I'm neither a lawyer involved in a lawsuit, a CEO of a company I'm publicly commenting on during a lawsuit, nor personally invested in anything when I say what I say here. Dan was. The fact that he got caught signing in under a different name and lying about ongoing litigation is unbelievable.

[arby]

That is a valid point that I was not aware of. Thank you for mentioning it.

[KenB]

And thankfully I'm blissfully unaware of yet more amusement park and web forum drama. I just show up to ride the rides.

[arby]

I had a rough couple of days so I shouldn't have been posting online since I was grumpy. In light of that I retract the following comment.

I've never been to Coasterbuzz and never have any desire to do so.

I do feel the enthusiast community is inundated with clubs, sites, etc. However there is room for an active objective forums community that covers all parks and respects everybody's opinion. I'll have to check them out since I haven't found one that meets all of those yet.

[pproteinc]

On a lighter note; have any of you heard about the new Thunderbird ice cream that will be sold in the park and in grocery stores in 27 states. Wonder if the Carolinas are part of the 27.



Holiday World and Prairie Farms Team Up For Thunderbird Ice Cream

[BBvideo 640,480][BBvideo 640,480]https://youtu.be/b_Le6UO2VQ8[/BBvideo]