4 Weddings And A Coaster-crawl: Holiday World

[FistedColossus]

The brother of a very good friend of mine was due to marry his American fiance in her hometown of Oxford, Mississippi and I was invited. Naturally my first thought was 'sweet, I think that's near Dollywood?'. Closely followed by 'I really need to get back on Steel Vengeance'. And eventually 'I'm very happy for them and honoured to be invited'. So I planned a 10 day road trip with the wedding being the meat in a coaster sandwich.

The penciled in parks were Cedar Point, Kings Island, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City and Holiday World.

There were a lot of doubts over this plan and I only confirmed my attendance after passing my work probation period in March. Even then, this was going to have to be done on a seriously tight budget. So flights were booked to and from Chicago, car hire sorted, and dirt cheap Motels were reserved.

Park 1: Cedar Point

Had a fairly straightforward drive from Chicago over to Sandusky on the Saturday, with tickets booked for the park on the following two days.

It was an amazing feeling stepping back into Cedar Point and obviously we headed straight to...

Steel Vengeance - The crowds were quite low at this point but we still waited around 30 mins or so for our first ride. We got on the back row and whilst not quite as wild as I remembered it was still a clear number one coaster for me. Got 4 more rides in throughout the day and it just got better and better, seemingly gaining 5mph every ride and hauling through the course. Back row night ride cemented my belief that I don't think this ride will ever be topped. Got another 5 rides on the second day, so 9 in total without Fast Lane, not bad at all. 10/10.

Magnum XL 200 - Another favourite of mine which once again delivered. I love rides with 'stupid' airtime. The unexpected type which absolutely eject you out of nowhere. Its a little rough but nowhere near as bad as that monorail over in Blackpool. Only had 2 rides in total, should have done a lot more but it was down most of the second day. 9/10.

Milenium Force - Had a few rides on this and didn't realise how much of a front row ride it is. Great experience going at that speed with the wind in your face throughout. Not one of the very best but still fun. 8.5/10.

Gatekeeper - A new ride for me, not usually a fan of wing coasters and now it turns out that's because I've only done crap ones previously. This was a brilliant display of B&M at their finest. 8/10.

Raptor - Had front and back row rides, the latter of which combined with dehydration resulted in a very intense experience. One of the best inverts out there 8.5/10.

Iron Dragon - Another new ride for me which was as expected, one of the weaker versions of this ride but I'm a big fan of these. 7/10.

Blue Streak - Rides very well given it's age, decent airtime and not too rough. 6.5/10.

Maverick - Was really hyped to get back on this. Had front and back row rides over the two days and unfortunately it didn't hit quite as hard as I'd remembered. Still an elite coaster but not quite as good as Taron and Helix. 9/10.

Gemini - Another one that still delivers despite the age. Solid ride with decent airtime. 6/10.

Had an exhausting but action packed two days at Cedar Point. It was incredibly hot, especially for a couple of pasty, ginger-bearded Brits. Walked over 25k steps each day and only really stopped for water.

We were very fortunate with the crowd levels which was ideal because $120 a day on Fast Lane wasn't gonna be possible this time round. In fact Steel Vengeance was close to a walk on for the last half an hour of the Monday.

Away from the park we visited my favourite pub in the world, The Thirsty Pony. Wings, chilli Fries and philly cheesesteaks were eaten and many yards of beer consumed.

 

[berghain]

You must've been there just after I was for the late opening - jealous of the SV night-rides. That's one thing i'm gutted to have missed.

Oh and Thirsty Pony. I kept tentatively suggesting it but my companion veto'd every time.

 

[FistedColossus]

You must've been there just after I was for the late opening - jealous of the SV night-rides. That's one thing i'm gutted to have missed.

Oh and Thirsty Pony. I kept tentatively suggesting it but my companion veto'd every time.

It seems to hit a whole new level after dark. More so than pretty much any coaster I've ever done.

Definitely check out the Thirsty Pony next time! Really nice staff with a fun atmosphere. It's a bit rough around the edges but the food is great and beer is cheap.

 

[FistedColossus]

Park 2: Kings Island

From memory it was only a 2 hour drive from Sandusky to Mason, in reality it was an exhausting drive after a full day at Cedar Point and we arrived at the motel at around 1.30am. Turns out my memory isn't great.

I'd first visited Kings Island in 2019 and had an amazing day, hungover from a baseball game and night out in Louisville. None of the rides blew me away but they'd since added a Hygiga which was enough to tempt a return visit. Also it was open til 10pm this time so night rides on The Beast.

Arrived just after opening ready for abother boiling hot 12 hour day.

Diamondback - What a way to start the day. The back row is rough for a B&M Hyper but perfectly acceptable in the grand scheme of things. Airtime is solid and there is plenty of it, even more so on the front row. Probably my third favourite of these just behind Silver Star. 9/10.

Mystic Timbers - Hopped on the back row again after a 10 minute wait I love this coaster, such a fun ride. The low to the ground layout really allows GCI to show what their rides so best with high speeds and quick pops of air. As the day goes on it gets better and better, possibly even beating Wodan. 9.5/10.

Orion - Or Onion as I like to call it. This rode pretty much as expected really. An excellent bit of kit but maybe a missed opportunity. Its what I'd expect Merlin to build if they announced a Giga with their corner cutting/budget limitations. There's not a lot of airtime and when there is it's fairly tame. Feels way too short too. Having said that ita still a 300ft B&M so obviously it's a good ride. Rode 5 times in total with a max 15 min wait. 9/10.

The Bat - One of my favourite classic coaster models and on a huge scale. The lifthill goes on forever, offering some stunning views of the woodland. Fron there it's another amazing ride, particularly front row where you notice the swinging a lot more. Only had two rides due to the location. Really hope this bat hangs in there for a while longer. 8.5/10

Banshee - I get why people don't like the restraints but I actually think they work well on here., in fact I would welcome them on the Nemesis refurbishment *runs*. It's nice to he able to move your head and neck around a bit and they negate any headbanging. One of my favourite inverts out there, it's intense, forceful and a really long ride. 9/10.

Adventure Express - Yeah it's awful 2/10.

Racer - A classic and it's still running well. It's rough but not horrendous 5/10.

The Beast - We had put this off all day, waiting for the sun to set to finally get on the most famous night ride in the world. Had our first ride at around 9.15pm, but it wasn't pitch black just yet. Due to the fireworks the ride would be down from 9.45 to 10pm but you could still join the line up until park close. We hovered about towards the back of the queue to watch the fireworks and drone show which was cool - slightly ruined by a know it all enthusiast shouting out every single part of the display seconds before it actually happened.

After the fireworks delay it was announced that the maintenence team had to check the ride before reopening, which ended up being a near 40 minute delay. Met an absolute legend whilst waiting - some of you may know him, an old dude around 70 years old who wears a custom made Beast T shirt. Claims he has ridden it over 30,000 times and the park send him a new t shirt with his updated tally every year. He was involved in the construction of the ride and knows the park inside out. Can't remember his name unfortunately but he's keen to make 50,000 rides!

Anyway, we got on the last train of the evening with all the other nerds who had been waiting patiently, as well as some of the station staff (a couple of whom were also enthusiasts). In theory The Beast shouldn't be a good ride, there are long, flat sections everywhere and no airtime hills. There are a few trim breaks and some bizarre transitions. But it just works somehow. The Beast excells at being a never ending wild and aggressive experience that completely grabs you by the balls. There's nothing else quite like it. 9.5/10.

Brilliant day at Kings Island, they've got some great coasters but without the crowds you get up north at Cedar Point. It seemed fairly busy but the amount of rides really helps soak up the crowds and the operations are world class. Everything runs with maximum possible trains and the staff are a credit to Cedar Fair.

We had time to do the rapids, and the steam train too, which helped break up the day. Went up the Eiffel Tower for 15 mins or so where we watched a Dragonfly eating a Bee just behind the bars. Did it catch the bee at ground level and carry it up 400ft to eat it? Did it catch it up there? Can Bee's fly that high? Ate at Panda Express which was pretty good, if a little expensive. A slight negative is the beer price, $13 a beer is way too much, same with CP.

I think this may actually be a better park than Cedar Point.

 

[FistedColossus]

Par 3: Dollywood

Travelled as far south as possible after a full day at Kings Island and ended up stopping over somewhere near Lexington. Leaving a 3.5 hour drive down to Dollywood in the morning.

After a quick stop off at the effing awesome Popeye's for a Chicken Sandwich, we arrived at Dollywood just after 1pm, with the park open til 7pm.

This was my most anticipated park of the entire trip and expectations were sky high. Looked like we had picked a good day to come as the car park wasn't completely rammed.

Upon entering the park we noticed Lightning Rod was open, guess where we went to first?

Mystery Mine... not really.

Lighnting Rod - Obviously. I'd heard before that if LRod is open, you get in line as it may be your only chance. As it turned out we were blessed by the RMC Gods and the only noteable downtime was during a storm on the second day. The longest we queued was 30 mins but only 10 mins on average. With single rider blessing us with just a few minutes wait on multiple occasions.

It is a fascinating coaster to look at, quite an intimidating sight with the sun beaming down the hill onto the launch track. It's clear to see why this ride hasn't had much luck really. It's an incredible feat of engineering even when you ignore the launch section.

First ride was on the back row and I instantly loved it. There's not an RMC in the world I prefer on the front row tbh. What I liked most was the unexpected airtime in the first half of the ride which takes place way before the quad down, some real hidden, surprising moments in there. The quad down was good obviously but I wouldn't say it blew me away - maybe an expectations thing. Or maybe the fact that I couldn't help but wonder how good this would have been in its opening year when it went over the first drop at a higher speed and blitzed through the rest of the course.

On reflection, I'd put it the ride experience on par with Twisted Colossus, with Lightning Rod gaining an advantage due to the overall package on display. It's mesmerising to watch from a distance as it bombs over that hill into the wilderness.

Another thing I actually quite liked is that it was a bit rough in places, which is usually unheard of in RMC's 10/10.

Blazing Fury - Didn't know what to expect really but it turned out to be similar to that mine ride at Knoebels. Nice, classic themeing but nothing special in terms of the track and train. 5/10.

Tennessee Tornado - This was fantastic, if a little short. Reminded me of The Bat at KI with the long lift hill above the trees. It picks up some serious pace and with minimal rattle or roughness. The Inversions are huge and all pretty forceful 7.5/10.

Wild Eagle - Another top tier wing coaster. Amazing what a location can add to the ride experience. Rode a few times, front row and back but only on the left side of the train. 8/10.

Fire Chaser Express - A world class family coaster really. A unique theme set on the backdrop of the mountains with some unique elements packed in. 7/10.

Mystery Mine - Another great themed experience but these old Eurofighters are just terrible. Pretty much every single one of them over 5 years old should be knocked down. I feel sorry for the parks that invest in this crap with good intentions, spend a fortune on the excellent themeing and are then stuck with a torture device a few years down the line. 3/10.

Thunderhead - One of the weaker GCI'S, was expecting a lot more and it just didn't deliver at all. The layout looks alright but it was a bit too rough to enjoy the good parts. 4/10.

So that was all the coasters we wanted to do ticked off. But Dollywood isn't all about the thrills, its an experience. For me it seemed to be the US equivalent of Europa Park with the scenery and landscaping but also that you seem to he treated as a guest as opposed to a customer. It was once again unbearably hot though on our visit which made it a bit of a chore to explore.

The log flume was great, if there was a water ride scale of 'bone dry' up to 'wetter than an Otters pocket' - this one would be bang in the middle. A perfect level of moisture.

Had a lap on the steam train which was nice. A solid 20 minute journey on the most impressive theme park train I've ever seen. With some Dolly Parton bangers being played on board too.

Had one of the best value park meals of all time at Dollywood, can't remember the name of the place but it was near the Water Mill and one of the stage shows. A huge portion of burnt ends with two sides and a refillable drink for $17 or so.

Overall Dollywood is clearly one of the best parks out there. I do think it helped that it was fairly quiet but it's also one of those where sometimes a busy park can be more enjoyable. It was a bit too quiet at times especially on the second day where storms were forecasted all day. We were pretty tired as well by this point which can cloud one's judgement.

Pigeon Forge is an interesting place, it's got every single chain restaurant you can name, as well as the usual tourist spot dinner shows and adventure golf. Had some wings and beers at Smoky Mountain Brewery - really cool sports bar with live acoustic music.

After two days at Dollywood it was time to head over toward Memphis, heading for a wedding. We left the park early to eat up some drive time... turns out Dollywood isn't anywhere near Memphis.

 

[FistedColossus]

And some snaps...

 

[FistedColossus]

Travel/Wedding Stuff

Leaving Dollywood early proved to be a great decision as we arrived just outside of Nashville for around 8pm. Just in time to watch game 2 of the NBA finals in Hooters. Amazing how good the wings are at Hooters compared to, well, Buffalo Wild Wings for example.

The following morning saw us on another 4 hour drive towards Memphis where I was picking up a couple of friends to drive down to the wedding. Picked up some food on the way.. Americans: Why do you eat Mcdonalds when Wendy's exists? I'm glad we don't have authentic Wendy's Baconators over here because my cholesterol would take an absolute battering.

The thread title is a lie, soz. There was only one wedding and not four. Not sure if anyone has been there but the next few days would be spent in the picturesque university town of Oxford, Mississippi. Reminded me a bit of a Gilmour Girls type vibe. I'll keep it brief but to summarise...

- The excited/drunk British family and friends caused mayhem in this timid, middle-upper class town. It was like when the travellers pull up in your local supermarket car park for the week. Great fun though and all good natured.
- Brother of the bride took us out to their farm the morning of the wedding to neck beers and try out his impressive arsenal of shotguns and pistols. Much like Wendy's, playing with guns was fun but I'm thankful we are not allowed them over here!
- Wedding ceremony was in the centre of town church which was ideal, no faffing about with Ubers before and after.
- My hotel was nice and borderline luxury after spending the previous week in hell holes.

Surprisingly didn't feel too rough on the Sunday morning and was on the road to Silver Dollar City by 10.30am. Made a brief stop off at Graceland to take a pic of the sign to show my Nan! Then had an excellent BBQ lunch in downtown Memphis.

The journey was roughly 5 hours, with 90% of the drive through a new state for me - Arkansas. This was honestly one of the highlights of the trip, there was no real rush so we took an off piste route from Mountain Home through to Branson via the dusty back roads of the Ozark mountains. This was an eye opener and showed the side of America I've only seen on films and TV. Deliverence probably being the most accurate one. Delapidated trailer park homes in the wilderness with confederate flags displayed on the majority of them and even a 'Biden Cheated. Trump Won!' Billboard. Huge vultures blocked our path as they feasted on the roadkill. All whilst surrounded by beautiful scenic mountains and lakes with the sun setting in the background.

It was a bit sketchy and I'm grateful we didn't break down or run out of gas at any point. But this was possibly the most interesting couple of hours driving I've ever done.

Arrived at our Elvis themed Branson motel at 9.30pm, too tired to venture out for a beer.

 

[FistedColossus]

Park 4: Silver Dollar City

I was pumped for one ride here and one ride only. A certain Outlaw Run. So much so that I didn't really pay much attention to the rest of this park building up to the trip, which led to a long day filled with very pleasant surprises.

We were among the first guests in the car park, ready for the park to open for the day. The walk from the entrance sign into the turnstiles and gift shop was really nice, a narrow winding path through the trees, I could tell already this was gonna be a good day. It was clear that the park is under the Dollywood umbrella but this had taken that vintage American charm up a notch. The plan was to start with Outlaw Run at the back of the park but as we got in so early we thought we'd squeeze a ride on Time Traveller.

Time Traveller - I do like a spinning coaster but this wasn't exactly a bucket lister for me. I like balls out intensity and airtime and this looked like a typical nice, smooth, floaty Mack, maybe more on the family side. So imagine my shock as we crawled out of the station on the back row and got fully catapulted out of our seats, sideways, down a 90 degree drop! Absolute madness and possibly my second favourite first drop after Skyrush. The rest of the ride doesn't quite live up to that moment but it tries it's very best. There's a twisted ejector hill followed by one of the weirdest feelings ever on a coaster, the zero g roll. This amazing element feels like you're doing a frontward flip, never known anything quite like it, really cool. Shortly after that there's a violent pop of ejector into the final launch.

Seriously impressive ride that ticked all the boxes for me. A slight criticism would be that it doesn't do much after the final launch which is basically there to get you back up to the station. Fortunately for us the park was absolutely dead all day and we got on this over ten times. Possibly my favourite ride of this whole trip. 10/10.

Outlaw Run - As with all RMC's you need to let them warm up a bit and this was no exception. We got around 8 rides in throughout the day and it got better and better. I wasn't blown away by Outlaw Run tbh and it would be near the lower end of my RMC rankings. Similarly to Lightning Rod it had a rattle and was a bit rough in places but that took nothing away from the ride. The airtime wasn't quite as strong as the likes of Storm Chaser, Untamed or Twisted Colossus but this was one of the more out of control and intense RMC's. 9/10.

Power Keg - This was certainly interesting. Very unique ride with a nice launch. Found the rest of it a bit tame overall with no standout moments but still fun. 7/10.

Thunderation- Classic violent arrow but on a fairly big scale. This was fast and pretty intense but the roughness made it difficult to fully appreciate. Shame really as the hillside layout is really cool. 4/10.

So that was all the coasters, Wildfire was closed until very late in the day and we chose a couple more rides on Time Traveller instead.

Mystic River Falls is officially the best rapids ride in the world for me. It wasn't roasting hot but I couldn't resist a few laps on here. The main drop dominates the area and was great but the traditional rapids section is brilliant. Fast paced with some parts dishing out a colossal soaking. Would love to see more of these, looking forward to getting on the Seaworld one next year.

The only other rides we went on were the old school log flume and Flooded Mine. The former was OK but the latter was a charming dark ride. A tacky old Western themed shooter in a boat? F**k yes.

We were the for the entire day until 8pm close, despite planning on leaving early to est up some drive time to Holiday World. We just couldn't drag ourselves away from Silver Dollar City. I can't think of any other park in the world where I'd go on 6 different rides (albeit multiple times) and not get bored. We spent hours in the shops, watching outdoor shows, steam training, eating, caving*, and chilling.

*Nearly forgot about the Marvel Cave! I had no idea this existed tbh but it was excellent. An hour long guided tour through the cave network underneath Silver Dollar City. The history behind it was really interesting but id have liked to explore a bit further. Would definitely fork out for the lantern tour next time.

A stunning theme park filled with natural history and some world class rides. This place isn't too far off Europa as my favourite park in the world. I'd describe it as a less commercialised Dollywood.

Due to the location its unlikely I'll return for a number of years but it was a privilege to experience this place. It was my birthday too so I received a badge and some discounts on food and merchandise throughout the day!

 

[Hixee]

It's lovely reading someone fall in love with Silver Dollar City. I reckon one of the best theme parks in the USA, I'd love to get back there again.

 

[FistedColossus]

It's lovely reading someone fall in love with Silver Dollar City. I reckon one of the best theme parks in the USA, I'd love to get back there again.

Writing that report gave me a warm fuzzy feeling inside

On reflection I guess it proves how much I really value an overall experience as opposed to just coasters. Something that I never thought was necessarily the case. I'd rather be at Cedar Point than anywhere else but my most memorable park days are always those at the likes of Disney, Phantasialand, Europa etc.

We were going to give it a miss initially due to the distance but I'm so glad we went for it. I've no interest in Worlds Of Fun or Six Flags St Louis so I'm not sure I'll ever return, but it's nice to know its there

Holiday World coming soon.

 

[FistedColossus]

Holiday World

Last park of the trip - boooooooo.

We hit the road at 8pm after a full day at SDC, heading to Indiana on a 6 hour drive. A long distance but the SDC detour was so so worth it. Got a cheap motel halfway there just before St Louis to break up the drive and drove straight past Six Flags in the morning. I'm really not keen on Six Flags parks at all and will only stop off at one for an RMC, and this particular line up looked average at best - no thanks.

Arrived just after 12pm after some time travelling and headed straight for my most anticipated coaster of the trip...

The Voyage - Walked straight on to the back row, pretty much going in blind as I don't recall ever watching a POV.

Voyage didn't really live up to the hype tbh. The first drop is great and the layout provides a lot of variety but I was expecting El Toro or Phoenix level airtime. Whereas this was more brief pops of air like on a large scale GCI. As the day went on we were able to ride this again and again all over the train and once I'd got over that initial disappointment, the ride really grew on me. The airtime got stronger throughout the day and I began to appreciate the things Voyage excels at, as an overall coaster this really does have everything. It goes on forever and the layout is a work of art. It also defies the laws of physics in the second half - how on earth does it make it back to the station after the trims?!

It's pretty rough but that's to be expected from a fairly old ride that goes at that speed, nothing unbearable. Overall its not my favourite woodie in the world (Phoenix <3) but I understand why people rave about it. Its still good enough to be in my top 20, possibly 15. I can imagine a trimless ride with some sustained ejector would catapult it up my rankings. Interestingly despite it being known as a back row coaster, I much preferred the front.

Thunderbird - Another day, another new found appreciation of B&M wing coasters. The launch is great and there are some quite intense elements packed into the layout. Only rode a few times due to it being a Voyage's length from everything else.

The Raven - Only got one ride on this, back row of course. I'm struggling to remember much about it tbh. It's a perfectly acceptable level of roughness and I recall there being one particularly wild moment of airtime. Really good woodie.

The Legend - Was on one train ops all day annoyingly so again, just the one back row ride. This was the roughest of the woodies but fine. Really cool layout twisting through the trees with a couple of strong airtime moments. Would have liked to have got on it a few more times to be able to properly judge it.

One thing I realised at Holiday World is how much better the American woodies are for airtime. It got me thinking, even the ancient ones are built with at least one moment of incredible airtime. Some of them are rough as anything but worth a few goes just for those moments. In the UK, our traditional woodies are absolutely rubbish. They're rough but without any decent elements that make them worth having a go on. Kennywood is a good example - their wood collection doesn't blow me away, but all of them are far more interesting than a UK equivalent.

Anyway, Holiday World. Its a really nice park but something felt a bit off? Might have been end of trip fatigue but we got bored pretty quickly. I guess the waterpark adds a lot of value to the day but we didn't give it a go. A storm was approaching which closed all the coasters at around 5pm but we were ready to go anyways.

So that was the end of the parks, but just before flying home we made a quick stop off in Chicago for the true highlight of the trip. This place had been recommended to me before my 2019 trip by a few locals on Coaster Force and I cannot be more thankful. It was wonderful to be back at Lou Malnati's. Jesus ****ing christ I don't even like Pizza that much but this is special. I've been thinking about it on a weekly basis since returning home and unfortunately I won't be able to purchase anything like it over here. Might have to attempt making my own some time.

Oh also I met legendary Brazlian footballer Roberto Carlos at Heathrow shortly after landing

Thanks for reading!