Come on...fess up!

...you're still eating leftover pumpkin pie for breakfast, aren't you?

Actually, not a bad idea...

Hey, Wayne! Can we come up with a Breakfast Quiche to serve at the new Plymouth Rock Cafe?

Dee Ann came up with the name. Clever girl.

"Outstanding Concrete Achievement Award"

I kid you not.

This award exists.

And in a few weeks, that award will be proudly displayed here at Holiday World.

I'm afraid I may have offended Steve a bit; I grinned and started laughing when he told me about the Outstanding Concrete Achievement Award.

"You're joking, right?" I chuckled. My chortle quickly choked into a cough when I saw that...he wasn't.

Yes...here it comes...brace yourself...suddenly, I found myself between a rock and a hard place.

How narrow minded I've been.

Sure, I know all about the organizations that I'm associated with here at the park, but I all but scoffed at the thought that the Indiana Ready Mixed Concrete Association might want to get together once in a while and pat each other on the back.

What more concrete evidence could you ask for but the Tiki fountains at Bahari?

Looking back, our very first HoliBlog post featured a photo of one of the Tiki heads, nearly two months before Splashin' Safari opened for the season.

So congratulations to Steve and his crew for the award. (Do they call each other "cement heads" in private?) You've all worked hard to earn this distinction.

Okay, one more and then I'll stop.

The awards luncheon next month, will the social time before the meal be called ... a Cement Mixer?

Talking turkey

Yesterday, we got a look at the train for The Voyage.

And what about that other ride?

No trains for Gobbler Getaway, but rather Turkey Trotters...



There will be a dozen Turkey Trotter cars, seating up to four persons each.

These Turkey Trotters will take us through the town of Autumn Falls as we try to help turkey farmer Cornelius Van Snoodle locate his missing flock.

We don't want to give away too much of the "plot," but rest assured no mayhem will ensue.

A bit of chaos, perhaps, but definitely no mayhem.

Midnight train in Georgia

Okay, so it's not midnight blue, but close enough.



Will, his mom, and three of our directors were in Atlanta last week, attending the annual IAAPA Convention.

The folks at PTC had a display model, which garnered a lot of attention.

Interesting new seat divider...



Remember, The Voyage will have three trains when it opens May 6. And each train will have seven cars (the trains on The Raven and The Legend all have six cars).

Here's a side view...



The IAAPA Convention is huge (IAAPA stands for the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions). There are loads of social events, seminars, workshops, plus a gigantic exhibition.

Look who Will and Mrs. Koch found...



It's our friends at The Gravity Group.

From the left in the back row, that's Korey, then Chad (affectionately named Chadwick by the Discovery Channel crew last month), Larry, and Mike.

This photo was taken by Justin, the head of the European Coaster Club. He'd emailed me from Atlanta to tell me he'd seen Will and Mrs. Koch in the exhibition hall. I emailed back in my standard professional manner that it was good to hear they weren't goofing around.

I guess Justin figured I needed proof.

By the way, that additional element that has been added to The Voyage is a third 90-degree-banked curve.

It will be positioned just after the first one. You'll bank 90 degrees to the left and then after about 100 feet of track you'll bank 90 degrees to the right. Sort of a big "swoosh."

The third 90-degree-banked curve is the one closer to the end of the ride.

Heading out soon for Thanksgiving with family and friends? We wish you all a warm, wonderful, and safe holiday!

Land of the buffet?

It's that time of year when the town of Santa Claus is included in holiday-themed articles in newspapers and magazines around the world.

One of the first to check in this year is the Toronto Globe & Mail. Today's article is what's known as a "round-up," meaning the town is one of several mentioned, all following a single theme.

What's with the "land of the buffet" crack? Reminds me of our "Obsecity is rappant in the U.S." friend from back in May.

Meanwhile, if your little ones need a project to keep them busy over the long Thanksgiving weekend, it's not too early to send a letter to Santa.

As you can see, Santa is sure to answer each and every one (as long as there's a return address--please double-check).



Before anyone fires off an email to me, let me just say the pipe's a prop and the photo's an old one (from the days before they knew better). But it's such a neat photo, I thought I'd take a chance.

Meanwhile, here's the address to send those letters: Santa Claus, PO Box 1, Santa Claus IN 47579.

Crossing Over

What a lovely fall day.

Much better than yesterday.

Not as chilly. Not as windy. Not even as muddy.

Tom, the editor of Construction Digest, and I took a lovely stroll from one end of The Voyage site to the other.

Here's something new...

As you start up the lifthill, you may see one of the other two trains heading back to the station.

Right over your head.



That's what the enthusiasts call a "head chopper."

Not to worry; it's all smoke and mirrors.

No heads will roll.

Promise.

Here's the crossover from another angle.

This is the bottom of the lifthill, crossed over by the beginning-of-the-end of the ride.

Remember, at this point you've only been through three of The Voyage's five underground tunnels.

The other two are on the other side of the station.

Or so I'm told.

As I told Tom, I don't have one of those engineer-egghead brains.

When Will drags out some blueprints or other design graphics during staff meeting, it's always the same. About six of the directors pop out of their seats and lean across the conference table, studying and questioning.

Mrs. Koch and I always catch each other's attention from our seated position. Sometimes we shake our heads. Other times we roll our eyes. And once in a while, we just laugh.

We'll get it all figured out by opening day.

That's soon enough for us.



Above is the second hill; the lower track is the return trip.

Let's take a closer look.



Tom tried to snap the very first photo of Hill #3 under construction.

Ever the gracious hostess, I sneaked behind him and took one first.



And finally, we gawked at Tunnel #1 for a bit.

From this angle, the opening at the top (in the foreground) is where the train will fly out as it exits the tunnel.

See the opening to the right, more in the background?

Is there really enough room for the train to change directions (from down to up)?



I don't know...

Maybe I should ask Will for another glance at those blueprints.

"Paging Dr. CoasterNut..."

Received this nice email from Dr. Jason the other day. He said it was okay to post it, in an anonymous sort of way

Jason from (large city, located three hours from Santa Claus) here; as always, the blog looks great.

Just a word to let you know how I've been showing your video. I am in the last year of Medicine Residency at (large city) University School of Medicine.

People know me as kind of a Coaster Nut.

Anyway, we have a couple big presentations every day; one in the morning and one at noon, to a rather large group of residents.

The presentation is usually a powerpoint that is projected to a large screen in a room that would be the size of a mini-movie theatre. So, to "warm up the crowd," when I do a presentation, I bring up large movies of roller coasters.

Can I just say what a "hit" The Voyage was.

Everyone loved it; the terrain, the underground elements. As the train neared the top of the hill, there were people who gasped in the audience. And it's just the video!

I offered to close the video prematurely (when one of the older attendings arrived), and everyone said "No!!!" This was during the return part of the ride when the train is speeding and twisting and turning and banking.

They just had to see the end.

I've shown other videos with bigger roller coasters, but none was as well received as yours. I've even shown an animation from a new coaster down south (big park in Atlanta), and people said, "It'll be okay." But The Voyage! What a ride. "It'll be great!"

This is truly going to be one tremendous ride, and you already have the acclaim from a group of nerdy doctors in (big city).

(Perhaps we'll leave the patients for a weekend and caravan on out to Santa Claus in the spring.)

He he.

Just kidding.

Sincerely,

Jason (last name omitted) MD

Skeletal remains

Walking through the park in the off-season is sort of creepy.

Since we're closed for the season, there are no happy families, no wondrous smells from the restaurants, no holiday-themed music.

Just a big ol' empty park.

The fountain and all the pools are empty. The flags have been taken down.

The maintenance staff takes apart just about everything for winter rehab.



In the past several days, we've received a bunch of emails asking for more construction updates plus additional info about Gobbler Getaway.

Every last one of them included the phrase "...since this is your slow time -- just kidding!"

Hmmm.

I'd post a photo of my desk, but I wouldn't want to traumatize the children.

Tomorrow, the editor of Construction Digest is here for a tour and to interview Jeff, the foreman for The Voyage. I promise to take off my nice warm gloves to snap off a few updates for you.

And as we get closer to Thanksgiving, I will provide more information about Gobbler Getaway.

Just a few nibbles, though. We wouldn't want to over-indulge and spoil your appetite, now, would we?

Keep a lid on it

Let's get something straight...the "lid" for Tunnel #1 in no way resembles Tupperware.

And the tunnels are nothing like those on The Raven and The Legend.

Because the tunnels at The Voyage are underground.

Cedar wood worked for the tunnels at The Legend (and offered a lovely whiff of relaxing aromatherapy), but for the underground tunnels at The Voyage there's a need to use a material termites won't be able to snack on.



Concrete. And lots of it.

One piece at a time (each piece weighs something like three tons), the pre-poured concrete slabs are being carefully lowered into place.



Take a look at the upper right portion of the above photo. You'll see some Voyage structure through the trees. See where we are? That structure is part of the second hill. Hill #3 has yet to be built; at the bottom of the hill, we'll fly into Tunnel #1.

Wonder what it will sound like?

And will the internal temperature be cooler than outside in the summer, as caves are?

Rachel took this photo from the other side of the tunnel.



...and here it is from a bit farther away.

After all the pieces are in place, a final layer of concrete will be poured.

And then it all gets buried in dirt. (That's the "underground" part of all this.)



And regarding the added element mentioned a few weeks back, we'll let you know more early next week. Will is going to be on another podcast with CoasterBuzz and will spill the beans then.

Sort of an early Thanksgiving goody.

Honoring our Veterans

The eleventh day of the eleventh month.

Time to say thank you.

To people my parents' age, my own age, my son's age.

Each has a story. Some choose to talk about their military days, others don't.

Mrs. Koch likes to tell the story about her dad.

This is a photo of him. Jim Yellig was a Navy man during the first World War.

One Christmas, he was stationed on a ship at the Brooklyn Shipyard in New York.

Everyone on board, so far from home, agreed to hold a Christmas party for local underprivileged children.

But where was Santa?

"Hey, Jim -- you do it! You're from Santa Claus, after all."

Truth be told, Jim Yellig was from nearby Mariah Hill. But who could resist talking about a town named Santa Claus? Not Jim...

Jim wasn't thrilled about the idea, but agreed to do it.

The experience changed his life forever.

When he saw the hope and love and trust in the eyes of these little children, frightened by the war and hurt by poverty, his heart melted.

As he told the story years later, "Afterwards, I said a little prayer: God, if you get me through this war alive and send me home, I'll forever be Santa."

Both promises were kept.

God bless our Veterans on this, and all, days.

Keeping track

That big ol' crane isn't just lifting steel.



How handy is that?



At Monday's staff meeting, Will told us the "lid" for Tunnel #1 is supposed to arrive on Friday.

I'm picturing a gigantic Tupperware lid being lowered down onto that huge underground tunnel.

I don't want to be around when they burp that thing.

Ossiffer Mike

No, that's not a typo.

That's what I call our Sales Director.

Because in addition to working full-time at Holiday World, Mike also patrols for the town's police department and is a reserve deputy for the county sheriff's department. He's a First Responder and a volunteer firefighter here in town, too.

You know ... hero stuff.

Maybe calling him "Ossiffer Mike" is a bit disrespectful. But at least I don't call him "Barney" the way some here on staff do.

Teasingly, of course. And Mike is tall, thin and lanky, so a slight resemblance cannot be denied.

But still.

When WFIE-TV called and asked us to take part in tonight's broadcast for Tornado Relief Telethon, Mike immediately came to mind.

Because Mike was there, all day Sunday. Searching for survivors. Slogging through a deep ditch, knee-deep in water and surrounded by horrifying debris.

He came bursting in my office Monday to talk about the experience.

I'll never forget Mike saying how impressed he was to see how incredibly well prepared Warrick and Vanderburgh Counties were for the rescue effort and how coordinated even the very early searches were.

Each person was assigned a specific task, given the appropriate tools. And everyone cooperated. (Even working together to catch someone's pet bird, to be tenderly handed over to animal rescue personnel.)

Mike has been asked to talk about his experience during the Telethon on Channel 14 this evening at 7:15 pm CST.

If you live outside of the broadcast area, you can stream it live.

And if you can spare a bit, please make a donation. There's still a lot of work to be done.

Topping #2

Isn't that always the way?

The firstborn gets all the outrageous baby gifts, savings bonds, monthly framed portraits, and the totally-filled-out baby book.

Number two?

Not even a cupcake.



No news release. No media gathering.

Not even a flag.

Sigh!

We middle children have to stick together.

We'll love Hill #2 every bit as much as #1, right?

Even if the older sibling casts a mighty long shadow.



Now, to give credit where credit's due...that first drop is, after all, 154 feet.

But Hill #2 provides a drop of 107 feet, just a few feet shy of The Legend's first drop.

For these photos, I stood to the south-east of the structure, not too far from Holidog's FunTown.



Now look over at the view from our webcam, which is to the south-west of The Voyage and way-up-high (the webcam is on top of the new water tower up in The Legend Parking Lot).

So now it's time to pay attention to Hill #3. And the five tunnels. And a little something extra we've recently added to the design.

It's a great new element, but not something we can discuss just yet.

The best part of it, though, is that The Gravity Group and Will are still scrutinizing the design and making improvements here and there.

So, Happy Hill #2 Crowning Day (uh...actually it was yesterday, but don't let that out).

Cupcake, anyone?

Which one is worse ...er, better?

This is the view heading up the lifthill.



A coaster enthusiast emailed a suggestion that I climb up and take a photo from the very top.

Not gonna happen.

Not a chance.

Even if I could catch a ride on the crane.

Here's another angle from the ground, though...



The second hill was "crowned" yesterday. That means the third hill gets attention soon.

And did you check out this month's Wallpaper? A Thanksgiving treat for which we are truly grateful.

Coaster's over yonder, Tom!

Poor Tom. The guy's worked here something like 30 years, and once in a while he still needs directions.

All kidding aside, Tom is one of those go-to guys who always knows what's going on all over the park.

And he gives as good as he gets, so I may need to go into hiding for a while.

Thank you for your concern

Your emails of concern following yesterday's devastating tornado are greatly appreciated.

We're all fine, thanks.

Sadly, several of our season pass holders perished in the storm.

Please join us in praying for all of those heartbroken families.

An ever-changing view

From the Funnel Cake Factory in the 4th of July section:



And from the west side of the Raging Rapids observation deck (that's the Bamboo Chute water slide running through the picture).



A little closer to the water slide (remember, the Bamboo Chute will be reprofiled for 2006, as the walkway to Thanksgiving will go underneath it).



Down the hill into Splashin' Safari. Stand to the side of the splash pool for the Bamboo Chute and the AmaZOOM and here's what you'll see:



Notice how steep 66 degrees can be. As you ride up the lift hill (starting from the right side of the photo) and crest the hill, you'll feel like you're dropping over the edge of the world.

(Perhaps that's how the pilgrims on the Mayflower felt?)

This is the prettiest, don't you think?



Rachel took that from just outside of Kringle's Kafe.

It may not feel like autumn (it's in the 70s again today), but it sure looks like it!

Flipping the pages

If you check out the November/December issue of Midwest Living, you'll see a familiar face.

A while back, this question was posed to Will by the magazine's editors: What's the all-time best gift Santa brought you?

His answer is on page 18.

Snowy White Gravel Road, revisited

Back from five days visiting my folks in Connecticut with young James; some of you are getting itchy for a construction update.

Can't use "it's too muddy back there" as an excuse anymore.



Check back later today for some new photos.