Gripe much about your work space?

#2

Second crew.

Second hill.

Second thoughts?

Not a chance!

Sunday's Voyage

It's so nice to see the lovely fall colors coming out this week.

Oh, and The Voyage looks pretty good, too.

This was taken on Sunday by one of the people interviewed for the Discovery Channel program. (Thanks, Matt.)

He sent me a bunch; I'll add a few more as I go through them.

I'll be out of the office for a few days starting tomorrow, but I'll explain what the crew was up to on Sunday when I get back.

Meanwhile, did you catch the ever-growing second hill on our webcam? We have a second crew on hand pushing vertical with that structure.

(Liz really liked talking to the steelworkers. "Oh, such rugged men!" she said, with a sudden blush on her cheeks.)

They never did say "blimey"

What a disappointment.

"Oh no!" chirped Liz. "They only say 'blimey' in Mary Poppins!"

They did, however, greatly add to my laudatory lexicon.

Here are just a few words of British praise:

Brilliant!

Superb!

Splendid!

Sublime!

Ace!

Fab!

One of my favorite moments was when we were chatting about Chad from The Gravity Group.

"Would you happen to know," queried Liz, "is that short for Chadwick?"

It stuck.

Poor Chad will never live that down.

Unless he'd prefer the alternative: Chaddington.

So what does the Fab Four look like? Here they are with Mrs. Koch:



From the left, that's Terry, who shot all the footage. He's from New Zealand. I worried about his health, frankly, until he told me that during certain portions of the shoot he'd hold his breath while the camera was running. Anything to keep the camera steady and the ambient sound to a minimum.

I'd wondered how he could lose his breath just sitting in a chair.

Terry enjoyed sampling German Fries, which Mrs. Koch talked him into ordering when we ate at The Chateau in Mariah Hill. Mrs. Koch grew up in that tiny town, just north of Santa Claus. And her parents owned the original Chateau, so she regaled us with childhood stories.

Of course, across the pond, they'd be called German Chips. For them, fries are chips. And chips are crisps. It's all very confusing. And fattening.

Next to Terry is Liz, the associate producer. Born and raised in London. Doesn't drive a car. Eats porridge for breakfast. Cute as a button.

They all signed my hard hat (excuse me ... construction hat) while we said good-bye in the parking lot (pardon me ... car park). Here's what Liz wrote:

Darling Paula
You have made our filming trip simply sublime. You are indeed brilliant.
Liz xx

What's not to love?

Then there's David, the director. Looks a bit like Jude Law, don't you think?

David was serious, focused, and fun all at the same time. Polite, too. Didn't start rearranging a room or office without asking first. And always tidied up afterwards.

When nearly a dozen members of the Koch family gathered for group interview, David started off with a question for Logan, one of Will's nephews.

Logan (I believe he's 11) is never at a loss for words.

Until David's question.

After a long pause, Logan piped up, "I could not understand a single word you just said!"

David laughed, "Would it help if I spoke more slowly?"

"No, I don't think so."

The interview was off to a rollicking start.

Here's what David wrote on my construction hat:

Dear Paula
Thanks for being simply splendid.
Lots of love,
David x

You all know Mrs. Koch. We were at her house mere hours before she was to leave for a three-week trip to China. The crew chuckled when they saw her "Queen of Clean" name tag (oops ... that would be "badge") and asked if she'd do a bit of dusting during her interview.

She shrieked with laughter as a response.

Instead, she straightened pictures on the wall.

Last but not least is Alastair, the Scottish sound recordist. Scotty was my favorite character on the original (and only, as far as I'm concerned) Star Trek series, so Alastair's brogue was music to my ears. He was forever looking for whatever might be humming or buzzing in the background.

Several times he'd get to telling a story at such a fast pace that I couldn't quite follow. But the twinkle in his eyes kept me smiling.

Their last evening here, I sneaked them into one of our gift shops so they could each pick out a souvenir shirt.

"Be sure to wear your Holiday World shirts one of the days you're filming at that Six Flags park," I innocently suggested.

Here's a photo of them shooting Chadwick yesterday:



Since Chad's walk along the track was a long one, David communicated by two-way. Chad's was inside his jacket. He said it was surreal hearing a British voice coming out of his chest.

Listen to your heart, Chadwick...

The crew was gracious enough to sign a few more hard hats, and Chad took them back to have all the engineers at The Gravity Group sign them. Add Will and Mrs. Koch to the mix and it would seem we'll have the potential to raise a lot of money for charity.

We'll auction at least one of them on eBay next year.

Meanwhile, the program will air next April or May in the States. It'll debut in Britain in late January.

At our directors' meeting on Monday, I suggested a staff trip to London to see the premiere.

Will has yet to declare that a splendid idea. But I'm sure, deep inside, he thinks it's just brilliant.

It's all in the attitude

Saw this among the construction crew's vehicles by The Voyage:



After spending the past five days with the crew from the Discovery Channel, much of that time down at the construction site, I have a renewed appreciation for those who build coasters.

And my washing machine. (It finally rained, and it's incredibly muddy down there!)

Much more in the coming days...

Everyone's a comedian early in the morning

Blame it on lack of sleep.

Our Discovery Channel crew got to their hotel close to midnight last night. We had plans to meet up at 5:30 this morning.

(Note to self: When you know it might rain and that you'll be wearing a hard hat most of the day, don't bother getting up a half-hour early to fuss with your hair.)

They've shot a bunch of footage already.

Right now, they're with Chad and Larry from The Gravity Group, catching their first words and expressions when they see the topped lifthill for the first time.

I tried to sneak a snap of David, the director, and Liz, the associate producer; I have a definite suspicion they saw the camera:



This experience is quite educational.

I've learned a lot already.

For example, in England, they have a different phrase for "fanny pack."

(Apparently, across the pond there's a quite different meaning for that first word. And it's not ladylike to even tell me what it is, according to Liz. I figured it out, though.)

So if you make it to the U.K. and use one of those...things, be sure to call it a "bum bag."

Good-bye, old friend...

...you nauseated me no end.

Even walking by the Virginia Reel was a challenge to some.

Turning and spinning wildly.

The air full of the sweet scent of funnel cakes.

(Whose wicked idea was that? Putting a tilt-a-whirl right next to a funnel cake stand?)

Interested in the ride's history?

It was manufactured by Sellner Manufacturing Co., Inc., in Faribault, Minnesota.

The ride was originally sold to G.E. Dickson of Paducah, Kentucky, on June 7, 1957.

In 1960, was sold to F.C. Shafer of Evansville, Indiana, who operated it at Mesker Park (which closed in 1975).

In 1976, it was sold to Holiday World and named, incredibly, Tilt-A-Whirl,

When Santa Claus Land became Holiday World, the ride's name was changed to the Virginia Reel, as it was in the 4th of July section.

And now, it's moving on (I don't know where, though...) in order to make room for the walkway for the new Thanksgiving section.

By the way, the original plan was to add a new tilt-a-whirl for next season. But when we had our Frank Capra moment a few weeks ago, that was one of the items (probably the only one that a park Guest would notice) that slid over to the "Maybe Next Year" column.

Speaking of Mr. Capra, isn't it interesting that one of his most popular films, It's A Wonderful Life, was released in 1946?

That was the same year Louis J. Koch opened Santa Claus Land.

AL-i-ster

Liz called from Cincinnati (they're visiting The Gravity Group offices today).

Blimey! They read yesterday's post already.

Alastair is pleased.

Good lad!

Turns out he's a Scotsman.

What a coincidence. Just last night, my 14-year-old announced he wants to wear a kilt in marching band. (He just watched Braveheart for the first time.) We're looking into bagpipe lessons...

The weather forecast for tomorrow is not good. Liz doesn't mind at all -- if it rains they'll just show a-day-in-the-life-of-a-roller-coaster-construction-crew-in-inclement weather.

Bloody decent of them, don't you think?

The Brits are coming!

Remember last month, when we spoke mysteriously about a TV crew visiting the park as research for an upcoming show?

It's a "go."

Beginning Friday, we will host a four-member TV crew from the Discovery Channel.

From London.

England.

The United Kingdom!

I must admit, I'm an anglophile.

Not to worry, I don't go so far as to let it affect my spelling (colour, flavour, etc.), nor do I call my car hood a "bonnet."

But I can name the six wives of Henry VIII. (And how each met her untimely demise.)

And I do enjoy an occasional spot of tea.

And I did say "shed-jule" on the phone to Liz the other day, when discussing the ever-changing itinerary.

Imagine my delight to see the name of their "Sound Recordist" is Alastair.

Alastair.

I must somehow research his name's pronunciation, so as not to seem gauche.

Is it al-i-STARE?

Or al-uh-STER?

Oh, the stress of this job!

And what about that title? Sound Recordist. Not "audio guy" like here in the States.

Sound Recordist.

Brilliant!

I've promised myself not to pick up the accent, as much as I love it. Don't want to come off as an Ugly American.

Or Madonna.

For the details, we have a news release posted in our website's News Room.

Wouldn't it be splendid if we popped on over for a look?

Cheerio, blokes!

Holidog celebrates Columbus Day

In honor of Columbus Day last week, Holidog decided to sniff out Christopher Columbus's ships.

Here's the pup's report:

Just like The Voyage, Mr. Columbus had a three-train (er...boat) operation.

The Nina was the first ship that I found.

I couldn't resist looking around.

Do you think this is the original life saver?

Certainly there's not much of a chance of that; thought I'd float the idea by you anyway.

This would make a great souvenir to bring back for Lori and Jennifer and the crew at Splashin' Safari.




The next ship I found was the Santa Maria.

It was named after Christopher Columbus's two favorite people: Santa and Maria.

If he would have asked me, I'd have suggested my two absolute favorites: Santa and Purina.

Despite my dogged search, I could only find two of the three boats.

(Apparently the Pinto didn't do any better as a ship than it did as a car. Woof!)



Here's a joke for you: Why did Chris sail boats to the New World?

Because he didn't have change for the Colum-bus!

Come on ... throw me a bone!

...no, really throw me a bone!

Chow,

Video of The Voyage topping

Here a link to WFIE-TV's homepage.

Simply scroll down the "Featured Videos" list and you'll find there story from yesterday.

Top o' the morning!

Got 'er done.

Couldn't have asked for a prettier day.

Just about everyone started out wearing jackets, but they didn't stay on long. May even hit 80 degrees today.

Before the topping got started, the three TV crews took some time to interview Will.

Will talked about what a milestone a "topping" is in the construction of a roller coaster.

And he couldn't resist saying, "I can't wait till spring!"

The first step was for the steelworkers to get into place, ready to secure that top piece to the existing structure.

Then we heard Steve's voice on the two-way radio: "We're flying!"



It was pretty wild to watch.

The crane operator swung wide, to get the top piece facing the right direction.

For a few minutes, it was hard to tell exactly where it would go. But slowly, slowly, it was moved into place.

The American flag, of course, is the highest. Then the Holiday World flag and a Splashin' Safari flag.

Can you see the steelworkers on the main structure?

Perched way up there.

I don't think a single one of us on the ground didn't say, "I couldn't do that. No way. No how."

We were transfixed.

There wasn't a loud "click" or anything to alert us that the top piece was in place.

We all clapped and cheered nonetheless.

Here's an interesting view of the first drop...the train will be coming down the hill at a steep 66-degree angle.



A few steps to the side, and here it is again:



And what about that second 90-degree banked curve?

Look through the steel to see it. It's still there.



We have another exciting media event coming up soon. (It's our "slow time," remember?) We'll get more information out about that by tomorrow.

Happy Topping Day!

In just over an hour, the highest piece of structure for The Voyage will be hoisted into place.

Meanwhile, another coaster is getting some loving maintenance.



That's Nathan pounding the track. Sean and Heath, also part of the TLC crew, already did some chain-saw work to loosen things up.

These photos are from last week. They're replacing a portion of the track on The Raven. This area is the hill after the tunnel, before the lake turn.



Rather startling to look up and not see any track.

Oh ... there it is!



Time to go hand out hard-hats.

The topping should be easy to see from our webcam.

A-topping we will go!

Driving south on Highway 162 will never look the same.



The VBC is getting quite a workout today.

We know the height of the crane now. Steve left me a highly informational voicemail message:

Hey, Paula! The crane has a 170-foot boom. And a 30-foot jib. Although you probably don't know what that is...

I could hear delighted male laughter in the background.

Hmmmm. Glad to add a bit of joy to your day, fellas...

(For the record: Why in the world would I know what a "jib" is? Heck, I didn't even know how to spell it! I guessed correctly, though. Here's what Dictionary.com had to say:
1. Nautical. A triangular sail stretching from the foretopmast head to the jib boom and in small craft to the bowsprit or the bow.
2. The arm of a mechanical crane.
3. The boom of a derrick.)

What say we just stick with VBC?

This photo was also taken from Highway 162.

The shoulder, actually.

And just a bit closer to the construction site.

Sorry that it's a bit shaky. My hands must have trembling with anticipation of riding The Voyage next spring.

Or perhaps it's the intense fear that shoots like adrenaline through my veins when I squint heavenwards to see the top.

One or the other, I guess.

Someone who is looking forward to Open Day next year with nothing but glee is a coaster enthusiast named Matt. He's been a pal since the days of Raven construction more than a decade ago.

He included me as a "cc" in an email he sent recently to a TV producer. Matt wrote rather poetically about his anticipation:

This ride without a doubt will contend as one of the greatest rides ever designed in the history of coasters.

I know this because of the attention to detail and commitment to perfection that Will and the Gravity Group are pursuing.

Each inch of this ride is being scrutinized to deliver the ultimate wooden coaster experience.

An example of this is the little "hop" on the way into the second 90-degree corner.

This wasn't in the original design for the ride. It was added in after the layout pictures and video you see on holidayworld.com were posted.

Little moments like this are still being added.

Like I said before, every square inch is being scrutinized to deliver the best.

According to Chad at the Gravity Group, there are more surprises throughout the rest of the ride.



Can you see the two trackers working, right there on the nearly vertical track?

Can you imagine?

Certainly, they appreciate the lovely day, with no wind and 70-degree temps.

Anyone else hoping for a mild winter?

With all that's been accomplished the past few days, we've been able to set a date and time for the "topping" of The Voyage.

That top piece will be set in place by the VBC on Monday morning at 10 am CDT.

For those of you who can't join us by watching on our webcam, we'll take plenty of photos and post them here Monday afternoon.

We'll also provide links to the media coverage the event attracts.

If you want to be a total geek ... be sure to wear a hardhat when you tune in on Monday.

Just down the hall

Our graphic artist's office is pretty close to mine.

Rick always has something interesting going on in his work area.

Talk about a conversation starter:



This is a front-plate for one of three trains for The Voyage. Rick will make a three-dimensional logo for each train.

He's making an extra one for the folks who make the actual coaster trains, as they want to put one on display at our trade association's annual convention next month.

Podcast, the movie

If you enjoyed listening to the CoasterBuzz Podcast that was recorded here at the park a few weeks back, you might want to take a gander at the video version.

Ain't technology grand?

The VBC is here

The Very Big Crane arrived yesterday afternoon.

While driving in to work around 7:30 this morning, I must say that crane was an amazing sight to see. In fact, the VBC is so tall, the top part disappeared into the fog.

Here's a mid-morning screen grab from our webcam:

That's the Very Big Crane to the left of the structure.

We don't have the "topping" scheduled yet, but should know within a few days.

Meanwhile, tunnels are being dug and footers are being poured. It's amazing to see the progress from one week to the next.

We took more photos yesterday from around the park and will post them soon. It's remarkable to see how much gets done in just a few days once the park closes for the season.

When people ask me, "Oh, so is this your slow time? Are you off till the spring?" I nearly choke!

Wouldn't you think?

...if your community was hosting a big convention of water park folks, that you might be on your best behavior?

Lori and Jennifer spent most of last week in Las Vegas for the World Waterpark Association's annual convention.

Their hotel had a wave pool.

With one lifeguard.

Poor fellow.

When you're the only lifeguard at the pool, you must get extra worn out.

Hope the flash on the camera didn't disturb his slumber.

When you work at a park, business trips and vacations are never the same. We all come back from exotic locales with photos of attendants in dirty shoes. Cool new food items. Sloppy uniforms. Fences with peeling paint. Well-worded signage.

Park geeks.

Lori and Jennifer did manage to get a snap of themselves at Hoover Dam.

Country girls hitting the big city.

What goes on in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Well, not really.

Not when it's Lori.

She loves to tell a good story.

The one that got us howling the loudest was her description of their conversation while walking down The Strip one night.

"Jennifer, there are some creepy guys up ahead. Remember what I told you: No eye contact."

Okay. No eye contact.

"Good job. We'll just keep walking, looking down. They'll leave us alone."

No eye contact.

This, of course, is easier said than done. The first step in our annual Hospitality Training is Eye Contact.

Look At Me.

Surely a peek wouldn't harm anything...

Suddenly, a cheer goes up from the "creepy guy" crowd: Whoa! Hey, pretty baby, wanna go out tonight? Gorgeous girls, you're a dream come true. What're your names?

Lori hissed: "You made eye contact!"

Poor Jennifer: But just for a second; I had to look around a little...

Thankfully, they made it back home to Indiana safe and sound. Even brought an award back, Best Waterpark Radio Commercial.

And we won't even go into the story about them heading down to The Strip, and suddenly realizing they must have missed a sign or two.

Lori...I never realized The Strip was a six-lane highway. This doesn't look like any of the pictures I've seen--are you sure we're going the right way?

Free Unlimited...

...Dramamine?

Take a look at this track!



When riding this part of The Voyage, you're heading toward the photographer. Look in the upper right, in the background of the photo. That's one of the 90-degree banked curves. Now, mentally continue on the track.

See what happens?

You're banking the other way.

(And we're not talking drive-through versus online.)

All part of the theming, I guess.

Can't imagine there weren't a few seasick pilgrims aboard the Mayflower all those years ago.

Here's another look at the 90-degree banked curve; from this view, the train will be moving away from the photographer.



If you've checked out our webcam recently, you've seen the lifthill is filling out and up quite nicely.

Should be topping out the hill with the highest pieces of structure later this week.

We'll be sure to give you plenty of notice, so you and your boss can watch on the webcam.

Is it really October?

Must be, since there's a new wallpaper available.

The mystery crew that visited a few weeks ago (we'll reveal more soon) got Chad to admit that although he loves to design and ride roller coasters, some rides (such as HallowSwings) he'd truly prefer to skip.

So of course Liz insisted that she needed footage of Chad on board the swing ride. He gamely hopped on and even smiled for the camera as he flew by.

One of those frozen smiles.

The kind that makes your jaw ache later on.

Wish I'd brought along the camera. This photo will have to do for now.

When the crew comes back in a few weeks, I'll be sure to carry around the digital camera.

With a fully charged battery.

A word from our sponsor

And that word is: Deadline.

Sunday is the deadline to purchase 2006 Holiday World & Splashin' Safari Season Passes at the lowest rate they'll be offered.

Can't get much easier than heading to our new Print@Home page and ordering your Season Passes from the comfort of your home computer.

If you prefer to call in your order, here's the number: 1-877-463-2645, extension 280.

We'll have some dates in the spring when you can stop by to have your new Season Pass printed up before Opening Day.

We now return to our regularly scheduled HoliBlog.

A second podcast, this time with Will

We had a grand time hosting the folks from CoasterBuzz.com last weekend.

One of the "extras" on Saturday was the opportunity to sit in on that week's podcast recording, which we held in our Holiday Theater.

They asked Will Koch to be their special guest (that's him on the left).


To listen in, head over here.

There was one awkward moment, we must confess. Right before the podcast commenced, we announced to the audience what we were up to, and that the "Pop Revolution" show that was usually performed in the theater was closed for the season.

Half of the audience got up and left.

Start spreading the news...

Holidog took advantage of our "weekends-only" schedule to visit a famous city.


Woof! I do believe the Empire State Building is even taller than Liberty Launch!

New York City was really big, but the only apples I saw were iPods.

I'm not much of a math mutt, so Times Square did nothing for me. Neither did Division Street in Manhattan.



During my sightseeing, I visited the Guggenheim Art Museum. Don't you think my puppy profile adds to this artwork?



What a shock to see that Cats has closed. And The Lion King? Sold out!

Look at this marquee! Dollywood's mascot has a gig at Radio City Music Hall! She is really going places ... maybe next year I can invite her to share the stage with us at Holidog's All Star Theater.



It was an interesting trip, but I heard the phrase "in this city, it's dog-eat-dog" one too many times! I'm heading home for closing weekend!