Turkey carving

Okay, so we're not building some huge coaster this year.

But that doesn't mean there won't be interesting construction photos to share.



Sort of looks like one of those creations from the recipe section of a woman's magazine. You know the type: Quick and Easy Bread Recipe with Tips for Kneading and Shaping Your Favorite Farm Animal in 73 Easy Steps!

Indeed, this is the "what do you think" photo from the folks at Sellner Manufacturing. They're creating our new Turkey Whirl for '07.



Fear not: that's not the car that will actually be used (pink is not your standard Thanksgiving color, last I checked). And that's not the final version of the turkey head.

Remember, we're still in the mock-up phase.

Voyage cameo on GMA

Received this nice email this morning from Tina:

I was watching Good Morning America this morning. They did a segment on performing surgery under zero gravity. When they explained how the Vomit Comet worked they showed a picture of The Voyage going down one of the hills. Thought you would really enjoy the comparison between the Voyage and the Vomit Comet.

Nice to know the video we sent them back in the spring isn't gathering dust.

Watch Will Thursday on "Colbert"

Emily from The Colbert Report just called to confirm that the "Santa vs. Lincoln" segment is slated to air tomorrow evening.

As you may remember, this started out as a satellite interview on September. It didn't air that night, as the-powers-that-be decided to send a crew out to shoot more interviews and footage of our area.

But there's no putting it off any longer. The time has come. Tune in to Comedy Central at 10:30 pm CDT on Thursday

...and to think we'd never ever heard of the guy until a month ago.

Extreme secret

Today is September 25.

You know what that means, don't you?

Just three months till Christmas!

Time for the keeping of secrets.

And stashing of surprises.

Speaking of which, we kept a big old secret for the last week back at the far end of the Snowy White Gravel Road.

Here's a photo from halfway up the Jungle Racer tower.



That's the side of Bahari on the right.

And to the left, that's back-of-the-house.

A temporary parking lot for...

Trucks.

Quite a few trucks.

Why are they here ... and why are they hidden?

Some sort of secret?



When we sneaked the trucks back there on September 17, it was easy to see what this was all about.

But before leaving the vehicles behind for the week, the drivers slapped on a little electrical tape to almost completely hide the answer to all those questions.



Any ideas?

Just about all of Southern Indiana has been in on the secret as we prepared to help out one very special family in St. Meinrad, a tiny town about 10 miles from here.

And early this morning, this young family awoke to the sound of a bus pulling up in front of their house, and an energetic fellow named Ty greeting them through his megaphone from their front yard.

"Good morning, Farina family!"

Yes, the big secret is ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is here in Spencer County. They're helping out a family that has done so much for Relay for Life.

And now that family is in need.

Today is the "Door Knock" day (although maybe it should be called the "Megaphone Day").

The Farina family, Steve and Shawna plus three lovely children, are being whisked off for a week-long cruise.

Then their belongings will be packed up and stored for the week.

And watch out on Wednesday, when the "Braveheart" scene takes place. This house, plus a building next door, will be demolished and a wonderful new one built just for them by hundreds of generous and caring locals:



I felt like a criminal taking this photo last week. But I was a block away, under some trees, and no one saw me. I quickly skulked away.

As much as I'd like to present the day-to-day "inside scoop" about this, I do want to respect the confidentiality the producers ask for, after all it's their lovely story to tell (a Sunday evening in November).

But there will be some information made public and we'll pass that along as the week progresses.

A learning experience

Abraham Lincoln, it is said of his formative years in Indiana, learned by "littles."

On Saturday, unfortunately, I learned by...um, biggles.

Lesson Learned: A digital camera (ours, anyway) requires a memory card in order to capture the fabulous photos of the Colbert Report crew that visited our county.

Sigh!

Here's a photo from earlier in the week, which will just have to do. It was taken in Mrs. Koch's office and sort of sets the tone for the segment.

The crew from The Colbert Report consisted of three persons.

Nicole is an associate field producer. She really enjoys her job with The Colbert Report and all the interesting (if obscure) places it takes her. She flew in from New York on Friday night and headed back the following evening.

What a life.

Nicole was joined by a freelance video/sound crew out of Louisville. After spending the morning in Lincoln City, they joined us for lunch ("Elf Burgers all around!") and a walk around our Christmas section.

Never before have I seen a TV crew pay so much attention to a restroom building (the one next to the Holiday theater). But since there's a graphic of Santa next to the Men's Room entrance and a graphic of Mrs. Claus next to the Women's Room entrance ... it did make sense.
Except for the poor woman who nearly fainted when she walked out of the restroom and saw the TV camera aimed in her direction.

I took an exceptional photo of her shocked expression, but ... well, you know ...

Will was great sport, doing take after take: "Welcome to Holiday World! Welcome to Holiday World!"

Give us a little more, Will.

Okay, pull back some, Will.

Tone it down just a little bit more, Will.

Okay, now give it all you've got, Will.

The looks on the faces of the park visitors walking by was priceless.

I checked with Nicole a bit ago and she reported they're working on the piece, and it isn't slated to air yet, but she'll let us know.

Meanwhile, we better keep this under our hats:

Meet Papa Bear.

He, along with his wife (Mama Bear) and their child, Baby Bear, used to hang out in Holiday World.

As you may know, Stephen Colbert isn't fond of bears. In fact, he can't bear them.

Tyler, from Effingham, Illinois, sent this photo, taken on July 10, 1989. That rascal was home from college for the weekend and sent in this picture (that's Hilary, his sister, in the shot with him) wondering if indeed this was a photo from that long ago visit to the park.

Indeed, those three bears used to freely roam the hills here. Alas, it seems they've gone the way of the Banshee and Virginia Reel.

No wonder Colbert sent Nicole out here all by herself.

A very telling move on his part.

She was so gracious in her praise regarding the assistance provided by the park and our county's visitors bureau.

"No one ever offers to help us on these shoots," Nicole told us. "Usually we have to just sneak around."

I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille

Colbert's coming and everyone's a comedian.

The plot thickens

They want to see for themselves.

Shoot their own footage.

Conduct more interviews.

Colbert is sending a crew.

Tomorrow.

I warned Wayne, our food services director, we might end up in Kringle's.

I figure anyone on assignment for The Colbert Report, shooting footage about Santa Claus, will surely want to order an Elf Burger for lunch.

Or, if she's not lactose intolerant, an Elf with Cheese.

Bumped, not scrapped

What a relief.



It seems the delay in the satellite taping yesterday (Will had a bad microphone at first and it took a while to get another hooked up to the sat truck) threw off the editing time.

So we've been bumped.

...but not scrapped.

Should air within a few weeks.

They'll let us know.

And we'll be sure to let you know.

Meanwhile, a new friend has appeared from out in the blogosphere:

Just thought I'd come out of the woodwork and send you my support on your upcoming "Colbert Report" segment. I have a Colbert-centric blog that has been covering your Holiblog antics and the PR stuff in the news about Koch's appearance all week. ...rest assured, my blog will stay vigilant in reporting your story until, well, it becomes a story.

Sort of a kumbaya moment.



Somehow it seems this story is far from over.

I'm putting Colbert "On Notice"

Great.

That shoots my credibility all to heck.

If you were among the tons of people who stayed up a little later last night to watch The Colbert Report, you may have noticed Will was nowhere to be seen.

Hmmm.

No naive assumptions had been made on this end. The direct question had been asked (twice, actually) and confirmed: Yes, this will air on Wednesday.

Ah, but stuff happens in the world of TV. I'll track down an answer today and will post whatever I find out as soon as I know something.

Meanwhile, here's a fun article in the Evansville Courier & Press this morning.

Love the photo.

The second I heard the crew ask if Will was "too shiny" I knew the cameras would click like mad and Will would be pictured in the paper having makeup applied.

Oh, Will. Your kids will love this.

Jerry cracked me up, as he continually called Stephen Colbert "Steve." Somehow I don't think the on-air persona is cool with that.

There was an interview with "Assassination Vacation" author Sarah Vowell immediately after Will and Jerry's time, and that didn't air either. So maybe they decided there was just so much good stuff there, it was best to save for when they had more time.

We'll see.

But for now, Colbert is On Notice.

A conversation

Will: I can't believe how many people watch The Colbert Report.

Me: And to think we'd never even heard of the guy until a month ago.

Will: (My daughter) Leah says her History teacher talks about him in class.

Me: And to think we'd never even heard of the guy until a month ago.

Will: I can't believe all these emails we've received with advice and good wishes.

Me: And to think we'd never even heard of the guy until a month ago.

Will: It's almost a cult thing. Stephen Colbert has all these fervent followers.

Me: Hmmmm.

Will: And to think we'd never even heard of the guy until a month ago.

Me: He's hip. They're hip. Will...face it, we're not hip.

Prepping for Colbert

You'd think Will was getting ready to run the marathon.

Just picture him, slightly out of breath, towel around his neck, dashing about ... soaking in everyone's advice.

"Will! Tell him you hate bears!"

Change the name of Eagle's Flight to "Steagle's Flight"!

"Tell Colbert your next coaster will be made out of Lincoln Logs."

Don't get added to the "On Notice" board ...

"What if he asks you why you pronounce your last name that way?"

Dad, can you get an autographed photo for my History teacher?

But I'm not worried. Will is quick on his feet. Good sense of humor. Infectious laugh.

He'll do fine.

Just as long as his head doesn't explode in the next 22 hours.

Bakuli bits

Good grief.

Haven't even posted links to the articles that came about following last week's announcement, and bits o' Bakuli start showing up already.


These pieces are for the bakuli.

You know, of course, that bakuli is the Swahili word for "bowl."

And that bowl is a big'un.



Sixty feet across, that bowl.

Heaved up onto its side, that would be about six stories tall.

Don't know that we have a six-story building here in Santa Claus.

Well, yes I do know.



There was something about these colors that made me a bit uneasy. I like how they look together, but there's something unsettling about them.

I finally figured it out.

Back in the 1980s, I had a suit with these colors in it.

Excuse me while I head for home to make sure it's not still in the back of my closet.

Koch and Colbert

We all know who Koch is...

...but Colbert?

Claudette?

Uh...no.

Stephen.

As in The Colbert Report.

This Wednesday night.

Advice is welcome.

Here's the news release for more details.

Elemental thought

This one's a bit of a challenge to figure out.

How in the world did we end up in an article about the price of uranium?

Okay, so once in a while we get an email saying "your coasters are da bomb" ... but it still doesn't make sense.

The article is in a publication out of North Carolina. If the price of tea in China and the cost of uranium in the U.S. doesn't interest you, simply scroll to the end.

We opened the floodgates...

...according to The Motley Fool, anyway.

And when has he ever been wrong?

Head over to MSNBC for Rick's column, that mentions our li'l ol' humble HoliBlog.

Golden memories

Hosting the Golden Ticket Awards was a blast.

It was well over a year ago that we started bugging Amusement Today publisher Gary Slade that we wanted to host the Golden Ticket Awards again. Turns out he already had us in mind. (Surely it had nothing to do with him wanting to ride this new coaster of ours...)

We hosted the first awards program five years ago. Prior to that, it was an announcement that was publicized via a news release from the Amusement Today offices in Texas. In 2001, we talked Gary into holding a news conference here for that announcement.

One other park attended back then. Our friend Jeff from Kings Island.

My what a difference five years makes! Jeff was back again, this time in his new position with Schlitterbahn water park. And a whole bunch of other parks were represented as well, Dollywood, Kings Island, Busch Gardens, Cedar Point, Sea World, and more.

So we made a weekend out of it.

Before we go much farther, let's talk about Janice.

She was my partner in crime in planning the awards show. After a wonderful career in PR at Cedar Point, Janice retired to care for her cute little son, Matthew, and has picked up some freelance work with Amusement Today.

Last weekend was a homecoming of sorts for Janice.

You see, Janice is originally from Santa Claus, Indiana. She grew up working at Santa Claus Land and then Holiday World. She had an internship at Opryland and then went on to Cedar Point.

I asked her for a photo from way-back-when.

Apparently Janice has the home version of PhotoShop.

Can't help but wonder whom Janice cropped out of this photo.

Maybe someone in the Witness Protection Program?

Janice is thoughtful that way.

So thoughtful, in fact, that she had to be moved out of our Games Department long ago.

It seems her heart would melt when a child didn't win, so she'd say, "Close enough!" and would hand over that season's prize.

Eventually, when it became obvious she was giving away the prizes; Janice was moved to a less budget-sensitive department.

Holidog gives away hugs, so that was a safe place to send her.

That was in the mid-'80s, during Holidog's more slender years. During his disco phase.



What's not to love?

Now it's Janice's mom who works at Holiday World, at the Front Gate.

Janice, Brian, and little Matthew like visiting her old stomping ground. Matthew's already figured out who should get his attention.



Each park that hosts the Golden Ticket Awards program has added its own twist. It's not really a competition, but it's nice to leave your mark.

So Will, Mrs. Koch, Chris, John and I met back in the winter to start scheming.

One of our suggestions was to continue to take the announcements into the arena of becoming an awards "show."

Step One was to line up "presenters."

Janice and Gary liked our suggestions and tweaked the list to reflect folks from throughout the industry.

Here they are, after the festivities:



In the back row, from the left, are Chris Gray from Great Coasters, International (GCI) ... Nick Laskaris from Mount Olympus Water & Theme Park (his Hades wooden coaster won Best New Ride last year ... so he presented in that category this year), Jeff Pike from GCI (I hope I didn't get Chris and Jeff backwards; I've no doubt they'll straighten me out if I goofed). Next is The Gravity Group's Mike Graham and then David Blazer from SRO Associates, a show production company in Texas. David brought the house down when he announced that the park that had won in his category wasn't present to pick up their award, so he'd have it up on eBay within a few hours. Happily, only two parks were "no shows"; most parks sent multiple representatives to take part in the weekend's events.

Next to David is Rick Root, the president of the World Waterpark Association. Not sure what happened to Charlie Bray, the president of IAAPA (the International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions) but he was also a speaker and presenter.

In the front row, that's Janice on the left. She presented the Best Landscaping Awards along with our own Frieda Foertsch. At 95 years old, Frieda still drives a stick-shift to work. And when she came on stage, the audience gave her a standing ovation. It was so touching when the Busch Gardens Europe communications director (who admitted to not being able to even "grow a weed") accepted her Golden Ticket and kissed Frieda tenderly on the cheek. And when it was time to announce the Best Landscaping in a Waterpark, Frieda was delighted: "Oh, a good German name--Schlitterbahn!"

Next to Janice is Mark Rosenzweig from Zamperla (creator of the Howler roller coaster and HallowSwings to name just a few), Tim Baldwin from Amusement Today, and Carole Sanderson, the president of the American Coaster Enthusiasts.

Back to the planning stages, we wanted to come up with a way to make the show our own. To do something that no other park would do (sort of along the lines of the "Free Unlimited Soft Drinks" concept).

Let's see ... surely, we reasoned, no other park would be willing to humiliate themselves.

So we put together a little ditty to sing to the crowd.

No, we didn't rely on our talented park performers; we assembled the "B Team": Will, Mrs. Koch, Will's wife Lori, Matt and me.

Matt is our controller. Who knew an accountant could carry anything but beans in a bucket?

It was gratifying to see that so many folks from out in the park wanted to watch. They added great enthusiasm and a lot of body heat to the Holiday Theater.


Beth, from Dayton, Ohio, was in the audience. She emailed me to give me the grand news she'd captured the opening song on video and posted it at YouTube.com.

Thanks, Beth. Nice to know our great oeuvre will live on via the Internet. Mighty thoughtful of you...

As we moved into the various award categories, it was fun to witness the charm, humility, pride and excitement of the different park representatives.

Later, many of the winners posed together for photos.



Can't resisting posting this photo as well.

Mrs. Koch is clowning around as the winners get into place.




That's Cedar Point's general manager, John Hildebrandt, in the yellow shirt, looking on. Wonder what's going through his mind?

Toward the end of the show, Will's wife, Lori, came back on stage to sing the following lyrics to the tune of Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance":

I Hope You Ride

I hope you never lose your childlike wonder
You get a thrill as coasters fly by
Loud as thunder
May you never take one single Guest for granted
Not even the one who just now raved and ranted

I hope you feel great pride
Knowing you entertain a nation
Whenever one train leaves, bring another in the station
Every menu item's got to be deep-fried
And when you get the choice to sit it out or ride
I hope you ride
I hope you ride

I hope you never fail to hear the happy laughter
And know those memories are treasured ever after
Even though the work is hard ... the hours long
You know after just one season ... you belong.

Don't let line-jumping cretins
Leave you bitter
When you come close to selling out
Reconsider
When we say we're one big family
Love'’s implied
And when you get the choice to sit it out or ride
I hope you ride
I hope you ride
I hope you ride
I hope you ride

I hope you feel great pride
Knowing you entertain a nation
Whenever one train leaves, bring another in the station
Every menu item's got to be deep-fried
And when you get the choice to sit it out or ride
I hope you ride
I hope you ride
I hope you ride

And to close the ceremony, Will presented Gary Slade with a framed plate.

That's right, a plate.

A plate from the Christmas Room at Santa Claus Land.

We didn't realize till later that Gary collects old plates ... so he got sort of choked up.

So much so, he didn't notice the little washerwoman (a la Carol Burnett) who came in the front door with her mop and bucket to clean up the theater.

Gary kept talking and the audience, who could clearly see it was Mrs. Koch under the apron and mob cap, started giggling.

It wasn't till Mrs. Koch came up on the stage with her mop that Gary was reduced to a stunned silence.

And then, she sang.

I'm so glad we've had this time together...

The little song didn't end with a tug on the ear, though. The Queen of Clean blew a kiss.

And the audience cheered.

Announcing the announcement

It's really something when the announcement that you're going to announce something is looked at as an announcement and is therefore announced in the newspaper.

Yes indeed, we're looking at a $4.5 million investment for 2007. Will's still working on the final list, but the two major additions have already been given the thumbs up.

Now, before you bowl me over with emails thinking somehow the Applause Fountain is tied in with all this, I'll deny it now. Why in the world would we tilt our hand this late in the game?

Top drawers

What an alarming newspaper headline to greet you first thing on a Saturday morning: "Holiday World visitor suffers humiliating loss."

Now what?

Must be something about a ride we used to have. We hear all summer long from folks who want us to know how scarred their families are since we removed the Banshee four years ago. They really do get emotional about it.

One poor guy emailed to check about whether we still had the Virginia Reel tilt-a-whirl. It seems he and his now-wife had shared their first kiss on it. He was worried about keeping her busy during their visit so she wouldn't realize it was gone, too.

And two days ago, an emailer lamented the disappearance of the '70s-era piano-playing chicken.

But only one person mourns the loss of Tank Tag.

The Lost Parents/Height Measurement Station located next to the Alamo used to be the building for Tank Tag, a life-sized game with, you guessed it, tanks. Tori, our rides director, insists on still calling that little building Tank Tag, despite my frequent protests.

On the two-way radio: "We need more Phone Find wristbands at Tank Tag!"

Where?

Using logic to appeal to Tori does no good. The Alamo replaced Tank Tag back in 1997. That means Tank Tag disappeared a full decade ago, long before many of our seasonal employees started working here.

Tori doesn't care. Tank Tag is Tank Tag and it delights her that the rest of us grumble at the mention.

Back to that headline. The article turned out to be a "column." One of those opinion pieces.

The author's humiliation was the loss of his undies in Splashin' Safari.

Not the first time this has happened.

It's interesting to read the comments posted following the column. The subject of underwear seems to bring out very strong opinions. Some found the story cute and amusing while others were offended or annoyed.

Another rather personal item was left behind earlier in the season.



See it there? Hanging on the steel support...

A hairpiece.

We don't allow cameras onboard The Voyage.

We don't allow fanny packs (sorry Liz) onboard The Voyage.

We don't allow cell phones onboard The Voyage.

But no one ever thought to mention...



Scream your hair off?

At the time, I was escorting a German journalist on a photo walkback of The Voyage.

(Anyone know the German word for wig? How about Tank Tag?)

Jochen was kind enough to forward the wig photos last month, knowing they were excellent fodder for blogging.

And yes, even though we don't hang onto scivvies, the hairpiece was turned in at Lost & Found. (I cleverly stopped by Voyage Photos & Gifts and snagged a bag. Didn't want to have to walk through the park holding someone's hair, after all.)

Just think if the columnist had been the one to lose the hairpiece. Oh, the possibilities for headlines:

"Trip highlight: Voyage rider and hairpiece part company"

"Holiday World promises to comb park for wig"

"Loss of hair on coaster causes brush with embarrassment"

Ah, these hair puns really grow on you ... in a permanent sort of way.