Leap for joy

Our Splashcam is back!

So, does anyone out there know anybody celebrating a birthday today?

In all my years, I've never met a Leap Day baby.

...but my son James has a friend from school who is celebrating his second birthday today (he's eight).

When I told my mom about this (she and Dad live in Connecticut), she said, "Oh, remember so-and-so who used to work with Dad at General Electric?"

For the sake of getting to the punch line, I replied, "Uh, vaguely..."

Anyway, this retired fellow's wife is celebrating her twentieth birthday today.

You do the math.

As predicted yesterday....

Thanks to Lisa for her explanation:

I used to work for the Ohio Ready Mixed Concrete Association, and briefly, it is inevitable that concrete will crack. You have to go back and saw a slab to put grooves in it so when it does crack, they will be hidden in the grooves. (Similar to perforations in a roll of stamps or indentations in a candy bar.) This is especially true in climates like Ohio and Indiana where the ground freezes and thaws (and so moves slightly as the frozen water expands) which forces the concrete to move along with it.

Now that's out of the way....I can't wait till summer! My daughter and I are looking forward to our annual girls' trip to Holiday World. Look for us on the carousel, Gobbler's Getaway, and seat 1-1 of The Voyage. (The trains look really spiffy, btw.)

Lisa F.

And here's another explanation; this one is from Daniel in Cincinnati, who's exchanged occasional emails with us since he was a mere pup in engineering school:

Paula, why do you tempt me like this? You make it too easy.

Most structures made of concrete, especially thin ones such as a slab, will inevitably crack. There's no way to avoid it over large areas of slab. This can be due to a variety of causes, such as heavy loading, but the most common cause in a slab is fluctuation in temperature. The size of the cracks can be reduced by using appropriate amounts of steel reinforcing, but the cracks will still occur.

The workers in your photo are saw-cutting joints into the slab about an inch deep at regular intervals in order to cause the slab to crack at specific locations. This allows the slab to retain a more aesthetic appearance, as well as preventing random cracks at inappropriate locations.

Back home again

The Voyage trains have completed their return trip.

This car was sort of a diva and demanded a Bobcat ride.


It's sort of commendable that they still want to hang out together after that long drive back from Pennsylvania.


They're looking around to check out what changes were made during their absence.

Meanwhile, more work on the carousel's new pad.

Apparently, after you pour a perfectly lovely block of concrete, you have to go back and make a crack in it to keep it from ... cracking.



I'm sure within hours we'll hear from an engineer who will present a far more intelligent (if confusing) explanation.

Ah, Mrs. Koch has taught us all well:

Picture perfect

Ah, the requests have started.

"How do I win tickets?"

"Can I be the first to ride the new carousel"?

"What temperature will the water at Kima Bay be on May 17?"

There was a new one last night: I saw in the Internet you have free soft drinks. How does that work? Will you ship them to me here in New York or do you prefer to mail me a coupon I can take to my supermarket?

I kid you not.

Happily, we do have our first opportunity to win tickets.

Ryan, our marketing intern, is looking for your favorite family photo taken at Holiday World or Splashin' Safari.

He's calling it the Family Fun Photo Contest.

So if you'd like a chance at winning a pair of one-day tickets for this season, send us your best by next Thursday, March 6. (Thank heavens March is almost here!)

Go ahead and send your entry to me: fun@holidayworld.com and I'll forward it to Ryan. Nothing more than 2-3MB please; lower resolution is fine.

And if you include a note about how much you love the HoliBlog, you'll earn my eternal gratitude, but bupkis with Ryan.

And speaking of eternal gratitude, thanks to those who have clicked on the Technorati button (you'll need to scroll down below the Archives listing to get there). A few more clicks (just to get us to double digits, I'm not proud) would be as well-received as the first robin of spring.

Or a funnel cake.

The circular file

We'll have to find out how many separate pieces will be put together to make the Star Spangled Carousel.

It's a bunch.

Enough to make your head spin.


It took hours and hours this morning to unload the ride.

Actually, it was supposed to arrive yesterday, but was delayed due to the weather.

It took a while yesterday afternoon to determine exactly when it would get here.

Oh, so what you're saying is you've been going around and around with this?

Not even a chuckle.

Sigh.


So where will all these pieces end up, on a warmer day?

Over here on the south side of the 4th of July section, across from the bumper cars.


And yes, there will be a lovely Hoosier-made gazebo around the carousel, including a "decorative cupola."

Horse thief!

Oh, wait...


...that's no horse thief. It's Dennis helping out as Star Spangled Carousel is put into cold storage for a bit.

Cold storage ... literally. For now, the horses are being held in the walk-in freezer.

What's your favorite?

This actually has nothing to do with Holiday World or Splashin' Safari, but it's sort of interesting.

It's a poll being conducted by Budget Travel Magazine in which you choose the single best travel innovation from the past decade.

Click here to go to the poll.

After you vote you may see how others voted. I felt silly with my choice, but it turns out its the runaway favorite.

A driving desire to ride

Jerry in Ohio already has his car facing southwest in anticipation of his first six-hour trip to Holiday World this season.



Any clues as to which ride he'll head to first?

Ice is Nice

Not.

Just because it rhymes doesn't make it so.

Pretty pictures, though...

Follow the yellow arrow

...and find out where it leads you.


Actually, the arrow is red, but you know what I mean.

These photos are from Pennsylvania, where the three trains from The Voyage are in, well, rehab.

I'm not going to make any Lindsay Lohan jokes. Won't even hum that Amy Winehouse song.

That would be tacky.

But it's tempting...

Every two years, the trains from our coasters get shipped east for a complete going-over. More specifically, they are completely dismantled.

Disassembled.

Down to the itty bitty pieces. (Technically speaking.)

Then everything is thoroughly inspected and put back together in accordance with the manufacturer, which happens to host the rehab.

Ta da!


Thanks to Tom Rebbie at PTC for sending these photos.


And speaking of rehab, our SplashCam is also off-site, getting some TLC.

Dave in IT says it'll be a few weeks before our rested, refreshed and retooled webcam is back in business.

Do you get "The Insider"?

That's the name of our e-newsletter.

Ryan, our marketing intern, is putting the finishing touches on the latest edition (he's one in a long line of interns who have faced my relentless editing, poor lad).

Say it with me, Ryan -- "i" before "e" except after "c."

Anyway, saw that our marketing department is hosting a contest, with tickets as the prize, so here's your heads-up.

Head over to this page to sign up.

Memories of warmer days

I heard recently that "Coaster Radio" is back in biz. Not sure if they were on hiatus, a sabbatical, a cruise, or just wandered off and played Guitar Hero 3 for a couple of months, but they're back.

While perusing the site, I stumbled upon a review of The Voyage I don't remember seeing before.

Thought it might warm everyone up on this cold day in February.

A brutal reminder

...that The Discovery Channel's "Building the Biggest" episode including The Voyage never aired in the States.

Canada, yes. New Zealand, yes. Australia, of course. Asia, no problem.

But the U.S. of A.?

Heck no!

Here's a reminder in case you're not sure what this is about.

If you've caught a bootleg copy or traveled abroad to see the show, you'll know we had a group called the Secret Nine who gave us their thoughts as The Voyage was in the design phase.

It was fun. We hand-picked a group of trusted, intelligent coaster geeks to invite into our inner sanctum.

Liz, the producer, was enamored with our brilliant skullduggery and made arrangements for a number of the enthusiasts to visit our construction site.

It was fun, as each member of the Secret Nine knew eight others existed, but didn't know who they were.

I've kept this photo of four of the Nine walking toward the construction site for the first time for The Discovery Channel camera, hoping to use it whenever the U.S. air dates were announced.



From left, that's Bill, Dave, Matt and Jeff.

It was a lively afternoon.

Here's another shot I saved from the shoot. One of the construction crew members was only too happy to answer questions about his Spider-Man shirt.



The Discovery Channel crew invited me to go up in the "cage" with them for some lovely aerial shots.

"Uh...maybe next time," was my feeble, cowardly reply. Just imagine my bitter disappointment when we ran out of time that afternoon.



Meanwhile, sorry to say this post is not to announce an air date. Sadly, that seems to be something we must all let go.

However, Bill of the Secret Nine just emailed me the link to the opening segment of the show. Apparently the fellow who did the "voice over" for the piece has this available on his Myspace page.

(Reminder to Moms and Dads: To avoid actually going to the Myspace site, click on the arrow in the center of the screen, which will start the video. That way you'll stay here on the Holiday World website.)

Discovery Channels Building the Biggest Roller Coaster.

Any volunteers?

...to walk Legend's track today?

Now before all our coaster-enthusiast friends start jamming my Inbox with "Me! Me! Pick me!" ... let me make it clear: it's a joke.

Really. Just kidding.

No, Santa. Not even you.


Really.

Put your arm down.

Really.

I thought I thaw a bat

Memo to self: Don't walk underneath dripping icicles today.

No hearts, no flowers, no candy...

...but is there any better way for us to profess our love than with this?


This is 75% of the new tram for our Legend Parking Lot--that's the parking lot across the street from the park. (The "tug" was tucked under roof before the storm.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Count 'em ... 1,700

The seasonal hiring process starts this weekend.

Amazing.

Our Jobs page has all the specifics, including a downloadable application.

Of course, all potential employees will receive a warm welcome.

This finally makes sense

You've all seen this sign over the years in Holiday World's Christmas section.


But have you ever wondered what the "little guys" were up to?

Me neither.

But ... here's a thought: the elf in the mustard-colored snow suit is mocking the fellow in red for not dressing for the weather.

The SLG (shirtless little guy) is not pleased. In fact he's getting ready to throw something at TWG (toasty-warm guy).

Hard to tell what SLG is clutching. A dripping snowball? An undershirt?


No wait. It's a dust cloth. And he's sharing, not throwing.

This is Holiday World, after all...

Weather: not fit for man nor beast

...nor predatory bird.

Paging Lewis ... or Clark ...

...hope you remembered to pack your ice scraper.


New this season: Free, unlimited icicles.

The dog days of winter

Woof!

Poor pup is encased in ice.

Bless Rick (our graphic artist), he sent me these photos from this morning. I'd just cranked up my space heater, trying to talk myself into heading out into the park to find just such photos.

Now I feel guilty. Maybe I'll still go.

Maybe not.

This is from Holidog's FunTown as well.

Rudolph's nose would come in handy

My, my, how it does snow, sleet and rain here in Santa Claus.

What a mess.

Before chipping the ice off my car and heading for home, here -- as promised -- are photos of the newly arrived Reindeer Games:


Closer to opening, this will go vertical, of course.

And here are the seats.

That's five seats on the front and five on the back. In just 80 days, the seats will be filled with children shouting out with glee.

Meanwhile, it's an important fellow's birthday today. Mr. Lincoln turns 199 and our county is unveiling all sort of celebratory plans. Will is deeply involved with one project in particular; click here to read all about his magnificent obsession.

Whether or not...

Thank you to the various HoliBlog readers who queried as to which particular maladies our webcams might be suffering from lately.

Oh, my.

It seems the SplashCam didn't survive pulling double-duty as a WindCam last week. John says the camera is okay, but the little control mechanism that constantly changes the view and focus of the SplashCam bit the dust.

We'll get it fixed.

The other webcam looked crummy today because it was zoomed in too far. Not at first, but once the snow started swirling there was nothing to see but vast whiteness. We zoomed back out, so on Tuesday you should be able to ooooh and aaaah at the amount of snow we received overnight.

Tim is a good friend from Texas. He sent out an email to a bunch of coaster-riding buddies on Sunday, marveling at the variety of weather across our nation (he was expecting mid-70s; braggart).

Before long, enthusiasts were ... well, enthusiastically replying, with reports of their local temperatures.

Here are just a few:

Bob in Akron chattered: Current temperature: +2F, with a Wind Chill of -15.

Jerry chimed in from San Francisco: Sunny and clear. And temps approaching 70.

Bill is in Boston (he delights in calling me "Paul-er"): Here in Boston, we had a snowstorm complete with thunder and lightning. I've never seen that before! Oh, and snow squalls to boot.... (Then he mentions he's looking forward to visiting Holiday World in May.)

Mark lives on the East Coast: We hit 58 yesterday in Baltimore. Today we had sustained wind speeds of 35 MPH with gusts over 60 MPH. Stuff blowing everywhere. Bringing groceries from the car into the house I got a nice healthy mouthful of dirt. It was like used coffee grinds but not as flavorful. From 58 yesterday down to 25 right now. Tomorrow's high won't get above freezing.

And Terry sounds downright miserable: I'm typing this from my upstairs office, feeling like Bob Cratchit, blowing into my hands to stay warm while our furnace is in melt-down trying to keep the house heated. We've had our second round of blizzard conditions today with few people venturing outdoors. Thankfully our snow-blower started right up and I was able to remove about 10" of new snow from our drive and front walk before the next round of weather visits us. SEND YOUR TEMPS TO KALAMAZOO, PLEASE!!!

Meanwhile, Reindeer Games has arrived. Rachel took some photos before the snow started swirling. If I can make it in to the office tomorrow I'll be sure to get them posted.

Spring, believe it or not, is not that far away.