A family tradition

Paula’s note: It was pure delight watching the Kochs ride Thunderbird for the very first time. Our owners – Lori, Lauren, Leah and William – were beside themselves as they scrambled to switch seats and ride again. Later that evening, I texted them to ask for a volunteer to continue Will’s tradition of blogging after riding a new coaster for the very first time. His middle child, Leah, grabbed her journal and captured her memories before they faded even by a few hours:

When Paula first asked us to write down our thoughts about riding Thunderbird our first time, at first I thought it wouldn’t be very interesting. I figured it would read something like, “WHOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA!!”

Then I actually thought about it and started actually remembering the first ride.

First of all, before we ever got on, I looked like I had ants in my pants. Seriously. I was so excited I was dancing around.

I called dibs on Front Outside Left months before, so I claimed my rightful seat there, and Mom sat next to me.

Once in the seat with restraints ready to go, my mind started racing.

Suddenly, I remembered all of the concerns I read from fans on ThemeParkReview.com, and started worrying:

“What if the launch is boring? Or it doesn’t deliver as promised? What if the launch is good but the rest is lame? What if we’ve spent all this money, and I don’t like it? What if we’ve spent all this money, and our Guests don’t like it?”

As we rolled from the station and into the launch room, I cleared my mind for a moment, and allowed myself to enjoy what was about to happen. I was about to ride a steel coaster that my family and I chose to build. All of the agonizing over the name, our announcement video, and every little thing led to this moment.

Mom and I exchanged an excited, but nervous glance, grabbed hands, then placed them back on the restraint, knowing the launch was coming soon.

In the split-second before the launch, one thought came to the front of my mind: “Please let this be good.”

Then the LSMs catapulted us forward, and I knew I had nothing to worry about.

It is such a good launch.

I kept waiting for the intensity to stop, but it didn’t. Before I knew it, I was staring at the Indiana skyline upside-down for the first time ever (of course, I didn’t actually realize this until the second time around).

That’s when more thoughts started creeping in.

“Whoa that loop went quickly!”

“The supports themselves feel like a near-miss!”

“That tree in the horseshoe is awesome!”

“What a perfect day!”

“This is so smooth!”

I finally realized I would have all the rides I could possibly want to analyze this coaster, but only one chance to enjoy my first ride. So I shut the analytical part of my brain down for a second, took a breath of the spring air, and enjoyed it.

I enjoyed that the ride was beautiful.

That this is going to be a hit.

That all of our hard work is about to pay off when our first Guests get to ride.

That my family and I have worked so hard and endured so much, and finally our greatest tribute to my father is reality.

I snapped out of these deep thoughts in time to analyze the fly-through barn (it did not disappoint), and roll into the brakes.

William & Lauren applaud wildly. Lori beams, holding on. And can’t you just hear Leah’s shout of “YES!” #FirstRide pic.twitter.com/MSt7UpOqcs

— Holiday World (@HolidayWorld) April 4, 2015

My final thoughts as we rolled into the station? “Holy cow! That was awesome! Let’s do that again! Is Stephen taking pictures of us? What does my hair look like?! Meh. Whatever. Dad would be so proud.”