We went to Holiday in the Park in St. Louis this weekend... Special trip, just for that, me and the three boys.
We had a great time, but it is on the opening weekend so the temperatures are probably as warm as it is going to get there... It was in the low 50's when the sun was up, down quickly to near 40 when not. The most chilling ride was probably the Sky Screamer. Lots of air.
Overall, we had a great time, though, a few of the big coasters were not running like the Boss, Screaming Eagle, unsure what else, but rides we DID get to go on included Mr. Freeze, Boomerang, American Thunder, Ninja, Pandemonium, Exaclibur, Fireball, Collosus, Sky Screamer, Battle for Metropolis and any I may have forgotten.
Because of the number of rides open, we were there open to close Fri/Sat. Don't know how long we would have stayed if the temps were a lot lower with fewer rides going. It was wonderful at night to see the lights everywhere, they did a great job, the music syncrhonized light show was very cool, but that wasn't good, obviously, until after dark.
It was nice, also, just to have the feel of a different park for a bit. We had never been there, so it was all new, which may have added to some of the enjoyment. If they had HITP at Great America, I'm sure we would come from Rockford area to see it, I just don't know how many times.
As a side note, all four of us thought that their Battle For Metropolis ride was of a higher quality than the one at SFGAM. Video quality, anyway, it seemed much higher definition. They seemed to have fewer cars running, line moved a lot slower, and the overall "feel" of the waiting line/etc was not as good, but the ride itself seemed better.
Coaster Justin wrote:How were the crowds and did you see any shows?
Saw the live nativity once... Saw the Tinseltones twice, and saw the wandering carolers (sp?) and characters wandering around. I thought the shows were well done. Yes, I could pick some nits, but why diminish what was great overall? For the natiity, we were right by the ramp where the live animals came in so the kids liked that part most of all.
I didn't think it was overly crowded, and the ride lines were somewhat artificial. They were only running one train on each ride. I know that some only have one, but others have more. Mr Freeze was only using one side There was only one train running on American Thunder and Ninja, both of which I think can have more than one. It would have sped things up and made the wait times less, but I'm sure there are hidden costs/reasons for doing it beyond trying to make people wait and get frustrated. We didn't get to the Mine Cart ride becuase my son, seeing the line while we were on Fireball said it looked too long and he didn't even want to check it out.
Friday was less crowded than Saturday, but Saturday was not bad. Plenty of walking room, you didn't feel like you were always running into people or that you couldn't get around a particularly slow group. Some of the food lines were a little long, but not overly so and we didn't mind it that much. All in all, it was a great experience, the only thing I could honestly say that would have made the biggest difference would have been to get the rides operating at capacity with the extra trains. The ambience with all the lighting was great at night, but the music track could have had a few more songs in it. It isn't like there is a shortage of Christmas songs, but we kept hearing the same ones over and over and over and over... LoL
n9yty wrote:We went to Holiday in the Park in St. Louis this weekend... Special trip, just for that, me and the three boys.
We had a great time, but it is on the opening weekend so the temperatures are probably as warm as it is going to get there... It was in the low 50's when the sun was up, down quickly to near 40 when not. The most chilling ride was probably the Sky Screamer. Lots of air.
Overall, we had a great time, though, a few of the big coasters were not running like the Boss, Screaming Eagle, unsure what else, but rides we DID get to go on included Mr. Freeze, Boomerang, American Thunder, Ninja, Pandemonium, Exaclibur, Fireball, Collosus, Sky Screamer, Battle for Metropolis and any I may have forgotten.
Because of the number of rides open, we were there open to close Fri/Sat. Don't know how long we would have stayed if the temps were a lot lower with fewer rides going. It was wonderful at night to see the lights everywhere, they did a great job, the music syncrhonized light show was very cool, but that wasn't good, obviously, until after dark.
It was nice, also, just to have the feel of a different park for a bit. We had never been there, so it was all new, which may have added to some of the enjoyment. If they had HITP at Great America, I'm sure we would come from Rockford area to see it, I just don't know how many times.
As a side note, all four of us thought that their Battle For Metropolis ride was of a higher quality than the one at SFGAM. Video quality, anyway, it seemed much higher definition. They seemed to have fewer cars running, line moved a lot slower, and the overall "feel" of the waiting line/etc was not as good, but the ride itself seemed better.
That's funny cause their website said boomerang, skyscreamer, fireball were to not be open for HITP
CoasterNick3157 wrote:That's funny cause their website said boomerang, skyscreamer, fireball were to not be open for HITP
What can I say, we rode 'em.
I was particularly surprised by Boomerang, because I thought it was closed most of the last part of the season down there every time we checked the web site following the accident in May.
Coaster Justin wrote:How does it compare to other Boomerangs? I've heard it's a little smoother
This was my first and only one, so I can't compare. We enjoyed it though, even though it broke down on the ride before us, we stuck around until they got it working, only about ten minutes.
I've ridden Boomerang at StL and Sidewinder at Hershey, and can say that I liked Sidewinder more for the sole reason of the trains. Vekoma Vests > Arrow OTSRs. That isn't saying much, however.
We were planning a trip to SFSTL this summer (Ended up cancelling) and the day I was supposed to be there both Boomerang AND Ninja were close. Would've been the best luck ever
Edit: I really regret making this comment because I was actually spited by both Boomerang and Ninja when I visited last month. I hate spites :/
Last edited by RollingCoasting on July 2nd, 2017, 4:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.
just came back from st louis HITP all the rides they were supposely open on opening day for HITP were not open for the two day i went Fireball, Boomerang, Sky Screamer, Screaming Eagle. Quite busy Saturday but Sunday was dead.
On tonight's screamscape update, there was an aerial video posted of a HITP flyover at SFGAdv & it truly is beautiful. Makes me really want it here but I still just can't see it happening. It's already below freezing out.
I think it will come eventually. I did HITP at SFOG in 2014 and I'm going back this Christmas. I really enjoyed it and if it can be anything like it was at SFOG it would be a hit.
Sucker for a launch, custom audio and Viper | Coaster Count: 507
Like previously stated, the weather here is hit or miss in Winter. Typically, it doesn't get to Polar Vortex-level cold until January, but December can still get quite cold and snowy.
HITP can work amazingly here, and I have soooo many ideas for what we could do(walkthroughs, lighting, events, shows, etc.)
For anyone what wonders about how viable a holiday event might be, just look at the last Sunday and tomorrow. Snow would have caused those two day to be a total loss. And the sub-freezing weather for next weekend would be another dagger.
I can confirm this was being discussed for our park already this summer. I met with a guy today who interned in one of the business offices at the park this summer, and as we were discussing his experience working there, he brought up HiTP out of the blue, saying it was being considered for SFGAm. I was happy to hear that.
I personally worry about it succeeding at our park with how brutal winter can be here, as we've seen the last few weeks, but I would love to have it!