A Science Writer for the Times, Henry Fountain, visited Holiday World in early June to ride The Voyage, interview one of the ride’s designers, plus talk to roller coaster enthusiasts from all over the country who were visiting the park for its annual HoliWood Nights special event.
“Hosting a science writer from The New York Times plus a photographer and videographer for two days can be a little intimidating,” admitted Holiday World’s Director of Communications, Paula Werne. “But they were completely down to earth and fascinated with Voyage’s design and extreme forces. And when it was time for them to climb Voyage’s 16-story lifthill, I think the most intimidating factor was that big wooden coaster!”
Located in the park’s Thanksgiving section, Voyage is 1.2 miles long and provides riders with a record 24.3 seconds of “air time.” This steel-structure wooden coaster, ranked the #1 Wooden Coaster in the World five years in a row by Amusement Today, includes a record five underground tunnels, a series of dramatic drops (including a 66-degree angle of descent on the first drop), three 90-degree banked turns, and multiple track crossovers.
The online version of the article features a four-minute video of The Voyage, including interviews with one of the coaster’s designers, Chad Miller of Cincinnati’s The Gravity Group, plus Sister Michelle Sinkhorn of the Sisters of Saint Benedict in Ferdinand, Indiana.
The New York Times print edition has a circulation of nearly one million; the online version receives an average of 240 million monthly page views.
For more information about Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, visit www.holidayworld.com or call 1-877-Go-Family .