Comments on: Featured Photo #20 – The Coaster with a Cult Following

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 18:03:46 +0000

I'd have to agree with you coaster critic, I went last summer and the ride wasn't as satisfying as The Voyage which left me in awe. Terrain coasters like Boulder Dash are fun, but their wasn't enough airtime or close calls to make it a good terrain coaster.

By: Mark Mascolino

Mark Mascolino — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 14:08:23 +0000

Perhaps I am the odd one out but I like the Legend most of all with the Voyage coming in second and the Raven being a distant third (although I'll admit I haven't had one of those night time rides that people talk about).

I find the rolling hills of The Legend to be just a ton of fun and fitting in very appropriately with the theme (it makes me feel like I am on horseback).

The Voyage is great but I can only take so much of that before I need a break and I kinda thought the Raven was a little boring.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 16:14:24 +0000

Count me as a Raven cult member. I rode it at this year's Holiwood Nights and thought it was even better than I remembered.

I have always wished it had an air-time hill in the tunnel after the first drop rather than flat track, but other than that I love it.

I love The Voyage too, but the jack-hammering and more bizarre track sections gives me a headache after a while. The Raven is far more re-ridable.

I find the Legend's hills lacking except for the double up on the return and the following big drop into the tunnel. The "helix" just does not work right (not like The Beast or Mr. Twister). I will say I have grown to appreciate The Legend more over the years.

By: Quil

Quil — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:53:49 +0000

Most rides are 10x better at night, especialy special effect rides and terrain coasters.

By: Prof.BAM

Prof.BAM — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 15:14:41 +0000

Aren't most of its cult followers night riders? Cause I've heard this thing is 10x better at night. Do you remember how smooth it was?

By: DC

DC — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 02:43:05 +0000

I think The Raven was so highly rated as it was one of the first really excellent coasters to be built over the last two decades. Even Holiday World kept building better and better coasters with The Voyage topping nearly everyone's North American list. El Toro is almost neck and neck with it. But that's progress. Many parks have bucked the "bigger, taller, faster" trend and have been concentrating on brilliant and unique layouts as well as getting riders to keep their coaster on their favorites list for years to come. The most overated coaster ever is The Beast, which is firmly ensconced as my worst wood coaster for being boring and extremely painful, not to mention subjecting one to that pain for such a lengthy time.

After the era of the Bill Cobb and Summers & Dinn (i.e. Mean Streak, Hercules, Texas Giant) woodies, smooth and re-rideable was a refreshing change from big and painful. Their basic designs were good (Son of Beast being an exception), but did not age well at all. I do blame a lot of that on poor maintenance as well. I've ridden much older wood coasters that ride like they're almost brand new in comparison. (Hint to parks: Carefully maintain your woodies. A good coaster should have a shelf life much longer than 10-20 years!)

By: Dion

Dion — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 21:05:10 +0000

I agree that Raven is an amazing coaster but a little bit overrated because Legend is almost the same rided but twice as long.I never understood why Raven is ranked higher than Legend on all the coaster polls.Just like Voyage and Legend are the same type of wood coaster but Voyage is better because it is twice as long!

By: Piedude81

Piedude81 — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 11:42:38 +0000

I've rode the Raven when I went to Holiday World when I was 8 or 9. That was before I became an enthusiast. I got to go on the Legend, but my cousins pulled me into the waterpark before I could ride The Voyage. Then a severe storm swept through the park, and everything shut down!!!!!

By: DC

DC — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 00:29:35 +0000

When I first rode the Raven 9 years ago, it was an incredible ride. My buddy and I spent the afternoon with the park’s coaster "care giver".(His alleged job title!) I think his name was Jeff and he was wonderful impromptu tour guide, especially behind the scenes. Holiday World hired him away from CCI. He was recovering from a broken arm and couldn't wait to get back to work and fix the so-called glitches only he felt on both The Legend and The Raven. We felt nothing but perfection and both were fast and smooth as butter on hot glass. The air on the Raven’s ravine drop was remarkable, especially in the back seat and almost cartoon like in that we felt like we were a few seconds behind the train itself. We almost literally flew through the woods a couple of dozen times, with that back seat giving up some incredible air.

I understand Jeff’s moved on, so maybe The Raven is no longer flawless. At the time, however, it certainly topped my very long list of woodies. I'm grateful for the resurgence of the wooden coasters, and now there are quite a few really, really good ones out there. And I also agree that Holiday World staff and management rank very highly in the friendliness and customer service departments. Not just with enthusiasts but overall. They were so nice they were almost scary, in a Stepford like way. Many other parks could take a lesson. And for a small, family-owned park that had no full-size coaster until they built The Raven back in 1995, they’ve managed to hold their own quite nicely with now three great wood woodies.

By: OSM

OSM — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 17:49:11 +0000

If you want to talk about a coaster with a cult following, a good place to start would be across the park with Voyage. Not passing judgment on the ride, but the level that some of the fanboys are dedicated to it is insane.