Holiday World- Thunderbird Media Day Ride Review

Thunderbird Media Day and Ride Review


 Holiday World recently opened their newest and only steel coaster, Thunderbird. The team here at ISI was lucky enough to be invited for the Media Preview and to do a review of the ride, needless to say, we were all excited!

 While it was cold, it was also a clear and bright day in Indiana when we first laid eyes on the wing coaster the park has been teasing us with for months.

While not a fan of wing coasters in general, I was hoping that the new Thunderbird would change my mind on the matter. In the past I've found this style of coaster nice but rather lacking in the thrill factor, they seem almost too relaxed in my opinion..

...then Thunderbird happened.

Holiday World- Thunderbird POV and Video

 POV and On-Ride Video of Thunderbird at Holiday World

  As always, we here at ISI love getting POV and On-Ride video. The staff of Holiday World during Media Day (mainly Stephen, you rock!) indulged us to our fullest!

 The park and employees were amazing in supplying us with all the POV and On-Ride footage our little blogger hearts could beg for!

Thunderbird Watch: Holiday World Announces Second Charity Event for Thunderbird!

Can't wait to ride Thunderbird? Well, the folks at Holiday World have opened the taps for another round of donations with Give Kids the World. The first round of donations raised enough money for a family to spend a week at the Give Kids the World Village in Kissimee, Florida. Now, the park has decided to try and do it for a second family as well.

This time, there is no auction, just first come first serve for the first 100 people that donate at least $50 per person. Those that manage to get in will get the chance to experience Thunderbird during the media day event on April 23rd.

Not only will you get the chance to ride the park's newest coaster, and the first ever launched wing coaster in the US, but you'll also get time on The Voyage and Crows Nest as well. That not enough for ya? There will also be a special behind the scenes tour of Thunderbird in the afternoon as well as food and other surprises!

Time is limited on this one as your chance donate will end at 11:59pm on Sunday, April 19th, so if you want to get on the media day event and help out a good cause, head on over to the official donation page!

As always, you can follow along with us right here for all the latest on Thunderbird and more out of Holiday World and beyond or join the madness with us on Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Facebook for all the latest too!

Thunderbird Watch: Night Testing Begins for Holiday World's Newest Coaster!

Earlier this week, the folks at Holiday World started doing night tests of their newest coaster, Thunderbird. With the opening to the public less than two weeks away, it's great to see everything coming together. One thing that we didn't quite anticipate? The lights on the side of the trains!

Seriously, those things are way awesome and the video below that was posted up by the park a couple of nights ago really shows off how they shine.


Thunderbird is shaping up to be a contender for one of the best coasters of 2015 without a doubt and we're happy to announce that the entire ISI team will be on hand for the Thunderbird Media Event next Thursday. So, stay tuned for live coverage of the newest beast to roam the woods of Holiday World!

As always, you can follow along with us right here or on Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Facebook for all the latest!

Thunderbird Watch: First Lanch Video and More from Holiday World!

Earlier today (at 2:03pm), Holiday World, released video of the first ever launch of their newest coaster, Thunderbird. The video, shot during the very first test run is just a teaser though. They only gave us a 30 second clip and even then, some of that is shortened! Even then, it is still video of the first ever launched B&M coaster in the world, that's gotta count for something, right?

That said, we do get a POV look and a side angle shot, both pretty awesome. We want more, but we'll have to wait for the official, full length, POV from Holiday World in the future. Hopefully none of us will have to wait too long for that! For now, we can definitely get a sense of the speed that the launch has just how fast 0-60 in 3.5 seconds really is as you race up the massive 140ft Immelman.

So, enough talking, let's get to the video!


But, that's not all. We've gotten a few pictures from the test run earlier today and a couple more that show off the station house and theming as well!

Stay tuned for more out of Holiday World and Thunderbird as opening day keeps creeping forward by follow us on Twitter, Google+, Tumblr and Facebook for all the latest!

Thunderbird Watch: Holiday World Shows Off Thunderbird's Station House and Barn Fly Through

Well, construction of the track may have been completed well ahead of schedule and the trains have started to arrive but there's a lot more finish up with Holiday World's first all steel coaster.

Most notably, the station house and the barn fly through that riders will be sent careening through not once, but twice! They're definitely getting there with things though and with the barn complete, that only leaves the station to be finished off.

So, let's get down what you came for, the pictures. First up, a look at the mostly complete station for this ground breaking new coaster.

Still a good bit to go here, but definitely getting there and can't wait to see when it's done. Next up? A little bit of coaster nirvana as Holiday World has given us some really unique looks at the barn fly through section of the ride!

Thunderbird Watch: Holiday World Caps Off Thunderbird Track with Piece Number 77

It's been just a little over 5 months since the announcement of Holiday World's first steel coaster, and world's first launched wing coaster, and they've really put the pedal to the metal getting this one done. How fast? Well, just the other day, the folks over at Holiday World posted images and video up of the final section of track going into place. Yep, that's right...the track is 100% complete now.

Gotta say, I'm pretty impressed with how fast this one went up and it looks like they'll be well on their way to getting everything in order for their scheduled preview night on April 24th, 2015. They've still got quite a bit of work to do and testing to get finished, but with just about 5months to go, it seems they'll be just fine in that department.

Let's get on with the pictures, but first here's the latest Hard Hat Chronicles from the park that shows the final track piece going into place. Pretty cool that the crew signed it as well.


Check out all the ride details, videos and other goodies from our coverage of the announcement or just keep on scrolling down for the latest pictures out of Holiday World, including a few fun snow covered pics.

More after the break!

Thunderbird Construction Continues at Holiday World

It's been a while since we've checked in with Holiday World and the progress of Thunderbird, the world's first launched wing coaster. Now, however, there's been a few new pictures released from the park and they're definitely well under way to get things opened on time for the 2015.

Thunderbird, unveiled earlier this year, is the park's first all steel coaster and features a unique launch system that's definitely going to be interesting to experience.

Anyway, before we get to the pictures, here's the latest Hard Hat Chronicles video from the folks at Holiday World.


And now...here's the pictures of construction so far from Holiday World's Facebook Page!

Holiday World- Thunderbird Construction Update 9/17

 Thunderbird Watch- September 17th.

Good News Coaster Fans!

 On the most recent update from Holiday World, their showing off the construction so far on Thunderbird, which is the first launched B&M coaster in the world!

 Not only is the park making excellent progress on the rides construction, they've stated they are roughly two weeks ahead of their planned schedule! Always good news when rides go up quickly and with so much ease!

 So with that, have a few more pictures of the current construction of Thunderbird. Plus a neat little Instagram video which the park posted up, courtesy of their 'HoliDrone'.

First Piece of Thunderbird Track in Place at Holiday World!

Well, that didn't take long as just last week the first sections of track for Holiday World's newest scream machine, Thunderbird, arrived. Today, the Holiblog posted up a few pictures showing the first piece of track going into place for their newest and first ever steel coaster.

Thunderbird is not only the park's first all steel coaster, but also the world's first ever launched wing coaster as well.

Have to say, the orange track is going to be incredible to see snaking through the woods, and night rides are going to be insane. Anyway, the first section of track to be installed, as pictured below, is for the station and as they say "only 76 more to go!"

Check out the Holiblog, Holiday World's official blog for more pictures here!

Stay tuned for more updates on the construction of Thunderbird and we can't wait to get a chance to take flight in April of 2015!