Wildebeest!

Edit: We may be in Idlewild but here's Holiday World's exciting announcement!


HOLIDAY WORLD’S EXPANSION FOR 2010:
‘WORLD’S LONGEST WATER COASTER’ in Splashin' Safari

SANTA CLAUS, IN-----The second-largest ride addition in Holiday World’s history is announced today: The World’s Longest Water Coaster will open in Splashin' Safari next May.

“We’re calling our huge new water coaster Wildebeest,” says park president Will Koch. “And when we say it’s long, we really mean it. Wildebeest is one-third of a mile long and it will thrill riders for two-and-a-half splashing minutes of hills, drops, twists and turns.”
Located north of Bahari wave pool, Wildebeest will begin with a conveyor ride up the water coaster’s lifthill. Following the 38-foot drop at a 45-degree angle, linear induction motors (LIMs) will propel the four-person rafts up seven additional hills, through three tunnels and around a helix. Wildebeest will cover more than two acres, increasing the water park’s size to 27 acres.

“The LIM technology for shooting the rafts up the hills is fascinating,” says Koch, who earned an electrical engineering degree at Notre Dame. “An alternating magnetic field beneath the slide surface propels the rafts, pushing them rapidly and smoothly uphill. LIM technology is a popular feature in some steel roller coasters; it’s cool to see it applied to water coasters, too.”

Wildebeest’s tallest elevation is 64 feet higher than its lowest drop; its top speed will hit 36 feet per second. The conveyor-style lifthill replaces any slide-tower stairs, making the water coaster accessible to riders who might have difficulty walking up stairs.

Today’s announcement marks the second largest single-ride investment in the park’s 64-year history. Koch says the price tag for Wildebeest is $5.5 million. He predicts the need to hire an additional 50 seasonal employees next season, in addition to this year’s total of 2,000 seasonals.
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari are open daily through Sunday and most weekends through October 11. For more information, visit the parks’ website at www.HolidayWorld.com or call 1-877-463-2645.

WILDEBEEST Fact Sheet

DESCRIPTION: Wildebeest is the World’s Longest Water Coaster. Using HydroMagnetic technology, the four-person rafts will fly up a
series of seven hills utilizing eight linear induction motors (LIMs). The water coaster begins with a conveyor ride “lifthill,” followed by a
38-foot drop at a 45-degree angle. The two-and-a-half minute ride includes a total of seven drops, adding up to 178 feet of total “drop.”
Wildebeest’s length is the greatest of any water coaster in the world: 1,710 feet, a third of a mile.

FEATURES: Located in Splashin' Safari, Wildebeest begins with a conveyor ride up the water coaster’s lifthill. Following the 38-foot drop at a 45-degree angle, linear induction motors (LIMs) propel the four-person rafts up seven additional hills, through three tunnels and around a helix.

TECHNOLOGY: HydroMagnetic technology utilizes LIMs to propel Wildebeest’s rafts up the water coaster’s hills. An alternating magnetic field beneath the slide surface propels the rafts, pushing them rapidly and smoothly uphill. LIM technology is a popular feature in some steel roller coasters.

WORLD RECORD LENGTH: Wildebeest’s length is 1,710 feet (1/3 of a mile), making it the World’s Longest Water Coaster. It is also the World’s First Ride-up HydroMagnetic Water Coaster.

RIDE LENGTH: 1,710 feet, the World’s Longest Water Coaster.

DROPS/ANGLES: The first drop is 38 feet, at a 45-degree angle. Together with the six addition drops, combined length of the “drops” is 178 feet.

RIDE HEIGHT: Wildebeest is 64 feet tall, from the lowest to the highest heights.

SPEED: Top speeds: 36 feet/second; average speeds 20 feet/second.

RIDE TIME: 2 minutes, 30 seconds.

RIDE VIDEO: www.holidayworld.com/rides/wildebeest

FOOTPRINT: Wildebeest covers 2.1 acres in Splashin' Safari.

RAFTS: 14 four-passenger rafts with individual seatbacks; seating is toboggan-style.

STAIRS: None! Riders begin at ground level and ride up a conveyor.

CAPACITY/HEIGHT LIMIT: 720 Guests per hour. Riders must be at least 42 inches tall to ride and 48 inches tall to ride without an adult. Weight limit is 800 pounds per raft.

INVESTMENT: $5.5 million, the second largest ride project in Holiday World’s 64-year history.

RIDE DESIGNER: ProSlide Technology Inc., Ontario, Canada.