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Holiday World debuts record-setting water ride

Scott Rutherford Amusement Today

Plunge

Indiana’s Holiday World kicked off its 63rd season on May 2 with a new ride of epic proportions – Pilgrims Plunge. Competing with The Voyage roller coaster as the tallest ride in the park, Pilgrims Plunge sets a new world record for tallest water ride with its 131- foot drop.

Inspired by classic Shootthe- Chute rides that proliferated amusement parks in the early 20th century, Pilgrims Plunge utilizes an open elevator to quickly raise boats filled with riders 135 feet in the air. The boats pause briefly and then rapidly descend a worldrecord 131 feet at a 45-degree angle, creating a big splash and thoroughly drenching every passenger.

“We’ve dreamed about adding a Shoot-the-Chute ride for years,” says Will Koch, the president of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari. “When we saw the opportunity to break the world’s record and to use an open-air elevator in the design, we couldn’t resist! This is a high-capacity, classic family ride with a modern twist.”

Designed by Switzerland’s Intamin Ltd., Pilgrims Plunge utilizes five 10-passenger boats that reach a top speed of 50 mph during the descent. With a ride time of two minutes, 40 seconds (station to station), it can accommodate 960 guests per hour.

Amusement Today discussed some of the safety features built into Pilgrim’s Plunge with Holiday World Director of Maintenance Tony Perkins.

“On the lift platform, the boat sits on rubber tires which transfer the vehicle onto and off of the platforms. Those tires are attached to a gearbox and motors; the motors cannot be powered/moved unless at the top or bottom position of the tower. For redundancy, the lift platforms have positive mechanical stops in the front and back. The platforms are lifted by 200 percent dutyrated Pilgrims Plunge chains, meaning either chain could do the job alone but for safety (redundancy), we have two.

“In the event of a power failure, the lift platform will maintain its position until our maintenance staff manually releases it to lower the suspended boat to the bottom staging position. A manual brake controls the descent speed. Our staff is trained in evacuation procedures,” said Perkins.

This is the second largest expansion project in the park’s 63-year history. Koch says the price tag for Pilgrims Plunge is more than half of the $8.4 million being invested in his family’s parks for 2009. Other additions include more shade structures in Splashin’ Safari plus improvements to the Legend parking lot, including an access road and traffic signal at the junction of State Roads 162 and 245 to the east of the park.

Holiday’s World’s new Pilgrims Plunge Shoot-the- Chute from Intamin not only sets a record for drop at 131 feet, but also becomes one of the most unique looking rides ever with its “bow” looking vertical lift hill

PHOTOS COURTESY HOLIDAY WORLD

BRIEF

Dolly Parton releases CD, featuring music from Dollywood's new stage show

Entertainment superstar and east Tennessee native Dolly Parton has released a new eight-song commemorative CD entitled Sha-Kon- O-Hey! to benefit Friends of the Smokies.

The CD retails for $10, $8 of which Parton is donating during 2009 to the non-profit Friends of the Smokies, an organization devoted to preserving and protecting the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and public awareness.

“Having grown up and lived in the heart of these beautiful mountains, my love for this area is deep, genuine and heartfelt,” Parton said. “The mountains have inspired so much of my music, and these new songs convey my love for this area as well as the folks like me who call the Great Smoky Mountains home.”

The Sha-Kon-O-Hey! CD features eight original songs written by Parton, all of which are performed in Dollywood’s new 45-minute stage show Sha-Kon-O-Hey! that premiered on May 9. Sha-Kon-O-Hey! is the most elaborate show in the theme park’s 24-year history.

The music CD may be purchased at the park or via the Web at: www.smokie store.org.