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Raven
Website: Holiday World Homepage
Ride Type: Wooden Coaster
Ride Status: Running
Average Rating: 4.3409
TPC Overall Rank: #84 out of 2933 rides.
Reviews: 52
Last Review: 12/13/2015 8:38:00 PM
In User Top 10: 65 times.
User Tracker Count: 110 times.
 

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4 Rating
+2 Rating Rate Down Rate Up hrrytraver on 6/28/2007 12:08:00 AM - User's Top Ride #5
completely smokin. brevity goes along way with yours truly, and when brevity runs alongside sneaky genius i start to get the vague aroma of that ever rare thing that can never truly be defined, but merely experienced...perfection. raven is like a haiku of wood coaster magic. the essence of the haiku form is that a scant few tools and materials can be assembled into an object of beauty which transcends its own size and/or volume. when one is given a small string of very rich but differing ideas, each idea may reach full blossom in ones mind because it has room to sprout on an uncluttered screen. if done right, the result is a bouquet in which the few elements synergize into a new, singular expression. so therefore when considered in this way the raven is a sublime experience and is helped rather than hurt by its modest length/time. the raven offers me a rippling little moment with just about every element i love about wooden coasters - raw ejector air, convulsing speed, rough-house lateral Gs, and uncoiling, disorienting layers of spatial distortion - but each dealt in tight little parcels and strung together into a fascinating, blurry sequence. it seems like raven is an impossible coaster when you try to reconcile the fact you just went wailing into the final brakes with speed to spare with the fact that the aforementioned brake run is an easy 50 feet ABOVE the lowest portion of the ride. how the heck does raven make it back up that hill to the station with so much energy left over? at 12 years old, raven has plenty "character" and could be argued as the first really profound statement of the wood coaster renaissance. it easily stands with the parks other two newer and larger coasters on the merits of its compact brilliance and its several moments of strong negative G ejections. holiday may have three great, singular and intense wood coasters, but only raven delivers for me the vertical catapult sensation (two definite moments, at least two more decent ones) that i set my spiritual watch to. holiday world went over to even more ambitious, fantastical designs after the success of the raven, but for my taste raven is at the heart of the "holiday world genre", the model and the petri dish for the twisty, speed woody. simply a great ride, and reeking of inspiration. this ride could become a 10 for me with another trip or two out to HW and some more time for the overall raven experience to marinade in my beatnik brain.

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Ride6 on 3/4/2007 3:52:00 AM
While its terribly overated Raven does manage to deliver pretty much whats expected of it: an airtime laden first half with several noteworthy drops, puncuated by an enjector plummit into a speed-based second half with only one spot of air. While I wasnt impressed or suprised by the Raven I was satisfied, and sometimes (meaning "when it comes to CCI" thats enough.

5 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up ginzo on 7/16/2006 4:40:00 PM
Awesome, but short. There is one ejector air moment out in the woods that is somewhat erratic. It doesnt always hit you, but look out when it does. I like the Legend better than this, only because its longer.

Update 8-5-2007: Yesteday I scored a few of the legendary night rides on this little giant. WOW!!! Completely floored might begin to describe my reaction to how Raven savagely burns through the woods after the sun goes down. Its an otherworldly experience, perhaps a bit inspired by a horror film. Lake Rudolph looks eerie, almost possessed as you tear across it with the Ravens unnatural speed. I implore everyone here to plan their next trip to HW so that it can include night rides on Raven. Youll thank me for it. In the mean time, Raven has earned a 10 from me, and possibly a spot in my top 10.

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up SLFAKE on 7/6/2006 12:03:00 AM
Some great drops, a great swooping turn over the lake, break neck speed through the woods all add up to a great coaster. What keeps it from a 10 in my book is its relatively short length.

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Mikewhy on 5/21/2006 1:55:00 PM
This coaster is amazing, although a little short. I love going past the lake, and again the airtime and smoothness for a wooden are amazing. A great coaster, and proof that HW has 3 of the best wooden coasters anywhere now!

5 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up BobFunland on 5/21/2006 12:24:00 PM
The Raven is a fantastic ride in my opinion. The first drop has a great ramp that just makes for insane airtime in the back, air better than anything found on Voyage, the parks "airtime coaster". The next drop had a nice pop of air oo, then it went into terrain mode, diving down near the lake and back tearing through the woods. Oh, adn THE drop. Yes, I can see why it would eject a rider, oh my that was a great pop of air. The ride continues through the woods just kicking butt. Some say its too short, others just not wild enough, but for what it has, it kicks butt. It was my favorite woodie and subsequent favorite ride at the park, dont miss this one

4 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up benleibo on 8/20/2005 3:33:00 PM
I must say that every year the Raven was ranked the #1 wooden coaster in the world I was a little surprised. However, it kept on winning so I figured Id give the ride a shot. Raven was better than I expected, but definitely not the worlds best woodie. Ive been on several that are better, including Legend which resides next door. For its size Raven is great. Surprising speed for such a short lift hill and it is sustained throughout the whole ride. The wooded setting is great and so is the first tunnel. The turn over Lake Rudolph is taken much faster than I expected and there are considerable G-forces. So, what didnt I like about this ride? First of all, it is a bit too short. It doesnt need to be taller, just longer. With another 2 or 3 airtime hills this ride might have gotten the full 10. It has so much speed and energy and I would love to see it continue longer. As for airtime, there were one or two amazing hills with sustained air. The problem is that there is only one or two moments of true airtime. Once again, Raven could use another few bunny hills. All in all Raven is a great ride and at any other park would be the star of the woodie collection. It makes the most of what it has but just doesnt live up to its #1 rankings.

5 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up McFly on 6/8/2005 1:47:00 PM - User's Top Ride #3
Raven is truly one of the most perfect rides out there. It is my second favorite coaster, (just behind Cornball Express, only because Cornball has better air) and is a ride that can be ridden many many times consecutively because its so smooth for wood and is so well taken care of. The first drop delivers very nice airtime in the back of the train, as do the next couple of drops before the very fast and intense turnaround over the lake. Then, comes the famed fifth drop, and it really is as good as everyone says. Best airtime on the ride comes in the back train on this drop, and what immediately follows is just as good. The great ravine run finish is just spectacular, as you are thrown back-and-forth and pounded by the intense laterals. Raven is the complete package.

4 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Scott on 5/14/2005 12:17:00 PM
Now I have a confession to make. I do *not* want to like this ride. Dont ask me why because I dont know and I dont want to be analyzed so leave me alone. Hmmm. Maybe its because I know the ride is short. Maybe its because Ive heard people say they like it better than the Texas Giant and that annoys me. Maybe its because its in Indiana. Maybe its because I have repressed anger toward my Mother. Who knows? Whatever the reason, it must be irrational so off we go. We approach the lift hill and I look around and I have to say I like what I see. The lift hill is long and you cant see where the ride will take you. Once we crest the lift hill the track takes a jog to the right and - whats that gunk in front of the tunnel? It looks gross! Somebody yelled "Raven spit!" and WHOOOAAA! Down the first drop we go, through the gunk (mist!!!) and into the tunnel. Now thats a good drop! Another decent drop and then oooh! a swingaround over Lake Rudolph - Ive seen this part on video! Up we go, way up! Down another drop, then a short jog to the left and... Whats this? Another big drop? Aaaaaaaaaaaah! Ohhhhhh! My God!!! They never show that part on video! That fifth drop is a doozy, and it begins what can only be described as a maelstrom. Through the misty forest we go and are you ready for a Big Finish? Oh yeah!!! I *LIKE* this ride!!! You know, I thought it was gonna be short, and while Ill admit it *is* kind of short - I still feel like Ive had a good, full ride! I could tell immediately that I was going to enjoy riding this coaster all day. And ride it I did, over and over again. The park wasnt terribly crowded and the longest time I had to wait was maybe 4 or 5 trains. Ooooh! another thing I forgot to mention was the nice station. It looked great from the outside, but looked mediocre on the inside. So yeah. Raven is a great ride and missed my top 10 by just a hair.


5 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up coasterwom on 3/24/2005 7:18:00 AM
This ride is a little short but the ride you get is fantastic. The wooded terrain is nice and the view by the lake is great. The helix also adds to the ride. I also liked the tunnel. The Raven is a wood roller coaster. It was built in 1995 by CCI. It was designed by Larry Bill and Dennis McNulty. It is 70' tall, it is 2,800' long. It is fun, fast, rerideable, it has a large capacity, and a long duration.

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