The Howler is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated whee ...

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari Holiday World & Splashin' Safari (known as Santa Claus Land prior to 1984) is a combination theme park and water park located near Interstate 64 and U.S. 231 in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States. The theme park is divided into four sections ...

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, United States. It was built in 1999 by

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

as part of a larger expansion project to build Holidog's FunTown; it opened on May 8, 1999. The Howler is themed after Holiday World's mascot, Holidog, and features a 12-passenger train with the front car resembling the dog's head and the back car resembling the dog's hind feet and tail. The Howler is located within the Fourth of July section of Holiday World in a sub-section known as Holidog's FunTown, which is a children's play area located in the southeasternmost corner of the park. Prior to the addition of

Thunderbird Thunderbird, thunder bird or thunderbirds may refer to: * Thunderbird (mythology), a legendary creature in certain North American indigenous peoples' history and culture * Ford Thunderbird, a car Birds * Dromornithidae, extinct flightless birds ...

in 2015, it was Holiday World's sole steel coaster, as the main roller coasters at the time were all wooden ones.

History

In 1998, Holiday World began making preparations for a new addition to the park by removing the

Firecracker A firecracker (cracker, noise maker, banger) is a small explosive device primarily designed to produce a large amount of noise, especially in the form of a loud bang, usually for celebration or entertainment; any visual effect is incidental t ...

roller coaster from the area encircled by The Freedom Train. In its place, the park planned on building Holidog's FunTown, a children's play area featuring a three-story play structure. As part of Holidog's FunTown, Holiday World made plans to purchase a small roller coaster that all members of the family, including children, could enjoy. The park called the new roller coaster The Howler, deriving the name from the

sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

the area's mascot, a dog named Holidog, makes. The Howler opened on May 8, 1999. When the roller coaster opened, it operated with a single 12-passenger

train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...

custom made by Zamperla so that the lead car resembled Holidog's head while the back car resembled Holidog's hind feet and tail.

Characteristics

Station

The Howler's station is fairly basic in comparison to the stations on Holiday World's other three roller coasters. The station is a covered platform with no walls. To enter, guests walk up a small set of stairs and enter a single

queue __NOTOC__ Queue () may refer to: * Queue area, or queue, a line or area where people wait for goods or services Arts, entertainment, and media *''ACM Queue'', a computer magazine * ''The Queue'' (Sorokin novel), a 1983 novel by Russian author ...

switchback which stretches close to the length of the train. At the end of the queue there is a single swinging entrance gate. To the left of the entrance gate at the end of the station is a single swinging exit gate. The ride operator's controls are located in the area between the entrance and exit gates. To exit, guests may either walk down the small set of stairs or use the ramp. The ramp is also used by guests in wheelchairs to enter the station.

Train

The Howler uses a single light brown, 12-passenger

that is custom made by

to resemble Holidog. Each train is made up of six cars that hold 2 riders each. Each car has one row holding two riders. The Howler's safety restraints include a lap bar that is shared by the two riders in each row.

Track

The track on The Howler is made out of blue tubular steel. The supports for the track itself are steel as well. The total length of the track is and includes a

helix A helix () is a shape like a corkscrew or spiral staircase. It is a type of smooth space curve with tangent lines at a constant angle to a fixed axis. Helices are important in biology, as the DNA molecule is formed as two intertwined helices, ...

. The track features a

chain lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

and two block sections, which only allows one train to operate at a time. The Howler uses fin brakes to allow the train to be stopped in the station at the conclusion of the ride.

Experience

The ride begins with riders in the station facing away from the ''Just for Pups'' play area. Immediately after dispatch the train latches onto the

lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

chain which takes riders in the air. Once the train has reached the top of the lift hill it is released from the chain, at which point the train goes down the ride's initial drop, which curves slightly to the right. At the bottom of the drop the train goes back uphill. The train then makes a right, downhill turn to complete the ride's

. After crossing under the ride's own track at the end of the helix, the train travels straight before making a banked right turn. At the conclusion of the turn, the train enters the station and stops. After stopping, the ride operators at Holiday World generally ask riders if they would like to go around for another cycle. If any rider objects to going around a second time, the ride operator lets that person off before resuming the second lap. At the conclusion of the second lap, the ride comes to an end at which point all riders unload. The total elapsed time for one lap is approximately twenty-five seconds.

References

External links

Official website for The Howler at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari

Official YouTube video of The Howler posted by Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howler, The Roller coasters in Indiana Holiday World & Splashin' Safari Roller coasters introduced in 1999