Legend at Holiday World is revered for its laterals.
And rightfully so.
This is one of the best coasters in the world for laterals.
However, this coaster has so much more to offer.
This wood coaster excels in many areas from its setting to pacing.
But just how great is this wood coaster?
Find out in this review!
Custom Coasters International and Holiday World paired up in 1995 to build Raven, a
short but powerful wood coaster through the woods.
This coaster had some strong airtime pops in the first half and strong laterals in the
second half.
This coaster was wildly successful and even claimed the Golden Ticket Award for the Best
Wood Coaster a few times, so it’s no surprise Holiday World returned to CCI for their next
major coaster.
After the initial layout was devised, Holiday World’s owners shared the plans with coaster
enthusiasts requesting feedback on the elements and theme.
For the 2000 season, Holiday World opened Legend for a surprisingly low cost of just
$3 million.
While Legend has been thrilling guests at this Indiana theme park for over two decades,
the coaster has undergone three notable changes.
First, the Gerstlauer train was replaced by PTC trains for the 2002 season.
While there hasn’t been an official statement why from the park, there have been rumors
it was related to guest comfort, CCI and PTC not working together, and/or the park’s
desire to standardize their wood coaster trains across the park.
But whatever the reason, those who rode Legend in its first two years said the coaster tracked
well, but the heavy laterals were somewhat uncomfortable due to the lap bar and seat
design of the Gerstlauers.
Second, Legend was upgraded to run two trains to boost the ride’s capacity.
A transfer track was added on the approach to the lift hill.
Legend also included a longer straight section out of the station, but the load platform
was moved forwards to use this section to provide more buffer between a train fully
stopped on the brakes and the train in the station.
This also necessitated the extension of the ride’s station.
Third, the finale was modified.
Before the 2016 season, you navigated a single hill that turned left after the double helix.
From the 2016 season onwards, the descent was turned into a double down.
This was in addition to frequent trackwork over the years to keep this coaster running
in tip-top shape.
Legend has an aggressive layout between its length and lateral forces.
I have no doubt this attraction would be rough at most parks.
But it runs fairly smoothly under the care of Holiday World.
Placed in the Halloween section of the park, this coaster was loosely themed to the Legend
of Sleepy Hollow.
Guests mimic the ride of Icabod Crane as he fled from the Headless Horseman through the
woods.
There’s no theming during the course.
The only bit of theming is the ride’s cool-looking logo and station building.
The latter is themed to look like a schoolhouse and every time a train dispatches, crew members
manually pull a bell.
So if you’re anywhere near the attraction, you know a train has been sent out.
Legend is an elusive ride.
Very little of the coaster is visible from within the amusement park.
From the midway, you can only see the ride’s 99 foot or 30 meter tall lift, which looks
considerably taller than that.
From the queue line, you can see the coaster’s final few turns to build anticipation.
From the water park, you can see the coaster’s outward leg as it dives over and under water
slides, creating some awesome near-misses.
The rest of the ride, including Legend’s famous double helix, takes place deep within
the woods.
I love this coaster’s setting.
It’s one of the ride’s biggest strengths.
Despite how Legend can run two trains, I find it runs just one most days.
This is fine on most weekdays, but it can have a slow-moving line on busy weekends.
The longest I’ve waited for this coaster was 30-45 minutes on a holiday weekend with
just one train.
The dispatch speeds are fine.
There just isn’t much the crew can do with just one train and a lengthy coaster like
this.
Each train seats 24 riders across 6 cars.
These are two bench PTC trains.
They have the usual individual seatbelt and ratcheting lap bar combination.
These restraints are fine.
They can come down further during the ride’s valleys, so I would advise holding onto the
restraint once checked.
Legend’s station is quite narrow, but I recommend fighting through the crowds to wait
for the front.
Once you get past everyone, you usually have to wait just an extra train or two for row
one.
This is my favorite seat on Legend for the added smoothness and sense of speed.
Once dispatched, you roll past the transfer track, turn right, and ascend the ride’s
lift hill.
I still can’t believe this lift is under 100 feet tall.
At the top, you slowly navigate a turn past a bazillion flags and then you cruise down
the ride’s 113 foot or 34 meter tall first drop.
Unlike most CCI drops that give some nice airtime, this one is free of negative Gs.
However, it starts banking left at the bottom so it applies some strong laterals.
These laterals continue as you zoom through a tunnel and twist upwards into the second
hill.
This is an elongated hill giving a plethora of laterals.
At the top of the hill, you start banking right so you get slammed to the other side
of the train.
When you pullout from this hill, you again twist left, so you’re subjected to another
dose of strong laterals with some faint positive Gs as well.
Legend treats your body like a ragdoll.
And these lateral forces all occur while you’re narrowing dodging water slide and roller coaster
supports for some fun headchoppers.
You then ascend a turnaround at the far end of Splashin’ Safari.
You get a weak pop of airtime up front, but the laterals on the descent are the star yet
again.
You are pinned to the left side of the train as you twist downwards.
The subsequent valley was quite bumpy in the back in 2021.
It was easily the roughest part on the ride.
So knowing Holiday World’s maintenance team, this section was probably retracked going
into 2022.
Next is Legend’s best airtime hill.
You have this sizable bunny hill.
You haul over this element and get some incredible sustained airtime.
It’s strong floater up front, but those in the back get something closer to weak ejector.
And this all takes place to some more headchoppers.
You then climb up a giant camelback.
You lose quite a bit of speed, so those up front only get meekly lifted out of their
seat.
But those in back get some good floater airtime on the sizable drop that follows.
This drop also heads into yet another tunnel- one of five on the ride.
You then navigate an extended s-bend towards the double helix.
This section applies very strong laterals.
The first half in the tunnel slams you to the left.
The second half outdoors throws you to the right.
Now it’s time for Legend’s signature element- the double helix.
This is one of the best elements in the world for laterals.
You turn clockwise, dipping downwards and upwards through two tunnels.
But the ride never lets up on the laterals.
You are pinned to the left side of the train for roughly 15 straight seconds.
You can try fighting the forces, but resistance is futile.
These are some of the strongest and most unrelenting laterals of any ride.
This leads into the double down, which also twists 90 degrees during the element.
It’s one of the few turns on the ride without any laterals.
The first hump offers no airtime, but the second offers a weak pop for those in the
back.
Legend then returns to giving laterals as it turns towards the flume.
You then quickly dip beneath the lift of the Frightful Falls log flume, getting another
mild bit of airtime in the back.
You then shoot upwards into an L-turn that forcefully blasts front row riders out of
their seat.
The airtime is much weaker towards the back, but the hill is so sharp they still come out
of their seat.
You then quickly turn left getting more laterals, which is extra sweet up front because the
lats kick in while you’re still in the air.
You then dip downwards, again getting a small bit of airtime in the back.
You then shoot upwards into the final turn.
This rides like the entry into the prior turn, popping everyone out of their seat, but especially
those up front.
You then zoom around one last turn with strong sustained laterals before hitting the final
brake run, ending the 4042 foot or 1232 meter long coaster.
Along with the individual elements being quite strong, Legend has great pacing in general.
The ride feels far faster than its 59 mph or 95 kph top speed, and it keeps riders engaged
start to finish with the abundance of laterals and wonderful setting.
Like all the coasters at Holiday World, Legend is a fantastic night ride.
There’s almost no light on the course since the water park closes before sunset and the
rest of the ride takes place in the woods.
The best time of year for night rides is Holiwood Nights, especially since the park sometimes
runs the water cup challenge during this enthusiast event.
Riders are given a cup of water and challenged to return to the station with as much as possible.
I somehow came back with a full cup and before you ask, a magician never reveals their secrets.
So what would I rate the Legend?
I would give this CCI an 8.5 out of 10.
This is a very good wooden roller coaster.
This may be one of the best coasters in the world for laterals.
Pretty much every turn slams you to the side of the train, sometimes for an instant and
sometimes far longer.
I also love the ride’s pacing and location.
The biggest downside for Legend compared to other wood coasters is the airtime.
There are some spots, particularly the fourth hill and the finale, but that’s not the
focus of Legend.
This may be my least favorite wood coaster at Holiday World, but this is still a borderline
top 25 wood coaster for me and it’s an absolute must if you love laterals and a wood coaster
that feels out-of-control.
So those are my thoughts on Legend at Holiday World.
What are your thoughts on this sprawling wood coaster?
Do you think it’s the best coaster in the world for laterals?
Let me know your thoughts down in the comments.
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