Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
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| Location | Santa Claus, Indiana |
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| Website | http://www.holidayworld.com |
| Owner | Will Koch |
| Opened | 1946 |
| Previous names | Santa Claus Land |
| Operating season | 60 |
| Rides | total
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Holiday World is a theme park located in Santa Claus, Indiana. Holiday World is also noted for its water park, Splashin' Safari, which is included in the price of admission. Together, they are officially known as Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
The theme park celebrates Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the 4th of July with rides, live entertainment, games and attractions. The water park includes numerous family raft slides, two wave pools, two lazy rivers, water slides, and water activities for children. Holiday World offers free all-day Pepsi soft drinks, free parking and free sunscreen.
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[edit] History
Holiday World was founded in 1946 by Louis J. Koch under the name Santa Claus Land. Holiday World was the first themed amusement park in the United States, preceding Disneyland by nine years. In 1984, the park expanded to include Halloween and Fourth of July sections, and the park's name was changed to reflect the new holidays. In 1993, Splashin' Safari was added. The park gained national attention in 1995 when wooden roller coaster "The Raven" opened during the park's 50th season. It has been rated as the first, second, and third best roller coaster by Amusement Today and Inside Track magazines. The wooden roller coaster "The Legend" opened in 2000 and has consistently been rated in the top ten of the Amusement Today Golden Ticket awards. In 2002, Splashin' Safari opened the largest enclosed water slide in the world called "ZOOMbabwe." In 2006, Holiday World added the Thanksgiving section and additions to Splashin' Safari for its 60th Anniversary. The additions in 2006 mark the largest expansion ever for Holiday World and cost over $13 million US dollars. This addition includes a new wooden roller coaster, "The Voyage." On September 13, 2006, the park's owner Will Koch taped a segment for the Colbert Report pitting Santa Claus against Abraham Lincoln, another historical figure of southern Indiana. The park's 60th season concluded on October 8, 2006; on that day the park broke its all-time attendance record as more than one million visitors came through the gates that year. Looking ahead to 2007, the $4.5 million expansion includes Bakuli (a ProSlide "Behemoth Bowl") waterslide in Splashin' Safari and the new Turkey Whirl tilt-a-whirl in Holiday World.
[edit] Attractions
Holiday World's attractions are divided into four sections: Christmas, Halloween, Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving.
[edit] Christmas
The Christmas section is the entrance to the park and contains Rudolph's Reindeer Ranch, which is an area of kiddie rides, as well as Kringle's Kafe, the largest restaurant in the theme park. Holiday Theater and Santa's Storytime Theater are also located in the Christmas section.
[edit] Halloween
The Halloween section includes "The Raven" and "The Legend," two of the park's full sized roller coasters along with "Frightful Falls" (a log flume), "HallowSwings" (a swing ride), and "Scarecrow Scrambler" (a scrambler). In Amusement Today magazine, "The Legend" and "The Raven" have repeatedly been voted among the top five wooden roller coasters in the world. The Raven is themed around the classic Edgar Allan Poe poem The Raven. The Legend is based on The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow as riders dash through the woods of Holiday World as if chased by the headless horseman.
[edit] Fourth of July
The Fourth of July section is the largest area within the theme park. An eight-story free-fall ride called "Liberty Launch," was added in 2003. Some other popular rides include "Raging Rapids," "Revolution," "Paul Revere's Midnight Ride," and "The Freedom Train," which is the only remaining ride from the park's first season 60 years ago. The Fourth of July section also features live Gospel and Country Music shows. Holidog's FunTown is part of the 4th of July section.
[edit] Thanksgiving
The Thanksgiving themed section of the park premiered on May 6 for the 2006 season. The centerpiece is "The Voyage," a new out-and-back/twister wooden roller coaster which set a new world's record for the most air-time on a wooden coaster (air-time is the sensation of weightlessness as riders crest a hill) with a total of 24.2 seconds. The Voyage is 1.2 miles long and has five underground tunnels, plus a record three sections of track that are banked at 90 degrees. The first drop is a steep 66 degrees.
Thanksgiving also includes a turkey-chase interactive dark ride called Gobbler Getaway, plus a shop. An eatery called the Plymouth Rock Cafe will open in 2007.
[edit] Holidog's FunTown
Holidog's FunTown is an area geared toward children, which was built on the site of the Firecracker, a small rollercoaster which the Raven essentially replaced. It features a few small rides and a family roller coaster called The Howler. The section is surrounded by the Holidog's Treehouse, which Holiday World says is the biggest family-play attraction in the U.S. It is three stories tall. The Howler is the miniature roller coaster, which is a six-car train with two seats per car. It features one 360 degree Helix and is 15 feet tall with a 13 foot drop. [1] The section also includes Doggone Trail, a jeep ride; Magic Waters, a 35 foot water squirting out area; and Just for Pups, a smaller tree house.
[edit] Splashin' Safari
Splashin' Safari water park includes "ZOOMbabwe" which is the world's largest enclosed water slide. Other popular rides include the "Zinga," a funnel ride, and "Jungle Racer", which is a group of 10 competing waterslides. Others include the "Watubee," a family raft slide; the "Otorongo" in-the-dark slides; "Monsoon Lagoon", a children's play area, two wave pools, and two rivers. New in 2007 is Bakuli, a huge new family water slide that pours riders into a 60-feet-wide bowl ("bakuli" is Swahili for "bowl").
[edit] Current Rides
[edit] Holiday World
[edit] Christmas
(all kiddie rides) - Dancer's Thunder Bumpers Jr.
- Comet's Rockets
- Dasher's Seahorses
- Prancer's Merry-Go-Round
- Blitzen's Airplanes
- Dear Playground
- Kids' Castle
[edit] Halloween
- The Raven Wooden Roller Coaster
- Frightful Falls (log flume)
- Scarecrow Scrambler
- The Legend Wooden Roller Coaster
- HallowSwings
[edit] 4th Of July
- Paul Revere's Midnight Ride (spider)
- Rough Riders (bumper cars)
- Revolution (round-up)
- Liberty Launch
- Lewis & Clark Trail
- Eagle Flight
- Raging Rapids in Boulder Canyon (white water rapids raft ride)
- Thunder Bumpers on Chesapeake Bay (bumper boats)
- Indian River (kiddie ride)
- Salmon Run
[edit] Holidog's FunTown
(Children's area)
- The Freedom Train
- Doggone Trail
- The Howler
- Holidog's Treehouse
- Just for Pups
- Magic Waters
[edit] Thanksgiving
- The Voyage Wooden Roller Coaster
- Gobbler Getaway (Sally Corporation Interactive dark ride)
- New for 2007 Turkey Whirl (tilt-a-whirl)
[edit] Splashin' Safari
- Bahari wave pool
- Bahari River (New for 2006)
- Congo River
- Monsoon Lagoon
- Otorongo
- Watubee
- The Wave
- Jungle Racer
- Zinga
- ZOOMbabwe
- Jungle Jets
- Butterfly Bay
- Crocodile Isle
- AmaZOOM
- Bamboo Chute
