Three surprises

I wanted to let you know that our visit to Holiday World and Splashin' Safari was a great deal of fun.

Our first happy surprise was no charge for parking, and when the walk to the front was as quick as the trolley.

I had three boys with me, aged 16, 14 and 13 (two mine, one a friend), as well as my husband. They all enjoyed the roller coasters, but were a bit disappointed that there were not more "Big rides." I think that your new section will take care of some of that. However, we all greatly enjoyed Splashin' Safari--the lines weren't too long, we could wear our water shoes (why other parks won't let you, I don't understand!), and there were lots of options.

Zinga even thrilled my 16 year old (not an easy thing to do anymore). The two wave pools were wonderful.

The second surprise was the cost and quality of the food. We knew that the soft drinks were free, but assumed the food would be way overpriced, as it is in most amusement parks. We had barbeque sandwiches that were quite good and, get this, hot, freshly made french fries that weren't greasy! I was thrilled! (I know how bad french fries are for me, and if I'm going to eat them, I want them to be gooooooood!)

A third surprise of sorts, was the friendliness of the staff. I actually worked at a theme park for a few weeks during college, and believe me, we weren't all that nice because our bosses were not nice to us.

It seemed that the young people actually enjoyed working and interacting with each other and the guests. At the end of most of the water rides, we were asked if we had enjoyed them. I don't know if I've ever been asked that by the workers before, except at Disney World.

And the ride operators on the roller coasters didn't say exactly the same thing every time. They actually found ways to say the information without grating on your nerves. (I'll never forget the droning, "Enjoy your day at Water Country USA"; I heard that tape so many times in six hours I thought I would be sick!)

The free soft drinks were a blessing and we also appreciated the free sunscreen and tubes. Another thing I appreciated was that you didn't have to hold onto a receipt to get your locker deposit back. It was easy to get out at closing time, although we wish each park had stayed open at least another hour.

We will return and spend a day another time after the new rides are open, making sure the water park is also open.

Thank you for our enjoyable day,

Jana H.
Frankfort, Kentucky