As much fun for teens as when they were younger

We came to Holiday World on Memorial Day and had a great time. We've been coming there for 10 years and always love coming back!

You have the cleanest and friendliest park around. I love the free soft drinks and sunscreen. That just makes it even nicer. Your food is good and the prices are wonderful. It's nice to be able to eat and not feel like I've just been ripped off.

Six Flags is less than 5 miles from our house. It takes us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to Holiday World. I will still always pick your park over the one down the street!

Thanks for the great family atmosphere. I am always telling my friends and coworkers about what a better park Holiday World is over Six Flags. I am sure I have sent many people your way, and will continue.

Even though my kids are both teenagers now, we had just as much fun as when they were younger. Your new water ride, Bakuli, was the best water ride I've ever been on. My girls and I loved it! The new lazy river was great too.

Thanks again for a wonderful time. Please keep doing what you're doing. We will definitely keep coming!

Sincerely,
Yvette C.
Louisville, Kentucky

Sticker shock in the "Show Me" State

My family just returned from visiting 2 parks in Missouri. The first one is 30 miles south of St. Louis and the other park is in Branson.

While we enjoyed the rides at those parks, I had to get my fix of steel coasters, I am still in sticker shock over the prices.

At the St. Louis park: $15.00 to park my car, $3.50 for a Coke, $25.00 for two two-piece chicken dinners and 2 Cokes.

It was a good thing that the water park wasn't opened yet, I don't think I could have afforded the tube rental.

The Branson park was nice, themed very well, the entry price was a little higher,
but it is eight hours away and they didn't have a water park. As we drove back, remember eight hours, my wife and daughter both commented that we are so lucky to have Holiday World nearby. As a writer stated earlier, if you only had some loopy coasters, we wouldn't go any other place. By the way, we were there on Splashin' Safari's opening day this year, Bakuli was great, we can't wait to get back.

Thanks for providing everyone with a fantastic experience.

Rick S.
Franklin, Indiana

Now I see!

Just got back from our first trip THIS YEAR to see you all. As we were walking into the park on Sunday morning, there was Mrs. Koch to greet us, and then later in the day we saw her at the water park, and then saw Will walking around the Fourth of July area, now I SEE why you have such a great park.

When the owners are right there every day, things have to be in good shape. Thanks for giving us such a great park.

My favorite ride is the new Gobbler Getaway. I had no idea what we were in for when we walked in the hall, until Grandma explained it for us. NICE TOUCH. I'll be back soon to see if I can get past "Gobbler want ta be," and I had two turkey callers, tooo!!!

Dianne M.
Louisville, Kentucky

Amazed for several reasons

I wanted to tell you about our trip to Holiday World.

I am a single mom of three kids and a full-time student. My oldest son turned 11 the day we visited. I have saved for several months knowing they wanted to go to a park for his birthday. After talking to many families at our church they all suggested going to Holiday World.

I was so amazed at our visit for several reasons.

1. Your park was soooo clean. Every bathroom was clean.

2. Your staff was helpful and very friendly.

3. I felt safe with my kids at your park. My oldest and his friend were able to go off in the water park without me feeling worried about their safety.

4. The soft drinks being free was so helpful to our limited budget. Taking four kids to a park and buying drinks is very costly and we would have never been able to go for two days.

5 The food prices were very affordable. That really helped our my budget.

6. The rides were numerous enough to keep four kids going all day.

We really enjoyed our day at your park. I will recommend your park to anyone. My extended family is interested in having a reunion there at Holiday World.

I just wanted to take the time to thank you for making your park a GREAT family place.

Sincerely,
Ms. Jennifer B. and sons
P.S. The sunscreen was a big help too!

Father doesn't always know best

I visited Holiday World on Sunday the 27th. My family had a great time as always. The purpose of this email is to commend the workers on The Voyage. They were measuring kids to make sure the height was OK. There was one little girl who was not tall enough, but her father kept assuring them it would be OK. This guy was a little imposing, but your
staff did a great job of not letting her on the ride. The father was upset. I think some times all you here are complaints, but these kids deserve a pat on the back. See you again this summer..

Terry W.

Visiting since you were Santa Claus Land

Yesterday, May 27th, our family visited your park. We love it and have visited at least once a year for the last 6 years. The first time we visited, our daughter was 2 weeks... yes, WEEKS... old. We didn't do very much that year except get a picture with Santa. We have gotten a picture of her with Santa every year since. It's a great way to see the changes in her from year to year. Recently, while packing to move, we
ran across a picture of ME as a young child in nearly exactly the same pose as our daughter. (Back then it was Santa Claus Land.)

You are doing an amazing job of keeping the park fun and safe place for all your guests for so many years. It just keeps getting better and better. I love the No-Smoking" except in designated areas policy as well as the free drinks.

I just watched a show on the Travel Channel about "The Best Waterparks" and they didn't list Splashin' Safari, so obviously their list is wrong.

Splashin' Safari is Number One in my book and would be in anyone's who had actually ever visited the park!

Thanks for all the great family fun!

The S. Family
Carmi, Illinois

Comparing parks and going loopy

Recently I went on a trip with the 8th grade to Louisville and we went to a theme park there.

I must say I am spoiled.

Holiday World is by far the best around.

The unlimited drinks are wonderful--it was $3.50 for a canned drink where I was at last weekend. And the food prices were just as bad.

I just wanted to say thank you for being so clean, so not out of my price range and for being just a great all around value and full of Fun Park.


Now if you only had a metal loopy coaster there would be no reason to go anywhere else. HA HA I probably won’t go any where else anyway but I love loopy coasters, wish ya’ll had one. Maybe next time you can add one of those.

Anyway thanks again for being such a great value and so family friendly. After last weekend at the other park I really just wanted to say THANKS.

Yovette B.
Clay, Kentucky

Excellent two days of fun

Having just returned from Holiday World, I thought I would drop you folks a note to say a HUGE thank you for an excellent two days of fun!

My family and I travel to at least 4-5 parks per year, so we get to see how different parks are operated. From past experience, we always expect more fromHW, and once again, you have exceeded those expectations.

Seeing several parks a year, we're able to notice a lot of little things that some may not. Anyone who does any research has read that Holiday World has a reputation for being an EXTREMELY clean park. A little thing that I noticed this time, was the almost complete absence of graffiti. Kids are going to be kids anywhere, and I'm sureHW sees its share of graffiti, but I only noticed one instance of it this past weekend. From my knowledge of the operating principles you have, I'm assuming that
you look for it, and take care of it in short order.

I always expect the staff at HW to be a cut above the rest. From past experience, I expect the staff at HW to be the best, and I'm never disappointed. Every year, I see one staffer who really stands out to me. This year it was Tori M. Let me explain why I feel the need to call her out specifically amongst what is the best park staff I've ever seen: Our daughter is 49 inches tall, and loves parks and coasters as much as any six-year-old out there. Being so close to the height restriction, she got checked
EVERY time, without one exception. Friday night, before her second ride on Raven, Tori measured her, then sent one of the ride attendants to get armbands for my daughter and another young girl she had just measured. Nobody asked for this, and she certainly didn't have to do it, but she took it upon herself to do this for us. I thanked her for it more than once, but you need to know how her attitude toward the
guests is appreciated.

It's also worth noting that during the entire two days, my daughter received scrutiny for her height every time she got on a ride with the 48" height requirement. NOT ONE ride attendant let her on without first seeing the wristband and/or checking for themselves.

Words can't say how much I appreciate the safety first attitude your staff has. It's clear that you stress this highly, and I appreciate it very much.

Other than HW, I've only encountered a park owner once during a visit. At Holiday World, I've never failed to see Mrs. Koch, and/or Will. Friday evening, I saw Mrs.
Koch- she was sweeping (of course), and I had to tell her that from talking to people outside of the coaster geek mainstream, every time Holiday World is mentioned, they almost always say, "That's the cleanest park I've ever seen!" Her response, as always, is, "It better be!"

Of course, I've been mentioning the actions of the higher level park employees, but I also need to mention what I saw from the red- and blue-shirted staffers. Everyone, to a person, was polite, friendly, and professional. Not once did I ride without having my restraints checked. I like to raise my arms and lean back before the ride op gets to me to make it easier for them to do their checks, and I was frequently thanked for it. As we were leaving Saturday, the attendant at Guest Relations (I wish I'd gotten his name) asked my daughter if she'd had fun. She was on the verge of tears (because she did NOT want to leave!) as she said yes. He was very kind to her as he told her she'd could come back anytime, and then asked her if she'd gotten a Holidog card, and got one for her when he found out she hadn't.

I'm guessing he'd had a long day of work, yet he was still very nice and hospitable to a cute little six-year-old. That sort of thing makes a difference.

We went to Splashin' Safari for the first time, and we had a ball, even if the weather caused the water to be a bit chilly. Two things that stand out to me are the quality of the sunscreen you provide- my wife has a very fair complexion (genuine
redhead -- keep out of direct sunlight) and did not get any burn. I'm going to be telling people, "They don't just give you free sunscreen, they give you free GOOD sunscreen."

The most important thing to mention about Splashin' Safari is the lifeguards, both in quantity and quality. It seemed that they were everywhere, and they all looked to be very attentive. When you have a six-year-old, that means a LOT.

And the rides? Ahh, Voyage (sigh). I'm a confirmed airtime junkie, and I have a 163' tall monkey on my back! Easily my favorite wooden coaster ever, likely my favorite coaster of any type, and I have ridden some gems. Legend is insane (in the good way) and Raven (my wife's favorite) is outstanding. The decision to go fromGerstlauer to the PTC trains was a very good choice.

I've gone on long enough. It's not often that I feel compelled to write to a park and express my feelings about a visit. It's even more rare for me to feel the need to write to a park where I expect a higher level of service. However, you just need to know that you are doing it right.

You have a great park, and you are outstanding hosts. It's clear to me that you put a lot of emphasis and effort into this, and you need to be told that it comes through loud and clear in the experience that you give your guests. You've always treated us so well that, when people mention going toHW, I always urge them to come visit you for a park experience like no other. Nicely done!

Brian, Lori and Leigha F.
Indianapolis, Indiana

A skeptic's report

We visited Holiday World on May 12, 2007. I am a big fan of one of the Six Flags parks and was not too sure about attending. My husband really wanted to come there because he lived close and attended there when he was young. He asked me to please have an open mind and try to enjoy myself. Well...this is what the very skeptical me discovered at Holiday World.

First I watched the tellers at the ticket windows. They all seemed to be very nice and I was impressed that they reminded customers who did not have any discounts to bring a Pepsi can next time in order to get discounts. I went back to the gate later in the day to see if they were as friendly as they were in the morning and found them to be just as cheerful and helpful.

When we walked through the second gate, which took a very minimal amount of time, we nearly fell over the map stand. I know this sounds like such a simple thing, but I LOVED that we did not stand inside the gate and say "Now, where do we get a map?"

We rode most of the rides and I could not believe that the majority of the bigger rides, which tend to have longer lines, were shaded for the most part where you stand in line the longest.

Not only the free drinks, but the fact that there are so many stations at one location AND there is cool air blowing impressed me! I thought I would see Pepsi cups laying everywhere, but to my surprise, I saw NONE....all day. We were there for 8 hours! I realized that the fact that there are trash cans about every 10 feet was the answer.

The free drinks, I believe, not only keep customers cool, I think it keeps them less irritable and since we did not have to spend so much money on drinks, we spent a lot more on other things.

We had forgotten to bring sunscreen for my niece, who is very fair-complected. I was going to go to a store in the park and then discovered the free sunscreen stations. I was absolutely amazed and extremely thankful that I not only did not have to buy any, but I did not have to carry it around either.

The rides and areas for the smaller children were not only very pleasant, from the little bumper boats, to the area where Holidog was to the water area, they were all very well manned. My son, who is 11, said, "This place actually makes me want to be little again."

At the water park I noticed lifeguards all along the lazy river, at the children's area, at the bottom of the slides/rides and they were all so nice. A very small child was at the end of one of the largest slides and was trying to climb over into the water. The worker was so polite and involved the mother to help remove the child. It was done in such a mature manner.

We LOVE playing games. Usually the most tired, irritable, unfriendly park workers are located at the games. EVERY attendant at EVERY game area said the same thing, "Thank you for
playing with us and enjoy your day at Holiday World"....WITH A SMILE! Even at 4-5 PM.

On the roller coaster where you cannot take a fanny pack, the attendant collected everyone's
bags, glasses and fanny packs and even put mine in a locker and had a token for the key. I didn't have to walk across, he did it for me and he was so nice about it.

I also loved that there were long benches in so many places. People don't always want to sit next to someone on a small bench, but will on a larger bench.

I decided to analyze why it is that the park employees were so friendly ALL DAY. I realized that I had seen MANY changes and break relief throughout the day. I had noticed employees drinking and eating ice cream. It was such a nice change.

I have to tell you that we are selling discount tickets to the Six Flags park I mentioned, but if you all have an employee discount program, next year, I would love to know more about it.

Thank you for a great visit. My family WILL return in the near future; most likely we will bring others along and probably spend two days next time. I arrived a skeptic and left a true fan of Holiday World.

I have told so many people about it, don't be surprised if you start seeing a LOT of Tennessee license plates in your parking lots.

Thank you,

Ronda R.
Tennessee

Music to our ears...

I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoy your park....

We are looking forward to visiting this summer...

Just something that you might find interesting....we love the "holiday themed" music you pipe throughout the park...particularly some of the "classical music." (It is a great way to introduce the kids to composers like Aaron Copeland and George Gershwin...)

It was one of the little touches we as parents were really impressed with the first time we visited...!!!!!!

Keep up the good work!!

Doug S.
Indianapolis, Indiana

No more sharing meals

Thank you for having reasonable food prices, it allows my family to come to the park, have a fun day and I don't have to stress when we step in line to get food or make everyone share a meal.

It makes the day more fun and keeps us coming back year after year.

Oh yeah, the free drinks rule even though I don't drink soft drinks; it is wonderful to be able to get an ice water when I need it.

Thanks again for a clean, affordable getaway for families; you guys are the best.

DeAnna W.
New Albany, Indiana

A Mother's Day visit

I would like to say that your park is great! We come up every year from Louisville.

We came yesterday with a group of people to enjoy Mother’s Day and it was great. We spent the whole day there and it was the best Mother’s Day we have had in a long time.

I love the fact of how clean your park is and how nice and friendly the staff is.

There are a lot of parks around and I would have to say that Holiday World is probably one of the best. The rates are reasonable, you definitely get what you paid for. The water park is great there is something for every age group to do.

I will guarantee that we will be back again before the season is over and will probably make this an every year Mother’s Day trip.

Shannon M.
Louisville, Kentucky

No better gift than a Season Pass

We have been coming to Holiday World for several years now with our children, ages 2 and 5. My husband and I both came when we were children, and we hope to give our children the same fond memories that we cherish.

Your park is clean, family friendly, safe, and put it simply, "Just wonderful." I have watched your employees assist guests, clean handrails and pavement, and communicate with each other to better suit the needs of everyone.

I enjoy the atmosphere and feel that I am getting a great value for my money. I have noticed that many of your employees return summer after summer: that says a lot about your commitment to your employees as well as your guest.

I can’t imagine giving my daughter (5 years) a better gift than her Holiday World annual pass each summer. She talks about summer and Holiday World year round. We enjoy the water park immensely during the heat of the summer, and we ride the dry rides during early and late summer.

Holiday World is very special to her and us. This year she even helped to buy her pass by making her bed, dressing herself, and helping around the house.

We are looking forward to opening day. We will see you then!

Karen M. and Family
Georgetown, Indiana