The first sign of Spring

No, it's not a robin.

Instead of a sweetly tweeting bird, it's a loudly roaring crane.


The Raven's two trains are back from their winter vacation in Pennsylvania. They weren't exactly at a fancy foo-foo spa, but let's just say their inner workings were well oiled and massaged.

Bob, Elmer and Lee are readying each car for its return to the tracks.


It's a little freaky to see, from elsewhere in the park, a bright red Raven car flying through the air.

And then settled gently back on the coaster tracks.


The remaining cars look pretty mellow.


Or maybe they're huddled together for warmth. Spring may be on its way, but it's not here yet.

CPR = Chilly Preview Rides

Will and William weren't the only Turkey Whirl riders last week.

When asked if he enjoyed that inaugural ride, Will replied proudly, "Yes, I did. I enjoyed the first half tremendously."

Poor Will gets a little woozy. He's more of a coaster guy.

I share Will's ... um, affliction. Which reminds me, thanks to Tori for taking these photos. I was conveniently indisposed during the turkeys' first whirl.

So who did ride?

Let's start with Sean and Nathan. They're two of our Coaster Maintenance crew members.


Next, Roger; he's on the Grounds crew.


Mrs. Koch shares her turkey with Erin and Vanessa, from our Merchandise department.


Painters Matt and Kyle are used to stirring things up.


Joe is our IT manager.



Matt, Dee Ann and April look cold, don't they? I don't think Matt's hood is to keep his ears
warm, though; it's a disguise. He's hoping his two little girls don't find out Daddy already got to ride the new tilt-a-whirl.


Meanwhile, CPR Training for our full-timers was conducted last week.

Jodie, our warehouse manager, needed no convincing to "save" her assistant manager, David.


And here's Rachel "saving" Mrs. Koch.


Our Countdown Clock says 73 days till opening. That news is enough to give any of us heart palpitations.

Snow sculpture

No, we still haven't had any snow to speak of, but doesn't it look like we have been outside playing in the white stuff?



Here are the zebras from another direction.

Take a good look; which is their best side?



This summer we can ask the little ones: Which is their best slide?

More photos from Jeopardy

Thanks to Steven, our marketing coordinator, we have some screen grabs from yesterday's show.

Let's start with the week's exciting theme ... it's Teen Tournament week!



Our category popped up right away, during the first round of Jeopardy.



It took our Teens a while to summon the courage to go to the Theme Park Fun category. They were more comfortable and confident, apparently, with Vice Presidents, Geography, and even Fast Food.

But finally, a rather timid Heidi took the plunge.

"Theme Park Fun for $600."



Huh.

Somewhere along the way, the dollar amounts have been adjusted up.

Back when Art Fleming was running the show (in the ... ugh! ... 1960s) a $600 answer would have been in Double Jeopardy.

Even the Jeopardy board gets a cost of living increase.



And what is that answer, Alex?



Frank from Chicago was quick on his feet and buzzed in right away.

"What is ... Thanksgiving?"



Clever lad. Send him some tickets.

(Actually, I emailed the Jeopardy Question Researcher who has been our liaison and she was pretty sure we couldn't do that, according to Jeopardy Law. Don't mess with Alex.)

Here's the fellow who won:



Stephen clocked out with more than $34,000.

He can buy his own tickets.

Cool new critters for Crocodile Isle

Something we didn't include in the New for 2007 news release is the batch of new water-play animals for Crocodile Isle in Splashin' Safari.

They will replace the original animal slides, which were part of Splashin' Safari premiere season in 1993.

Let's start with the upper pool:



This zebra slide (shall we call them Zippy and Zappy for now?) replaces the turtle.

Zippy and Zappy make up a "dual slide" for added capacity, and will "load" from outside of the pool.

Next the children may splash about in the pool and then slide down one of
the body slides and into the lower pool, where they'll find...


This happy parrot (let's call her Pandora) is replacing the elephant slide.

Pandora's pretty umbrella will spray cooling water down on the happy tykes below.

Can you just imagine the toddler happy dances that will ensue?

And the shrieks of delights?

(Please, though, no crackers in the pool.)


And what may we have chosen to replace the popular crocodile slide?




Another crocodile! ...er, alligator.

Allidile.

Crocogator.

Hmm. Let's just say we'll call him ... fun.

"What is...Thanksgiving?"

Way to go, Frank from Chicago!

When our question came up today in the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament, he was up to the challenge.



Alex Trebek was in fine form today. Dapper as always, with nary a stumble, nary a slur.



Doesn't he look like he's trying extra hard to enunciate each word perfectly, just for us? Gotta love Alex.

And here, at last, is that $600 question:



Unfortunately for Frank, who was in the lead going into Final Jeopardy, it appeared his own miscalculation regarding how much to wager at the end was a bit short. So he had to fake a congratulatory smile and wish the fellow from Lexington good luck.

Fear not, Frank, surely there will be some lovely parting gifts. And perhaps, among the Rice-A-Roni and the case of Dentyne gum, there will be some tickets to Holiday World.

"I'll take Holiday World for $600, Alex"

That's right ... we just got word a Holiday World question (er...answer) will be on Wednesday's episode of Jeopardy! Click here to see the news release.

On Valentine's Day ... sweet.

I sent an email about this to Jane, Mrs. Koch's co-author, and her reply made me laugh:

Wow! Stephen Colbert and now this. Santa Claus is becoming a New York neighborhood (though one without a latte place).

Watch or listen to Will on Tuesday

If you're a local, you can catch a wide-awake Will on WTVW-TV (Channel 7) early Tuesday morning.

He'll be at WBKR radio in Owensboro, chatting up the Making the Cast auditions coming up on Friday.

The interviews are scheduled to start at 6:30 am CT and continue through 7:45 am.

Drink it all in

A further inspection of Park World magazine's website resulted in the discovery of this article Will wrote for them about our Free Unlimited Soft Drinks.

Will offers lots of interesting details about how the program works.

He also reveals whether, if given the chance, he would do it all over again.

Warm sentiments on a chilly morning

Our friend Paul Ruben from Park World magazine just sent me a link to his column about his first visit to Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.

Paul lives in upstate New York. You know the place -- with all the snow? He might be in the mood for another visit to southern Indiana right about now.

Idol chatter

Did I ever tell you about the reality show we had the opportunity to be on?

Seriously, we had a call from a producer several years ago. They had already created one of the very first reality shows (which is still quite popular) and they were ready to strike gold again.

The premise was to work a show around a family where there is something substantial to inherit.

You know, like a theme park.

The contestants would be family members who would hole up in a big house somewhere and stop at nothing to win the prize.

It took, of course, a series of phone calls and emails to get all those details.

But that first call, oh my, was pretty exciting.

Following each call, we floated gently from Cloud 9 to Cloud 8 to Cloud 7 and so on.

We thudded to the ground when they told us the show would not be filmed at the park.

Rats! I'd envisioned Will and his siblings walking the coaster tracks, frying endless funnel cakes, and, of course, scrubbing toilets.

Apparently, I should keep my day job. The producers already had the brilliant show concept all figured out.

Even the name: The Will.

How perfect! Just like The Donald. "Our" show would be The Will. (Although they were thinking along the lines of "...being of sound mind and body," not my boss's name.)

So, we took a deep breath and said, "Sorry...no." When it came down to Will and his family having to be off site for weeks and weeks during the time the park would be open, reality set in.

"The Will" went on and found a rancher to play.

The show was cancelled after the first episode.

I, of course, took no pleasure in that knowledge.

But we won't hold this experience against the reality-show genre.

In fact, we're in the process of adding one last audition for our entertainment cast this year just to do that in-front-of-an-audience-with-a-real-judges-table thing.

Care to hear more?

Even if you're not planning to audition, come on out to Towne Square Mall on February 16 to cheer on those brave singers.

We'll also have job applications available for non-performing positions, such as ride operators, game attendants, lifeguards, sweepers, and grounds.

And yes, we'll even have some ticket giveaways.

1600

It's not just the president's address anymore.

It's also the number of seasonal employees we're gearing up to hire.

Brandon is working on a Seasonal Employee Transportation program, designed for folks who would be able to work here if only there was transportation.

Living in the country can be charming. But there are the little things, such as public transportation, that are missed.

Once Brandon has this bus transportation thing figured out, maybe he can start working on a subway system.

Or a shoe store.

Birds of a feather

Will and his son, William, took a chilly first ride on the Turkey Whirl.

...next to gobbliness

Sorry ... no rides till these dirty birds are cleaned up.

Seven frozen birds

Here's the other truck, loaded with Turkey Whirl pieces.


That first piece coming off the truck looks cold.

Wondering if those guys are all daring each other to touch their tongue to it,
a la Schwartz and the flagpole in The Christmas Story.


Matt, our controller, can't wait to ride. The longer the better, he says. Plucky fellow, our Matt.

Cold Turkey

"I just looked out my window and a bunch of turkeys drove by!"

Laura is office manager for our county visitors bureau. She's worked in Santa Claus long enough that she knows not to get her feathers ruffled when she sees unusual vehicles drive by her window.

Here's the latest crazy truckload:


Rachel dashed out to take some photos.

She was concerned the workmen who accompanied the birds were miserably cold. Will reminded her that they're from Minnesota, so this is shirtsleeve weather for them!

The turkeys look happy to be here.


Thanks to John for the subject line of this post. He zipped off that quip during yesterday's staff
meeting and we all groaned appropriately. I must say we were all impressed our Chicago boy could rise out of his depression long enough for a chuckle.

Loaned out to a partner

As you may know, Will owns Holiday World & Splashin' Safari along with two of his siblings, Dan and Natalie.

Dan is an attorney in the Miami area.

He's had a busy week and it's been fun helping him spread the news about their little piece of Super Bowl history this afternoon.

I'd say our man Dan has hit a home run!

NEWS RELEASE: SUPER BOWL LITIGATION

Emergency Court Order Permits
Only Walking-Distance Super Bowl RV Parking

Miami Gardens, FL-----An emergency court order by the Miami-Dade County Circuit Court opens the gate to walking-distance parking for RV owners planning on attending Sunday’s Super Bowl.

"We were contacted last Saturday by David Van Buren, who operates eight acres adjacent to the NFL parking by Dolphin Stadium," says Dan Koch*, a partner with the law firm Koch & Trushin in Fort Lauderdale. "He’d just been unjustly denied the proper permits to allow RV and other vehicles to park in his lot."

According to Koch, they were able to get the NFL to acquiesce, but the City of Miami Gardens would not budge on the issue.

An emergency hearing was held Thursday, February 1, with Honorable Judge Ronald Friedman issuing a Court Order permitting RV parking in the lot. VanBuren’s lot will also not be subject to NFL Rules. Other RV parking lots are located several miles from the stadium.

The lot, located on North West 27th Avenue and North West 207th Street, is now accepting reservations through its www.superbowlparking.net website or by calling 1-800-TICKET-4.

Holidog: Unleashed

Well here we are; another Groundhog Day.

No shadow is good news.

Just like we got a year ago on Brown Dog's Day.

Those reports from "Holidog's Voyage" were a kick. In case your memory needs refreshing, we started receiving emails from Holidog back in July of 2005.

It seems Holidog was inspired by The Voyage and decided to head out into the world for his own adventure. In that first email, we discovered Holidog had a little Voyage shirt, sunglasses and even a suitcase.

I'm not sure if I ever mentioned it in the many subsequent HoliBlog posts about Holidog's Voyage, but I never knew who was helping Holidog.

Never.

The emails arrived, I cracked up, and when time permitted I posted the photos and text.

As we got closer to open, I didn't get to those last several trip reports from our intrepup reporter, but he went all over the place:

From a well-known national park to kitschy roadside attractions.





And on to a few other national treasures (Holidog was disappointed to find out the real Alamo doesn't offer his favorite Frito Pies, though).




But Holidog's travels were not confined to the U.S.

Off across the pond he flew:




After nearly a year of emails from Holidog, it seemed likely his helpers would reveal themselves early in the season.

I had my suspicions.

At first, I thought maybe it was members of our entertainment department.

Then I accused some former seasonal employees; they seemed delighted to be considered that devious and creative, but denied any involvement.

Then it came to me it might be some coaster enthusiasts. They hail from all over the world and could easily work up a network of travel venues for Holidog.

So that had to be it.

It seemed a good assumption that the Holidog Helper would reveal himself or herself over the Memorial Day weekend, as we were hosting a big event for enthusiasts.

It was indeed a good assumption.

However when the secret was unleashed, it was a complete surprise.

In fact, it was right outside of Kringle's Kafe. My scream of shock and surprise was so loud, people up at the front gate became alarmed.

It turns out a Party of Four helped Holidog see the world.

Four gentlemen, actually.

Four fellows who should have been busy working on all the little specifics on the design of our new coaster.

That's right, it was The Gravity Group.

Got me good. Never gave them a thought.

So what got into them? Why did they spend so much time, effort, and creativity on this caper?

Korey was the mastermind. He claimed I'd at one point labeled them as geeks and they were out to prove me wrong.

Of course I insisted I would never have called them geeks. Surely they were mistaken.

All the wives chimed in with how obsessed their husbands were with this -- especially when they constructed Holidog's little traveling house.

Those fellows were grinning from ear to ear, so very pleased with themselves.

Apparently, they were quite disappointed to find out there's not a park mascot at the home of their next coaster project.

Probably not a snarky PR director, either.