So what's it like to live in the town of Santa Claus?

Don't ask me, I live in the suburbs.

Ask the Chicago Tribune.

The view from Nashville

About a month ago, we hosted an editor with Nashville Parent magazine. Here's what she had to say, y'all.

Meet me in St. Louis, Louie...

...and we'll all head east on Interstate 64.

Actually, it's not Louie, it's Matthew.

And he wrote one heck of a story about his visit to our area.

Stretching the limit

We subscribe to a wonderful (free!) service that distributes media leads three times a day.

What this means is, those who are looking for people to interview get hooked up with those who have something to say.

It's great.

We've gotten some excellent "hits" from the service, plus even if we're not a "fit," it's always fun to read through the list of needs from all sorts of reporters, editors and bloggers around the country.

The one hard-and-fast rule is to respond to leads only if you are truly a fit.

A solid fit. Or you're blocked from the system.

For example, if the request is for interviews with dude ranch owners, I'd get the royal boot if my response was, "Our pretty horses are well behaved; they go round and round and up and down. Would you like to interview our owner?"

But this one national-magazine lead, I must admit, is mighty tempting to stretch a bit:

I need to hear from a man who has recently practiced Laughter Yoga, breathing exercises in which you chant Ho Ho Ho Ha and other "laughter" sounds for improved health.

Hmmmm.

This fellow is pretty healthy.


...and he's been doing that "ho, ho, ho" thing for years.

Could it be he'd been holding out on us?

Nah. Santa's totally into sharing. I really think if he'd discovered this Laughter Yoga thing, he'd have told about about it years ago.

Come to think of it, maybe Mrs. Koch is a follower of this lifestyle. I've worked with her for nearly two decades and have always noticed when things get a bit stressful around here, she's at her funniest.


...after all, she is Santa's daughter.

Ben there, done that

This is Ben:


This little fellow, from Berea, Kentucky, just enjoyed his first visit to Holiday World.

His mom, Missy, was just a little bit older than Ben when she rode the same ride back in 1982, when we were still Santa Claus Land.


We just love these generation-to-generation photos. Does anyone have a three-generation set?

Not your average summer job

Every job has its ups and downs, but not all that many include climbing an 80-foot tower and jumping into what looks like a thimbleful of water.

Take a look here for a fun article and video about our Dive! team.

What the ... ?

How could this be?


A giantess perched on top of the lifthill at The Legend!

And her mouth is wide open -- is she going to devour the next train of riders?


Oh.

Mini-She

We get requests all the time asking for help with school projects (and, no, we won't write your paper for you, so quit asking!).

...but this was a new one.

A young lady named Shelbi contacted us early in the spring for help in preparing her school project. It seems the fourth graders at Resurrection School were preparing a wax museum.

Each student chose a famous person to research. They wrote and memorized a paragraph of information about their subject.

The day finally came for the school to tour the wax museum, and Shelbi was ready.

Whenever someone walked up and tapped her on the shoulder, she had plenty to say.


"Hi, I'm Pat Koch! ...Our park has been awarded cleanest and most friendliest park, thanks to me and my employees..."

Couldn't you just melt?

The Voyage: Behind the Scenes

As promised, here's the video produced recently by the crew from WTIU-TV about what our maintenance technicians do to keep The Voyage #1.

(To stay on this page, please be sure to click on the arrow in the center of the screen.)

Who's your favorite HoliDazzle?

Okay, if you aren't in the toddler/preschool set you may not know what we're talking about.

But all the cool kids know about the HoliDazzles and most likely have a favorite character.


There's a HoliDazzle for each holiday in the park (Berry, Leif, Boo and Sparkle) plus Maji, who is from Splashin' Safari. They perform three times a day in the Holiday Theater in our Christmas section.

I'm not going to reveal my favorite HoliDazzle (some things really should remain private, after all), however my favorite HoliDazzle photo appears as our newest wallpaper.

The incredible non-sweating reporter

Got a new (to me) car a few months ago and on Sunday saw the little "outside temp" go to three digits for the first time.

And it stayed there.

Michael from the Fox affiliate in Evansville called and asked about coming up to do a "gosh, it's hot!" story for the news.

Who am I to discourage an eager reporter?

When Michael and Curtis showed up mid-afternoon, it was obvious one of them was a bit over-dressed. Bless him, Michael was in a navy blazer with a button-up shirt and snugly tied tie.

Despite gentle encouragement to loosen his tie and leave his jacket in the car, Michael stayed professional.

Incredibly so.

He didn't sweat.

Not even a trickle.

Curtis, the cameraman, and I were ... well ... dripping. When Will joined us by Kima Bay he, too, was glowing. Profusely.

But Michael was cool as a cucumber. Here's the link to his story and video. You'll recognize him up on the Bakuli observation deck. He's the one in the suit and tie.

After the interview, we took advantage of the nearby Pepsi Oasis.

All except Michael. "I'm fine," he assured me. "I have a high tolerance."

A reporter from another TV station was here at the park this afternoon to interview Will. She mentioned she happened to be in the park as a guest on Sunday and saw Michael recording his "stand up" at Bakuli.

She, too, was stunned. "I was in my swimsuit and in the water and I was sweating!"

We shook our heads and mopped our brows.

"Is he even human?" we wondered.

Perspiring minds want to know.

Papaw's Voyage

Our friend Kevin, who owns Santa's Candy Castle here in town, emailed us this great story about a recent visit:

Last Saturday (7/12) my wife had her family's annual family reunion here in Spencer County. The day after the reunion, we took a group of out-of-town relatives to Holiday World for the day. It was mostly families with young children, but my wife’s 82-year-old grandfather ("Papaw") also came along. As we went into each section of the park, my wife, kids and I (who all have season passes) took Papaw to the gift shops, shows, and free drink stations, so that the rest of the group could enjoy as much ride time as possible.

After a fair amount of time at the park without riding very much, Papaw really enjoyed it when we took him on the Gobbler Getaway. He had such a good time, he decided that he was going to start going on all the rides with the rest of the group. Well, the next ride everyone was heading to was, of course, The Voyage! I seriously questioned the wisdom of sending an 82-year-old man (who’s probably about 5’6” and 100 lbs.) on the world’s number-one-rated wooden roller coaster. But after more than 15 minutes of trying to talk him out of riding The Voyage, it became apparent that no one was going to stop him.

So we headed to the Voyage and got in line. I could hear the buzz about Papaw building as he made his way closer to the front. ("Wow, look over there!" "Is he really going to ride?"). The way the lines worked out, Papaw boarded The Voyage with his son-in-law in the train that departed before me. As I watched from the station, I couldn't help but think we’d made a grave mistake as I watched the train ascending the gigantic lift hill.

The lone little white head of hair seemed ominously out of place among the other riders. We watched nervously as the train reached the peak and disappeared over the other side. I know that the ride takes about 3 minutes – but it seemed like about 3 hours. From the station, we could hear the train approaching as it was getting ready to make a high-speed pass back past the station. We watched closely, hoping to see how Papaw was doing. As the train flew past and we could see dozens of riders smiling/screaming with their hands raised above their heads—and among them was one rider whose head was lowered and whose face wasn't visible -- all that could be seen of him was a little white head of hair.

This was obviously a huge mistake.

After what seemed like an eternity, the train finally made it back to the station. All of the riders quickly departed from the train, leaving Papaw sitting there looking dazed and bewildered. His son-in-law and a few ride attendants helped him out of the car, and held him up for a minute as he was clearly not able to stand under his own power.

The station was quiet and tense. Was he going to be okay? After a short while, someone who was attended to him asked if he was okay, and Papaw gave a little smile and a nod and immediately the entire station erupted into the loudest round of applause I've ever heard. I overheard a teenager near me say, "I hope I still rock like him when I'm that old!" The whole scene was just unbelievable.

Of course we had to buy the ride picture to remember the experience. The only thing whiter than Papaw’s white head of hair in the picture were his white knuckles. I've always heard that expression, but this is the first time that I truly understood it.


We tried to buy Papaw an "I conquered the Voyage" t-shirt, but they only had Large sizes in stock (Papaw is most definitely a "Small"). So my wife and I are going to keep an eye out for some new inventory of shirts to come in before the season's over. But in the meantime we bought him all the Voyage postcards so that he could do a little bragging about what he did on his trip down to Southern Indiana.

At the end of the day, Papaw was a bit exhausted and overwhelmed from the experience, but was perfectly fine. He did go home shortly after riding and spent the next couple days recuperating. I’m not sure if he is the oldest person ever to ride The Voyage, but his journey was certainly a memorable experience for everyone who was there.

Sorry for such a long story, but I though you might enjoy it. We really enjoy the luxury of having such a wonderful park right here in our backyard and really appreciate the great job that everyone at the park does.

So ... is Papaw the record holder, or does anyone know of a Voyage rider who's been around even a tad longer?

"Is it too late to call this off?"

Brandon told me yesterday that he and Gary had just about made up their minds to blow off The Voyage and head for Frightful Falls when John (our marketing director) helpfully pushed down their lapbars and wished them a happy ride.


Sure, they're smiling. But it looks like they're talking through the smiles.

So, what are they saying to each other? Click the Comments link below this post and give us your best shot.

Meanwhile, here's a wonderful article from today's Evansville paper.

Three little words

...texted to me following Brandon Phillips' ride with Gary Brackett a few hours ago:

"It was awesome."


'Nuff said.

Brandon told me afterwards that both he and Gary's eyes were streaming (from riding in the front car -- yeah, right) and they were frantically wiping away the tears before they got near the end of the ride when the camera goes off.

Here's a photo of the full car. That's Brandon's wife, Abby, sitting in the back with his step-brother Mitch.


Here's a little more info about Brandon: Mitch, Abby, and I are life long Colts fans, have season tickets (looking forward to the new stadium), and my step-brother and I host a sports talk radio show in our spare time that is online Wednesday nights. My son Cole was born the week before the Colts won the Super Bowl, and we actually came home from the hospital the day of the Super Bowl (he really wanted to watch from home). I was so nervous about the games that we didn’t allow anyone to come over during the playoffs or the Super Bowl, and actually had a Super Bowl party several months later and watched the game again on TIVO. Knowing the outcome allowed me to enjoy the party much more, ha! My wife and I are from Spencer County, went to South Spencer High School, and now reside in Bowling Green, Ky.

"Are we there, yet?"

Not sure any parent has driven even 25 minutes without hearing that phrase at least once.

But according to this writer, the three-hour drive from Indy will be magically free of that phrase if your destination is, uh, here.

Everything in its place

Joan from Rockport sent us a great story about bringing a visiting priest (from Haiti) to Holiday World.

Here's Fr. Phechner (in the middle) getting ready to take a spin on the Scarecrow Scrambler.


Joan writes: The Scrambler was as daring as he wanted to be on the rides. Concerning the roller coasters, he said to me, "My heart has a place and my stomach has a place, and I want them to stay there."

More TV coverage of Gary's visit

This story aired on our ABC affiliate in Evansville.

TV coverage of Gary's Thursday visit

...from our NBC affiliate in Evansville.

Making an impact

It's so nice to meet a celebrity and feel you've met a friend.

There are certainly plenty of sports figures with egos larger than a football field.

But not Gary Brackett.


...he's a down-to-earth as a (please pause patiently as I search frantically for a football metaphor) ... uh, cleat.

Gary was warm and chatty as he signed autographs and talked with fans this morning.

He even found time to pose for photos with a few hard-working painters.


And we snapped a shot of a local girl who is now a Colts cheerleader.

That's Abbey on the right; she's from Ferdinand.


...and that's Lauren on the left; she's from New Palestine.

But the best photo of the day is this one:


That's Gary with the children of the families from all over Indiana here for a two- day visit as part of Gary Brackett's IMPACT Foundation's "Field of Dreams" program.

And tomorrow ... Gary rides The Voyage with eBay charity auction winner Brandon Phillips from Bowling Green, Kentucky. Neither of the two claims to be a coaster enthusiast, so we'll be sure to get a copy of the on-ride photo.

Da Trib

It's always a thrill.

Coasters, Colts, and....well, Cash

For years, I've reacted obnoxiously whenever the topic of sports comes up around here.

I groan when Mike (that's Sales Director Mike) starts off a marketing meeting with, "What about them Hoosiers?!" or when John whines about "his" Bears and Cubs. And as a Notre Dame alum, Will is sure to keep us up to date about the Fighting Irish.

Whoo-hoo.

But today, even I'm a fan. Because we're raising money for a wonderful charity.

Recognize this fellow?

He's Gary Brackett. I don't really know what this means, but I'm told that he's the Defensive Captain for the Indianapolis Colts. He's also something called a linebacker. He was part of the Super Bowl-winning Colts team in '06.

And even though I haven't met Gary yet, I can categorically state that he's a sweet guy.

He raises money to help children affected by cancer. And we want to help in that effort.

So when Gary visits the park on Friday, he'll be available to ride The Voyage and have lunch with the top bidder of this eBay auction.

The top bidder receives three admission tickets to Holiday World & Splashin' Safari for this Friday. We'll get you together with Gary for your ride on The Voyage (you and two friends) and then head over to the Plymouth Rock Cafe for lunch with the big guy.

Your winning bid goes straight to Gary Brackett's IMPACT Foundation, so please dig deep and bid high.

Heck, I'll even feature you on the HoliBlog. That's got to be worth something, right?

This is just a three-day auction, though, so please hurry over to post your bid by early afternoon on Wednesday.

So if you win, who decides whether you grab the front seat or the back seat at The Voyage, you or Gary? Maybe you can arm wrestle for it...

He's a lumberjack and he's okay...

At last! A guest post to the HoliBlog. This is from Matt Eckert, our General Manager of Shared Services.

"If I were not at Holiday World, something else I’d rather be…"

A lumberjack? Me? On Thursday evening after the park closed, we planned a get together called “Holiday Idol” for our employees. The hope was that they would kick back, enjoy some pizza, sing some songs ... and have a good laugh at their Managers, Directors, and GMs.


Yes, the people in the picture are actually leaders of our fine organization. Hard to believe, huh? If you look real closely, you will notice that Mrs. Koch got to be a rock star (she always gets the cool jobs).


We each had to say:

"If I were not at Holiday World, something else I’d rather be, if I were not at Holiday World, a ________, me! Happy all day long, and this would be my song." Our brilliant Entertainment Director provided us with a new occupation, a little poem, costumes, props, and actions to go along with the words. Said separately, they were cute ... but when they were all put together and said simultaneously with the associated actions, it made for a humorous (and physical!) routine. The employees loved it and we had a great time.

As for me changing my profession to a lumberjack, I think I will have to pass. Ducking from the falling trees (and Mrs. Koch’s strong backhand as she strummed her guitar) made my legs extremely sore.


So to all the lumberjacks of the world, I salute you, but I think I will stick with my gig here at Holiday World. I can’t think of a place I’d rather be.

Are you in the Indy area (or not)?

...if so, you might want to tune your radio to WIBC-FM at 4:15 this afternoon (EDT) to hear a live interview with Will on The Big Show.

And if you're not in the Indy area, you can stream it live.

Photo i.d.

It's always a delight when someone emails an old photo asking if it was taken at Holiday World.

...or, in this case, Santa Claus Land:


Indeed, this ride was in the Pleasureland section of Santa Claus Land (in the area where Rudolph's Reindeer Ranch now exists).

The little boat ride is also included in our archival video, which is available to stream from this page.

Happy Birthday, America!

Such a wonderful day in our nation's history.

Fireworks shortly after close this evening. Should be grand.


Melissa at our Visitors Bureau took a bunch of shots and posted this slideshow on her blog.

Okay, so it's only a tiny mention

...but it's always nice to be included in Indianapolis's TV news.

"I'm out of my comfort zone"

Poor Mike.

He got dragged into a TV interview the other day. Not exactly kicking and screaming, but he did solemnly tell me, "Paula, I'm out of my comfort zone."


...but Mike gamely slapped on a pleasant smile and talked about, what else, roller coasters.

This is for an upcoming episode of "The Weekly Special," a TV show produced in Bloomington, Indiana. The host, Ann Shea, promises they'll stream the show online after it airs next Thursday and Friday. (We'll provide the link at that time.)

Their focus while in the park was the coaster maintenance crew at Holiday World.

Sean took them with him on his morning Voyage walk.


Okay, so what is Sean telling the cameraman (who, coincidentally, is Eric from CoasterRadio.com)?

Here's my offering: Ever since I started this gig, my cuticles have needed extra attention.

Now it's your turn...click on "comments" and give us your best shot.

(Meanwhile, I'm going to find my comfort zone. Sean's a really nice guy, but he's got power tools and he knows how to use them.)