January 2013
Looking Back... January 2013
31 January 2013 - 7:04pm
A sporting contest
Ready for our first contest of the new year?
With the Super Bowl just days away, this contest will give you sports fans something to think about. And you could win two one-day ticket for 2013!
To warm you up, here's a photo of our late owner, the always-laughing Will Koch, happily clutching the 2007 Vince Lombardi Trophy.
"Don't drop it, Will!" (Oh, how we teased that poor man!)
And yes, the trophy came to visit one day. It wasn't tall enough to ride the coasters, though. Bummer.
Our question has nothing to do with the above photo, so clear your mind and take a deep, cleansing breath.
Our question is: what is it about this year's Super Bowl that ties in with Holiday World?
Hint: we need a specific person's name, a specific team and a specific year in the correct answer.
Good luck!
A few rules:
1. Must be 13 or older to enter.
2. Must not be an employee or immediate family member of Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
3. Yes, you may enter more than once. But five times is the limit, okay? And only one guess per email, please.
4. First person to email us with the correct answer wins. If no one guesses exactly, we'll go with whoever came closest. (So I guess that means we need to set a deadline ... okay, Monday at noon. That's 2/4/13 at 12 noon CST.)
How to enter? Must be by email and to this address: contest@holidayworld.com. (If you win, we'll contact you via email, so please be sure to use an address you check frequently.)
25 January 2013 - 6:44pm
Weren't we just complaining about record heat?
... and here it is in January and we're not exactly loving the single digits!
We're heading into a warming trend next week, and you can bet these fellows are looking forward to it:
Construction crews are hard at it, getting Hyena Falls built for May.
So where exactly will this four in-the-dark slide complex be located?
Sort of near Voyage:
... and sort of near Giraffica:
Why did we change Pilgrims Plunge's name? The answer is here.
Mean- while, here's a heart- felt tip of the hard hat to all the rugged work- ers who direct traffic, farm, fight fires, clear high- ways of snow, and build water slides during the frigid weather. You're amazing!
Want to watch the construc- tion of Hyena Falls - live? Check out our ConstructionCam during daylight hours to see the project come alive.
Don't wait too long to take a look, though. Once the crews start hanging the four fiberglass slides, Hyena Falls will come together so quickly it'll be, well ... almost laughable.
22 January 2013 - 4:26pm
Maybe nobody told them ...
... that it's 18 degrees outside:
... and we may even have snow on the way this afternoon!
Apparently, though, through the miracles of modern chemistry, concrete pours can take place even when it's really, really cold.
And when it's hot out? That's when we'll all enjoy the results of today's pour - riding on Hyena Falls' four in-the-dark water slides.
22 January 2013 - 12:40pm
It's half-past the giraffe's ear
What time is it?
It's time to take a second look at Giraffica (the ride formerly known as Pilgrims Plunge) and realize that, on a sunny day, it looks a whole lot like a giant sundial:
This time of year, Giraffica casts a long, long shadow on the field that is quickly becoming the home of our new Hyena Falls, with its four in-the-dark water slides:
So why did we change this ride's name to Giraffica?
This ride was originally part of our Thanksgiving section.
Pilgrims Plunge opened in 2009 and was then the world's tallest water ride (it's still the tallest in the U.S.).
We placed it on the northeast edge of Thanksgiving and re-worked some pathways so that it could also be accessible from Splashin' Safari, so that families could ride in their swimsuits, if they wished.
While planning to add Hyena Falls to Splashin' Safari for the 2013 season, we decided it was time to move the park boundary so that Pilgrims Plunge would be part of the water park. And so this huge water ride would need a new name to connect it to its safari brethren.
If you look at the shadow of the elevator (on the right side of the photo), you'll probably see how we came up with the name Giraffica. (It sounds best when said with great authority - the way you'd say a superhero's name: Superman, Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, Giraffica!
And no matter what you call it, this is one fun ride! Here's a long, tall look at Giraffica's huge drop in slow motion:
22 January 2013 - 9:22am
Look on the sunny side
No matter how chilly it gets here in Santa Claus:
We can always remind ourselves that it's warmer here than at the North Pole:
Please stay safe and warm during this cold snap - wherever you are!
And remember, summer is on the way!
