My wife and I had never been able to afford to take our kids on a "family vacation".

My youngest son kept seeing commercials for Kings Island, and kept saying he wanted to go.

My wife and I both discussed the pros and cons of going to Ohio. We had both been there before and really wasn't all that impressed. The prices were outrageous for food and drinks.

Then the subject of Holiday World came up. So I logged on to the World Wide Web and checked everything out. The last time I had been to Santa Claus, Indiana, was when I was 10 years old. I'm now 32. I was completely impressed by everything I seen on the website. So we talked about it, and we booked our trip.

We found out about Lake Rudolph Campground through the Holiday World site. Did I mention that this campground is only 30 seconds away from the park? We booked our trip in late June, and just waited.

As the weeks went by the anticipation grew. We had heard so many things about how awesome the rides were and how great the water park was as well.

So the day finally arrives. August 8th, 2008. Our kids are 10 and 11, and this is our first family vacation.

As we are driving down highway 162 we caught our first glimpse of Holiday World. From about a half a mile away we saw The Voyage. Holy cow!!! This was gonna be fun!

We checked into the campgrounds and met up with some friends that were coming with us on Saturday, the 9th.

We get to the park as soon as it opens and head straight for The Legend. WOW!!! What a fun ride! My boys however, looking back were probably about a year or two too young. But hey, at the time we didn't think what we're thinking now.

After The Legend, we rode The Raven. Oh my goodness! I thought that The Legend was fun. It was nothing compared to the intensity of The Raven. There isn't a ride in Kings Island that can match the quality and sheer fright factor of The Raven! This is now my NEW favorite ride!!! Kudos!

We then did a few of the smaller more kid friendly rides. Then off to Splashin' Safari!

We did the Jungle Racers, and Zinga! That was awesome.

Then my wife and our friends decided to ride The Voyage. I didn't ride it for two reasons. 1.) My boys didn't want to ride it, so I stayed with them.
And 2.) Just looking at it scared the daylights out of me!

So after a short wait for my wife and friends, I happened to see someone that I thought was a park employee. I had a question about the park.

I approached the smiling man and asked my question. He very kind and happily answered. While he was answering, I read his name tag to catch his name so I could send a comment commending this kind and generous employee. Boy was I shocked and amazed when I read the name Will Koch. The President of Holiday World! He took time away from running a multi-million dollar company to answer my silly little question! That is dedication! Thank you kind sir. From the bottom of my heart.

Then my wife and friends exit the coaster and exclaim that there isn't a ride scarier! And my friends are originally from Florida (Disney). Plus they visit Kings Island about once a year!

With the first day wrapped up, we said good-bye to our friends.

Then we hit it up again on Sunday the 10th. The only real story to come out of Sunday was the Bakuli, in Splashin' Safari! I was so impressed with the SHORT wait time. Considering the line was very long. This ended up being my favorite water slide.

Later we checked out History of Diving! This show was so cool! After the show, the divers even took the time out of their lives to pose for some pictures with our kids. This I will remember for the rest of my life. Here you have a group of people who just worked themselves into exhaustion, taking the time to thank those that attended. Plus even show a bigger thanks by posing with the kids for pictures. Thank you so much! You guys did make a 10 year old boy's day!

I do have one suggestion to you on how to make this park better. And that is, don't change a thing!

The staff was so friendly, and caring. Even when they didn't have to be.

I felt very at ease with the fact that should we happen to get separated from our children, they would be in VERY safe hands with your staff! And that we would be reunited with our boys in no time flat!

So all in all, thank you owners, staff, and all around great people in Holiday World for making our first ANNUAL family vacation a memorable one. We have decided that we are going to do all we can to make sure we get to come back at least once per summer! You truly have made a lasting impression in all of our minds. And in my book, Holiday World is the Number One park in the Country!!!

Joe and Amanda O.

Posted on Holiblog :: 11 August 2008 - 11:21am