It was a much needed women’s weekend getaway

Posted

My two sisters, cousin and myself came to Holiday World for a women’s weekend getaway. It is hard for the four of us to get together and spend time with each other without our husbands and kids. This was a much needed trip for us.
 
I can not tell you how pleased we were with the amusement park and water park. We said over and over how clean the park was and how friendly everybody was being.
 
The free drinks were awesome!
 
We are already looking forward to coming back and bringing the kids with us this time. We could not believe how kid friendly not only the amusement park is but also the water park.
 
We also got to meet Pat Koch!!! We had talked about her all weekend from seeing her on the commercials and then we ran right into her.
 
I won’t keep you any longer, I just wanted to let you all know what a wonderful weekend we had thanks to you all.
 
Keep up the good work!!!
 
Thank you,

Martha P.
Columbia, Tennessee

ZOOM out for the answer

Posted

This week’s "Prize Pics Wednesday" proved to be the most popular ever; more than 650 of you guessed where Domo was hanging out this week.

Domo (a prize at one of our skill Games this season) must have known sunshine and warmth was headed our way for Memorial Day weekend! We caught him scaling the stairs, reaching the top of the 10-story tall ZOOMbabwe waterslide.

Domo overlooks Splashin' Safari

Based on his grimace, we think he might be just a little nervous (but excited) to try out the World’s Largest Enclosed Waterslide! Nearly 900-feet long, ZOOMbabwe practically threw Domo for a loop with all those twists and turns in complete darkness.

Congratulations to this week’s winners; a pair of park tickets go to the 10th, 20th and 30th correct answers we received:

  • Deborah O. of Red Bud, Illinois
  • Melanie R. of Olney, Illinois
  • Kristine S. of Stewardson, Illinois

Sign up for next week’s newsletter for another chance to win free tickets to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari!

As seen on TV

Posted

When we launched our "#1 Fan" video contest last fall, we never dreamed we’d end up with a new TV commercial.

But there’s something about Mark…

Mark’s dad submitted this video, which was voted the best of the many we received:
 

Mark’s determined message and Linus van Pelt voice clinched it with our staff. Dan Koch emailed: Get that kid on our commercials–he’s adorable!

And so young Mark, from Bloomington, Indiana, is part of our 2011 advertising campaign.  Here’s the :30 spot:
 

If you think you recognize Mark in the park this summer, be sure to say hello. He’s sort of impossible to miss; he’s 42 inches tall after all.
 

Mark is our #1 Fan!

Domo takes a dry run

Posted

Did you figure it out?

Last week’s "Prize Pics" contest showed Domo taking a dry run on a wet ride.

Our email box has been flooded with hundreds of guesses.

Where had Domo had run off to? (Domo is a prize at one of our Games this season) Somewhere green and blue…

Domo

Turns out he had taken a "dry run" on one of the eight new water slides at Safari Sam’s SplashLand.

Congratulations to our winners this week who will each receive two one-day admission tickets:

  • Amanda R. of Rockport, Indiana
  • Mariam T. of Frankton, Indiana
  • Jeff B. of Martinsville, Indiana
Domo

Watch this week’s newsletter for another opportunity to win tickets plus a coupon for Season Pass discounts!
 

“Wow, am I impressed!”

Posted

First-time guest of your park today…drove kids in school on reward trip. 

Wow, am I impressed! You all need to take over Kentucky Kingdom and make that place the same kind of winning business you have in Santa Claus. 

All staff were very professional, helpful, and courteous, many going out of their way to say hello and to see how I was doing.

The park was impeccable in its appearance. Clean areas, well manicured, and bathrooms were all clean. 

Today was a great day for you all because you were prepared, dedicated to do a great job for your patrons, and were all seemingly committed to a common goal of ensuring each person had a fabulous day for their money spent. 

My lunch (a grilled chicken salad) was well above the quality I expected and was reasonably priced. 

I was most taken and completely thrilled to see your Lincoln exhibit.  You can effectively incorporate these astounding museum pieces with a theme park. 

I am 54 and not a big fan of these parks, but I will recommend yours to those who do enjoy them and do want to compliment you all on an obviously well-managed park.  My wife and I will likely make a return visit this summer–thanks for your care and hospitality!  

Sincerely, 

Major Pat A., USAF (Ret)

Minions with opinions

Posted

Last week, we asked a pair of Minions where they'd like to dine in the park.

We took a photo and included it in our e-newsletter, with the challenge to identify their location.

Minions in Plymouth Rock Cafe Here's that photo, in case you missed it.

Our wide-eyed Minions trotted like turkeys into the Thanksgiving section (they'd heard about our new entrée: prime rib).

They were all smiles as they enjoyed the brand new booths in our latest addition to Plymouth Rock Café: air-conditioned, indoor seating.

Now you, too, can be even more comfortable as you sit down to your Thanksgiving favorites.

Pumpkin Chess Pie, anyone?

Here's a link to the menu at Plymouth Rock Cafe.

Congratulations to our winners who guessed correctly where the Minions were:    
   Jai J. of Jacksonville, North Carolina 
   Tara & Justin of Ontario, Canada
   Don K. of Kirksville, Missouri

If you haven’t already signed up for our newsletter, please do so before Wednesday so you can play for a chance to win tickets in our "Prize Pics" contest. And remember, both parks are open daily beginning Friday, May 13!

Schwartz or Hitch? You decide…

Posted

While Nathan was editing this video of Voyage‘s first test run of the year, he naturally started thinking of an educational television program from his youth.

For me, though, in the next office over, it was the movie Psycho that came to mind.

Since this is Nathan’s first season with us, he’d never seen a test run. It was one of those first-test-ride-of-the-season-when-you-wish-it-was-ten-degrees-warmer kind of runs.

For an old-timer like me, the intricacies of a test run (meaning: what can possibly go wrong) were far less interesting than: What the heck is that NOISE?!

That noise, as it turns out, was the klaxon.

And what is a klaxon? It is an electromechanical horn. For warning.

And annoying.

While Nathan was editing the video, the klaxon reminded me of a certain sound effect from the shower scene in Psycho.

Yes, that scene.

(If you’re a Hitchcock fan, you might want to read this HoliBlog post from nearly three years ago. Still makes me grin.)

Meanwhile, here’s Nathan’s Sherman Schwartz version of the fateful trip…

The Claus that refreshes

Posted

Not that we like keeping secrets, but sometimes we just have to…

For example, last fall we were contacted by folks representing a soft-drink giant.

They were contacting communities all over the nation which help Santa answer children’s letters each December.

When they found us, they knew their search was over.

Not only has the town helped Santa to answer children’s letters for nearly a century, we’re home to the Santa Claus Museum and a group called the Santa’s Elves.

The head elf, of course, is our own Pat Koch.

The premise for this project was to discover "forgotten" letters to Santa written long ago.

Our challenge was to find the adults who’d written the letters decades before and to get their permission to share their contact information with the production crew. All this without spilling the beans about what was about to happen.

It took several weeks in December and some sleuthing, but we got it done!

And now we can talk about it. The soft-drink giant wanted to produce a video called "Santa’s Forgotten Letters."

Here’s the video, just released on YouTube. (Might want to grab a tissue before clicking the start button.)

If you enjoy watching it, please "like" it, post a comment, and help us spread the word.

Wouldn’t it be something if this video would turn out to be just the first episode in a series?