By Leah Koch
Published

I woke up this morning nervous. It was kind of a combination of day-of-final-exams anxiety and Christmas morning excitement.

Announcement Day is [almost] here, and we can [almost] stop talking in hushed tones everywhere we go.

Almost.

But I know that one more day for us means one more day of agony for the Holiday World lovers of the world. So, I’ve decided to be one of those “cool parents” who lets their kids open just a present or two before Christmas.

I’m giving you clues. More than ever. All in one post.

I asked every member of our executive management team to provide a clue (as well as some of my family members).

I had kind of been thinking one-or-two-sentence clues, but Matt would provide a short story instead of a few sentences.

President Matt says, “Master Planning is one of the super cool things about our job. Looking into the future and deciding what our Guests really want and actually delivering that makes our day. We have done that year after year. We also love to get suggestions from our folks here at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari. For example, Paula Werne, our Director of Communications, for years wanted an attraction that we could name the Wildebeest. That was delivered in 2010. [Paula’s triumphant note: I wore ’em down!] Our Guests have long been asking for a Swinging Ship in Thanksgiving. The Mayflower set sail here in 2014. Eric Snow, our Vice President of Marketing is practically begging for a Birds of Prey show. Yeah, not happening. I think this year’s delivery will make him forget about his request.”

VP of Support Services Alison Montee says, “Bellyaching and moaning won’t get you any closer to announcement time” in her own inimitable style.

VP of Sales, Marketing, and Entertainment Eric Snow says, “Still wanting that birds of prey show.”

VP of Operations Chris Kearsing provided this nugget: “My clue was in the title. Try misspelling Bastille.”

Assistant VP of Operations (and former water park director) Lori Gogel told me to tell you that this will be, “One mammoth of an announcement.”

VP of Project Management James Olliver says, “I’ll get you a clue as soon as I finish up these 22 million other tasks on my list.”

My brother William says, “I always wanted a younger brother.”

Lauren and Leah at the 2013 Golden Ticket AwardsLauren and Leah at the 2013 Golden Ticket AwardsLauren and Leah at the 2013 Golden Ticket AwardsLauren and Leah at the 2013 Golden Ticket Awards

Lauren, my sister, provided this gem: “They usually keep me in the loop for this sort of thing … guess I need to catch up on reading my emails.”

My mom, Lori, added, “I’m too busy mocking the birds of prey show to think of a clue.”

My clue:  “Ich glaube, dass dieser Schlüssel auf deutsch sein soll. (Es tut mir Leid. Ich habe Deutsch leider nicht für ein Jahr gesprochen.)  Unsere Entwerfer entwarf unsere Projekt in einem deutschsprachigen Land. Leider gibt es viele gute Entwerfer in deutschsprachiges Ländern. Man soll erinnern, dass es groß ist. Sehr groß. Es ist auch einzigartig. Das ist alles! Haben Sie Spaß mit Google Translate!”

Please join us (or tune in to stream the announcement) shortly after 8:00pm Thursday for all the fun. After all, it’ll be Christmas Eve in July!

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15 Responses to “A few final hints …”

  1. James Bean

    Vielen Dank für die letzten Hinweise! Kann nicht warten, bis morgen! #HW2015 #66daysatsea

    Reply
  2. Tyler

    Lauren, my sister, provided this gem: “They usually keep me in the loop for this sort of thing … guess I need to catch up on reading my emails.”

    Hmm… In the LOOP huh?

    Reply
  3. Karsten

    As you are writing in you’re german hint, that the Designer (Entwerfer) desingned the Project in a country where german is spoken (deutschsprachig). I would suggest the Manufactor, will either be comming form: Germany or Swizerland. But if you take a closer to look the german the first sentence: “Unser Entwerfer entwarf unser Projekt in einem deutschsprachigen Land” (Our designer, designed our project in “a” german speaking country) i would suggest the Manufactor maybe comming from: Swizerland which means: Bolliger and Marbilard (B&M) or Intamin. Also you are giving a huge hint with the german words: “einzigartig, groß” which means basicly: unique and big.

    As far i understood from reading the blog, you are getting a new signature-ride for Holiday World, from the swiss manufactor B&M. The new rollercoaster will be big, but also “unique” steel-coaster. (A World 1st?) I keep my fingers crossed for you’re project.

    Reply
  4. wesley

    if you put leah’s clue into Google translate it says that the company is based out of a german speaking country and Switzerland speaks german and that is where B&M is based out of so we know it is a b&m coaster my guesses
    manufacturer: b&m
    name:Thunderbird
    type:launched
    other type: flying coaster
    thanks holiday world for making this a lot of fun guessing the new ride.

    Reply
  5. Dwayne

    It says “Designed” in a German speaking company. Werner Stengel is german and works with every major ride manufacturer. His firm has been directly involved in nearly every major coaster project. This does not provide any clue as to which company is manufacturing the ride.

    Reply
  6. andy

    What a great gem in Indiana. Our family of 10 had a blast, something for everyone. The coaster – water & wooden were awesome. I lost count how many time we rode the Voyage. I always read how clean the park was but didn’t believe it till I saw it. The staff was amazing. They let us stay on the ride if no one was in line & it made the experience total great for my 13 year old & my 11 year niece. But the biggest thing that impressed me was the rain delay. Heavy rain came in about an hour before closing the water park & we wanted to ride the Mammoth one more time. We waited in the wave pool. Minutes went by. About 15 minutes till closing we thought “bummer, I bet they will stay closed, like the other parks do.” But no, about 10 till, the ride opened & we got to go out with a huge smile – THANK YOU, that was very cool.
    BTW – we drove all the way from Colorado Spring, CO to Santa Claus, a 18 hour drive. It was worth it.

    Reply
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