Best. Present. Ever.

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If you’re a podcast listener, you already know that The Coaster Crew is a regular mention in our #HoWoPo Feedback segment.

Long story short (I’ll try, anyway), The Coaster Crew is one of our “partner clubs.” Several members attended last season’s HoliWood Nights event and were intrigued by the lone green foot that was part of our auction for Give Kids the World. They bid, and subsequently won, the green foot. And the rest is history.

Yes, every few weeks (and sometimes more frequently), we see a tweet from The Coaster Crew, showing the Big Green Foot enjoying his time with Holidog and all their friends. During one podcast episode several months ago, Lauren declared that the tweeted photos were so awesome, she thought they should be made into a coffee-table book.

And today her dream came true:

The Big Green Foot has a mysterious past. It doesn’t match any of our costume characters, current or past. It just arrived one day and we kept it until it made more sense to auction it.

The Coaster Crew certainly got a kick out of The Foot. Hope you do, too.

Podcast: Christmas Crazies

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With Christmas fast approaching, we recorded our final podcast episode of the year today.

The PodSquad doesn’t quite catch the brilliance of Turkey Lurkey Time. No matter what you think of the lyrics, you will surely be blown away by Donna McKechnie (the tall “office worker” in this performance on the 1969 Tony Awards) and her dancing skills:

We didn’t get too far into our ‘cast when Santa Justin arrived with all sorts of menu items to try:

Matt, Justin and Eric

We each got to sample four different pizzas …

Pizza sampler

… plus Sidewinder Fries and Firecracker Shrimp:

Firecracker shrimp

Matt provides a Firecracker update. Here’s Painter Joe working on one of cars:

Firecracker Car Being Sanded with Painter Joe

And what about that HoliWood Nights theme?

HoliWood Nights 2017 | "Jurclassic Park"

Here’s the TPED video:

What does Bacon Boy look like, you ask?

Here he is:

And it wouldn’t be a podcast without The Coaster Crew and their Big Green Foot:

Just in case you can’t picture that Big Clock in Mrs. Klaus’ Kitchen, here’s a snap of Leah counting down the days till Christmas:

Leah and the Big Clock

We’ve enjoyed putting this podcast together for you and would love your feedback! Please post comments here on the HoliBlog or tweet them, using the hashtag #HoWoPo.

Merry Christmas to all!

Podcast: December dreams

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It’s been a full month since the #PodSquad assembled, so we kicked off December with memories of Thanksgiving, a mannequin video, and plans for 2017:

Here’s the AtlasObscura article about our “thematically relevant roller coaster.”

So sad about the loss of Mrs. Brady.

Florence Henderson with the Kochs

From left, Leah Koch, Florence Henderson, Lauren (Koch) Crosby, and Lori Koch.

And let there be no question about Florence’s finest performance:

Rest in Peace, Florence Henderson.

The Coaster Crew outdid themselves with the Big Green Foot this month:

We revealed a number of Easter eggs from this week’s “mannequin video”: We may have missed a few – I’m sure you’ll let us know.

Proof that Matt really texted me a photo of his sock:

We talked about National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day. Here’s Bill Koch’s Navy photo from 1942.

Bill Koch in Navy 1942

We mentioned the new Holidog Height Chart, now on sale in the HoliShop.

Holidog Height Chart

Conversation, of course, returned to bacon and bacon soda when we saw this Coaster Crew tweet:

An incredible photo of Thunderbird:

Thanksgiving greetings from Coaster Crew:

We got off-track (imagine that!) and talked about Words With Friends:

Words with Friends

Matt is a really good player. I saved those “You Beat MattEckert” for a ridiculously long time.

And finally … during our 70 Degrees of Separation game, we talked about the Educated Animals (watch for them around 3:50 into the video):

Thanks so much for listening!

Podcast: Food, Glorious Food

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Just in time for Thanksgiving, our PodSquad chooses their favorite food fights* for this compilation episode:

*verbal, of course

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Heroes among us

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Our Veterans gathered this week for a group photo by the Santa statue.

“Hands by your sides, please, fellas.” They complied with a stunning swiftness.

But of course. They’re military.

This year’s photo is missing one of our Veterans, a maintenance technician – she’s off-site right now with the Army National Guard. We’ll catch you next year, Billie Jo!

Veterans Day

From left:

  • Hugh, Maintenance Manager, has served in the Army since 2003;
  • John, Director of Maintenance, served in the Army;
  • Elmer, a Maintenance Technician, served in the Army;
  • Maintenance Technician Billy is also an Army Veteran;
  • Korey, one of our Painters, is a Navy Veteran; and
  • Matt, Roller Coaster Maintenance Manager, has served in the Navy since 2009.

Blessings on all of our nation’s Veterans. Our gratitude is endless.

 

 

 

 

Season Pass Sweepstakes

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Congratulations to our winner – Bill H. of Georgetown, Indiana! Thanks to all who entered!
———–

It’s that gift-giving time of the year, and we’re about to give away a pair of 2017 Season Passes.

Our neighborsRudolph's Christmas Cabin are feeling generous, too, and will provide our sweepstakes winner with two overnights in a Rudolph’s Christmas Cabin for next year.

Enter daily and you could win!

Before you enter, please read through these instructions and rules:

  • You must be at least 18 years old to enter and you must not have won tickets from Holiday World in the past six months.
  • Employees of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Lake Rudolph Campground & RV Resort, Sun Communities, and Sun RV Resort (and the immediate family members of employees) are not eligible to enter.
  • By entering, you agree to be added to our e-newsletter list (you may unsubscribe at any time by following the directions in your email).
  • Use the widget, below, to enter daily. There are lots of options, so you can earn extra entries by posting here on our HoliBlog, tweeting about this sweepstakes, following us on Pinterest, and visiting us on our Facebook page. If you win, please note you must be at least 21 to phone in your Rudolph’s Christmas Cabin reservation at Lake Rudolph. Here are the dates the cabin will be available for reservation: May 1-25 and May 29-June 8, 2017.
  • For the “post a comment on the blog” entry option, simply tell us which ride, slide, show or treat you’ll miss the most during the “off season.” (Our comments are moderated, so as long as the content is HoliFriendly, it will appear soon.)
  • Did you know you can subscribe to our HoliBlog so that you receive all of our posts (including contests) by email? If you’re using a desktop computer or tablet, look for the “Subscribe to Blog” sidebar at the top-right corner of this page. On a smartphone? Just scroll down a tiny bit more to find it.

Ready to enter? Simply enter our sweepstakes here from a mobile device; or if you’re on a desktop, enter by using the widget, below. And not just today – enter daily through Tuesday, November 15, 2016, at 1:30pm CST, when we’ll choose one winner at random.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

By the way, the Rudolph’s Christmas Cabins are also available during the first three weeks of December.

As a reminder, our deepest discounts for 2017 Season Passes are available through midnight on Tuesday, November 15. Using our Easy Pay monthly payment plan, Season Passes are available for just $21 per month (six payments). We also have Platinum Season Passes and Summer Fun Cards available again for the 2017 season.

Good luck to everyone!

“It made me giddy”

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Angie was breathless.

And it wasn’t because she had just climbed 310 steps – to the top of The Voyage lift hill. (“I had to stop to catch my breath four times,” she confessed.)

It was because she achieved one of her top “bucket list” desires and saw the World from 17 stories up.

Angie at the top of Voyage

Our Guest Services Manager had dreamed about climbing The Voyage ever since she joined us full time back in 2011. She wanted to see the entire county from one spot. She mentioned this to Lori in Attractions, who quickly offered to escort her.

Imagine Angie’s surprise that she could not only see the entire county, she could also see the Natcher Bridge spanning the Ohio River … all the way to Kentucky!

Angie was also amazed to spot so many water towers. “More than I knew existed,” she told me. And the fall trees were absolutely beautiful.

I asked Angie what could possibly remain on her bucket list – after all, she got to be one of the first to ride Thunderbird back in 2015, and now this.

What’s left?

“Parachuting!”

 

Podcast: The Season Wrap

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I must warn you about this episode of the Holiday World Podcast: It’s the end of the season and we let off just a little bit of steam.

And I’m not talking about November 8, National STEAM Day.

We hope you enjoy our silly stories:

When we talk about STEM/STEAM Day, we mention Artrageous with Nate. Here’s that piece:

Here’s Coaster Crew’s tweet to celebrate “Smart is Cool Day”:

And a bonus tweet from yesterday:

And as we wind up the ‘cast with our 70 Degrees of Separation game, here’s proof positive that we had a Showboat Theatre during our Santa Claus Land days.

Happy Kellems and his wife, Lillian, in the Showboat Theatre:

Happy Kellems & Lillian

As we mentioned during the Holidays segment, November 15 is the final day to sign up for 2017 Season Passes for as low as $21/month. Head over to this page for Season Pass details.

Pumpkin Day

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As we say on our podcast: We are Holiday World and we love holidays …

And never has a holiday been so easy to illustrate as today’s: National Pumpkin Day.

Gourdon the Talking Pumpkin was pleased as punch to talk about all the pumpkin spice sprinkled throughout our menus:

 

We got to tweet about our participation in the Teal Pumpkin Project:

And we showed off a dandy Jack-o-Lantern (carved by coaster enthusiast Bryan Bird):

Here’s another pumpkin we just had to share, with this incredible likeness to The Raven’s creator, Edgar Allan Poe:

And finally, the cutest punkin of them all!

Podcast: Magic Man!

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As chilly autumn winds begin to blow at last, turning leaves to gold, red and orange, the #PodSquad sat down with an old friend.

We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we had fun recording it:

Magic Show: Don and Boy with Giant PencilsThis episode’s guest?

It’s our Magic Man, Don Baggett.

Don has a long history with us – and it’s even longer than we realized!

His Wild & Wacky Halloween Magic Show continues in the back room at Kringle’s Kreepy Kafe for the next two weekends, as we wind down our 70th season.

During our chat, Don reminisced about visiting Santa Claus Land as a child.

He made friends with our magicians from back in the 1970s and ’80s – Gene Smith and Arte Williams – plus our clown, Happy Kellems.

Here’s Arte Williams, on stage at Santa Claus Land’s Showboat Theater:

Magic Show with Arte Williams

Here’s Happy Kellems getting bonked on the head by his wife, Lillian:

Happy Kellems at Santa Claus Land

Both Lauren and Leah stepped in last weekend to help out on stage with our Lights Out! show. Here they are with their “little” brother, William, who can usually be found adjusting lights, microphones and (if you listened to Podcast Episode 018, you already know) creating cobwebs.

Leah-William-Lauren

Twelve acres of corn mazes take about six months to plan, plant, cut and explore:

Corn Maze 2016

Happy birthday, Will! This photo of Matt and Will is from Christmas, 2006.

Matt and Will

And here’s our tweet from yesterday:

A listener sent us a bottle of Bacon Soda. Lauren, as you can see, was not a fan.

Lauren tries Bacon Soda

And finally, The Coaster Crew and their incredibly photogenic Big Green Foot sent a tweet on National Farmers Day:

Thanks for listening!