What to know about Pokemon Go

As Holiday World’s resident geezer, I clearly remember when Pokemon first made an appearance in popular culture. Somewhere in the back of a closet shelf at home we no doubt still have piles of Pokemon collector cards and battery-drained Game Boys.

Memories of cherished days with youngsters growing up.

Gotta catch ’em all

“Pokey-what? Do you mean Gumby’s friend?” That only took me so far, but it was fun to learn all about this game from eager sons and their friends.

And just when you thought it was safe to put Pikachu in the Goodwill bin … he’s back!

Are you one of the zillions who’s downloaded the new Pokemon Go app to see what the fuss is all about?

I broached the subject yesterday at our Directors Meeting.

And the room erupted.

It turns out these critters have not only invaded our park but our offices as well:

Methinks this is getting out of hand! #PokemonGO #HoWoPoGo pic.twitter.com/1T3USyMuQG

— Holiday World (@HolidayWorld) July 11, 2016

That’s Lauren, our Events & Entertainment Director, batting away one of the more forward creatures.

You don’t need to storm Lauren’s office to catch a Zubat.

They hang out around the Christmas bat-rooms as well:

Ba-da-bum.

Later, Angie from Guest Services had a Pokemon perch on her knee during a meeting in my office:

Talking with Angie about our next podcast and look who crashes the meeting! #PokemonGO #HoWoPo #HoWoPoGo pic.twitter.com/zlmpCJJ7ee — Holiday World (@HolidayWorld) July 11, 2016

The little Squirtle kept hopping around, from my desk to Angie and back.

And we’ve discovered our park is host to three Pokemon Gyms.

We hope those of you who play this game while visiting us will enjoy yourselves, but keep in mind that all park rules still apply:

1. Stay on the public paths. Absolutely no going behind the scenes or in any non-public places. This is serious and non-negotiable.

2. Watch where you’re going! Bumping into other Guests or even stumbling and scraping up your knees is simply not worth it.

3. Do not take your phone or any type of camera on rides – ever. Even if it’s in your pocket, a phone could fall out and hurt someone. The phone itself will most likely get damaged beyond repair.

Exhibit A:

The above is a phone that came out of someone’s pocket while riding Thunderbird. This is why we have the no cameras/no phones rule on our rides (the only exceptions are Holidog Express, Doggone Trail, Star Spangled Carousel, and Prancer’s Merry-Go-Round).

Please don’t ignore our safety rules – they apply to everyone and are there to keep everyone safe.

Meanwhile, this fellow awaits:

Is it cheating if we tell you where they are? #PokemonGo #HolidayWorld #HoWoPoGo #gottacatchemall

A photo posted by Holiday World (@holidayworld) on Jul 11, 2016 at 2:10pm PDT