I won’t ruin the surprise, but a promise made long ago (and repeatedly) was finally kept this morning …
The Golden Ticket Awards were held last weekend in Connecticut.
Leah was pleased as punch to accept the #1 Water Park Ride award (Wildebeest‘s eighth win in as many years).

^ Bonus points if you can identify the photo bomber!
Here’s the full group of winners – congratulations to all the parks!

Matt told us about Blanche’s birthday visit.
Best wishes to Mick as he recovers (his podcast episode with us is still our most popular).
Second big Foley announcement –
I’m getting my right knee replaced in…about 5 minutes! I’ll check back in when I kick out of anesthesia? pic.twitter.com/WXgmDf61zV— Mick Foley (@RealMickFoley) September 11, 2017
Be sure to enter our a-MAZE-ing Sweepstakes!
For our Ancestor Appreciation Day discussion, Lauren honored two of her great-grandfathers (Santa Jim Yellig and Louis J. Koch), pictured below at Santa Claus Land with a future president:

Here’s our cute little friend Kevin, no doubt unaware of his parents’ scheming ways:
Sorry Kevin you are just a bit to short. Maybe @HolidayWorld would let you stand on your toes but not here #howopo pic.twitter.com/Q8Ki0CcAVW
— Alyssa W (@Akweihe) September 10, 2017
Evana’s son is planning his career:
My son dreams of working @HolidayWorld one day! Clearly, I am raising him right!? #dreams #3rdgrade #parenting pic.twitter.com/LcVQBj3mHy
— Evana Sandusky (@EvanaSandusky) September 11, 2017
Here’s that breathtaking Thunderbird photo taken by Jon Green:
Soar through the sky on Thunderbird at @HolidayWorld #HoWoPo pic.twitter.com/U1wmMACqIj
— Jon Green (@JGreen_LAT) September 9, 2017
A great #ThrowBackThursday from DT:
My theme park travels started at Santa Claus Land when I was 2 and I have been back every year since. @HolidayWorld #throwbackthursday pic.twitter.com/0QSFK1bzLI
— DT (@lifeonthelift) September 7, 2017
And here’s proof of that lost tooth:
Does the tooth fairy come to @HolidayWorld ? Standing in line for mayflower, Nadia said “I lost my tooth!!” @agooch1207 pic.twitter.com/1BYCXi1LRK
— Kim Gooch (@kgooch78) September 4, 2017
Zack checks out our Google Street View:
@HolidayWorld when you have too much free time at the office, you find Safari Sam in the waterpark #MapsofGoogle #HoWoPo pic.twitter.com/l9QICr6rAj
— Zack Keeney (@zack_keeney) September 5, 2017
… and The Coaster Crew does it again:
What to do when @HolidayWorld is closed until Saturday? Grab a book or six and celebrate #ReadABookDay! It’s Moola Moola-approved! #HoWoPo pic.twitter.com/NgwT8VKFXl
— The Coaster Crew (@Coastercrew) September 6, 2017
(Brace yourself, Lauren – here it comes!)
True fact – a smart Foot pre-plans to arrive @HolidayWorld by 10 a.m. in the morning to avoid long queue lines #HoWoPo #RepetitiveRedundancy pic.twitter.com/7RicszasHg
— The Coaster Crew (@Coastercrew) September 11, 2017
As we end this post, here’s a reminder that both parks are open this Saturday and closed for a private event on Sunday. Then next Saturday (September 23), Happy Halloween Weekends begin!
Thanks for listening!