Why You Should Visit in May!

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The temperatures are rising, the rides are ready to go, and the pools have been filled with water.

And that can only mean one thing. Holiday World’s Opening Weekend is almost here.

While most Guests don’t start planning their visit until after Memorial Day Weekend, they’re missing out on some of our lowest ticket prices of the season and some of the shortest lines we’ll have all year. There are perks to being an early visitor!

So don’t delay in planning your first trip of the season. With our Pick Your Date calendar, you can save up to $30 on tickets to visit in May online at HolidayWorld.com/Tickets. In fact, the SMALLEST amount you’ll save on tickets to visit this month is $20 per ticket. So what are you waiting for?

Start planning your first trip now!

To celebrate counting down those last few days until we open on Saturday, May 13, we’ve decided to start a new giveaway.

Enter to Win 4 Tickets & 2 Overnights!

We’re giving away four tickets to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari plus two overnights in a Rudolph’s Christmas Cabin at Sun Outdoors Lake Rudolph!

There are several ways that you can enter to win our latest giveaway – including some options that you can choose to enter with daily!

Holiday World opens for the season on Saturday, May 13. Splashin’ Safari opens Saturday, May 20. See our full calendar now!

Next Door to Holiday World: Our Stay at Lake Rudolph

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The closest place to stay near Holiday World is actually right next door!

Sun Outdoors Lake Rudolph is a family favorite and for good reason. When it comes to accommodations this unique resort has so many different options to choose from and even some fun holiday traditions that carry over from year to year.

It’s no surprise that Lake Rudolph would have a lake. There’s a dock to go fishing, paddleboats and beach volleyball. But what is a surprise is seeing the Raven roller coaster in action right next to the lake. You are close enough to hear the screams of delight from the ride goers! The roller coaster appears to go right along the edge of the water with the Holiday World water tower standing in the distance.

Holiday Themed

As you drive around you’ll notice right away that everything is holiday themed. From Christmas Cabins to holly jolly street signs, it’s all about the winter holiday fun at Lake Rudolph.

Cabin at Lake Rudolph | Next Door to Holiday World: Our Stay at Lake Rudolph

We stayed in a Holiday Cottage on Frosty Lane and it was just the right size to accommodate our family. For sleeping, this particular cabin features a main bedroom with queen size bed, a smaller bedroom with a full bed that has a twin bunk over, and a sleeper sofa in the living room.

Our favorite part of this particular cottage?

The covered and screened-in porch at the front! Such a great place to sit and listen to the sounds of night nature after a long day in the theme park.

Other Accommodations

At Lake Rudolph, there are a few other cabin styles to choose from to accommodate different group sizes. In years past our family actually stayed in a Christmas cabin with a loft. The kids still talk about it and we loved the spacious covered porch.

Cabin at Lake Rudolph | Next Door to Holiday World: Our Stay at Lake Rudolph

It’s important to note that all cabins include pillows, pillowcases, and fitted sheets, but you need to bring your own top sheets, blankets and towels.

For those who like to camp, there are ample amounts of campsites for both tents and RVs. Many with a view of the roller coasters next door! You can even rent an RV at Lake Rudolph.

Speaking of Rentals

I’m going to let you in on a tradition that many families who stay yearly at Lake Rudolph take part in. They rent golf carts for their stay.

And they don’t just rent the golf carts. They come prepared with decorations! Families enjoy taking part in the golf cart parade. It’s really fun seeing the carts that have Christmas lights on them!

Resort Fun & Amenities

There are so many unique and fun amenities at Lake Rudolph. I think it’s one of the main reasons why families stay there again and again. That and its close proximity to Holiday World of course!

They have an Activity Center with a Mini Golf course, basketball courts, playgrounds, pools, and more. They even have a waterpark!

Free Shuttles

Perhaps the most favorite amenity are the free shuttles that go to Holiday World. Various regions within Lake Rudolph have their own shuttle stops. This is great for families who have members that want to go back into the theme park again later in the day or for the night hours. There’s no need to drive over to Holiday World… Just catch a shuttle!

It’s a great option for those who want to watch Holidays in the Sky.

Thank you to Lake Rudolph and Holiday World!

We loved our stay at Lake Rudolph and look forward to staying next door to Holiday World again one day. My time as a HoliBlogger has come to a close and we made so many fun memories as a family last season. So very grateful for the opportunity. Hopefully we can make it back from St. Louis again soon because we already miss Holiday World so much!

 

Enter to Win A Pair of Tickets to Holiday World!

Be sure to follow the adventures of the HoliBloggers. Each of their blog posts will have a giveaway where you can enter to win two tickets to visit Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in 2023.

Click any option below to get more details on how to gain those extra entries. You can enter to win through some options daily!

Entries accepted through Saturday, April 22 at 8pm Central.

This blog post was written by HoliBlogger Tara S.

Tara Smith has a degree in psychology with emphasis in community health, but has been a mom blogger for over a decade and lives in St. Louis, MO. You can find her blog at SeeingDandy.com. As a busy mom of 4, she likes to do fun activities with her family and travel. She also likes to sew, craft, make recipes and inspire others in motherhood. Tara and her blog have been featured on News 4 Great Day, Show Me St. Louis and in Country Sampler Farmhouse Style Magazine.

Splashin’ Safari Turns 30: Vote for It As Best Water Park!

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When you think of Splashin’ Safari, a sprawling water park comes to mind.

It’s home to three world-class water coasters, three wave pools, a large lazy river, and countless water slides for every member of the family to enjoy when you visit us here in Santa Claus, Indiana.

But it took us a while to grow the water park to its current size. 30 years to be exact.

Splashin’ Safari opened in 1993 with just two water slides, a kiddie play area, and a small lazy river in the area that’s now the water park plaza.

Over the years, our little water park grew and grew. It got more colorful as we opened new record-breaking attractions. And thirty years later, we’re known world-wide for the splashtastic fun you can have when you visit.

Our Guests have been fundamental in helping the water park grow. And now, we’re asking for your vote!

Vote for Splashin’ Safari!

 

You can vote daily through Monday, April 24! And we’d appreciate all the votes you’d like to cast for us between now and then.

Click here to vote for Splashin’ Safari!

Take a stroll through Splashin’ Safari’s history.

While you’re at it, check out our latest giveaway below and you could win big.

Enter to Win 4 Tickets & 2 Overnights!

We’re giving away four tickets to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari plus two overnights in a Holiday Cottage at Sun Outdoors Lake Rudolph!

There are tons of ways that you can enter to win – including some that you can choose daily! So what are you waiting for? We open for the season on Saturday, May 13 and can’t wait to see you in 2023.

We can’t wait to see you back in Splashin’ Safari this season!

Holiday World Announces New Attraction Names

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2023 is the year of Operations

We’re laser-focused on delivering outstanding operations to our Guests in 2023. How? We’re recruiting more Team Members from around the country to our Team Member Housing, and the world. And, our cashless transactions will make transactions faster. 

PLUS Season Passholders have more options than ever to skip the processing lines on their first visit by submitting online or visiting one of our early processing days. 

But that’s just the start

We’re revolutionizing how we think about the Guest experience, and we’ve decided it’s time to move on from the names we assign to our attractions, shops, and restaurants. 

You see, we realize that navigating a park can be confusing. It’s 100+ acres and two parks’ worth of fun. PLUS we have free parking, sunscreen, and soft drinks, which can turn first-time visitors’ brains upside-down. 

And if that’s not enough, sometimes we change a ride’s name. Or we move the ride. Or we bring back a new ride and give it an old ride’s name (Firecracker, anyone?). Sometimes, we completely reinvent a restaurant and change its name (Kringle’s). 

So, for those of you who aren’t interested in keeping up with the name changes, we’re introducing our all-new map. Effective May 6, 2023, we’re calling things by the names our Guests actually use. 

Here’s the new map

 

Sure, our team gets a little frustrated when The Voyage is referred to as “The Voyager.” One letter turns it from an ocean journey to a space journey (Trekkies will get that and I pretend to do so as well). However, people add the “r,” so we will too.

Another example? Bakuli. It’s such a fun ride and the name means “bowl” in Swahili. Perfect, right? Yet our Guests insist on calling it the “toilet.” So…  we’ll support that as… nope still can’t do it. 

You’re looking for another? Ok. Funnel Cake Factory is a classic. It’s a small stand, so “factory” may not be the perfect name for it. We hear many Guests call it “Freedom Funnel Cakes,” so we’ll call it that as well. 

Why didn’t we do this sooner?

Well, we’re America’s First Theme Park. So theming and naming attractions is a big deal around here. We try to come up with names that are simple and easy to understand. For example, we considered naming our Digital Photo Pass plenty of cute names from HoliPics to Holiday Memories, but… we decided it might be easiest to name it what it is. 

But, we also have a lot of names that just make us happy. For example, The Legend references “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow,” by Washington Irving. I literally named my dog “Ichabod” because The Legend is my favorite of our wooden coasters.

Wait. Was this a bad idea? No. Don’t look back, Leah. 

Names are important to us, so we’ve held onto them for a very long time, but improving our effectiveness at providing navigational assistance is worth it. 

Figure it out yet?

There’s no coincidence this announcement is happening on Saturday, April 1st. April fools! However… there is one name change that really will be happening! Comment on our blog to see if you’ve figured it out!