The Board of Directors for Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari has named Matt Eckert the park’s new president and CEO. “Matt was hand-picked by my late husband, Will, to be in a leadership role at the park; I know he would be pleased with our choice,” says park vice president Lori Koch. “As president and…

Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari’s two water coasters took top honors during this weekend’s Golden Ticket Awards ceremony, held at Dollywood theme park. For the third year in a row, Holiday World’s Wildebeest water coaster was named the World’s #1 Waterpark Ride. This top honor was announced by Amusement Today magazine, which presented the results…

SANTA CLAUS, IND. — One of the nation’s leading consumer magazines names Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari the country’s “Top Value Park” in its latest issue. Consumers Digest’s July/August edition features a section titled “Best-Value Amusement Parks.” The article, which includes a photo of the new Mammoth water coaster, called Holiday World’s roller coasters “world…

For the second time this week, a ride at Holiday World will be featured on a new show on the Travel Channel. The Voyage will be among four wooden roller coasters on Sunday’s episode of “Insane Coaster Wars.” A production crew from Travel Channel visited Holiday World for two days in early May to shoot…

According to the world’s largest travel website, the nation’s top water park is Holiday World’s Splashin’ Safari. TripAdvisor.com released their “Top 10 Water Parks in the U.S.” list, with the Santa Claus, Indiana, park in the number-one spot. In a news release, TripAdvisor.com lauded Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari for “aquatic delights” such as Wildebeest…

Producers for the Travel Channel will travel to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari this weekend to shoot an episode of their upcoming series, “Extreme Water Parks.” “We’re told Mammoth – our new water coaster – was top on their list for this new show,” says park president Dan Koch. “We’re held a video contest to…

The sixth annual “Holiday World Walk to Cure Diabetes” will be a homecoming of sorts, as Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler returns to his hometown of Santa Claus to serve as the walk’s grand marshal.  Cutler, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 21, will join in the walk’s opening ceremonies on Saturday,…

The host of the wildly popular Travel Channel reality show, “Bert the Conqueror” will travel to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari next month to “conquer” two of the world’s top-ranked rides. “We hear that Bert hollers like a little girl on roller coasters,” says park president Dan Koch. “I hope that means he’ll drown out…

The world’s longest water coaster, Wildebeest, is the “landslide winner” in the Best New Water Park Ride category of a recent poll conducted by About.com. “Even back when it was just a design on paper, we had a really good feeling that Wildebeest would be a hit,” says Dan Koch, president of Holiday World &…

The new Wildebeest water coaster at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari was named the Best New Ride in a Water Park and Best Overall Water Park Ride at Saturday evening’s Golden Ticket Awards, presented during an Academy Awards-style ceremony at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. In addition, Holiday World’s Voyage roller coaster was named the #1 Wooden…

The Holiday World family is mourning the loss of long-time employee Joe Hevron, who passed away this evening at a Spencer County nursing home. Hevron, 81, began his park career in 1946, during Santa Claus Land’s first season. Over the years, Hevron served as Director of Cash Control, Warehouse and Flowers, among other departments. He…

Holiday World may be the only theme park in the world with Abraham Lincoln’s signature on permanent display. The “O.V. Brown – Holiday World Lincoln Collection” contains a wide variety of artifacts from Abraham Lincoln’s life, particularly from the 14 years he spent growing up just a few miles away from what is now the…

 The Indiana Office of Tourism Development and the Koch family announce the creation of the Will Koch Indiana Tourism Leadership Award. Nominations are currently being sought through January 10, 2011. The new award is named for the late Will Koch, long-time owner and president of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari and chief executive officer of…

The visionary who introduced “free unlimited soft drinks,” an extreme emphasis on friendliness and cleanliness, plus the world’s most popular trio of wooden roller coasters was inducted into the amusement industry’s Hall of Fame this morning.       Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari owner and president Will Koch, who passed away unexpectedly in June at the age…

A world-wide audience will be able to tune in to see behind-the-scenes construction and maintenance work at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari on the National Geographic Channel this week. A year in the making, the “Ultimate Water Ride” episode of “World’s Toughest Fixes” will focus on construction of Wildebeest water coaster, track work on The…