Five star rating system *****
Holiday World 4.5 stars
A couple of Saturdays ago, my family and some of the youth from church took a trip to Santa Claus, Indiana to visit Holiday World theme park. We started in Tennessee around 6:00 am and took the easy three and a half hour trip up I-65 to Bowling Green, Kentucky, then got on the William Natcher Parkway all the way to Owensboro, Kentucky. Once in Owensboro (and not before), we got on U.S. 231 north, which took us into Indiana. Just south of Chrisney, we turned right (east) onto Highway 70. After approximately 7 miles, we turned left (north) onto Highway 245, which took us into Santa Claus and to Holiday World's parking lots. The final stretch of Highway 70 is chock-full of small hills and risers which are really fun to speed over. But caution should be taken as signs are posted all along that stretch, "Excessive speeding: $1000.00 fine".
If you are from Tennessee and remember Opryland, you will quicly remember what made that theme park so much fun. Small size, great rides, friendly people, affordable prices. Plus, there's a waterpark smack dab in the middle.
We began the day by going straight to the waterpark and renting lockers for our swimming duds, then hit the theme park. Our first ride was:
Paul Revere's Midnight Ride--This “spinny” ride really surprised my wife and I. We thought it was the kids warm up for the bigger rides but were greatly mistaken. Not only does the ride itself spin, but each individual car can spin and does freely. They say you can control it by leaning but we never had enough control of ourselves to lean in the appropriate direction. Great fun but don't ride right after eating.
Raging Rapids--This four-minute family ride was great fun on the 100 degree day. It starts off in a subterranean tunnel, then floats along before hitting the rapids. Then you will then pass through Boulder Canyon, a flooded Western town. Your journey will end by going through the town’s saloon and the possibility of getting soaked by a water curtain. Wet. Wet. Wet.
Congo River--A relaxing break floating on inner-tubes. A soft current glides you around the area. Occasional squirts and waterfalls occupy the course. Very crowded. It's more fun later in the day when the crowds have gotten smaller.
Watubee--Watubee is a big green water slide. To “Do the Watubee,” you walk to the top of the ride’s tower, climb into a large raft which holds up to four people, and launch onto a watery adventure featuring non-stop twists and turns. Great ride. Not scary at all for younger riders.
Wildebeest--This has to be on of the most awesome rides I've ever been on. After a two hour wait, my wife and I climbed aboard the four man raft with two college age guys. It began with a conveyor ride up the water coaster’s lifthill. Following the four-story drop at a 45-degree angle, the rafts are propelled up seven additional hills, through two underground tunnels (with water cannons at the beginning of each), and around a helix. The top speed is 36 feet per second. The tallest elevation is 64 feet higher than its lowest drop; the conveyor-style lifthill replaces any slide-tower stairs, making the water coaster accessible to riders who might have difficulty walking up stairs. One of the college guys screamed (rather high pitched) for the entire ride. He was embarrassed but lucklily he rode with us old folks and lost no credibility with his female peers.
Plymouth Rock Café--We ate lunch here and were very pleased with the selection and quality of the food. I personaly had the chicken and dumplings with mac and cheese, sauteed green beans and fried apples. Very yummy. They also offer turkey, both legs an breasts, ham, chicken, and a number of sides and desserts. Approximately $8.00 per adult portion but they do offer a child's portion for around $5.00 which would fill up most people.
Kringle's Kafé--We had dinner here. Pizza, hamburgers, fries, and one Black Bean Chipotle Veggie Burger. Food was excellent, filling, and very affordable.
The kids rode other rides and sang praises for The Voyage, The Raven,
and The Legend.
The free soft drinks, coffee, tea, and suntan lotion were great but lines were really long for the drinks due to the heat of the day. Bathrooms weren't as well maintained as Disney but hey, prices were so much better.
We bought souvenirs, hats, glass dragon from the glass blowing shop, played skeeball, and ate ice cream, Excluding ticket prices, we got a group rate of $28.95, we spent around $130.00 for four people.
We arrived at the park 9:34 am and left at 8:45 pm and at the end of the day, we wished we had more time to do some of the things we had missed.
We will definitely return for more Holiday World fun!
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