MEDIA CONTACT: Paula Werne, 812-937-5209; fun@holidayworld.com
PARKS FRIENDLIEST & CLEANEST (again)
COASTERS TOP 10 & WATER PARK #2
...IN INTERNATIONAL SURVEY
SANTA CLAUS, IN----- The staff at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari was honored today with top awards in the Friendliest and Cleanest categories during the 2005 Golden Ticket Awards ceremony at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio.
Announced this afternoon by Amusement Today publisher Gary Slade, the industry's "Academy Awards" included theme, amusement and water parks from around the world. The awards are the subject of a documentary being produced for The Travel Channel.
The "Golden Ticket Awards" named Holiday World & Splashin' Safari the #1 Friendliest Park for the eighth consecutive year and #1 Cleanest Park for the sixth year in a row, outranking such parks as Disney World, Kings Island, Busch Gardens, and Cedar Point.
"It's a huge honor for us to receive these titles once again," says Holiday World & Splashin' Safari's Will Koch, who is president and general manager. "And it's all due to our incredible staff. We tell our Hosts and Hostesses each spring that we can't rest on last season's laurels; we have to go out and earn those awards again each day."
Holiday World continues to be the only theme or amusement park with two top-ten wooden roller coasters; The Raven was voted #5 and The Legend named #7.
Splashin' Safari remained the world's #2 Water Park in this year's survey and was ranked #4 in the Best Landscaping in a Waterpark category. Splashin' Safari's Zinga took high honors as the #2 Waterpark Ride, while ZOOMbabwe was named the #3 Waterpark Ride. In addition, the new Bahari wave pool took #4 in the Best New Waterpark Ride category.
Amusement Today is an international monthly trade journal for the amusement and water park industries, based in Arlington, Texas. The Golden Ticket Awards are determined by surveys submitted by well-traveled park enthusiasts from around the world. The full report of this year's survey results is available at www.AmusementToday.com.
Pat Koch, the park's matriarch, attended today's Golden Ticket Awards ceremony and announced that Holiday World & Splashin' Safari will host the 2006 awards ceremony.
For more information about Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, visit the park's website at www.holidayworld.com or call 1-877-Go-Family.