We visited Holiday World in Indiana on June 13. It's a unique theme park, the only place in the world that celebrates Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July for 365 days a year! Here's our review of the day:

Our first ride of the day was the 140ft tall Thunderbird, the world’s first launched wing coaster, that rockets 0-60 mph in 3.5 seconds. It's a fantastic ride, with an impressive 3000ft of track, 4 inversions and lots of near miss illusions thanks to the nice woodland setting and some well placed barns. It's the best themed ride in the park and the smoke and light effects before you launch are a nice touch. We rode it in the front for the best experience and found the left side slightly better.

The Voyage was rated the best wooden coaster in the world for 5 years, and is currently still ranked 4th. The huge 163ft lift hill leads into an incredibly wild ride with more air time than any other wooden roller coaster in the world. The banked turns are really extreme, the ride has a ton of tunnels and it even goes underground. An absolute blast!

The Legend has just been upgraded and now this wooden roller coaster is better than ever, with some new re-tracked sections which are pretty smooth versus the older sections. We loved the little touches like the ringing of the bell as you leave the station and the howling sound effects before the first drop.

The Raven is the smallest wooden roller coaster at Holiday World but still packs a punch, with a thrilling course through the trees and a great fly over the lake. It is however the roughest of the 3 wooden roller coasters at Holiday World.

We beat the heat in the afternoon by riding the water coasters in Splashin' Safari. Make sure that you take your swimming gear as you don't want to miss out on these great rides that are absolutely thrilling and the perfect way to cool down on a hot day.

The largest ride, Mammoth, is in fact the longest water coaster in the world. It takes up to 6 riders per raft along a very fast and intense journey through multiple uphill launches powered by linear induction motors, down a series of steep drops and though lots of tight turns. A very exhilarating experience.

Wildebeest was previously the world's longest water coaster, and uses the same technology as Mammoth. This time sending up to 4 riders per boat along an equally intense course which also includes various dark tunnels.



The park was spotlessly clean and beautifully landscaped but the themed areas are actually surprisingly subtle. Signs and music are used to identify them but there could be much more theming.

Beyond the 4 big roller coasters and the 2 water coasters the other rides are mainly small carnival type attractions. Holiday World may not have as big a range of rides as other theme parks, except for the very extensive water park, but all of its roller coasters are top notch, there's no filler. It also has some notable benefits over most other theme parks including free parking, unlimited free drinks, free sun cream and free WiFi.


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