Thursday, March 28, 2024

HOLIDAY WORLD FINISHES SEASON UP RECORD 14% WILL KOCH NAMED TO ‘WATERPARK HALL OF FAME’



SANTA CLAUS, Indiana, USA — Holiday World finished its 64th season by setting a new seasonal attendance record, up nearly 14 percent from the previous record, set last year, the park announced on Oct 10.

“This is the fifth year in a row we’ve topped one million in attendance,” says park president Dan Koch. “We’re very grateful to all the families who came to visit our parks.”

With a final count of 1,182,636 guests, Koch credits the season’s growth with the addition of Wildebeest, the world’s longest water coaster, plus the parks’ budget-friendly free soft drinks, along with a continued concentration on cleanliness and friendliness.

“So much of the credit for our growth goes to the incredible service and hospitality provided by our Hosts and Hostesses,” Koch says. “As far as we’re concerned, it takes more than great rides and shows to make a park worth visiting. We are very appreciative of our hard-working staff.”

Over the weekend, the World Waterpark Association (WWA) inducted Will Koch into its Waterpark Hall of Fame. According to the WWA, their Waterpark Hall of Fame “honors the water leisure industry’s most important pioneers and innovators.”

“This is a great honor for a great man,” says Dan Koch. “I am thankful for my brother’s life.” Koch became president of the park in June, following the unexpected death of his brother Will, who had guided the park’s successful growth and development for more than two decades.

Holiday World will open its 65th season on May 7, 2011. Splashin’ Safari will open for the season on May 13, with the debut of Safari Sam’s SplashLand, a children’s water-play area with eight new water slides.

Logos and photo of Will Koch courtesy Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari

Related stories from InPark Magazine & InPark News:

Splash Cinema: 4D for waterparks
Noah’s Ark introduces looping waterslide
Canada’s Calypso Waterpark
Waterpark attendance stats for 2009
Where King Kong gets his mighty roar (Universal theme park attraction)
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Judith Rubin
Judith Rubin
Judith Rubin ([email protected]) is a leading journalist, content marketing specialist and connector in the international attractions industry. She reports on design and technical design, production and project management, industry trends and company culture. From 2005-2020 she ran communications and publications for the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA). In 2013, she was honored with the TEA Service Award. She was development director of IMERSA and publicist for the Large Format Cinema Association, and has contributed to the publications of PLASA, IAAPA and the International Planetarium Society. Judith joined World’s Fair magazine in 1987, which introduced her to the attractions industry. She joined InPark in 2010. Judith earned a BFA from Pratt Institute. She has lived in Detroit, New York, Oakland, and now Saint Louis, where she is active in the local arts community.

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