Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari Win Awards For Best in the World

This weekend, our friends at Holiday World & Splashin Safari shared some AMAZING news! They just won some epic Golden Ticket Awards for the water park, water park rides, and one of their coasters reclaimed a once-held title.

These awards are chosen by the most knowledgeable folks in the park industry. Over 500 ballots were sent out across the world with 22 categories for them to vote on. The winners were announced at a ceremony over the weekend.

For the first year ever, Holiday World's Splashin' Safari won the Golden Ticket Award for Best Water Park in the WORLD! Those of us who know and love and frequent the "Water Coaster Capital of the World" aren't surprised at all, but this isn't just another accolade; this one is special.

“This is a dream come true,” says Leah Koch-Blumhardt, Director of Communications and Fourth-Generation Owner. “When our dad, Will Koch, first opened Splashin’ Safari in 1993, he had big dreams of building the best water park in the world. We’ve been ranked #1 on plenty of lists, but now that we hold the Golden Ticket Award, we can truly say he did it. This is a testament to how incredible our maintenance and operations teams are at keeping the rides moving, the walkways clean, and the free soft drinks stocked.”

For the past 16 years, a water coaster from Holiday World & Splashin' Safari has won the top spot in the "Best Water Park Ride" category.  This year, the top THREE winners are all from Splashin' Safari. The Mammoth was named #1, Wildebeest #2, and Cheetah Chase #3. Once again, having ridden all of those, not surprised at all! They are AWESOME!

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Finally, The Voyage was able to reclaim a title previously held 15 years ago. Best Wooden Rollercoaster. “The Voyage is 20 years old this season,” says Lauren Crosby, Director of Entertainment and Events and Fourth-Generation Owner, in a press release. “We’ve had our sights set on bringing this award home for the last decade. We couldn’t have done it without our roller coaster maintenance teams and outstanding ride operators.”

Even though you'll have to wait til the 2027 season to visit Splashin' Safari again, Holiday World's Happy Halloween Weekends begin this weekend and Friday Night Live continues through October 30th. Riding rides in the dark is NEXT LEVEL FUN, especially The Voyage, so be sure to check out the calendar at holidayworld.com and plan your visit.

Happy Holidays!