adam47150

If you have any spare time, do explore the area around Holiday World/Santa Claus. The region will kind of feel like a bit of Germany transported to America. Most of the people that settled in the area come from southwestern Germany. Our own wonderful Raven Maven's in-laws and my mother's side can trace it's ancestry to one family that came over from Germany (at least from what I remember the last time I saw the family genealogy book). Towns like St. Meinrad, Ferdinand, and the city of Jasper are quaint and peaceful. There are locations in each place where you can actually sit and be with your thoughts in silence. In St. Meinrad I suggest the grounds of the Archabbey (one of two in America and 11 in the world) or the Monte Cassino Shrine on the east side of town. For Ferdinand, pretty much anywhere in town is peaceful, but my fav spot would be the grounds of Monastery Immaculate Conception. In Jasper, the Riverwalk in the early morning hours can be very peaceful. But that is not all there is to do. I hope you enjoy your trip to Holiday World! I really need to drop by myself. I haven't been back in several years. Sorry for hijacking the thread for a moment

Wait, Maelstrom was a ride too? lol. J/K. I've been to WDW 10 times in my life and can only remember riding Maelstrom twice. My daughter is 3 and is a Frozen junkie (what 3yo girl isn't, right?!) and will love to ride the new ride when we take her to WDW for her first visit. We are tentatively planning our next trip to WDW for the summer of 2016. If we can make the trip, it will be my 12th visit to a Disney property (did a Magic Music Days Parade on New Year’s Eve and rang in 1999 at DL), my wife's 6th, son's 2nd and daughter's 1st. Holiday World is my home park, but I am a Disney nut as well...lol. Love this site and the lively discussion, even though I don't like riding roller coasters. Adam

I figured the compressed timeframe meant that they already had some of the major components built and ready to go once demo is complete, but that's just my uneducated guess.

To be a fly on the wall in the meeting that KK management called to watch the announcement. (You know they all got together to watch just like us)

I wonder if they are giving an embargoed media tour. At least that is what it looks like to me on the cam.

Actually it begins at 8:15 PM THEIR time as Holiday World is in the central time zone as is much of southern Indiana. Don't mean to bust on ya HolidayWorldFTW, but the majority of Southern Indiana is in the eastern time zone. The central time zone only extends as far east as Perry County, and the only county north of Evansville that is included is Gibson County. Everything else south of I-70 is in the eastern time zone.

The announcement begins at 9:15pm Eastern time.

I'm 99% sure Matt is following the thread based on a FB conversation we had. I bet they are having loads of fun reading this thread.

For those of you wondering about money and Holiday World, Matt knows money and how to manage it. He has a BS in accounting and at one time worked for a large accounting firm. I can guarantee you that Matt and the other money gurus at Holiday World and KDC went over the numbers many many times before pulling the trigger on this expansion.

^^^^^I can't help but wonder if this expansion wasn't already in the works before plans were ever put in motion to reopen KK. And as such wouldn't actually be seen as playing catch up to KK but more of a coincidence.

I'm not a coaster guy (but have nothing against them or their foamer fans...lol) so I hope this expansion has something for those of us that get their thrills from flat rides and dark rides. On a side note, with the center of the park eventually focusing on the Thanksgiving section of the park, who else out there can't wait to see what a Holiday World of that size looks like!?!

Paula, if there was one time that I would love having your job the most, it would be the time leading up to a ride announcement. The level of misdirection and subterfuge you get to dish out must be, for want of a better term, awesome!

I doubt that is what they would do as well, but knowing Matt, anything is possible.

I wasn't talking about a delay of the announcement. Let's see if I can rephrase what I meant. They would still make the announcement but at the end they could say, "If you like what we just announced and thought it was over the top, stay tuned because in a week we will have another announcement that will really knock your socks off!"

Just a brainstorm. But, could they make the expansion announcement on 7/24 and name the major attraction but then stager the release of whatever remaining rides/attractions over a period of time? I mean, 8/1 is not that far from 7/24. Sort of like if you like this, come back on 8/1 and we will pull back the curtain on the whole shabang! A staggered release could generate additional interest in the expansion and allow them to milk the news cycle for all it's worth.

Paula, you have a mole! Well, having spent the first 23 years of my life living in your neck of the woods, I would say you have more than one mole…but I digress. I know exactly what the 2015 plans are! Santa Claus, Ind. – The secret has been revealed! Confidential sources high inside the Holiday World organization have revealed the parks 2015 expansion plans. Taking a cue from parks like Universal Studios and their successful expansion centered on the Harry Potter franchise; Holiday World has entered an agreement with a major movie director/producer to open a new themed area at Holiday World and Splashin Safari. We can confidently reveal that this new themed area will be centered around the movie genius Mel Brooks. Rides will include a new whitewater rapids ride themed to the town of Rock Ridge from the movie Blazing Saddles. A new motion dark ride will take riders to ludicrous speed in a Spaceballs themed ride. Plans call for a new water based dark ride similar to Pirates of the Caribbean but themed to the movie Young Frankenstein. Also in the works is a new amphitheater that will debut a new stage show: The Adventures of Robin Hood Man in Tights. We will continue to update this story as additional details surface.

Saying goodbye to the moon...looking at the logos of the rides I see the moon features in the logo of The Legend. Surely they would not be removing this ride. Even though I am not a coaster fan I would hate to see them pull out one of their coasters.

I'm new to the forum and have been a HW fan all my life. I have a feeling that Matt and Paula are having a lot of fun reading the various speculation threads out there. Knowing Matt the way I do, I hope the big reveal takes advantage of his awesome theater skills! Matt is the perfect person to take Holiday World to the next level, a true Will protege! Adam