HOLIDAY WORLD & SPLASHIN’ SAFARI WINS MULTIPLE INDUSTRY AWARDS

Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari took home top honors at the recent 2024 Golden Ticket Awards ceremony held at Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania. America’s First Theme Park won three top awards. Wildebeest water coaster once again won Best Water Park Attraction, its 13th time claiming the title. This year’s Holidays in the Sky won Best Innovation for being the first audience participation drone show. Good Gravy! won a new category, Best New Theme Concept.


“You don’t build a roller coaster like Good Gravy! for the awards,” says Leah Koch-Blumhardt, Director of Communications and Fourth-Generation Owner of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari. “We built Good Gravy! for families, and we wanted the theme to make people smile. Not only has the theme connected with our Guests, but it’s also catapulted a small family roller coaster to impressive heights in the rankings.”

Good Gravy! was also named a finalist in multiple categories:

#2 Best Family Coaster

#4 Best New Coaster

#5 Best New Attraction Installation


Holiday World was also ranked highly in multiple categories, including:
#2 Best Water Park Ride: Mammoth
#2 Best Wood Coaster: The Voyage
#3 Best Water Park: Splashin’ Safari
#3 Best Guest Experience: Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari
#5 Best New Show: Holidays in the Sky
#5 Best Water Park Ride Cheetah Chase


Tim Baldwin, Communications Coordinator for the Golden Ticket Awards, commented, "These awards totally show Holiday World listens to their audience and cares about them. From family fun to supreme thrills, the park continues to move forward with the right decisions. Holiday World was a finalist in more categories — 12! — than any other park on the planet. That speaks toward the dedication found from the top management down to the seasonal staff. Visiting is a joy."


Regarding Good Gravy!, Baldwin added, "Good Gravy! was such a masterstroke of creativity. It was the ride the park needed, and it served Thanksgiving up so well. As a finalist in so many categories, the tongue-in-cheek idea really resonated with guests. Amusement Today created the brand new category, Best New Theme Concept, for 2024. How fun that a gravy-themed roller coaster won. There are so many clever ideas out there, but this one just made people smile — and isn’t that the point?"


Splashin’ Safari is still open weekends through September 14. Both parks are closed to the public for a private event on September 15. Happy Halloween Weekends runs Saturdays and Sundays from September 21 through October 27. Halloween in the Sky drone show runs Saturdays, weather permitting, from September 21 through October 26. Guests who purchase tickets for Sundays during Happy Halloween Weekends can enter the park after 5 pm on Saturday night to enjoy the show with the Twilight Ticket.