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Holiday World in Santa Claus, Ind. Offers New Kuma Bay Play Area
BY CAROL ARNETT
If high gas prices have you looking for a road trip close to home, consider Southern Indiana. Just three hours east of Florissant is Santa Claus, Ind., home of Holiday World amusement park.
Holiday World is a family oriented amusement park. It is connected to Splashin’ Safari Water Park, and one ticket price will get you into both parks.
The newest attraction at Splashin’ Safari is Kima Bay, a huge play area for kids. It has seven water slides, several water jets, and a huge bucket that constantly fills and empties onto the play area below. Kima Bay joins Splashin’ Safari’s numerous water slides, two wave pools, two lazy rivers, and other children’s areas.
It’s easy to spend a day in Splashin’ Safari. The park features sunscreen stations, where free sunscreen is provided. There are also Pepsi Oasis stations throughout both Splashin’ Safari and Holiday World. These stations provide free Pepsi products, Gatorade and water to park guests.
The free sunscreen and drinks are part of the park’s commitment to being family friendly. The park owner’s like to keep extra costs down for visitors. In addition to the sunscreen and drinks, parking is free. The food throughout the park is also reasonably priced. A large pizza, for example, which is big enough to feed a family of four, is under $20. Since the drinks are free, lunch is very affordable. A hamburger meal, with fries and a cookie, is under $5.
Holiday World also has two new rides this year. The Star Spangled Carousel, for all ages, has over thirty animals and two chariots. In the kids area, a new ride called Reindeer Games takes kids up three stories in the air and then back down.
Santa Claus is not a big town, with limited options for hotels. Santa’s Lodge is right across the street from Holiday World. However, here are several lodging options within a thirty minute drive.
Directly adjacent to Holiday World is Camp Rudolph, a campground and RV Park. The campground offers putt-putt, paddle-boat rides, and family activities in the evening. It also offers a shuttle to the amusement park entrance. The shuttles run every ten or fifteen minutes.
Although you could easily spend two or more days in Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari, the area of Southern Indiana also offers other activities. This is the area where Abraham Lincoln spent most of his childhood. The Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home Memorial has a working replica of his boyhood farm, his mother’s grave site, and a museum devoted to his early life.
