Negative-G - Holiday World - 2026 Page Twelve

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In the mid 1990's it was rare for a park to put in a wooden coaster. Every park wanted either a hypercoaster or the then brand new inverted coasters that really got the worlds adrenaline pumping. Only small parks like Indiana Beach, Adventureland or Holiday World were interested in adding a classic wooden coaster to their lineup. For the time if you look at the rides statistics The Raven wasn't anything to get excited about. What was different is Holiday World and Great Coasters International really went all out to give The Raven as much thrill as possible. The site's terrain and elevation were worked into the design to add to the thrills, there was a lake turn to give it an iconic element, and then there was the insane airtime on drop #5 and a low to the ground high speed run through the woods that REALLY got everyone's attention. Yes, The Raven might not be my number one wooden coaster on my list but at thirty-six years old it is still in my top 5.

It looks like the dive show is no more as the tower is gone. A stunt show is a nice replacement.

Before we decided to hit the road we took a quick stroll through one of Holiday World's oldest sections: Rudolph's Reindeer Ranch.

When Bond was little we spent so much time here. In fact one day he got a two hour continuous ride on the Comet's Rocket's ride. As no one was at the park and we were good friends with the ride operator each time Comet's Rockets reached the end of the ride cycle the ride operator would restart the ride so Bond's exclusive ride time on it could continue.

The Raven Rollercoaster at Holiday World, Santa Claus, Indiana

Holiday World used to be a place that made good memories each and every time I visited it no matter if it was my first visit or the fiftieth time through the gates that year. What stood out to us during this visit to Holiday World was how the park has lost touch with what made it a must visit park. It was more than obvious to the three of us that the culture at Holiday World has changed. If you ever look into multi-generational family businesses things tend to turn for the worst when the third or forth generation takes over. It is not because the generation that is taking over is doing a bad job but it is easy for them to loose sight of what that made the business a success in the first place. The equation for making Holiday World a huge success was one part amazing rides combined with beyond amazing customer service. The great ride part of the equation is still there but with lackluster customer service the end result is we decided to cut our day short and even with a new coaster coming for 2027 I'm really not that excited to revisit Holiday World.

Maybe I'll just keep my memories of how Holiday World used to be. They say you can't go home again; maybe it is true.