Day 2 of Holiday World with the whole family!
We started the day in my favorite area of Holiday World – Thanksgiving. Before the trip I excitedly told Dave “The Perky Turkey has a Pecan Pie Latte!!” If you’ve ever seen a dog with a confused head tilt — that was Dave’s reaction. My niece had sent a text message with several “deals” at Holiday World and one of them involved the Pecan Pie Latte at the Perky Turkey coffee shop in the Thanksgiving area. But I understand his confusion as I sprung that information on him while he was brushing his teeth.
“Save the neck for me Clark” – Cousin Eddie
With the kids Phone Finder bands and height designated wrist bands in place we passed through Halloween and headed to Thanksgiving. Why is Thanksgiving my favorite? Well, besides the latte’s at the Perky Turkey (Brews 😏), you can also get a full Thanksgiving meal at Plymouth Rock Cafe and loaded fries at the SnackHouse. Rides – most people go to an amusement park for rides not food. In Thanksgiving you will find two massive roller coasters, The Voyage and Thunderbird. Thunderbird is America’s first launched wing coaster and it launches you from 0-60mph in 3.5 seconds. It also has a 14 story loop and takes you through woods and a barn (oh hey! Our first Barn in Barns, Brews and Backroads). The Voyage is one of the worlds longest wooden roller coasters (1.2 miles long) and also has one of the steepest drops of any wooden coasters. If you are looking for my opinion on them – umm that would be stay on the ground. I was never a big roller coaster rider – even when I was younger. But, I have ridden the other coaster in Thanksgiving – the Good Gravy! (The exclamation point is part of the ride’s name).
Good Gravy! is a pegged as a family coaster where you jump in gravy boat shaped cars which pulls you up a 7-story spike then launches you through 1500 ft of obstacles like the cranberry sauce can, the milk bottle, a whisk and the chicken shaped kitchen timer – then backwards on the same track. Fun Fact: 7 stories doesn’t look that tall when it’s sitting in the shadows of the Voyage and the Thunderbird but it’s pretty tall. There is also a swinging ship – the Mayflower (of course), the Crows Nest which is a 65 ft vertical swing and the interactive “shooting” ride Gobbler Getaway where you use a turkey caller to find the hiding turkeys.
Thanksgiving is a really fun area for everyone and also home to all the brews, the Perky Turkey and Plymouth on the Rocks – where you can get seltzers, wine, craft beer and cocktails ($11.99-$14.99). There was also a new option, the chicken & fries cup with Good Gravy! on the side. Just a tip: don’t eat the full Thanksgiving dinner before you go on all the roller coasters and spinny rides.
“Last season he was a pixie dust spreader on the Tilt-A-Whirl” Cousin Eddie
The 4th of July area has the most rides. This area reminds me of a county fair because there are county fair type rides, fair food like funnel cakes (and a funnel cake flight!) plus tons of games to win stuffed animals – like a giant turkey. It also has Holidog’s Fun Town which is another area designed just for kids. You can ride the Holidog Express train which takes you on a ride through classic nursery rhymes while the conductor recites the rhymes. The train is a nod to one of the original rides from when Santa Claus Land first opened in 1946.
Halloween is where you find two more award winning wooden roller coasters, The Legend and The Raven. The Legend races you through the woods like you’re being chased by the Headless Horseman. The Raven, named from Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem, is a fan favorite and is on a lot of coaster enthusiast’s “Top 10” list. Kitty Claws suggests if you are new to roller coasters or wooden coasters to start with the The Raven, then head to the The Legend and end with The Voyage. Towards the end of the day and after a few trips on Good Gravy! the great niece and nephew got braver and decided to ride the The Legend. I’m not sure they loved it, but they were excited to tell everyone and take pictures.
“It’s a Beaut Clark!” Clark Griswold Sr.
Overall I have nothing but WONDERFUL reviews for Holiday World. There are plenty of rides for all shapes and sizes, a big concentration on the kids having fun, and unique and yummy food and FREE soft drinks. Disney really needs to look into that free stuff 😁. It’s not the biggest amusement park I’ve been to, it may not have quite as many rides as others nearby, but it’s super clean, the rides are unique, the staff are nice – especially the lifeguard lady who helped me get band aids when we had a slight mishap in in the wave pool and it’s just fun to go to a town named Santa Claus.
What was everyone’s favorite part?
- Sam (age 24) – Taking the giant stuffed turkey on the Gobbler Getaway or Addie telling her that The Legend “scared her pants off” but she’d go again.
- Sara (age 32) – The “Perky Turkey Dancers” (actual show name is Plymouth Rocks! on the Cranberry Jam stage) and Isaiah crying on the Mayflower but then asking to ride again. And once again Addie saying the Mayflower “scared her pants off.”
- Kim (age… well more than 40😏) – The Cheetah Chaser and trying to get out of the raft after the ride while laughing hysterically
- Isaiah (age 7) – The Legend -“I was a lot of excited and only a little scared.” Also driving Dave and Dawson on the Lewis & Clark trail cars
- T (age 22) Also the “Perky Turkey Dancers” and favorite rides were the Crows Nest, HallowSwings and the Scarecrow Scrambler
- Dave (also +40😉) Spending time with the family, the matching Tajin! t-shirts and Santa’s Pool Party.
- B (age 38) Finally winning the giant stuffed turkey (2 years of trying)!!
- Addie (age 5) – still contemplating her favorite part – but her reaction to all the big rides was it “sacred my pants off!”
- Dawson (age 26) – The Gobbler Getaway (he beat everyone’s score) and spending time with everyone.
- Me (slightly over 40 👑) I had a lot of fun at Santa’s Pool Party and the Bahari Wave Pool but also HallowSwings and the Star Spangled Carousel (I’m such a speed demon – I love and will always ride carousels or Ferris wheels!)
For clarification, the Plymouth Rocks! show on the Cranberry Jam stage features 3 dancers dressed in orange cheerleader type skirts with silver shirts and orange cowgirl hats doing several pop dances to rock n roll and country songs. I’m not sure who said “Perky Turkey Dancers” first, but it became a thing and then everyone was saying it. And yes, the Cranberry Jam stage is just outside the Perky Turkey.
Where’s Eddie? Doesn’t he usually eat these things? – Clark Griswold
Food outside the park is pretty top notch as well. We didn’t eat there on this trip, but in past trips I’ve been to S&S BBQ and Pizzeria – “Home of the Grinch.” (21 N. Kringle Plaza). I’ve had their pizza and breadsticks, but I haven’t had their famous Grinch Pizza – pulled pork, sweet Thai chili sauce, onion, green pepper & cheese – but it looks amazing! And the whole restaurant is decorated and dedicated to all things Grinch.
After the park we headed back to our hotel in Tell City and found a local restaurant called Pour Haus, 706 Humbolt St. When you first walk up it says over 21 only, but that’s just for the bar part, they have a restaurant and a kids menu. I forget how many beers they have on tap, but it’s a lot (Brews!) as well as a full bar and wine menu. When there’s 12 of us everyone gets something different – usually. Nobody had any complaints about the food, and they had a sirloin special that was like$18.99. And of course they have a breaded tenderloin sandwich.
When we left the Pour Haus, we saw a coffee shop we decided to hit on our way out of town in the morning Behind The Times Bakery, 411 Main St. They had a lot of baked goodies like muffins, cookies scones and rolls as well as breakfast goodies like biscuits and gravy. And they have lattes, mochas and cappuccinos with fun flavors (Brews!).
From the coffee shop in Tell City we headed back to Santa Claus to hit up Santa’s Candy Castle, 15499 North State Road 245. Quick history of Santa Claus, kids would often write letters to Santa Claus and somehow they always ended up at the Santa Claus post office. The original Santa Claus postmaster decided that the town needed an attraction and envisioned Santa Claus Town (which was actually separate from Santa Claus Land). The first building of Santa Claus Town was the Candy Castle which opened in 1935. Sadly most of Santa Claus Town closed after World War II and some of the buildings were torn down, but in 2005 a family bought the castle and in 2006 re-opened Santa’s Candy Castle. They have 100’s of types of candy and a lot of retro candy. And the frozen hot chocolate is to die for.
Last stop in Santa Claus was to mail a post card with the famous Santa Claus post mark. Kids can write letters to Santa addressed to Santa Claus Indiana and a group of volunteer elves answers the letters.
OK – last food stop on the way home is Schnitzelbank, 393 3rd Ave, Jasper, IN, This is German food at it’s finest. The appetizer sampler says it feeds 4 people, so we got two – and between 12 of us we took stuff home from the sampler. Once again, I’m not sure that there is anything bad on the menu. The only thing that is bad is that the portions are so BIG that you take more than 1/2 your meal home, Highlights were the kraut balls and the Reuben egg rolls and the escargot stuffed mushrooms. Always check their hours because they are family run and close on major holidays and have employee appreciation days.
“Clark that’s the gift that keeps on giving the whole year round.” Cousin Eddie
That’s a wrap on Holiday World and Santa Claus, Indiana. The best part about this area is you can make it a day trip (could be a long day depending on where you’re from) or a two-day trip or you could stay for a week. There’s a lot of nice lakes, hiking and exploring, and nearby river towns and also towns with a lot of rich German history to explore. You won’t be disappointed.
When ever anyone asks what my favorite season is – I always say summer. Now, if your from the Midwest I think you’re required to say Fall. And I love me a Pumpkin Spice Latte, but I’m summer super fan. If you watch families in the summer you see them having fun at the lake, or the beach, or the amusement park. And if you ask your adult kids about memories, they usually start talking about something we did on summer vacation. Which leads to another story and another story.
Go make those summer memories!
https://www.schnitzelbank.com/
Barns Brews & Back Roads 
Leave a comment