Volume 2, No. 9.   May 24, 2002

New Arrivals

It’s a waterslide!
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, announces the arrival of ZOOMbabwe, May 18, 2002. Measurements: 102 feet tall (31 meters), 887 feet long (269 meters), 24 five-passenger rafts. Delivered by ProSlide Technologies, Inc.

Even an attractive, purple, twisting family raft ride is only as enticing as the air temperature allows it to be. Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari found itself in the grip of a cold wave that chilled much of the Midwest the past week when it was debuting its $1.7 ZOOMbabwe to the public.

Thank goodness for the Boy Scouts. On Splashin’ Safari’s opening Saturday, the park was hosting a Boy Scout family jamboree. “Boy Scouts are always pretty brave,” said Will Koch, Holiday World’s president and general manager. “They put on swimsuits and rode.” Given the chilly water and stinging wind, the Scouts probably could have earned some sort of merit badge for their adventuresome spirit. Koch himself also took a spin down what Holiday World is touting as the world’s largest enclosed waterslide. “I went down it once,” he said. “I braved the cold water and weather to do it. I’m not a big cold water person.”

Except for a media preview the day before, when local reporters got a chance to try out ZOOMbabwe, the giant slide opened without any ceremony. Koch said that soon after Splashin’ Safari opened, ZOOMbabwe did see a rush of patrons; “rush” being a relative term in this case. “It was moderated by the temperature,” he said.

For a more thorough account of the ride, see June's Amusement Today.

©2002, Minton Enterprises LLC
All rights reserved