I received complimentary tickets in exchange for sharing my honest opinion.

Last week my family and I drove six hours (from Chicago) to Santa Claus, Indiana for a stay at Lake Rudolph. Located right next Lake Rudolph is a theme park with water park called Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari. I had honestly never heard of it before but after asking my mom and aunt they both responded “Oh the place with the free soda!” Yes Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari does offer free soda but that is certainly not the only thing they are known for.

What my family loved about Holiday World Theme Park and Splashin’ Safari Water Park:

1. 1. Two parks – Holiday World Theme Park and Splashin’ Safari Water Park – for one great price! You definitely want to be prepared for both and just rent an all-day locker for $10-$15 to store your items.

2.  Thunderbird steel roller coaster – the nation’s first launched wing coaster!

3.  Free soft drinks including Gatorade, pink lemonade, peach tea, sodas, coffee and water. Help yourself all day long! There are Pepsi Oasis’s all over the parks and you just walk in, grab a cup and fill it up.

4.  TripAdvisor proclaimed Splashin’ Safari to be the the third Best Water Park in the USA.

5.  The friendliest bunch of employees you’ll ever find. Going from the north here in Chicago to the south, it was quite an adjustment for friendly associates! Everyone was so helpeful and polite!

6.  Free parking and plenty of it. They even have trams if you have to park too far back.

7.  Voted the Cleanest Park in the World for more than a decade. I don’t think I saw a scrap of paper anywhere out of place!

8.  Fun live shows – with singing, dancing, and hi-diving.

9.  Holiday World is the world’s first theme park (opened as Santa Claus Land in 1946 – that’s nine years before Mr. Disney got started!). With this year being their 70th year in business they definitely know wha they are doing and are doing it right!

10.  Yummy food, from pizza and burgers to Thanksgiving Dinner. Reasonably-priced, too! With beverages being free, it helps out too with the cost of meals.

11.  Two of the longest water coasters on the planet – Mammoth and Wildebeest.

12.  To go along with yummy food, they are also Allergy-Friendly. As a mom of a child who has severe food allergies, I love when I can feel comfortable knowing my child is eating safely. The first quick-service counter we visited actually gave me an allergy menu which shows all the food and all the different locations with what allergens they contain. I also double checked at each counter and was greeted by a friendly manager who assisted me with ease.

13.  Free Wi-Fi throughout the park.

14.  Special menus for those with food allergies. As a mom of a son with food allergies, I am grateful with the help I received there so my son could eat what we wanted. I had multiple associates help me.

15.  TIME magazine named The Voyage the #1 Wooden Roller Coaster in America.

16.  They have received more than a thousand “Excellent” TripAdvisor.com reviews.

17.  Free sunscreen. Yes seriously another “Freebie”! There are big pumps of sunscreen throughout the park and you just apply as needed.

18.  Rides suitable for kids ages 2 through adult. This is important with me having a child is 4 and my oldest is 9 years old.

19.  Located right next Lake Rudolph which provides a free shuttle back and forth.

20.  Height Measurement Station. This is located right at the front of the park and allows kids to get measured and given a wristband indicating their height. This makes it much easier to know which rides your child can ride and makes it so they don’t have to get re-measured at each ride.

(I used some of the above list from the Holiday World website that I found I felt the same way.)

Overall, if you are within driving distance to Holiday World Theme Park and Splashin’ Safari Water Park I’d highly recommend it. The park is a lot bigger than I thought and honestly it had enough to keep my family busy for two full days. We actually could have spent longer there but we only had the weekend. There are four big rollercoasters, wooden and one metal, rides for my 4-year-old and tons of rides in-between. Seriously everything was great and I love that we found the hidden gem that is Holiday World Theme Park and Splashin’ Safari Water Park.

Check out Holiday World Theme Park and Splashin’ Safari Water Park and make it a stop for your family this year!