Once More to Lake Rudolph://My Last Holiday World Splash Summer 2026

                        Date:6/21/2026

Destination: Santa Claus, Indiana

Goal: Holiday World

Distance: 234 Miles

Means of Travel: Flying, Train, Tour Bus

Potential Credits: 40

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden roller coaster with blue trains reading "THE VOYAGE" in gold letters navigates a turn and hop over the lift hill.

Seasons change, holidays come and go, and one celebration fades into the next. Such is life! Hot summer days of pool parties, barbecues, and fireworks slow to cool, smoky fall nights. Families gather 'round the turkey for celebrations of gratitude, only to a month later gather 'round a tree for a celebration of giving, and the calendar rolls and rolls and rolls. And as I've grown up in Ohio, and become a traveling roller coaster enthusiast here at my four home parks and beyond, that rolling calendar now demands me elsewhere. And as I plan to pack my life up and relocate, unfortunately I cannot take my four wonderful home parks with me. Today, I went to Holiday World for the last time as someone living within day trip distance.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A Christmas village with a fountain of red, green, and gold Christmas ornaments.

Hello, Holiday World! While I always hated that Christmas didn't have a dedicated, nice Christmas-themed attraction for all ages, I love entering the park to the soundtracks of Bing Crosby and other holiday crooners.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden construction fence is painted with red, white, and blue flip flops in a curving path.

The Cannonball construction wall is wrapped in a white tarp, so no peeking through the slats, but they at least made it look nice. I love the red, white, and blue flip flops!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden fence shows a band listing with band names referencing rocks and barbecue fare.

You know Holiday World is kicking up something special when they're publicly posting brain rot like this for our entertainment.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden fence holds a flyer with QR codes for the Town of Boulder Canyon website, torn into faux pull tabs.

This was the website for the Town of Boulder Canyon, which we know know is cooking up a Mack water coaster themed as a Cannonball competition.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A dusty hillside construction site shows a cement basin and footings on cleared ground.

While this was before Cannonball was announced, you could see footings and a sort of cement basin taking shape.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A blue train navigates an upward turn of wooden coaster track.

We rocked up to the park around 1, and Drew wanted to go straight for Voyage, so that's what we did. After not being able to ride this at all during my last time at the park in 24, I was itching to laugh and scream on the Pilgrim's Pride! 

Saw a life ring in line??? No photos but it was there. 

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Down a wooden dive of coaster track curves a blue train reading "THE VOYAGE; HOLIDAY WORLD" on the front panel of its lead car.

"THIS IS NOT THE VOYAGE I REMEMBER!!!" Drew screamed as he hung on for dear life. While it's not been my number one for eleven years, it's a timeless ride that'll always be among the very best wooden coasters ever built. Yes, it beat the crap out of me, but it was more due to sheer length on wooden coaster track than the ride being excessively rough. Airtime's great, aggression's great, it mixes up elements so well, this is the world class terrain wooden coaster that Beast wishes it was!

Fair warning: It rides about as it usually does, but there's a bit of a crunch coming out of the triple down.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A construction site with a cement trough and small, round footers sits hillside as viewed from Voyage's station.

From the brake run, you could see work done on Cannonball. That isn't where I took this photo, but that's the best place to see it. Since this visit, I am aware that it's been painted swimming pool blue. Maybe the paint won't peel off into the algae and peroxide this time!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A set shows a Thanksgiving hearth and living room with a creepy old lady animatronic wielding a sort of wooden gun and stroking a cat.

We then went from Holiday World's best ride to one of their goofiest: Gobbler Getaway! Featuring scary murder granny! Drew the Dark Souls gamer cooked me like that CEO's wife in Thanksgiving the horror flick, but the absurdity of this ride will never not be funny to me.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A donut sprinkled life ring attached to a fence.

These life rings were hidden all over the park, which I now think was a tease for which boats were on Cannonball. Donut, red and white, 'Murica colors etc.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A roller coaster with orange track has blue and yellow winged cars go through an Immelmann, with a swinging tower ride in the foreground.

We headed up the hill next for Thunderbird, which was amazing as always. 2015 was kind of B&M's last year as a top tier manufacturer, and while I've enjoyed later projects of theirs like Orion and Yukon Striker, Thunderbird and Fury are among the best in their portfolio. And to have crafted such a well-performing, beautiful machine in such a nice location is a feat that deserves to be celebrated.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An orange and brown steel coaster swoops through the trees, with an electric blue and yellow winged train.

Over ten years old and it's day and night smoother than brand new Rapterra.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A barn-themed coaster queue has a covered wagon, loaded with an inflatable life ring.

Spotted another hidden life ring in the queue!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wall of license plates from various states has one license plate reading "4TH OF JULY; FLIPFLOP; 07" in blue with a little red flip flop insignia.

We went to ride Good Gravy next, where Drew broke the ride. After he got off, and tossed his gravy in the trash like a good sport, the ride went down behind us. And it wasn't a minor thing, like, there was a sign out front for the rest of the day. But amid the license plates that decorate the station, this was also displayed, clearly a tease for Cannonball.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A large dining room is decorated with autumn wreaths and red buntings hung from the ceiling.

With weather on the way, we grabbed food at Plymouth Rock. I always loved the vibe here and how it feels like one of those big dining halls you find in the Midwest. I feel there should be a church banquet here with an old conservative grandma who makes amazing potato salad.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A tray holds a plate of stuffing, mac and cheese, cornbread, and chicken and dumplings, next to a dish of fried apples.

Had a bit of an issue billing my food, but got it sorted out. This chicken and dumplings was great, bonus points for the inclusion of apples and stuffing, and what's summertime without a little mac and cheese?

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A large steel truss lift hill with wooden track rises into the sky, with a train halfway up.

After the incoming storm came and went, I hit Voyage. And with no line, I hit it again. No line, I rode it a third time and that was enough. What I could do 20 times when I was a dumb college kid I could only do three, my magic row was open a fourth time and I didn't bother taking it. Play Fleetwood Mac, I'm getting old.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A rubber duck dressed like a scarecrow sits in front of a Halloween-themed chairswing.

Aaaand it was also Duck Days! They played all kinds of songs about ducks, including the duck asking for grapes at the lemonade stand, and the park was all decked out with more inflatable ducks in seasonally-appropriate costumes. It was so cute!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden roller coaster enters a schoolhouse-themed station, with a sign reading "The Legend" against a logo of the Headless Horseman.

This hunk of junk was next, which was incredibly painful and beat me beyond reasonable wooden coaster roughness. Last time I remember The Legend being tolerable, good airtime in the hops up and down in that helix, but this was just inexcusable! Please RMC it, I know this is kind of one of those coasters where it's sacrilege to suggest it, but this is awful. The last beating I ever took on Legend will be a legend for the ages!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A rack of boxes read "Good Gravy!" And shows a cranberry-colored roller coaster with gravy boat trains.

We went shopping next, where notably they had Good Gravy Nanocoasters on clearance! Insane a possession as this would be, I have too many of them, so I passed.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett and Drew make a cringe muscle pose with a man in a patriotic eagle suit.

Me ageing and getting older means I need more cringe Patriotic nonsense with no self awareness to put on my social media. Like and share or you're a Commie!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden coaster dives and turns off a grassy bank against the surface of a wooded lake.

My last ride at Holiday World living in the area was a park icon: The Raven. This small, punchy coaster is so scrappy, with some great dips of airtime in the back and a wonderful little dive along Lake Rudolph. And to our surprise, much of the ride's forest run in the second half had been nicely retracked, making the roughest part of the ride one of the smoothest.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden coaster has a bird-themed sign reading "RAVEN" and some flags as a red train heads down the drop.

We rode it twice. The first and last coaster you see at Holiday World, the first one I ever rode here if I remember right, and the last one I will probably ride for a long time. Such a good, underrated ride that gets slept on!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A blue Voyage train dives down a drop between Thunderbird's supports in the woods.

I've been coming to Holiday World about every other year since 2014, and honestly, it's one of my better home parks. Not an all day thing at all, but when you have a 4 hour drive round trip, it's nice to be able to just get there and chill before heading back. I've seen them build an incredible above and beyond coaster for them in Thunderbird, and I've also seen them build "Jarrett plays around in RCT2 at 9 years old" in Good Gravy. And it's been wonderful to have around, I'm going to miss it. Thank you, Holiday World, for being my home park.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A plastic bag holds an apron, oven mitt, and potholder decorated with Holiday World logos, Good Gravy logos, and kitchen tools.

But hey, I got this stupid nonsense for Keely and I's future home, so it'll always be a part of our little newlywed pad!

Iron Curtain 2026 Region Trip://Leg 6~Wined and Rhined in Bacharach

                         Date:4/25/2026-5/6/2026

Destination: Poland, Germany

Goal: Energylandia, Phantasialand, Europa Park, Poland Culture, Germany Culture

Distance: 4700 Miles

Means of Travel: Flying, Train, Tour Bus

Potential Credits: 40

Day 6

"I hate to do this to you," I grumbled at Drew at 7 in the morning, "but we're gonna have to get up now. The 9 o'clock train is canceled."

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A view from a German winery past vines and umbrellas, looking past timber-framed gables and a tower to a hillside winery planted with grapes.

Today was slated to be our second culture day in Germany, this time focusing on more traditional life verses the grand utilitarianism of the city. I mean, who doesn't want to polka out with a stein in a traditional Biergarten surrounded by flowers and pretty timber-framed buildings? Problem is: this stereotype didn't really seem to exist in the city. So while watching Rhine travel content, they popped into this pretty town called Bacharach that looked like a stereotypical German village and it was settled. "Let's go there!" I pointed to the TV.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An out of focus hand flashes a peace sign out the window of a departing train.

Deuces, most disgusting street in Europe! Hanging onto our possessions for dear life in the ominous Frankfurt morning, I dragged a cranky Drew, playing the role of Satan himself, to the train station, moving as quickly and kindly as he could considering he does not do mornings. But we made it and got on the train with time to spare.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Out a train window, vineyards rise into the hills surrounding the Rhine, with a boat moored on its banks.

Eventually, we got going where we needed. One connection led to another, both were pretty easy, and before we knew it, we were on a busy little commuter train along the Rhine. Rudesheim, Bingen, the random towns that led to Bacharach were ones I'd remembered hearing about when I planned this leg.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett smiles on a railroad track overpass, looking in front of a little German town in the hills.

The early morning put us in Bacharach before 10, which gave us more time in the beautiful German town, but one issue: our hotel didn't check in until later. Fortunately, Hotel Zur Post was run by this really chill Hungarian woman who, through use of Google Translate, communicated to us that she'd have our room ready in twenty minutes. So we dropped our bags, went out, and explored a little.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A row of German buildings, two of which have timber frame architecture, lead up to a dark tower.

Good morning, Bacharach!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Two German-styled timber framed hotels with dormers, gables, and turrets at the base of a green hill.

Does it look stereotypically German? Absolutely. But most of those German stereotypes originate in Bavaria, and it's not all 100% like you see at your town's Oktoberfest. There are different ways "German-ness" can look, and it's going to look a little different here on the Rhine than it will in Bavaria.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A cobblestoned German courtyard at the base of a wooded hill with Gothic chapel ruins at their tops.

Most notably, while German is stereotypically beer country and their beer has been amazing, this is Germany's wine country. It shares many similarities with the Alsace region of France, we even snagged a bottle of Riesling at a market that was made right here in Bacharach. Plan was to eat at this Biergarten tonight and get some good wine and German food.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A pink hotel with window boxes says "Gästehaus Rheinromantik" on its sign, in the foreground of a white church framed with red brick.

This was refreshing, not gonna lie. When we did France in 2022, we spent much of our time in little Normand villages like St. Vaast La Hogue and Barfleur, and I'd not really done the "small romantic European village" since. While culturally different, Bacharach has the same feel, even in ways I'd completely forgotten about. Every business in town being a mom and pop, the smell of amazing food in the street around meals, and just chill pacing life has in these places was so refreshing.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A German dining room with white walls painted with pretty frescoes of cows and an island in the Rhine.

We had reservations for a little river cruise, so we snagged lunch early at this winery. It's beautiful inside, but we had a nice patio and we were gonna use it!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A bottle of wine with a B insignia says "BACHARACHER RIESLING" on a table next to a pergola covered in vines.

Bacharacher Riesling comes from, well, Bacharach! I know most Americans think Riesling and think sweet, sugary wine that says Sutter Home on the bottle and costs $8, this is not real Riesling. This was a fair bit drier, but in a more acidic way than the bitterness that comes from a pinot grigio or chardonnay.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden pizza paddle holds an oval-shaped pie topped with cream, onions, bacon and ham.

On the plate today was flamekuchen, a dish I've known as flemmekeuche, also called tarte flambee if you're in Alsace. The version my French grandmother makes eats like a medium to thin crust pizza, but here, it was more like a thin tortilla-like flatbread. I had the traditional toppings of onions, cream, ham and bacon, but Drew went a little crazy and got salmon and green onions. We swapped a slice and both were great!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An ornate stone and shingle tower with a red timber framed box window over a stone arch.

As if our luck with transportation couldn't get any worse, we had a boat cruise that I had booked us through Booking advertising it as something to do in Bacharach. Well I pull it up...and it actually departs from Rudesheim? And there's no reliable way to reach it by car or bus unless you plan hours in advance. We took the L after trying to get an uber or cab to no avail...but then found that a similar cruise departs from Bacharach as a ferry!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A city park with benches and trees before a small European town at the foot of a hill growing grapes.

We headed to the riverbank, which is a cute little public park with a boat dock.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett stands on the banks of a river looking across the water, with a black and red buff on his head.

The Rhine River! 

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Drew stands on one foot atop a log on a riverbank, raising one foot in a crane stance.

Damn, these Karate Kid remakes just get worse and worse.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A paddleboat called the Goethe makes its way down the Rhine, waving red and white flags.

Here was our boat! It was an old school paddle wheeler, which I'd ridden before in Marietta as a child, but that was a sternwheeler. This was a sidewheeler, which featured two enclosed paddles on the sides.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A hillside overlooking the water has a castle on terraces, with campers parked at the base by the river.

I saw a graphic on Facebook saying that an advantage to living in Cologne is "Rhine Castle Weekends," and it took coming here to understand that. Cologne isn't much of a normal destination for normal people, it's very German in an industrious sense, and the people there are there to live and work as that entails. But hop on a train and you can be in not only Bacharach, but one of innumerable towns like it. Imagine being able to just pop your camper up at the base of a castle!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A church with a black steeple and two clocks in the corner stands before a small castle on a wooded hill.

So you chill on this boat as it takes you up and down the Rhine, and there are little recordings that tell you about each town and castle you pass.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett smiles into the camera, wearing a red and black headband and standing on a boat with green winery hills on the riverbanks.

Drew and I both brought Survivor buffs, his yellow one was the merge from the ongoing Survivor 50, my red and black one was from the medieval-themed Survivor 44 and featured a castle-themed logo and dragons. Fitting to wear here!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A small castle sits on a hillside at the edges of some cliffs.

Apparently this castle belonged to a robber baron, so that's cool.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A hand holds a green small wine bottle with a magenta label reading "LANIUS-KNAB 550 Oberwesel."

Bacharach wakes up around 10-11, and from the moment the town wakes up, there's wine flowing. There was wine at the winery, yes, but you wait on the boat and there's wine for sale. And on the boat? You can purchase wine if you didn't have enough while waiting on said boat. And at Rudesheim, you can get it out of the coolers at a souvenir shop. I'm convinced the water in the Rhine River even tastes of Riesling!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An outdoor cafe and Romanesque Gothic church with an ornate spire featuring two segmented domes up to a cross of gold.

We arrived at the banks of Rudesheim, with maybe forty minutes to turn around and come back. Drew went to a souvenir store, and when I got out with another wine (don't judge), he was talking to some high school kids on a field trip who were acting like they'd never seen an American before.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A church sanctuary with a rounded white wall with tall, thin, slot-like stained glass windows of colorful fragments pouring light over a Jesus statue.

With our stop being so short, we popped into the cathedral in Rudesheim. Not quite Kolner Dom or St. Mary's, but it was beautiful, and had some clear Romanesque influence. I also burned myself lighting a candle, so there's that.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A small riverside town, with classical European architecture and modern buildings combined.

Taking the boat back, we passed Bingen, home of famous nun Hildegard of Bingen.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A black and white photo of a small tower with ramparts and a flag on the banks of a river.

The "smallest castle on the Rhine," we were told of this building.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A bunch of vacationers on a boat on the river under hills.

A white millennial couple on honeymoon with their crypto friends, a neurotic elderly woman, and a dysfunctional family take the boat to the White Lotus Resort, built in an old winery on the Rhine. However, upon arrival, they learn people have recently died in suspicious circumstances. Find out what happened over the last week on this season of The White Lotus!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A small white river cruise boat travels along the water downhill from a castle up on a rocky hillside.

I knew we'd found somewhere special when I saw one of Viking's legendary river cruises taking passengers up the Rhine.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A hilltop castle overlooks a river, in which a cargo barge carries a German flag and cars down the Rhine.

Old Germany and new Germany captured in one photo. This legendary river was a catalyst for so much political and economic activity, no wonder it's an icon with rich history.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A quaint German village nestled along a hilly forested riverbank from above.

"Let's head up the hill and check out the ruins," I suggested as one more activity before dinner. The path up here is a bit hidden, but the views of Bacharach and the Rhine are killer!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Sunlight glows through a reddish-pink brick structure of polygonal towers with ornate pointed Gothic window frames amd gargoyles.

The two buildings uphill from Bacharach that kind of "guard" the city are a castle at the very summit that operates as a hostel (glad they didn't have vacancies when we were there, I saw how high we'd have to lug our luggage!) and this ruins of the medieval Gothic Werner Chapel.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A medieval gothic chapel tower of reddish brick stands amid foliage against hills and a river.

According to the placard nearby, this took about 150 years to construct from the 13th to 15th centuries, and was destroyed in the 17th. It also noted the romanticism movement having high regard for these ruins. In high school, we visited the Dayton Art Institute with arts program Muse Machine for a tour regarding romanticism, and the piece to stick out most to me was William Louis Sonntag's "A Dream of Italy," which featured beautiful overgrown ruins overlooking a dramatic Tuscan landscape. When I read this, I could see exactly why this movement would be all over Werner Chapel.

Drew just said it looked like Elden Ring.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett smiles at the base of a medieval Gothic ruin.

While up here, I ran into a really cool German family on vacation, and talked to the parents briefly. I mentioned I was American, they responded by pointing at my shirt and saying, "we can tell, you love New York." After explaining that I'd never actually visited New York City, and that the shirt was a shoutout to my partner who lives Upstate, they introduced me to their son. This young man had been taking English in school and it was so cool being able to just say simple things like "hi, my name is Jarrett, I am from Ohio," and ask this kid basic questions. He was a bit shy, but I think he was proud of himself for being able to actually use his English in the wild. It's a thrill getting to the country and dropping a "hello," "please," "thank you," maybe you're a hotshot and can order a meal, and having them actually respond in a way you expect and can understand is really cool. So that was a fun memory for a whole family and I felt good having been a part of their vacation, because I know firsthand how cool that is.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wine store with paintings on the wall sells wine bottles out of wooden crates lined with straw.

Dinner was at that biergarten-like place I found earlier, and while beer was very much a fixture here, this place was all about the wine. Think a biergarten with the drink menu of a winery.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett smiles in a German-styled courtyard drinking a glass of Riesling, with chapel ruins atop a hill.

I drank way too much wine today, but can ya blame me? Look where we are, everything here is delicious!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: On a table sits a piece of fried pork patty smothered in creamy mushroom gravy with fries, next to a glass of wine. The table is in a courtyard surrounded by a timber framed building and overlooked by overgrown Gothic ruins.

We'd smelled probably the best sauerkraut I'd ever smelled in the streets earlier, but couldn't find it on the menu of either place we picked. Oh well, I like schnitzel! This German dish, consisting of a pan fried veal or pork tenderloin that's been pounded paper thin and topped with gravy, is a favorite of mine from the culture at home.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A sunset hotel lobby with stained glass horse and carriage and German postal horn in the wavy glass, with steins, cups, and pamphlets on the windowsill. 

We went back to the zimmer after this to watch the latest Survivor that I was behind on. Plan was to crack open another bottle of Bacharacher Riesling (oops) and watch on my laptop, but German Paramount+ wasn't having it. Fortunatley, I got my phone to work, but Drew and I had to huddle around my little 2-inch iPhone screen to watch.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A cobblestone city street lined with timbe-framed German buildings under a tall hill with a streetlamp.

I've found destinations through some pretty odd ways. Murder-obsessed girlfriend, French class, watching South Park make fun of Denmark, the Sid Meier's Civilization franchise even made me aware of cool places like Cahokia Mounds or Skansen Outdoor Museum. But this might be the first instance of me doing things the conservative way and just throwing on travel porn and saying "let's go here, that's pretty!" And while we may have drank just as much on the New Year's Eve when we found this place as we did when we were actually there, it's a time I'll never forget. It's beautiful, it's quaint, life is comfortably paced here, and the food will knock your socks off. And at an easy train ride from Frankfurt, this is why you come here. Not for the industrial iron sprawl that has defined modern Germany, but for a past they have chosen to preserve out of plain sight.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A messy twist of steel black and leather-colored coaster track with a dive out of an inversion into launch stators, a short gunmetal-colored train says "VOLTRON" on the grill in gold letters.

UP NEXT: Our Germany adventure hits its final leg before returning home, and as this may be my last time in Europe for a hot minute, what a better way to say "see ya later" to this incredible mix of nations than all at once? After all this, we've earned our place in the Adventurer's Club of Europe! Europa Park holds swashbuckling Dutch privateers, Parisian nights, meals overlooking misty fjords, and everything else I've come to love from my adventures here. Join us for one of the best parks in the world, and see what Voltron shakes up!