Back in the late 1930s, Louis Koch, a wealthy industrialist in Evansville, Indiana, discovered a small town of less than 200 people with the unique name of Santa Claus. Located in Southern Indiana, the town had neither a stoplight or paved roads. But the name attracted people and Koch thought they should have something to do when they got there. So in 1946, he started an amusement park here, naming it Santa Claus Land.

That was more than 60 years ago, well before Disneyland opened in 1955 and Six Flags started up six years later. Santa Claus Land, whose early beginnings focused on Christmas, was the nation’s first theme park.

Through the years, much has changed. The theme park is now known as Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari and several years ago the park spent $13.5 million on their Thanksgiving addition (they’ve grown beyond just Christmas) which includes their third wooden roller coaster, The Voyage, described as the world’s top “air-time” coaster. Its 1.2 mile ride features a total of 24.2 seconds of weightlessness, three sections of 90 degree banks and a 66 degree drop – the steepest of any wooden coaster in the country.