The theme park opened in 1946 and features rides, live entertainment, and games that are divided into four sections that celebrate Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the Fourth of July.

In the early 1970s, additional children's rides, including Dasher's Seahorses, Comet's Rockets, Blitzen's Airplanes, and Prancer's Merry-Go-Round, were added to this section.

From 1959 to 1961, the first live entertainment, the Willie Bartley Water Ski Thrill Show, performed on Lake Rudolph each summer.

Eagle's Flight, Rough Riders, Roundhouse, Virginia Reel, Scarecrow Scrambler, Lewis & Clark Trail, Paul Revere's Midnight Ride and Thunder Bumpers on Chesapeake Bay were all targeted towards families, while Dancer's Thunder Bumpers Junior was built for children who weren't quite ready for the larger version of the ride.

In 2000, The Raven was ranked as the #1 wooden roller coaster in the world by Amusement Today magazine, a distinction it held for 4 years.

[4] Much like The Raven, The Legend continues to be ranked among the top twenty wooden roller coasters in the world, as of the 2011 awards.

[9] In 2003, Splashin' Safari added Zinga on top of The Legend's spiral drop, a ProSlide Tornado, while Holiday World replaced Banshee with Hallowswings and the Hall of Famous Americans wax museum with Liberty Launch.

Bahari Wave Pool was added in 2005, which marked the beginning of an expansion project that would double the size of Splashin' Safari.

From 2007 to 2011, The Voyage was awarded the title of #1 wooden roller coaster in the world by the readers of Amusement Today magazine.

Pilgrims Plunge deviated from the standard of using a sloped lift hill, instead opting for an open-air elevator system that takes riders to a height of 135 feet (41 m) before dropping them at a 45-degree angle.

[4] Pilgrims Plunge was renamed to Giraffica in 2013 when the boundaries between the Thanksgiving section and the water park were slightly altered.

Mammoth, which was the most expensive ride added to the park until the addition of Thunderbird, is 1,763 feet (537 m) long, making it the longest water coaster in the world.

The park suffered a sudden loss in June 2010 when President and CEO Will Koch died while swimming at his home.

Soon after his death, Holiday World & Splashin' Safari named Will's younger brother Dan as the park's new president.

[20] The highlight of the announcement was a new swinging ship ride called the Mayflower, which is located in the park's Thanksgiving section just to the north of Gobbler Getaway.

[22] On July 24, 2014, the park announced the construction of Thunderbird, a launched Bolliger & Mabillard Wing Coaster, for the 2015 season, occupying the area north of Hyena Falls and intertwining with The Voyage.

On August 6, 2019, Holiday World formally announced the construction of Cheetah Chase, for the 2020 season, a dueling launched ProSlide water coaster, occupying an area near the track of The Voyage in Splashin' Safari.

[24] Cheetah Chase features a track with a length of over 1,700 feet and a maximum speed of over 20 miles per hour.

On August 1, 2023, the park announced plans for a new area, Stuffing Springs, previously where Pilgrims Plunge was located.

Holiday World is divided into four holiday-themed sections: Christmas, Halloween, Fourth of July and Thanksgiving.

In 2019, it was replaced by the addition of Santa's Merry Marketplace, which expanded upon both the capacity, size, and available food of Kringle's Kafé.

The area also has a Goblin Burgers restaurant, which resembles a witch's house, the Frightful Falls log flume that intertwines with The Legend, and the main entrance to Splashin' Safari water park.

Apart from the architecture, guests will hear the school bell from The Legend's station ringing ominously throughout the section.

Landmarks in this section include the Hoosier Celebration Theater, where many live shows are performed; the Good Old Days Picnic Grove, where numerous shelter houses may be rented out for company picnics; and The Alamo restaurant, which serves traditional Mexican food.

Keeping with the Fourth of July theme, there is also a monument with several American flags located right across from The Alamo restaurant in the center of the section.

In the back of the Thanksgiving section is Thunderbird, the wing coaster, and a secondary entrance to Splashin' Safari.

In addition to The Voyage, Thunderbird, and Good Gravy!, the Thanksgiving section includes the second of the park's two air-conditioned restaurants: Plymouth Rock Café, which serves typical Thanksgiving food such as turkey, prime rib, stuffing, green beans and bread rolls.

Turkeys can often be heard "gobbling" throughout the section as sounds emanate from the Gobbler Getaway ride and Pilgrims' Challenge game.

[29] The water park takes the general theme of a safari, with ride names featuring various animals, rivers and Swahili words.

To receive this honor, a park must show "foresight, originality and creativity, plus sound business development and profitability."