Message from Board Director Amy Busler

Hello CLV members.

I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve on the board. I wanted to serve on the board for many reasons. The main reason was that I always seemed to be one to sit back and think that one person really didn’t matter. I never went to the board meetings and just thought it was not a big deal.

As time went along, I soon realized I wanted to hear all that was going on. I went to a meeting and was surprised to see more board members than members of the association.

I want to personally invite each of you to a meeting. Sometimes it may be long but other times it can be enjoyable. My wish is for more people to attend because I think more people need to voice their opinions. Not everyone will agree but that is not always a bad thing. We now have a few interesting topics at hand and I welcome you to join us as the decisions are made.

The main one at hand is the possible Kaspar Gate. I hope you take the time to fill out the survey that is at the gatehouse or online on the website. Everyone needs to fill one out so we can have many ideas and thoughts to consider when we vote on this topic.

We, as a board, want you to come and share your thoughts. Everyone in this village counts and will be heard when they come to our monthly meetings. I think at this time we have a great assorted type of people on the board which makes it more even when we vote. I am thankful that I have been able to serve on this board and am grateful for the friendships that I have made from this decision to become involved. We will have three openings for the board this year so please think about what new ideas and thoughts you can give back to our village as you consider running for the board.

Amy Busler-Board Member

Holiday World Adds World’s Longest Water Coaster

This year marks the second-largest ride addition in Holiday World’s history following yet another attendance breaking year for the 64 year old park. The Wildebeest, the world’s longest water coaster, will open in Splashin’ Safari in May.

At 1/3 of a mile long and right around 2 ½ minutes long the Wildebeest will give guests an exciting ride. “And when we say it’s long, we really mean it,” says park president Will Koch. “Wildebeest is one-third of a mile long and it will thrill riders for two and a half splashing minutes of hills, drops, twists and turns.”

Even with several rounds of snow, construction is on schedule and park employees “are very pleased with how it’s coming together,” said public relations director Paula Werne. “We got enough of the structure built in the fall so now we are doing mostly indoor work.”

Guests will find the Wildebeest just north of the Bahari wave pool. The Wildebeest boasts a conveyor ride up the coaster’s lifthill, a total of 178 feet in drops, and HydroMagnetic technology, utilizing linear induction motors that will smoothly push rafts up hills. “A couple of water coasters use LIMs,” Werne said. “But most use water to propel the rafts up hills.”

The Wildebeest covers more than two acres, increasing the park’s size to 27 acres. The new coaster’s conveyor style lifthill replaces tower stairs, making it accessible to riders who could have difficulty walking up stairs. At a price tag of $5.5 million, Wildebeest is the second largest expansion project in the park’s history.

After riding the Wildebeest guests will be able to relax and listen to the sounds of Jimmy Buffet, the Beatles, and Beach Boys between the Jungle Racers and Jungle Jake’s. Beachcombers, a four member cover band, will play everyone’s favorite beach music.

Also new for this year Holiday World will be expanding its special diet items throughout the parks eating establishments. Several of the park’s restaurants offer an expanded menu of pre-packaged food items which do not contain eight of the most common food allergens, namely: wheat, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, milk, soy and eggs.

“We started offering special menu items for our guests with food allergies a few years ago,” says Holiday World & Splashin' Safari’s president, Will Koch. “We heard from so many families who were thrilled to spend a day at our park without worrying about food allergies that we decided to add some vegetarian and sugar-free items this year.”

A list of allergen-friendly items is available on the “Restaurants & Food” page at Holiday World’s website, www.HolidayWorld.com/visits/restaurants-food-outlets.

The park hired a record 2100 seasonal employees for the 2010 season. People braved the bad weather and “everything is filled,” said Werne. If people are interested in employment they should apply online to have their application in the database.

Online Survey Deadline March 8

There is still time to complete the online security survey for CLV. This survey was compiled by the Board of Directors to help them making decisions that represent what residents of CLV would like to see accomplished.

“We’ve had a terrific response,” said property manager Mark Kroeger. “But there is still time to complete the survey.”

The survey can be found either online at www.clvillage.com or you can pick up a hard copy at the gatehouse. Please take time to express your opinions so that the board can make decisions based on what CLV resident’s desire.