SANTA CLAUS, Ind. -- Holiday World says it will open as usual Friday after evacuating the park Thursday due to a suspicious backpack.
A bomb squad was called to the park, located in Santa Claus, Indiana, around 8:00 p.m. for a suspicious backpack in the Splashin' Safari waterpark.
PHOTOS | Holiday World's Splashin' Safari water park
The park made the decision to evacuate all guests around 9:00 p.m. Indiana State Police tweeted about 30 minutes later that the park was all clear.
Following a threat at the park this evening, we are safely evacuating all Guests and Employees in cooperation with @ISPJasper All are safe.
— Holiday World (@HolidayWorld) July 1, 2016
And yes, we will be open tomorrow.
— Holiday World (@HolidayWorld) July 1, 2016
"We followed protocol," said Holiday World President Matt Eckert. "We worked with State Police to evacuate the park safely of all guests and employees. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciated everyone's cooperation."
Eckert says the park provided free return tickets to guests as they left.
Earlier this week, TripAdvisor.com ranked Holiday World's Splashin' Safari water park as the fourth-best water park in the nation.
