Terpy's absolutely right. When at Holiday World you're paying major league prices to get into a minor league park. Parking, lower food prices, "free" drinks, etc are all things you pay for right off The Bat.
Maybe I'm crazy, but seriously? It's $36 to get into Holiday World. That's $6 more than getting into Soak City at Cedar Point. Soak City!
That's $14 more than going to The Beach (with their online price).
Holiday World's water park alone is almost worth the $36 because it's on par if not better than both of those. Throw in 3 of the best wooden roller coasters in the world, a slew of flat and water rides, free soda (and other drinks), free parking, free sunscreen, and all the charm in the world. I would say it's a blessing that it's ONLY $36. At that price I don't feel like I'm paying for the "free" stuff more than for a good time.
If you're going there just for the dry rides and not the water park as well, sure, $36 might seem steep. But then you shouldn't be thinking "Oh, I'm getting ripped by paying for everyone's soda and parking" you should feel like you're ripping yourself off because half the park is a water park.