July 14, 2026
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari announced Cannonball!, a $22 million water roller coaster that the park calls the largest single-attraction investment in its history, opening in May 2027 at the Santa Claus, Indiana park. Designed by Mack Rides of Waldkirch, Germany, Cannonball! sends riders 90 feet up a lift hill and down a 75-foot drop through more than 1,000 feet of track at up to 45 miles per hour, which the park says will make it the fastest water roller coaster in the United States with the tallest drop in the nation. The park says it is the third water roller coaster ever built in the US and the first in the Midwest, and it timed the announcement to America’s 250th anniversary, theming the ride to a Fourth of July community center pool party.
The Specs
- Cost: $22 million, which the park calls its largest single-attraction investment ever.
- Manufacturer: Mack Rides (Waldkirch, Germany).
- Lift hill: 90 feet. Primary drop: 75 feet, with five total drops.
- Track: more than 1,000 feet.
- Top speed: 45 miles per hour, which the park says is the fastest of any US water roller coaster.
- Boats: seven, themed as colorful novelty innertubes.
- Minimum height: 42 inches with an adult, 48 inches unaccompanied.
- Opening: May 2027.
A Fourth of July Pool Party in Boulder Canyon
Cannonball! anchors Holiday World’s Fourth of July section, one of the park’s four holiday-themed areas alongside Halloween, Christmas, and Thanksgiving. The ride is set in the themed small town of Boulder Canyon, USA, where riders board one of seven boats decorated as novelty innertubes, float past a barbecue cookout, climb the lift hill, and drop into the Boulder Canyon Community pool, passing giant inflatable swan sculptures named “Ron the Swan” and “Ron Swan’s Son” on the return.
The seven boat designs are:
- Strawberry
- Watermelon
- Donut
- American Flag
- Holiday World rainbow (red, yellow, and blue)
- Patriotic popsicle
- Red and white life preserver
“This ride is dedicated to every kid who had to work up the courage to climb the tall diving board at their community pool,” said Leah Koch-Blumhardt, Fourth-Generation Owner and Director of Communications. “We’re laser-focused on young families here at Holiday World, so we love to build rides that the whole family can ride together. Cannonball! is going to be the perfect step between Good Gravy! and the rest of our high-thrill roller coasters.”
Lauren Crosby, Fourth-Generation Owner and Director of Entertainment & Events, framed the concept in the park’s house style. “One of our company values is, ‘We have fun,'” Crosby said. “We’re daring enough to be a little absurd with our ride concepts. We built a gravy-themed coaster, and now we’re building one around a fictional cannonball competition!”
Another Water Coaster for Splashin’ Safari
The addition deepens a category Holiday World already leans on. Splashin’ Safari bills itself as the Water Coaster Capital of the World, with three water-slide-style water coasters in Wildebeest, Mammoth, and Cheetah Chase, while Holiday World’s Good Gravy! was named USA Today’s 10Best Best New Roller Coaster of 2024. Cannonball! is a water roller coaster, a different category from the water-slide-style coasters at Splashin’ Safari, and the park positions it as a family step-up between Good Gravy! and its higher-thrill coasters. Holiday World, founded in 1946 as Santa Claus Land and billed as America’s First Theme Park, includes both parks with admission, along with free soft drinks, sunscreen, and parking.
When It Opens
Cannonball! is under construction and on track to open in May 2027 at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. 2027 Platinum Season Passes are on sale now and include early entry to ride Cannonball! in June and July 2027. Details are at holidayworld.com.
