Holiday World plans Cannonball!, a $22 million water coaster, for 2027

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, announced on July 1, 2026, that it is building Cannonball!, a water roller coaster scheduled to open in May 2027. The park put the cost at $22 million, the largest investment in a single attraction in its history.

The ride

Cannonball! is designed by Mack Rides of Waldkirch, Germany. Riders board one of seven boats decorated as novelty pool innertubes, climb a 90-foot lift hill and take a 75-foot drop, which the park says will be the tallest drop on any water coaster in the nation. With a top speed of 45 mph, Holiday World says it will be the fastest water roller coaster in the United States. The course covers more than 1,000 feet of coaster track and has five drops in total. Riders must be at least 42 inches tall with an adult, or 48 inches to ride alone.

The park describes Cannonball! as the first water coaster of its kind in the Midwest and the third ever built in the United States. It will be the new main attraction of the park's Fourth of July section, themed to a small-town community pool, and ends with a splashdown in the fictional Boulder Canyon Community pool. "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, a fourth-generation owner and the park's director of communications.

Context

Holiday World opened in 1946 as Santa Claus Land and is still owned by the Koch family. Its most recent roller coaster, Good Gravy!, opened in 2024. Construction on Cannonball! was already underway when the ride was announced.