Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari has confirmed Cannonball! – a $22 million Mack Rides water roller coaster – as its largest ever single-attraction investment, due to open in May 2027.
Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, has announced Cannonball!, a water roller coaster manufactured by Mack Rides of Waldkirch, Germany, representing the largest single-attraction investment in the park’s 80-year history.
Priced at $22 million, the ride will stand 90 feet tall, span more than 1,000 feet of track, and reach a top speed of 45 mph – making it the fastest water roller coaster in the United States. The first drop measures 75 feet. Five drops in total punctuate the layout before a final splashdown into what the park calls the Boulder Canyon Community pool. Construction is under way, with an opening target of May 2027.
Cannonball! will sit in the park’s Fourth of July themed section and anchor a new sub-area themed around a fictional small-town pool party in Boulder Canyon, USA. Riders board one of seven boat designs – styled as novelty innertubes including a watermelon, a donut, and an American flag – before climbing the lift hill and descending through twists and turns to the splashdown finale.
Leah Koch-Blumhardt, fourth-generation owner and director of communications at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, said: “This ride is dedicated to every kid who had to work up the courage to climb the tall diving board at their community pool. And it’s a tribute to every small town with a quirky annual tradition.”
The announcement lands just ahead of America’s 250th anniversary on 4 July – a timing the park notes deliberately. Cannonball! is the third water roller coaster to open in the United States.
Splashin’ Safari already operates three water coasters – Wildebeest, Mammoth, and Cheetah Chase – all built by ProSlide Technology. Cannonball! extends that roster with a different product type: a seated, enclosed roller coaster vehicle operating on a water channel, as supplied by Mack Rides.
Lauren Crosby, fourth-generation owner and director of entertainment and events, 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. Where else can you board a donut-innertube-themed boat, then hop on an American flag-themed boat?”
Image: Holiday World
