Holiday World celebrates the Fourth with Mack Rides plans
Who's ready to cannonball into the pool for the Fourth of July?
Holiday World is. The Santa Claus, Indiana theme park this morning announced its new ride for 2027 - Cannonball!, a Mack Rides water roller coaster. The $22 million ride will anchor the park's Fourth of July themed land.
The ride will be themed as the community pool in the fictional town of Boulder Canyon, which was the setting for the Raging Rapids in Boulder Canyon ride that once stood in this spot.
"This ride is dedicated to every kid who had to work up the courage to climb the tall diving board at their community pool,” Holiday World co-owner and communications director Leah Koch-Blumhardt said. "It’s a tribute to every small town with a quirky annual tradition. There’s something special about the way we come together to celebrate our independence as a nation, and we hope Cannonball! conveys that magic."
The ride is now under construction for a planned opening in May 2027. The ride will be the same Mack Rdies model as the Journey to Atlantis coasters at SeaWorld in Orlando and San Diego. Cannonball will feature seven differently decorated boats. Riders will board in the community center before floating past the Boulder Canyon barbecue cookout and climbing a 90-foot lift hill.
Concept art courtesy Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
Riders will then experience more than 1,000 feet of coaster track before splashing down. Boats will reach a top speed of 45 mph, making Cannonball the fastest and tallest Mack Rides water roller coaster in the United States.
At the bottom, riders will be greeted by two giant inflatable swan sculptures, named "Ron Swan" and "Ron Swan's Son."
The Easter egg here is that Ron Swanson was a character on the NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation," which was set in, yep, Indiana.
Chef's kiss detail there. Here is the concept POV, courtesy Holiday World.
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Replies (4)
I love the Parks and Rec reference.
Even better because Ron Swanson is a big fan of barbecue.
I'm glad some new rides are being put into the 4th of July section, because it seems a lot of focus has been put into thanksgiving and Halloween. And this ride has such a uniquely fun theme, too.
Here are a few interesting nuggets from the official ride fact sheet. The minimum operating temperature for the ride will be 41F. The max wind speed for the ride to run will be 33.5mph.
The theoretical capacity is 870 riders per hour, and the ride's water volume is 475,000 gallons. And Holiday World is saying the ride will be open May 1, 2027. Kudos for the Swanson-sized cojones in proclaiming an opening date this far in advance.
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This is cute, and the perfect attraction for Holiday World. I'm not a huge fan of Mack water coasters that have exposed track like this (prefer the coaster section be hidden or part of a dark ride section like Orlando's JTA), but for this park, it's perfectly fine, especially given the issues Dollywood appears to be having with the "Rocking Boat" ride system being used for Nightflight Expedition.