Holiday World’s Cannonball! combines themed floats, coaster thrills, and a giant splashdown

Located in the park’s Boulder Canyon area, Cannonball! will send guests aboard one of seven uniquely designed eight-passenger floats up a 90-foot lift hill before racing along more than 1,700 feet of track at speeds up to 45 mph. The experience concludes with a 75-foot plunge into the Boulder Canyon Community Pool before riders float back to the station.

While Holiday World’s newest attraction will become both the fastest water roller coaster in the United States and feature the nation’s tallest drop on a water roller coaster, the park is emphasizing a family-friendly experience with a 42-inch minimum height requirement when accompanied by an adult.

Seven themed floats bring Cannonball! to life

Cannonball! features seven oversized eight-passenger floats, each with its own playful design inspired by summertime favorites.

Guests may board one of the following themed floats:

• Doughnut
• Holiday World
• Patriotic Popsicle
• Red and White Stripes
• Stars and Stripes
• Strawberry
• Watermelon

The attraction’s colorful vehicles reinforce the ride’s Fourth of July setting and Boulder Canyon Community Pool storyline, where guests become participants in the fictional 37th Annual Cannonball Competition.

A coaster, water ride, and splash zone in one attraction

Holiday World describes Cannonball! as part roller coaster and part water ride, combining coaster track with a splashdown finale that sends riders into the community pool before floating through a return channel back to the loading station.

The experience lasts approximately three minutes and includes a dedicated splash zone overlooking the final drop, allowing non-riders to cool off as boats send water flying into the air.

Cannonball! ride stats

• Location: Boulder Canyon
• Ride type: Water roller coaster
• Height: 90 feet
• Biggest drop: 75 feet
• Track length: More than 1,700 feet
• Top speed: 45 mph
• Duration: Approximately 3 minutes
• Minimum height: 42 inches with an accompanying adult; 48 inches to ride alone

Cannonball! continues Holiday World’s long history of innovating in the water coaster category. In 2010, Splashin’ Safari debuted Wildebeest; at the time, it was the world’s longest water coaster, before surpassing its own record two years later with Mammoth.

Cannonball! shifts the focus to speed, elevation, and a hybrid coaster experience featuring themed ride vehicles and a splashdown finale.

Holiday World’s fictional town

Holiday World is divided into holiday-themed lands (Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Fourth of July). Boulder Canyon sits within the Fourth of July section and was introduced in 1990 as a rustic mountain town built around whitewater adventures.

Over the past year, the park launched the Town of Boulder Canyon website, social media accounts, and even a mock Boulder Canyon Gazette newspaper as part of an extended marketing campaign leading up to the 2027 reveal. The campaign included humorous civic updates, fake local news, and clues about the attraction before Cannonball! was officially announced.

Cannonball! is presented as the 37th Annual Cannonball Competition at the Boulder Canyon Community Center. Sounds like we’re in for a big splash!