Inside the Cannonball! Construction Site at Holiday World
On July 1st, 2026, Holiday World announced Cannonball, a new Mack Rides water roller coaster for the 2027. We were invited to journey behind the fence to get an up-close look at the construction site and the current progress that has been made. The layout of the coaster is shown on the outside of the construction fences so we can get an idea of what areas of the attraction we’re looking at:
The concrete block shown below is the foundation for the ride’s photo booth where you’ll be able to purchase your on-ride photo. The orange lines on the ground are where the pathway will be and straight back is (after the fence is knocked down) where it will connect to the main midway.
The new water coaster will use 475,000 gallons of water. By comparison, The Wave (the smaller of their two wave pools) holds about 270,000 gallons of water.
The minimum operating temperature for the ride is 41 degrees Fahrenheit and can operate in winds up until 33.5 miles per hour.
There will be seven boats which sit eight passengers each, giving a theoretical hourly ride capacity (THRC) of 870 riders per hour.
Looking back towards the waterfall hump. The small footers on the right are for the splash deck – if you’re not able to ride but still want to get in on the fun you’ll be able to get wet by the splashing down boats here.
The rider height requirement is 42” accompanied, 48” unaccompanied. As far as the thrill level, I think it will be a step up from Good Gravy! but not as intense as the three wooden roller coasters or Thunderbird.
Cannonball will be just the third Mack Rides water coaster in the US (Journey to Atlantis at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego. SeaWorld San Antonio’s is a SuperSplash model).
Pictured below is the former Raging Rapids ride in 2020 from Google Earth. There’s an alternate timeline where Cannonball! might have been built on the former Pilgrim’s Plunge site and probably would have coexisted with Raging Rapids for a few seasons before the 30+ year old raft ride reached the end of its service life.
Here’s a rough approximation of the ride path for Cannoball! As you can see, it actually takes up more space than Raging Rapids where it jumps over the midway and back in the upper left corner:
See more construction tour photos here.
Cannonball! Construction Tour Video
Get an even better view of the Cannonball! construction site and hear from Leah Koch-Blumhardt and Lauren Crosby in the video below:
Official ride animation, drone footage, and interviews provided by Holiday World. All other clips by Coaster101.
Cannonball’s target opening is May 1, 2027. Can’t wait to see it progress over the summer.
Huge thank you to the park for inviting us out!
What are you looking forward to on Cannonball! more, the coaster drops or the water splash at the end? Let us know in the comments below.
