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HOLIDAY WORLD & Splashin’ Safari
Santa Claus, Indiana (Abbreviation: HW)
Park News - (6/15/2023) Ride Closure Announced and What's Coming Next Year
(1/16/2023) According to a new video posted by Holiday World, the park is replacing just over 1,600 feet of track on The Voyage over the off season. The end result will be over 25% of the ride featuring brand new track, located on the last turn, brake area, the first drop through to the second hill and part way down along with the “peek-a-boo” tunnel area. The tracking will be performed by The Gravity Group. While it will stay all wood, some of the track will actually be pre-fabricated / pre-cut off-site.
There is an interesting section of the video showing off the traditional way wooden coaster track stacks are done, but on the replacement track for the hills they will be trying a new method where the wood slats are stacked vertically instead, making it more rigid compared to the flexible nature of the traditional horizontal stack.
2023 - Holiday in the Sky 2023 - (6/20/2023) Holiday World’s “Holidays in the Sky’ drone and fireworks spectacular returned to the park for the 2023 season on June 17 and will run nightly between now and July 30th. If you saw the show last season, know that the sky will be filled with 400 drones this season, a 100-drone increase from the 2022 show.
(10/27/22) Apparently the big surprise at the end of the Holiday World drone sky show was the announcement that the 2023 version of the Holiday in the Sky drone show will increase the number of drones from 300 to 400, allow for an even more complex aerial display.
(10/16/22) What is coming to Holdiay World for 2023? The answer may surprise you…
LOL! No, this isn’t click bait, but I couldn't resist. The actual answer will be revealed to theme park guests in attendance at the park on the night of Saturday, Oct. 22 (and 29th) and be written across the sky by an armada of 300 drones as part of the night’s Holiday in the Sky show.
 2024 - Good Gravy! Family Coaster -
(8/18/2023) A construction video from Holiday World has been posted showing off all the progress on Good Gravy!
(8/3/2023) Another fun video of the new “Good Gravy! Family Coaster” that is coming to Holiday World in 2024 can be seen below.
(8/1/2023) Holiday World has announced that they will add the "Good Gravy! Family Roller Coaster" to the park for the 2024 season, bringing the first Vekoma Family Boomerang coaster to North America. The shuttle coaster will feature coaster trains that look like gravy boats that are pulled backwards up a cranberry colored lift hill before being dropped, hitting 37mph. The train will go through a 1,500 ft course, pass through a giant cranberry can themed tunnel before hitting a 77 foot tall spike. After a brief weightless moment the trains will then soar backwards through the course and back to the station.
As mentioned, this is a family roller coaster, so it will only have a 38 inch height restriction.
(7/30/2023) Less than 48 hours to go until Holiday World makes their announcement for the 2024 season and the hints are still coming. A new Good Gravy Company email inspired me to poke around the corporate site once again and a noticed a new item is now listed in the store.
We’ve still got the kitchen timer for $8.01 (August 1st) and the shirts for $24 (2024 addition?), but now a previously blank photo of a “New Item / Coming Soon” for $38.00 reveals a “Rainbow Boomerang” - “Better than a wooden spoon to stir the gravy! Help us celebrate our collaboration with Holiday World & Splashin' Safari with this custom rainbow boomerang!”
(7/29/2023) With the August 1st announcement date from Holiday World coming up in a few days, Screamscape received a mysterious package from Holiday World earlier this week. We posted an unboxing video of what was inside to our social media pages, but you can also enjoy it here just below.
(7/23/2023) Holiday World has posted a small teaser on TikTok this week (see below), showcasing some of the new construction taking place for Project Gravy Boat. Meanwhile over at Twitter, they posted a video showing off “Udderly Blue Gravy” being poured into an Udderly Blue Ice Cream cone. Meanwhile it was noticed in a post from the Goody Gravy Company that they choose to use the word ‘Launch’ twice in a post about meatballs.
Is there a connection? I’m not sure, but it does look like a yummy refreshing snack, and of course many theme parks love to show off speciality and exclusive food items you can’t get anywhere else.
Regarding the use of the word “Launch”, one thing worth mentioning is that while Vekoma has several different style coaster designs and layouts that fall under the “Family Boomerang” line of rides, none of them use an actual “launch” system. Much like the classic Boomerang coaster name-sake, the Family Boomerangs all start out with a lift system pulling the track backwards out of the station and up a hill, only to stop and allow the train to drop down under gravity power through the rest of the course before running up a large hill or spike at the end that sends the track backwards through the layout again.
Vekoma has been very successful being able to customize the Family Boomerang lines to fit into different spaces, with entirely different layout options. That said, it may be possible that we could be seeing the birth of a new layout for Holiday World as well, perhaps even one with some kind of launch booster.
(7/21/2023) Holiday World has kicked their teaser campaign into high gear with the launch of a new teaser website related to their 2024 attraction, all about the Good Gravy Company. A little something to enjoy before the big announcement, which is expected to take place on August 1st.
(7/15/2023) Holiday World has begun sending out teaser images for Project: Gravy Boat. A public photo showing the date of August 1st in a pile of flour was sent out on social media yesterday. Meanwhile a similar image with the message “Over the River” and a text follow-up that says, ‘And through the woods.” was sent out to fans via text message who have signed up to learn more.
(7/7/2023) Holiday World is now ready to, as they put it, start ‘“whisking,” the metaphorical gravy’ about project Gravy Boat. They’ve launched a new blog post to talk about it which you can find by following the link. Much like Holiday World, I love it when “Tease Season” starts and all the parks who have ‘game’ come out to begin teasing their fans about what’s in store for next season.
They have posted a small picture, peeking, just barely, over the construction wall looking towards the construction site, along with a link where you can sign up to be the first to know more. Oh… they do confirm that it will be a roller coaster, and I’m told that the official big announcement is expected to take place on August 1st at 8am… Holiday World time.
Interesting fact, they also confirm they’ve hidden a few “gravy boats” in the park this summer. So far they’ve confirmed putting one in the Holidays in the Sky show and another in the Gobbler Getaway queue behind Abigail.
(7/5/2023) ParkFans has posted a quick look at a set of plans for the Gravy Boat project at Holiday World for 2024. No coaster info can be seen here, but it does appear that the area in front of the old Pilgrim Plunge ride building that serves as the splashdown pool may instead of used for some landscaping and a playground structure in front of whatever future purpose they have for the building itself. Stay tuned!
(6/22/2023) Holiday World has addressed the rumors about their plans for 2024 and Project Gravy Boat. According to a statement from Director of Communications, Leah Koch-Blumhardt, “We’re really impressed with the internet sleuths, but we’re not ready to spill the gravy boat just yet. Follow us on social media for updates and clues starting soon”.
(6/21/2023) While I’ve reported a lot about the work taking place on the former Pilgrim Plunge site, we’ve finally been sent some fantastic pictures show off how picked clean the demolition crews have removed the former concrete splashdown pool area. As previously reported, they have also carefully left the former ride building intact for whatever new ride(s) they have planned to go here. (Vekoma Family Boomerang anyone?)
(6/15/2023) Holiday World has announced that they have now permanently closed the Raging Rapids ride. Something new is apparently planned, as the park started that this isn’t the end, “it’s just the beginning” and that they intend to to return the sound of laughter to Boulder Canyon as soon as they possibly can.
The closure is a bit unexpected, as the latest signs of construction in the park were focused on ripping out the former concrete splashdown pool and flume left over from the former Pilgrim Plunge ride. For those not familiar with the park, this site in the Thanksgiving area of the park is a good bit of a walk from the site of Boulder Canyon, with a section of The Voyage sitting right in between the two.
So what could Holiday World have planned for 2024? We’ve got a pretty good idea, as some building permits have been spotted online mentioning something called “Project Gravy Boat”. This does seem to indicate that whatever is planned may be for the Thanksgiving area of the park, and possibly the former Pilgrim Plunge area. According to visitors, the site has now been cleared, with the exception of the large loading station building, which they were careful to leave untouched.
The latest clue about Holiday World’s future however comes in the form of another posted shipping permit that mentions a shipping container from Vekoma arrived at the park this week. What’s inside this container? According to the listing, the container(s) are expected to hold pieces for a Vekoma Family Boomerang coaster.
(5/7/2023) A special Platium level season passholder prevent event took place at Holiday World yesterday and the early word is that the park has put up a large fence all the way around the former Pilgrim Plunge splash pool. If you ride Voyage and look that way, apparently you can also see that crews are working to break up and remove all the concrete from the splash pool as well after letting it sit quietly for the past decade. So clearly, this seems to be where Holiday World will be focusing their attention for whatever new addition they have planned for the 2024 season.
Another fun note from the preview was that Holiday World is now serving alcohol for the first time this season, but you have to stay and drink it in the designated area. Beer, Wine and Seltzers are being served at Plymouth on the Rocks (next to Plymouth Rock Cafe) and the same plus a few Frozen cocktails are being served at Liki Tiki on the shore next to The Wave.
(4/23/2023) If you visit Holiday World this season, an early rumor sent in to Screamscape suggests that everyone keep their eyes open on the former site of the former Pilgrim Plunge (aka: Giraffica) ride and nearby areas. No specific word was sent on what may be coming, only that it may be used for the park’s next major attraction, which only makes sense. The former water ride site is now sitting unused with a giant splash pool and large ride station building still intact that could be re-used for any number of new ride concepts going forward.
COVID aside, I believe the old flume ride actually closed in 2013, so Holiday World has obviously been playing the long game here, saving the site for something special. After a decade, hopefully the time has come.
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