Holiday World is one of the best amusement parks in the Midwest. This family owned
park features a variety of holiday themed lands and a small, but award-winning coaster lineup.
You have two wood coasters that have placed atop Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards,
another wood coaster that may be the best in the world for laterals,
the world’s first B&M launched wing coaster, and some fun non-coasters.
But along with the amusement side, you also have the beloved Splashin’ Safari water park.
This is the main reason many locals visit the park and it’s not hard to see why. It features not one,
not two, but three different water coasters plus a bevy of other tube slides, many of which have
ranked quite highly on water slide polls. So in this video, I will rank the top 15
rides and water slides at Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari. This video will not include
any defunct attractions since all my visits have taken place since 2017.
15) Crow’s Nest- This Zamperla star flyer isn’t too tall, as it’s just over 6 stories in height.
But it was placed nicely. The ride is located atop a hill next to Thunderbird’s Immelmann,
so it not only offers nice views of the B&M, but you can look down the hill towards the rest of
the park. The spinning isn’t too forceful though. This ride is all about the views.
14) Eagles Flight- These classic Bisch-Rocco flying scooters aren’t run the fastest,
but if you know what you’re doing, you are able to get some light snapping
and the park won’t stop you. I can’t get enough of the thrill of the tubs bouncing on these rides.
13) Zoombabwe- This ProSlide family raft slide is the world’s longest enclosed water slide.
Standing 10 stories tall with nearly 900 feet or 274 meters of slide, this is a very long
attraction. It’s not the wildest water slide, but you have some quick dips in total darkness
combined with the seemingly never-ending length to make it stand out among the genre.
12) Zinga- One of the earliest ProSlide tornadoes, this water slide features a
thrilling plunge into a giant funnel that can give a little pop of airtime. Then it’s always
fun rocking back-and-forth in the oversized funnel. There isn’t much else to this slide,
but that main drop carries the experience. 11) Cheetah Chase- The newest of the park’s three
water coasters is all about speed. This unique racing slide is designed to have some near-misses
to get your competitive juices flowing. You launch out of the station and zip through the layout. The
uphill ascents are swift and they all comically dump cascades of water on riders at the top.
Then the ride maintains its speed through the saucer turns. This one only has a single pop of
airtime on the finale, but that’s not the ride’s focus. I have a separate review on this slide-
as well as the park’s other two water coasters- if you want to learn more.
10) Liberty Launch- This S&S drop tower is small in stature, but it packs a punch. The launches
are pretty forgettable, but you get two abrupt and strong bursts of ejector airtime atop the tower.
The ride’s view isn’t as good as you’d expect due to the surrounding trees,
but this double shot is all about the airtime.
9) Frightful Falls- This Hopkins log flume starts like the classic old mills with a long,
dark tunnel. This leads into a short outdoor bit before traversing the ride’s lone drop. It’s not
overly steep, but it’s still fun and the resultant splash offers the perfect amount of wetness.
8) Raging Rapids- This Hopkins river rapids ride has some of the weakest rapids of the genre.
They barely send more than a trickle of water into the raft. However, this ride is elevated by the
auxiliary water effects. You have multiple geysers along the route plus an unavoidable waterfall that
is sure to soak everyone. Plus, I also like the cave and western facade you pass through.
7) Gobbler Getaway- This Sally dark ride is quirky. It has the 2D aesthetic of the
Boo Blasters attractions, but this one has a unique theme. Riders take aim at turkeys
not to shoot them…rather to call them. You’ll have the gun’s gobble stuck in your head for days,
but the ride itself is super fun. All of the targets seem to work
and the ride’s finale is a riot. 6) Wildebeest- The park’s original
water coaster has been named the best water slide for the past decade in the Amusement Today polls
and I can understand why. This ProSlide hydromagnetic water coaster moves through
the long layout at a good clip and there are several spots of airtime, particularly the
two super steep shed drops that offer some of the best airtime possible on a water slide.
5) Mammoth- This is yet another ProSlide hydromagnetic water coaster, but this one features
a much different raft design. Mammoth foregoes the inline style seating in favor of a circular raft.
This creates a more dynamic ride experience as they spin throughout the attraction.
This is another long ride. You have some weaker spots of airtime off the turns, but
the highlights are when the uphill segments are immediately followed by a plunge. This resulted in
some scary sustained floater airtime for a water slide. I know Wildebeest usually gets the awards,
but I think Mammoth feels more out-of-control and offers a more unique experience.
4) Thunderbird- Contrasting beautifully with the park’s trio of wood coasters, Thunderbird
is a launched Bolliger & Mabillard wing coaster. The ride’s magnetic launch is great between the
theatrics during the pre-launch sequence, the lack of a countdown, and the element’s force.
Then the layout holds its speed better than most wing coasters. The first two inversions
have some force to them. Then I love the ride’s finale with the floaty zero-G roll and the crazy
hangtime on the final barrel roll, especially since it’s preceded by the near-miss in the barn.
I have a review on this coaster, but I’d love to see B&M build more launch coasters in the future.
3) Legend- This sprawling CCI wood coaster may be the best in the world for laterals.
Almost every turn pins riders to the side of the train and then the ride’s famous
double helix offers 15 straight seconds of some of the strongest and most sustained
laterals on any ride. But Legend also has more to offer. The ride has a super unique setting,
rocketing through both the water park and the woods. And the ride has some airtime,
particularly on the 4th hill and return run. I prefer wood coasters with a greater focus
on airtime as I note in my review, but Legend nails every other department with flying colors.
2) Raven- The original wood coaster at Holiday World may be short, but it’s an action-packed
joyride through the woods. This CCI creation is front-loaded with airtime, particularly in the
back row on the first drop and legendary 5th drop. The latter is one of my favorite drops
on any coaster and it delivers a violent pop of ejector airtime. The second half feels untamed as
you careen through a series of turns among the trees. The sense of speed and laterals during
this section are incredible. While there is a pretty big gap between number one and number two,
Raven is still a great coaster in its own right, primarily because of its pacing and sequencing.
1) Voyage- This is my favorite wooden roller coaster in the world and it’s not hard to see why.
This Gravity Group creation is a masterpiece.
The outward leg feels like a hyper coaster with the awesome first drop and giant camelbacks. The
far turnaround is a devilishly twisted spaghetti bowl with sudden ejector pops and sudden turns.
Then the return leg is a flurry of bunny hills down the hillside while also weaving side-to-side.
This coaster is nearly 1 minute and 45 seconds of pure, unrelenting action. The pacing is unreal.
The way this coaster holds its speed start-to-finish while constantly blasting riders
out of their seat is matched by few coasters. Voyage is a marathon in the best way possible.
And this ride has a case as arguably the best night ride in the world. The ride feels totally
out-of-control with barely any light as you zoom through the woods. All of Holiday World’s wood
coasters have aggressive layouts yet the park’s maintenance team keeps them running in tip-top
shape. That’s most apparent with Voyage because of its length and ambition. I have a separate
review on this world-class coaster, but it alone is worth a trip to Holiday World.
So that is how I rank the top 15 rides and slides at both Holiday World and Splashin’
Safari. What are your favorite attractions at this Indiana theme park? Do you rank the
rides similarly? Let me know your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching.