Cheetah Chase at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari is the newest water coaster at the park. Added
for the 2020 season, this ProSlide creation was advertised as the world’s first launched
water coaster. But how does it stack up to the park’s other two water coasters? In this video,
I will review Cheetah Chase and discuss how it stacks up to Wildebeest and Mammoth.
Cheetah Chase was the third water coaster added by Splashin’ Safari.
The park opened Wildebeest in 2010 and it was a resounding success.
The attraction immediately became not only the most popular attraction in the water park,
but it was arguably more popular than anything in the dry park as well, generating hour long queues
on hot summer days. The ride was highly rated as well, as it would win the Golden Ticket Award for
the best water slide in its inaugural year and it has retained that accolade for the past decade.
The success of Wildebeest led to Splashin’ Safari adding Mammoth in 2012. This slide differentiated
itself from Wildebeest by having circular rafts that could spin throughout the experience.
And Mammoth was just as popular as Wildebeest, so it was another win for Holiday World.
Both these water coasters were built by ProSlide, so it’s no surprise Holiday World
returned to them in 2020 for yet another water coaster. But they wanted something different.
So ProSlide delivered Cheetah Chase, a dual slide racing water coaster that would be
the world’s first launched water coaster. Now that last point is debatable. You could
argue all water coasters are launched since their uphill sections use propulsion methods
such as water jets, conveyor belts, or linear induction motors. I think Cheetah Chase stands
out more for two things- the aforementioned racing element and the different layout.
Mat racing slides are always fun for the competition, so getting that thrill
on a water coaster is really neat. And unlike Wildebeest and Mammoth that focus on a series
of ascents and descents, Cheetah Chase focuses more on sustaining its speed start to finish.
While I personally prefer the roller coaster like layouts of the other two water coasters,
Cheetah Chase’s layout allows it to offer a much different ride experience.
Cheetah Chase was crammed over a pathway in Splashin’ Safari. It’s really impressive Holiday
World even managed to fit this slide where they did. The slide gives a lot of kinetic energy to
the midway since you hear the screams of riders overhead and the torrents of water gushing about.
Like the park’s prior two water coasters, Cheetah Chase is quite popular and had a sizable queue
line when I visited. This one has shorter rafts than Wildebeest and Mammoth, so it does not
offer a single rider line like those two slides. For that reason and the fact this is the park’s
newest attraction, I would recommend hitting this slide immediately after the water park opens.
Cheetah Chase seats up to three riders per boat and requires each boat to weigh between 200
and 480 pounds. The station has a scale that gives a green or red light depending
if you’re within the specified weight range. Due to covid-19 and social distancing guidelines,
the staff was not pairing single riders up with groups in 2020. I suspect in future years,
Splashin’ Safari will help pair single riders with other groups to allow them to ride Cheetah Chase.
This is what they do on their other slides. One of the worst things about water slides is
the grueling 5-6 story hike up a series of stairs. It often feels like you’re at the gym rather than
an amusement park. It’s especially frustrating on the ones where the rafts have an elevator
atop the tower while guests need to walk. Both ProSlide and Splashin’ Safari agreed with
that notion, which is why all three of their water coasters- including Cheetah Chase- have a station
more reminiscent of an actual roller coaster. This not only saves guests a lot of energy, but it
makes the ride more accessible too. Cheetah Chase has a dual conveyor belt loading station so both
rafts are loaded and dispatched simultaneously. These rafts have absolutely no restraints
like Wildebeest and Mammoth, but this ride isn’t really about airtime.
Once seated, you and the raft you’re racing slowly dip out of the station onto the horizontal
launch. Unlike Mammoth and Wildebeest that have hydromagnetic launches, Cheetah Chase has a series
of powerful water jets. So you are thrusted forwards and then immediately launched upwards
into a tunnel. This ascent, while swift, doesn’t offer any airtime or positive Gs, but the visual
of racing another raft next to you is exciting. Once you enter the tunnel, you are pummeled by
a wave of water. Cheetah Chase has a series of water jets angled upwards to propel you uphill.
So when you level off into the tunnel, the water jets are still aimed upwards.
So they send a surge of water over your head. I couldn’t help but laugh how drenching it was.
You then rip around a saucer turn. These turns are engineered to turn riders faster
than traditional turns on water slides and I buy it. It really maintains the
sense of speed established by the launch. You then dip down a tiny drop, getting no
airtime unfortunately, and then are blasted uphill yet again. And the conclusion of this
hill is like the prior ascent. There’s no airtime, but there is a giant deluge of water to soak you.
You then round a quick turn and dip down a small drop adjacent to the dueling track. While this
visual looked cool in the animation, it’s not all that effective in reality. The plexiglass
sides of the slide are raised and they’re obscured by the constant mist produced by the slide. So you
can’t really see the opposing side unfortunately. This drop also provided no airtime.
You then fly around a saucer turn and wind your way back towards the queue.
Then comes the finale, a sharp drop next to the queue. This is the one drop on the ride
that gives a pop of airtime because of how much speed you have entering this drop.
You then rise up one last hill, again getting blasted by a torrent of water
and then cross the finish line, splashing into a runoff pool. You then slowly float
back to the station, ending the ride. The closest water coaster I’ve ridden
to Cheetah Chase in terms of the layout is Thunder Rapids at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.
This one doesn’t race. It’s similar in that it has a layout focusing on speed and soaking splashes
over drops. The lack of drops is why Thunder Rapids is among my least favorite water
coasters. I at least had tempered expectations for Cheetah Chase when I saw the layout had a lot of
similarities, but Cheetah Chase is an improvement with the racing element and drop at the end.
And the fact Cheetah Chase starts with a launch as opposed to a conveyor belt lift like Wildebeest
and Mammoth means that Cheetah Chase goes full throttle start to finish, even if the individual
elements aren’t as memorable as the airtime filled drops on the park’s other two water coasters.
So what would I rate Cheetah Chase? I would give this water slide a 6 out of 10. I like
the racing element and sense of speed, but I do wish this slide had a few more drops and airtime
like the park’s other water coasters. I understand why this slide was different,
but as I mentioned earlier, I prefer water coasters that focus on drops.
It’s nowhere close to matching the intensity of Wildebeest or Mammoth, but it’s still a fun
slide that offers a unique ride experience for the genre. And it appears to be another win for
the park based on the reactions of riders. So those are my thoughts on Cheetah Chase,
the launched, racing water coaster at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari. Have you been on this
slide? How do you think it compares to Wildebeest, Mammoth, or the other water coasters out there?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, 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!