Holiday World Teases 2020 Attraction

It’s the middle of July (the 17th to be exact) and parks are beginning to hype up campaigns for their new attractions in 2020. Today, Holiday World released their first teaser about a new 2020 attraction at the Indiana park.

7/24 – Holiday World 2020 teasers start:

In a post to Facebook, the park asked for people to sign up for their newsletter to be the first to know about the 2020 project and included a mysterious image with the following caption:

“The cat’s out of the bag… well almost! Want to be the fastest to know what’s happening in 2020? Sign up for our e-newsletter today to know when we’re going to tell you. The email goes out tomorrow so hurry! #HoWo2020“

The picture included claw marks revealing the phrase “hold tight”. The presence of claw marks, reference to fastest, as well as references to animals / cats would hint that this may be a Cheetah themed Splashin’ Safari addition.

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Update 7/24 – The Hunt for Clues is on!

Today, we got another clue from Holiday World for their 2020 attraction. It’s the five year anniversary of their Thunderbird announcement, so it’s quite fitting for another clue. The caption read:

“It seems appropriate to reflect today on the fun we had over those 66 Days at Sea, and our upcoming announcement That might have been my favorite time ever. I felt like a cat playing with a mouse. A few of us formed a small coalition and kept watching the coaster enthusiast forums and used them to craft our next round of clues. Admittedly we’re not on the level of the past tease… and don’t expect that level of announcement. But. If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been teasing. A lot. And I’m pretty confident NoBody has caught all of them”.

They keep stressing the cat references… hence the words mark, spot, and hunt – aka more cheetah references. And the N and B is capitalized on “NoBody” which we believe is to reference it’s not a body slide.

Back on June 13, 2019, the park announced that “after 21 great seasons of fun, it’s time to retire Monsoon Lagoon” – one of their giant water dumping buckets. This could have actually been our first hint of #HoWo2020 revealing the location of the new attraction.

Update 7/25 – Christmas in July

Holiday World posted another #HoWo 2020 clue today in the form of a video titled “Christmas in July.”

Santa gives a present to Safari Sam, the official mascot of Splashin’ Safari. This further solidifies our hypothesis the new attraction will be in the waterpark. The gift is a bunch of socks, but not just any socks… socks with Cheetah’s printed on them! So, we assume the new attraction will indeed be cheetah themed in some fashion.

So, just what kind of attraction will Holiday World reveal?

This may sound crazy but hear us out. We’re guessing one of two things:

first, an Intamin launched water coaster. We seen a new Intamin launched water coaster demo at an industry expo called IAAPA last November that could be the new attraction.

The launched water coaster ride is from Intamin, who the park has worked with in the past on Pilgrims Plunge / Giraffica – an Intamin shoot the chute ride that featured a 135ft open-air elevator lift and debuted as the tallest water ride in the world in 2009. It was removed after the 2013 season due to downtime and reliability.

So, why would the park work with this company again on a new install? A few reasons; for starters there is new senior leadership at Holiday World since their last purchase. They could see a huge discount on a new attraction purchase for the issues with their former Pilgrims Plunge project as an “i’m sorry”. Not only an i’m sorry discount, but by adding a new prototype concept such as a launched water coaster, Intamin could generate sales down the road from other parks. So, by them discounting a new prototype install, they could potentially generate more revenue in the long run and it’s a win for everyone.

But a discount isn’t the only reason we believe this could happen. A launched water coaster matches the “leaked blueprints” floating around the interwebs perfectly and the plans fit the land that is sitting vacant where Pilgrims Plunge used to be. The park would be able to utilize the existing splash pool, station, and queue building from Pilgrim’s Plunge that has just been sitting there vacant since the ride closed in 2013. Could the blueprint be a “fake” or a “plant” by the park? sure, so who knows.. but, we have been hearing chatter about a Intamin shipment being delivered to the area… so there’s that.

Second, it could be the new Dueling “RocketBLAST” Launched water coaster that was debuted at IAAPA 2018 by ProSlide. Thrill-seekers blast up and down steep water coaster hills, speed through dark tunnels, and rocket onto the wide-open expanse of the massive saucer-shaped features. The steep angle of the saucers create a ‘drop-and-dive’ sensation as riders race along its edge. The feeling is like an Olympic giant slalom ski race – in perfect control. The layout could be changed to fit the topography, but this would be a perfect fit for a Cheetah themed slide with the “dueling” or “racing” aspect.

Take a peek at the promo video:

So, that’s just our guess.. we would love to hear yours! Let us know on our socials!

Update 7/29 – Cheetah Paint

A few minutes ago, Holiday World made a random post on their facebook page announcing that they now offer Cheetah face paint for kids. To folks not following along with #HoWo2020 this meant nothing. But to us, it was just another way to confirm the Cheetah theme.

The countdown is on as all will be revealed on August 6 at noon. No matter what the attraction is – “it’s going to be a blast!”

Update 8/6 – AND IT’S CHEETAH CHASE FOR 2020!

So, after all the speculation, we were darn close with the reveal of Cheetah Chase – the new Racing Launched Water Coaster coming to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in 2020!

Holiday World’s third water coaster will feature two ProSlide RocketBLAST-powered racing slides totaling more than 1700 feet of track. Riders will experience a water-powered flat launch before racing against their families toward the finish line.

The ride features the first-ever head-to-head dueling zone on a water coaster, as well as two other RallyPOINTS where rafts will synchronize with one another. Each side also features two FlyingSAUCER elements—which create “a faster and tighter ride with stronger g-forces,” as well as “maximum curving speed and centrifugal force,” according to the manufacturer, ProSlide.

Fast Facts: