Holiday World has confirmed a new roller coaster is being added to their Thanksgiving section in 2024.
In mid-June, rumors began spreading that something was coming. Officials released a statement at that time, but didn’t confirm anything until Thursday.
A blog post written by Leah Koch-Blumhardt, 4th-generation owner and director of communications, was published on the Holiday World website Thursday. She only shared a few details, saying more would be revealed at a later date.
Koch said the new ride will be built north of Mayflower and east of The Voyage.
While construction paperwork filed with the State of Indiana shows the title “Gravy Boat,” Koch only confirmed that was the project name — noting the Thunderbird’s project name was Big Turkey.
Koch noted that some outlets — such as Owensboro Times — discovered information that can be found publicly on ImportGenius, which tracks global import/export records. According to that site, on June 13 Holiday World received a shipment containing parts of a roller coaster from Netherlands-based Vekoma Rides Manufacturing.
The Marks & Numbers section of the product describes it as a “Family Boomerang Roller Coaster.” According to the Vekoma website, their family boomerang has a “forward/backward run.” That means rather than a looped track, the coaster travels from one end of the track to the other going forward, then returns to the station by traveling backward on the track.
Koch’s blog admitted people knew about the possibility of a “boomerang” ride, but she craftily avoided confirming or denying what type of ride this will be.
However, she did more directly address photos that have circulated of a ride with a train-type car on the front.
“That’s the type of coaster our fans think we’re getting. I can confirm that there will not be a train engine on the front of whatever it is we’re building,” she said.
Koch ended her post saying, “My whole family is excited to bring you this next project, and I think my dad would have been too. That’s all we’ve got for now. But we’ll see you soon. … We’ve got a lot cooking in the next few weeks.”
