HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – Holiday World has let the cat out of the bag, or in this case, the gravy out of the boat.
“After a while it gets really hard to keep a secret,” says Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari President and CEO Matt Eckert. “I didn’t even tell my kids, I didn’t tell my wife.”
A secret no more, as Holiday World released renderings of Good Gravy, a new family roller coaster. Construction is underway in the park’s Thanksgiving section.
“We started doing some demo work a couple months ago,” explains Eckert. “We’re able to use a lot of the facilities we had here existing already from a previous attraction. It will be ready to open on May of 2024.”
The coaster takes riders from the station, decorated in the style of grandma’s house, through the course that features a 20 foot tall whisk and 18 foot tall rolling pin, as well as a ride through a tin can. The coaster will then take a 70 foot climb, before doing it all over again in reverse. With a height requirement of 38″, park officials say children as young as approximately 3 years old may be able to ride Good Gravy.
“We really felt like this was something that fit a gap that we just didn’t have,” says Eckert. “We have a lot of smaller rides, like up at Christmas for the smaller kids, we have fun town, the Holidog area we have the Howler. We needed kind of a coaster that was in-between, so kind of a step up between the Howler and the Raven.”
The boomerang-style coaster will be the first of its kind in North America. The $10 million project is at the former site of Pilgrim’s Plunge, and will also consist of a playground area called Stuffing Springs for younger kids who aren’t quite ready for Good Gravy.
“I think it’s a place where a lot of families will spend a quite a bit of time,” says Eckert, “just because their kids are going to love it. I think mom and dad’s going to love it, too, and I think grandma and grandpa will, too.”
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