# Good Gravy! (roller coaster)

Good Gravy! is a family shuttle roller coaster at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, United States. A custom version of Vekoma's Family Boomerang model themed to a Thanksgiving dinner, the coaster has received critical acclaim for its decoration and thematic concept since opening to the public in 2024.

## History

After the removal of Giraffica (formerly Pilgrims Plunge), a shoot the chutes ride built by Intamin, Holiday World began seeking a ride to construct in its place. The park met with Dutch manufacturer Vekoma at the 2021 IAAPA Expo, where Vekoma suggested their Family Boomerang model. After visiting the park, Vekoma presented multiple layout options before the design was finalized.
Early in the process, the park came up with the idea of a ride themed to a gravy boat. To reflect this theme, the queue building was initially planned with rooms styled after different decades, but the concept was later changed to feature a consistent late 1960s and early 1970s aesthetic. The building contains various unused items donated from individuals' homes and was constructed by Universal Design Associates of Ferdinand, Indiana, while the thematic elements placed along the ride's course were created by 3dxScenic.
On August 1, 2023, Holiday World announced Good Gravy! for the 2024 season as North America's first Family Boomerang roller coaster. In November, the ride's hand-sculpted train was revealed at the 2023 International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo. The ride's track was constructed in a period of seven days. On April 11, 2024, Holiday World sent a train filled with plush turkeys as the ride's first test run, and the ride officially opened to the public on May 11, 2024.

## Characteristics
### Theme

Good Gravy! is themed to a Thanksgiving dinner in which two characters, Grandma Gracy and Grandpa Gavin, have run out of gravy, and riders must ride the coaster to help make more. The coaster's queue and station are decorated to match this and features interiors built to appear as Grandma Gracy's kitchen. The coaster's train is modeled after a gravy boat with gravy spilling out of the front. The trains' gravy boat decoration was hand-sculpted and hand-painted. According to the park, the painted patterns on the sides of the trains were inspired by "vintage dinnerware designs, with a thanksgiving twist". Throughout the ride, the train passes by various theming elements, including a cranberry sauce can, a kitchen timer, and other larger-than-life kitchen items. The roller coaster is located in the Thanksgiving section of the park. The area directly around the ride, called Stuffing Springs, features related theming, such as a planter shaped like a gravy boat with gravy appearing to spill onto the path. Adjacent to the ride is Cranberry Corner, a children's play area inspired by European amusement parks. Nearby, a Dippin' Dots stand is housed in a refurbished 1964 Airstream camper and serves its food in plastic gravy boats.

### Ride experience

Good Gravy! is designed for families and children, featuring a minimum height requirement of 38 inches (97 cm). The two-across, ten-car trains feature an individual T-shaped lap bar for each rider. After boarding, riders are dispatched backwards out of the station and pulled up a tire lift before being released and dropped forwards, reaching its top speed of 37 miles per hour (60 km/h) and passing through the station once more. Riders then take a right turn, travel through an enlarged cranberry sauce can, then turn left. Next, riders traverse a small hill adjacent to an 18-foot-tall rolling pin, then take a right turn followed by a left turn past larger-than-life recreations of a box of stuffing mix, a kitchen timer, a whisk, and a bottle of milk. The train then begins to ascend a spike before rolling back and traversing the previously traveled track in reverse. The total track length of the coaster is 721.8 feet (220.0 m), and the total track traveled amounts to nearly 1,500 feet (460 m) during the just over one-minute-long ride.

## Reception

In Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards, Good Gravy! won Best New Theme Concept of 2024, placed second for Best Family Coaster, fourth for Best New Roller Coaster of 2024, and fifth for Best New Attraction Installation of 2024. American Coaster Enthusiasts member Brian Lydy described the coaster as "a world-class attraction" and a "very special experience", mentioning he believed it was "just what the park needed". WGN-TV reporter Marcus LeShock praised the ride's theming, describing the ride as "impressive".