Tucked into the wooded Halloween section of Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, The Raven has spent three decades punching well above its 80-foot stature, earning a reputation among coaster enthusiasts as one of the finest wooden roller coasters ever built. Named for Edgar Allan Poe’s 1845 poem, The Raven opened on May 6, 1995 as Holiday World’s first major thrill coaster, designed by Larry Bill of Custom Coasters International.
Below is everything worth knowing about the ride: its full stats, the story behind its design, the awards that built its reputation, its safety history, where to sit for the best experience, how it compares to the park’s other legendary wood coasters, and what to know before you go.
Quick Answer
The Raven is a wooden roller coaster at Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, that opened May 6, 1995. Designed by Larry Bill of Custom Coasters International, it stands 80 feet tall, drops 85 feet, reaches roughly 48 mph, and covers 2,800 feet of track in about 90 seconds. It won Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Award for Best Wooden Roller Coaster four years running (2000-2003) and was named an ACE Coaster Landmark in 2016.
Stats at a Glance
Park: Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, Indiana. Designer: Larry Bill, Custom Coasters International. Opened: May 6, 1995. Height: 80 ft. Drops: 85 ft and 61 ft. Top speed: about 48 mph. Length: 2,800 ft. Duration: roughly 1 minute 30 seconds. Inversions: 0. Minimum height to ride: 48 inches. Trains: two 24-passenger trains built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, running on an automated dispatch system since 2005.
The Ride Experience
The Raven begins with a chain lift to 80 feet before diving 85 feet into a high-speed run along the hillside. The layout doesn’t let up: a second, 61-foot drop follows almost immediately, and the train never stops stringing together airtime moments as it threads through the trees rather than over cleared land.
The signature moment is a low, banked turn that carries the train right over the surface of Lake Rudolph, followed by a 120-foot tunnel that swallows riders in near-total darkness before spitting them into the finale. At the base of the fifth hill, a double-banked S-curve — built specifically to dodge a stand of trees during construction — remains one of the most talked-about moments on any wood coaster, forceful enough that even veteran enthusiasts are caught off guard.
Design and History
Holiday World president Will Koch commissioned the ride from Custom Coasters International in the early 1990s, looking to give the park its first serious thrill coaster. Designer Larry Bill built a terrain layout that used the natural hillside rather than steel supports to generate speed and forces well beyond what the coaster’s modest 80-foot height would suggest.
The ride went unnamed until August 1994, when a trade magazine editor suggested “Raven” as a nod to Edgar Allan Poe’s famous poem — first published in January 1845, almost exactly 150 years before the coaster opened to the public on May 6, 1995. Built for roughly $2 million, The Raven immediately established Holiday World as a destination for coaster enthusiasts rather than just a regional theme park.
The coaster originally ran with a single train and a single ride operator. In 2005, the park added a second train and a transfer track, upgrading to an automated control system that lifted hourly capacity substantially. The track itself is built from layers of Southern yellow pine topped with steel running rails, and during the 2020-2021 off-season the park re-tracked the lake-turn section and reworked other segments as part of ongoing maintenance to keep the 30-year-old layout running smoothly.
Awards and Recognition
The Raven topped Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards for Best Wooden Roller Coaster four consecutive years, from 2000 through 2003 — a run that cemented its national reputation, following runner-up finishes in 1998 and 1999. American Coaster Enthusiasts later recognized that legacy by naming it an ACE Coaster Landmark in June 2016, an honor reserved for rides of enduring historical significance.
Its Golden Ticket ranking naturally cooled once bigger siblings The Legend (2000) and The Voyage (2006) opened at the same park and drew enthusiast attention; by the 2025 poll, The Raven placed in the tied-30s among the world’s wood coasters. That it still cracks a global top-40 list at 30 years old, against a field padded with newer hypercoasters, says a lot about how well the layout has aged.
Where to Sit: Front Row vs. Back Row
Because the entire course winds through the forest, The Raven reads differently depending on where you sit and when you ride. Front-row riders get the clearest sightlines into both drops and the tunnel entrance, plus the best view of the low swoop over Lake Rudolph. Back-row riders get whipped hardest through the hills after the first drop, delivering the strongest floater airtime on the ride — a common trade-off on terrain coasters like this one.
An after-dark ride adds another layer: the wooded layout hides enough of what’s coming that even repeat riders lose track of the course, making the tunnel and the fifth-hill S-curve hit harder simply because you can’t see them coming.
Safety Record
The Raven has operated for three decades with an overall strong safety record, but it isn’t without a documented incident: on May 31, 2003, a rider died after standing up during the ride and falling from the train during the fifth drop. An investigation found the restraint systems were functioning properly and identified no mechanical fault with the coaster; a subsequent lawsuit was settled out of court in 2007.
The incident led to renewed emphasis park-wide on restraint checks and rider instructions before dispatch, and no comparable incident has been reported on the ride since.
How The Raven Compares to Holiday World’s Other Wood Coasters
The Raven isn’t the tallest, fastest, or longest wood coaster at Holiday World. The Legend, which opened in 2000, stands 99 feet tall, hits about 59 mph, and runs just over 4,000 feet of track. The Voyage, which debuted in 2006 and has ranked among the top wooden coasters in the world ever since, tops out at 159 feet, reaches roughly 67 mph, and stretches nearly 6,450 feet — more than double The Raven’s length.
Holiday World itself recommends riders work up to The Voyage by starting with The Raven and moving on to The Legend, treating Raven as the entry point into the park’s wood coaster lineup. Despite being the smallest and oldest of the three, The Raven is frequently cited by enthusiasts as the most re-rideable — a shorter layout, strong airtime, and consistently shorter lines than its two larger siblings.
Visiting The Raven
The Raven is a fixed attraction inside Holiday World’s Halloween section and requires no separate ticket — general admission covers unlimited rides, including The Raven, The Legend, The Voyage, and the water park next door. Like most seasonal parks, Holiday World runs a tiered pricing and hours structure: walk-up single-day gate prices run highest, online advance tickets cost less, and season passes make sense for anyone visiting more than a couple of times a year. Operating hours shift with the calendar, running shorter on early-season weekends and longer through the summer months.
Because exact prices and hours change by season and by year, check Holiday World’s official hours and calendar page and its tickets and passes page before you go — both are the most current sources for what a visit will cost and when the park, and The Raven, will be running.
The Raven roller coaster FAQs
How tall is The Raven roller coaster?
The Raven stands 80 feet tall with an 85-foot first drop — the shortest of Holiday World’s three wooden coasters, well under The Legend’s 99 feet and The Voyage’s 159 feet.
How fast does The Raven go?
The Raven reaches a top speed of about 48 mph, generated entirely by the natural hillside terrain rather than a launch or a tall lift hill, which is part of why it feels faster than its stats suggest.
Is The Raven scary or intense?
It’s intense for its size — tight turns, sustained airtime, a pitch-black tunnel, and a jolting S-curve near the end — but it has no inversions and a 48-inch height minimum, making it more approachable than Holiday World’s bigger coasters while still satisfying enthusiasts.
What happened in The Raven’s 2003 incident?
On May 31, 2003, a rider died after standing up and falling from the train during the ride. Investigators found the restraints were functioning correctly and identified no mechanical defect; the resulting lawsuit was settled out of court in 2007.
Where is The Raven located within Holiday World?
The Raven sits in the Halloween-themed section of the park, one of Holiday World’s four holiday-themed areas alongside Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Fourth of July.
Is The Raven the best wood coaster at Holiday World?
It’s not the biggest — that’s The Voyage — but The Raven is often called the most fun to ride repeatedly, thanks to a shorter layout, strong airtime, and consistently shorter lines than its two larger siblings.
Do I need a separate ticket to ride The Raven?
No. It’s included with general admission to Holiday World & Splashin’ Safari — no extra fee or reservation is required beyond the standard 48-inch height minimum.
What’s the best seat on The Raven?
Front row for the clearest views of the drops, tunnel, and Lake Rudolph swoop; back row for the strongest airtime through the hills. Both are worth riding if you get the chance.
Get More from The Raven roller coaster
Log the coasters, stadiums, and venues you’ve experienced, rate The Raven roller coaster, and see what your friends thought. Get the ThrillZing app.