Since its debut, Cannibal has also consistently ranked in the top 50 among steel roller coasters worldwide in the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from Amusement Today.

In an era when most amusement parks outsource the work to a select few established roller coaster manufacturers, the decision to build in-house is rare in the industry.

The roller coaster features a 208-foot-tall (63 m) enclosed elevator lift, a beyond-vertical drop of 116 degrees, a themed underground tunnel, and a 360-degree helix situated above a man-made waterfall.

[5] Prior to its planned opening in the spring of 2015, Lagoon announced that the roller coaster's debut would be postponed for additional testing and inspections.

[6][7] At the time of opening, Cannibal set a world record for the tallest beyond-vertical drop among roller coasters,[2][8] and became the steepest in the United States.