Cedar Point Announces New Water Ride for 2010 Season

TTD 120mph said:
Gotta realize by now that "fully loaded" actually means the full 8 seats. ;)

Oh, duh. I keep forgetting that abnormal is the new normal...

Went to the park with a friend today, and the ride was down. They had water dummies in one of the boats. The ride was testing, but not running.....again.

^^So does that mean that we (Pointbuzzers) are technically normal? ;)

It is kinda funny the little red flags are in the game.

I finally made it to Cedar Point this year on Tuesday (Aug 3). It was one of those great weather days: storm in the forecast, misty and overcast for much of the morning and eventually no storm.

When we made our way back to Shoot the Rapids, I first thought the ride was only testing because the boats looked empty. But sure enough, it was running... but there was no line and it looked like there were only enough people to fill the first two rows on the boats. It wasn't hot enough to get drenched, so we walked away and I thought it looked pretty sad.

Later, with the sun bearing down, we were back there again and decided to ride (and put our cameras and phones into a ziploc bag). The wait time was at 45 minutes, but the line seemed to beat that. I was in the second row and I got splashed-not-soaked on the first drop, dripped on by the waterfalls in the canyon (could have leaned out of them), and barely splashed on the second drop. It seemed like I was going to end up with just a little more water than White Water Landing... but then I got nailed by 3 water cannons and ended up completely soaked! The first row got drenched on the first drop, but not much of anything on the second drop.

Great ride. I will definitely ride it again, but like many others I think there are lots of reasons why I would skip it if I needed to be dry afterwards. I wish they could at least make it a little dryer when the skies are overcast. As far as I could tell, the ride ran the whole day.

I also miss that speedy trip in the treetops from WWL... even if you were rolling as much as floating.

jam said:
I wish they could at least make it a little dryer when the skies are overcast.

It has been stated by the park that they can adjust the soak factor of the ride. However, their criteria for making those adjustments is unknown.

If they ever do, I wonder if it they would make some kind of indicator at the ride that tells riders if the ride is operating wet or dry.

I thought it was a great ride. The entire area surrounding the ride looks amazing, and it is cool to see the boats come by while standing in line.

I'm not buying the whole "we can change the wetness factor" thing. Besides turning off the water bombs and water falls there doesn't seem like there is anything they can do. I don't think there is any way in avoiding the water that flows over the front of the boat on the drops.

Besides, it took them forever just to open the ride. I'm pretty sure they didn't have time to master altering the wetness.

The only thing I can see them doing to adjust it down, would be to turn off the waterfalls, and the power washers at the bottom of the last drop.

Like your mom said, you will still have the water dumping into the front of the boat, and the water cannons.

Turning off the effects would basicly mean everyone would be dry except the front row. I'm not sure much can be done to reduce the front row.

Better boats....;)

Or warn people the front seats are the 'drenchers'.

But then, they'd have to stop ordering people to sit in the front... ;)

The ride is limping along with the current boat design which has obvious flaws that need to be rectified. I wonder what the plan is. Are they going to continue on this path until the end of the season, then do an extensive rework of the existing boats (my guess)? Alternatively, Intamin could be working on new boats to be introduced later this year once they are ready (not likely unless CP massively turned the screws). Either way, until all seats can be used, a tidal wave does not drench the front seat occupants, and the boats don't get jammed or scrape the flume, the boats need work.

jam said:
If they ever do, I wonder if it they would make some kind of indicator at the ride that tells riders if the ride is operating wet or dry.

They already have some kind of indicator. Just watch the people getting off the ride. :)

Ooooh, wetness.........:)

Well, maybe as one of the biggest critics here since the original sketches, I finally rode Shoot the Rapids. While I wanted badly to love it and think of everyone’s opinions here as too critical, I actually found those opinions to be too kind. This ride is an embarrassment for Cedar Point, and I’m ashamed of Intamin. While the area looks nice, this ride just feels like one big mistake, and I doubt one like it will ever be built again. Let me explain.

At 10AM, the lines for most of Cedar Point’s roller coasters were already very crowded this past Tuesday…I didn’t feel like waiting in lines right off the bat, so with my friends, we decided to ride Shoot the Rapids…a complete walk-on, no mechanical problems.

Almost everyone riding it was fully clothed and wearing tennis shoes and socks. We were as well, but I warned my friends that we needed to get a locker, as I heard your feet get soaked in the front, if we get assigned there.

We got a locker and removed our shoes. They thought my warnings about the front were funny and decided to sit there. I sat right behind them. A ride operator came over and said I’d have to sit in the back of the boat, and I was separated from my friends.

The ride began, and we went through the mist tunnel. I thought it was cool, but I was shocked at how slow this ride actually felt. Once we exited the mist tunnel, it even felt slower…annoyingly slow…boring…I was thinking, “Is this a bad dream, or did the same company behind Maverick design a ride that’s supposed to be fun….like a broken pontoon boat?”

We went up the first lift hill, which was pleasant, and down the first hill…which was fun. As the boat struggled to float, the water overflowed directly onto my friends in the ftont, and they were drenched…I saved their new shoes.

The ride was then back to its snail pace, erasing the fun from the first hill, and just boring again…the waterfalls or anything around didn’t change my “meh, this is dull” mentality. Speaking of which, by seeing people here claiming it had great theming…I was expecting some kind of action…something like Paddlewheel Excursions…but none of that exists. It’s just a dull, stationary “theme.” It all looks nice, but don’t expect anything entertaining.

Onto the second lift hill...there was no noticeable jerk like some have experienced. It was pleasant but anti-climatic, since you’re going underneath the better hill. After what felt like more of an acceleration than going down a hill (but still enjoyable), the ride again overflowed onto my friends in the front, and they were annoyed. It resumed its ridiculously slow and boring pace to the station.

There was dead silence the whole ride in our boat…even from a little kid. I was thinking “Wow, even that kid thinks this ride is lame.” We got off the ride, and I heard some people say “That was stupid.” I asked my friend to rate it 1 to 10, and he said 1. I said, “Come on…it wasn’t that bad…surely there are worse rides here.” He stuck to his 1 out of 10 and truly felt it was the worst ride at Cedar Point. Another friend just had a “meh.” reaction, no comments.

Since we had our shoes off, we decided to do Snake River Falls and Thunder Canyon, but since they didn’t open until 11, we decided to ride Shoot the Rapids again while waiting. We went back, and it was closed for mechanical problems. I don’t think it ever opened again the rest of the day…water dummies were cycling every time I saw it. Lucky I got to ride it…I guess.

Later on, Thunder Canyon made me realize just how forgettable of a ride Shoot the Rapids is. It’s fast, fun, you jump up and down rapids, and constantly have the suspense of whether you will hit the waterfalls. For a very wet ride, THAT is how you want to get wet….not by water overflowing into your boat.

As for me, I got lightly wet on Shoot the Rapids in the back…a bit more than WWL, but a perfect amount for a warm day. I would not ride this in October though, and there is no incentive to anyway, as it just doesn’t add much to a CP trip. I could ride Paddlewheel Excursions and Wild Cat back-to-back, and they’d both provide a far more fulfilling experience than Shoot the Rapids.

In conclusion, I’m very disappointed with this ride, and I doubt I’ll ride it more than a handful of times in my lifetime…unless modifications are made. I feel like the ridership will decrease in the coming years once people ride it once…and unlike WWL, it will be closed altogether in the colder months due to lack of interest. In its current form, I’d give it a 4/10.

It’s sad to think about really. Cedar Point is known for having the best & most state-of-the-art rides around, and now they’re stuck with this in their park. So much time and money was invested into StR, and it honestly feels like a ride ripe for removal…as if it was built in 1982, and now is the time to remove it and build something better, more in line with our times. I mean, think about it…White Water Landing was built nearly 30 years ago, and it gave a better ride. What did Shoot the Rapids do to evolve the flume and make it more fun for a crowd 30 years older with much higher expectations?

Ffej said:
I sat right behind them. A ride operator came over and said I’d have to sit in the back of the boat, and I was separated from my friends.

I've been meaning to point this out for a while now but forgot until I read this. Holiday World also does this on Pilgrim's Plunge, which uses essentially the same boats. Although for some reason HW seemed to be putting bigger riders in the back, rather than the front like they've done on STR. It certainly seems to be an oversight in Intamin's boat design, but definitely not a practice that's limited to CP's ride.

Ffej - whether people agree or disagree with your opinion - you did a great job in your writeup! Well done!

I feel the same way about the ride.

I for one really like the ride. Once they get all the kinks worked out it will be much better.

Some of you need to remember this is a FAMILY ride. This is not meant for thrill seekers so of course you may not find it that fun.