Cedar Point Announces New Water Ride for 2010 Season

After watching the latest PointCast, I'm less concerned about the theme elements and question of the soak factor.

And Cn3rd, what were you expecting TC to be? Its a river rapids ride - they're designed to be like that. And redundancy? Please tell me you're being sarcastic. After all, CP has 17 coasters with hills on which you don't get wet. That, by your own definition, is redundant. Tear 16 of them down!

Get To The Point said:
I am still the most suprised about how short the layout of the ride seems to be. I understand the need for a family attraction, but I wish this ride would have incorporated some type of new flume technology or a more exciting layout. From the pictures on the CP website it seems like WWL was longer and had a more exciting layout.

It is not a short layout. White Water Landing was only a couple hundred feet longer at 2,370 feet, and at the time it was built it was advertised as the longest hydro-flume ever built. Shoot The Rapids is well above average in length in my opinion.

As far as excitement, the 85 foot drop will provide lots of thrills and the final drop into the rocks and rapids looks very cool. And, I think there will be a nice story line and some themed elements not apparent yet.

I think you skeptics will be very surprised how much fun this ride will turn out to be.

djDaemon said:
After watching the latest PointCast, I'm less concerned about the theme elements and question of the soak factor.

That's my biggest concern now as well. Flumes aren't supposed to be soaking rides.

I was expecting it to be exactly what I described. I don't see the wow factor in rounding a bend and seeing another waterfall. I'm not complaining about getting wet on that as its expected and if you don't think you will get wet, you are blind.

My issue is that we will have a third soaker ride. If you sit outside of Snake River Falls or Thunder Canyon you don't really see families interested in riding. Mainly kids in the age range of 9-17 with the exception of the whacky aunt. WWL on the other hand was full of families. Huge groups of them that all rode together or in two separate boats. Grandma and Grandpa could ride without soaking the 'ol hearing aid.

I'm not buying the family ride line anymore.

What you won't see on Shoot the Rapids.

Seriously. Click through the gallery.

How do people define a "family ride?" What is the expected height requirement for a family ride? Do multiple people need to ride together in the same car/vehicle for it to be a family ride? How thrilling can a ride be and still be a family ride? Other requirements for family ride status?

I don't ride water rides outside of water parks so I don't know the answer to the next question. But what have the lines been like on the existing water rides in recent years (at least since White Water Landing was closed)? Presumably CP believes the demand is there for another water ride. I don't think I have ridden any of the existing water rides so I don't know if this new one is sufficiently different from the existing ones to provide anything other than increased water ride capacity. And maybe this ride will do to the other existing water rides in the park what the newer/bigger coaster have done to other certain other coasters in the park: make the lines shorter. Though unlike with coasters (which I doubt they would want to remove when ridership falls), the long term plan may be to remove one of the existing water rides down the line and replace it with a different ride updating the water ride line up in the process.

I hope we never ever see anything that approaches a Splash Mountain in terms of theming. Disney doesn't have a single ride that even approaches CP's rides in terms of the actual ride. And they have spent as much or more than CP on those rides. To me, theming is just lights, buzzers and bells. Spend the additional money making the ride itself better.

GoBucks89 said:
Disney doesn't have a single ride that even approaches CP's rides in terms of the actual ride.

Apparently you've never been to Disney.

Yeah.. Splash Mountain is pretty damn awesome.

I think it looks like fun. It will really activate that section of the park in a way that it is not currently, and will create perhaps a 'critical mass' of water attractions. Like others have said, I'll get a locker or dress accordingly if I get to hop on 3 water rides instead of just two. I can't imagine that I'll ride it every time I go to the park, but it will certainly get a spin or two from me next season.

Another reason I'm satisfied with it is that I think it was a clever use of the space. Both of the hills utilize the airspace over the lagoon, and the transition between island and mainland should be interesting. Overall, the footprint seems fairly minimal and appropriate for the space. While I agree that a wooden coaster could have been wedged back there, it would have changed the atmosphere of the space dramatically, and I like the relative calm that the area offers. Plus, it will be great to be able to get such a good look at MF from that vantage point; I'm looking forward to experiencing that section of the coaster off-ride. I also like the fact that the station is on the mainland, and that you can be on the island, but only while being on a ride of some sort.

So yeah, the experience of this space in this manner is going to be a big draw for me.

JuggaLotus said:

GoBucks89 said:
Disney doesn't have a single ride that even approaches CP's rides in terms of the actual ride.

Apparently you've never been to Disney.

I have and was not impressed. I agree with GoBucks89. The only one that I remember as being somewhat cool was the Buzz Lightyear ride. And that was because they gave you something to do (laser tag) while you were riding the boring ride.

JuggaLotus said:

GoBucks89 said:
Disney doesn't have a single ride that even approaches CP's rides in terms of the actual ride.

Apparently you've never been to Disney.

Was there in June. Rode pretty much every big ride in all 4 parks. Found all of them to be pretty boring. Soarin' was interesting but there is no repeat ride value in it. Tower of Terror had interesting moments. But the theming should have been junked and the ride made twice as high and long instead. You can have the rest of the rides. And their coasters are all a total joke.

Having not been to Disney for about 20-25 years, I had forgotten why I stopped going. But after going on 2-3 rides, it all came back to me. I don't like theme parks; I like amusement parks. My wife and daugther loved the theme aspect (though neither of them like the big rides at amusement parks). My son and I dislike theming and were both pretty bored with all of the rides at Disney.

And don't get me wrong, Disney has beautiful parks. Extremely clean and very picturesque (I came back with hundreds of incredible pictures in large part because I could carry around my dSLR and take it on all of the rides (which again, to me, says alot about how good/intense the rides are)). Service is amazing. And they move people through the quick service food lines more efficiently than any other place I have seen. But its a been there, done that at this point. Box is checked. No interest in going back though we did tell our kids we would come back with their kids in 20 years.

Cedarpoint may have more thrilling rides, but I seem too enjoy the rides at Disney more. I don't know why, but I think the theming does it for me. I could ride pirats of the caribean at disneyland all day.

Anyhoo, back on topic.

I am not too impressed with the boats they are using on this ride. I wish they would have used these instead.....

http://coasterbuzz.com/Forums/Thread/56388.aspx?id=786960

decil76 said:

JuggaLotus said:

GoBucks89 said:
Disney doesn't have a single ride that even approaches CP's rides in terms of the actual ride.

Apparently you've never been to Disney.

I have and was not impressed. I agree with GoBucks89. The only one that I remember as being somewhat cool was the Buzz Lightyear ride. And that was because they gave you something to do (laser tag) while you were riding the boring ride.

There were a lot of rides at Disney on which I had a lot of fun. But it was having fun with my wife and kids, acting silly (which we do driving down the highway in our car, in the backyard with the dog, etc.) that was fun not the ride itself.

I know a lot of people who really like theming. I see a lot of them posting in these threads. And I understand that parks may want to cater to them to some degree or another. And I suspect CP will need to do so to a larger degree as they try to continue to grow in a region that is not growing.

DA20Pilot said:
I have to say I am quite disappointed in the ride. . .

But I wanted something at least as good as, and hopefully better than White Water Landing.

IMHO, this is the first pooch-screwing of a major new attraction at CP in a long, long time. There was an opportunity to build something great that exceeded its predecessor, but instead we have something entirely mediocre that lacks the charm of a true flume ride. . .

Reading some of the earlier posts in this thread about how this ride is nothing more than SRFx2, and not really a "flume" ride, I was a bit skeptical of these sentiments. But now that I've seen the artwork and the POV, I agree wholeheartedly.

Bingo! (to the last paragraph)

No matter what the park says this is not a replacement for WWL, it is a replacement for SRF.

And the question becomes what will they put in the space SRF uses? Intamin reverse flume? Dive Machine? Bumper Boats? :)

It is interesting to read everyones view points concerning the new ride.The younger generation were looking for a ride that is exciting and thrilling and I cant blame them.On the other hand there are the Moms and Dads(me being one of them) saying that Cedar Point is now helping fill a void with that group.
As stated there are families that have younger children that are either too small or just are not ready for the larger coasters.I have a 7 years old who we took this summer and tried a few and was not quite ready for them(he rode Blue streak and Iron Dragon.Kids have their comfort level and if parents force them on rides that they are not ready for it will scare them for many years to come(I know from experience).
However here is a good point.When the news came out I was visiting my parents.We began discussing the park and how it has changed over the years(last time they visited was in 1976.New coasters,new flat rides new places to eat(love the snoopy restaurant--forgets name).Since they are up in age and not able to handle the active rides this is something that they are looking forward to.WHY?Because it is a ride that THEY will beable to enjoy with their son,daughter-in-law and grandchildren TOGETHER.Not standing on the midway watching from a park bench and waiting for the second when they come past to take a photograph of them.
I think this is what Cedar Point had in mind when they planned this ride and I am sure that it will succeed in its mission.Bringing generations together and allowing familes to spend time together.
Now I am sure Ill get flamed for this post but since I have read everyone elses post I hope that Ill get at least one agreement on this.If not no big deal Im happy with the decision they made.

Personally, I think it should completely soak you. If your underwear and socks aren't wet, then the ride is a failure. ;)

Media Day (assuming there will be one) will be interesting. In years past, it hasn't been the warmest of days.

Does anyone know if there was a Snake River Falls or Thunder Canyon media day?

My definition of a family ride is like the antique cars and paddle wheel excursions and the merry go round and the train ride and possibly the bumper cars not some thing that gose up like 90 ft in the air and gets you really soaked.
I think it was really mislabled by CP.

Captain Crunch said:
Anyone think that "Whyte Lightning" was the original name and it was scrapped for some reason. Maybe they're saving it for a coaster or they didn't want a family ride with an alcohol-inspired name??

Just like Mantis was gonna be called banshee but the CP did not anything related to a death theme

Once upon a time....there was a family park named Disney world. It was very popular because all the other parks wanted to be exactly like it. Then one fine day the other parks realized they could barely or never live up to the greatness that Disney was. So they all became failures right away, and all their rides were labeled as sucky, boring, too short, or too wild. The end. :)

This just in:

Apparently the old saying it true. You can't please all of the people all of the time.

I like coaster parks and I like theme parks. Go figure. I like Disney for what it is and I like Cedar Point for what it is. I'm impressed with Disney for trying to address the teen/young adult crowd with more thrill rides and I think they succeeded with the likes of Rock N Rollercoaster, Expedition Everest, Mission Space, Tower of Terror, etc. I have not been impressed with Cedar Point to date for expanding to the "family" element but this seems to be a good start.