Forbidden Frontier on Adventure Island

I was thinking of the stretches of flume like between the station and the first lift. There didn’t seem to be any downward slope at all to that section and it was painfully slow. I thought pumps were forcing the flow of water there. But maybe my memory is fuzzy.

Nope. Just crappy design by Intaride.

Ah, the memories.

On StR there were pumps moving water from the base of each lift hill (which is the end/bottom of each trough/flume) to the beginning/top of each trough/flume, where it would travel back down the gentle slope of the trough toward the base of the lift. The pump buildings are still there next to where each lift was.

Which is the same as WWL's elevated flume sections, only at ground level. And the same is true of Thunder Canyon, which is why you see water rushing downhill in the videos showing that ride filling. And there's a pump house near TC's lift.

Or I guess I should say, that's how I've always presumed these things work.

I can count on one hand the Cedar Point rides that I never took even one spin on, since 1962. Shoot the Rapids II is one of them. And one of the reasons is that I tend to make my visits in early spring or late fall and it wasn’t open. Another is that there was occasional trouble and unreliability and long lines. Another is that it looked like a crashing bore. But I always thought there would be a good day where everything lined up and I’d finally get on it. Guess not.

Kevinj:

"Pumping water cost" wasn't an insurmountable obstacle back in 2010, and I doubt, unlike steel, the price of water (or how to move it from point A to point B, fluctuates.

Moving it from A to B has likely increased quite a bit since 2010. I am betting the park pays a lot more for electricity now as compared to 2010.

Kevinj:

Whereas the classic way log flumes removed water from the boats was...**drumroll**...drilling holes in the boats.

Actually most log flumes use a duck valve made of rubber. It allows water to go out while going up the lift hills via gravity and seals itself when in the flume.

STR used bilge pumps that were powered in the station.

That sounds like the most Intamin thing ever. Were there major issues with using a duck valve?

I recall that the boats were just a copy of Pilgrim's Plunge boats. There wasn't an inclined lift, so there was no way to make sure water exited the boat at points of the ride as opposed to rides with inclined lifts. So using pumps that were activated in the station made the most sense. Wonder why it wasn't a combination of both for StR, duck valve and/or pumps?

Never in my life would I have imagined that duck valves would be brought up on this site. I have bought some of those in the past, unfortunately not for an amusement park application.

That's just vague enough to be slightly disturbing. ;-)

HeyIsntThatRob?:

I recall that the boats were just a copy of Pilgrim's Plunge boats.

Interesting, thanks. Bizarre that it made more sense to directly copy those rather than use a simpler, proven method.

That’s the Intamin way.

I mean... why do you think the green train on MF didn't have upstop wheels? Another carryover design, one has to assume.

I'm in the same "boat" with RCMAC as he posted above, and for many of the same reasons. I never rode STR 2 but as a youngster I rode STR 1 and Mill Race. Which leads me to this question that some of you former ride operators or people in the know can answer.

Is there an inordinate amount of hand injuries reported on these types of rides? I am recalling how tempting it was to reach out into the water and can imagine hands being pinched between the boat and the flume. Just a random thought while I sit tight over lunch.

Following RMC announcement of their family coaster today. I revise what I think should go on the island to create a new family friendly land:

This could tie-in nicely with the family-friendly flume.

Girls missed hanging out with Otis this year. Hope he found a new farm.

I raise your flume and propose the best of both worlds. A family friendly coaster that gets you wet:

So, what's hilarious about that ride is that Six Flags Over Texas opened Aquaman this year. Aquaman is a Mack PowerSplash. So this ride in Georgia must be a Mack right? Nope. It's an Intamin Ultra Splash. Six Flags apparently was so unhappy with Mack that they went with another company.

Intamin's model has only 1 train and a listed capacity of 864 pph. It will be the first one they've built.

Or, the more likely scenario - Intamin came in at a lower price point than Mack, and Six Flags decided to save a few bucks and try something new.

Mack rides are very expensive.

Was there enough time between the construction/opening of Aquaman and the commitment to the Ultra Splash for that to influence their decision?

And do you think they're having second thoughts after Catapult Falls' opening had to be delayed until next season? Because I'd sure be sweating right now if I was the SF person who made the call to go with Intamin.

Having worked part of a season on the original Shoot the Rapids, I can attest that it wasn't unusual for people to get beat up on that thing if they didn't hold on and keep their friggin hands in the boat. It was also common (at least when I was there) for boats to climb the sidewall at the end of the first major drop and get hung up there. That e stop button on the main lift hill would get a workout.....