Is shoot the rapids basically the same ride as Snake River Falls?

Well, he made that statement in 2003, when they were having major problems with TTD. Not sure that's an accurate representation of the park's current thoughts on the ride.

It all depends on how you are describing "failure". For example, I would say that Drachen Fire and Son of Beast were both failures overall, but Dragster was really only a failure in '03-'04. Was it worth the money? Probably not, since the first year is always the most important because that is when a ride is the most marketable.

Shoot the Rapids is off to a rough start, but we will have to wait until November to really say if it 'failed' in 2010.

just look at the expressions on peoples faces as dragster

slows down at the end. This is what a thrill ride should

do, and TTD does it in spades. Not a failure.

I'm pretty sure the statement regarding what Kinzel said was him referring to it being a financial failure....not a failure in terms of guest experience. So yea....:)

ok ok why are you guys just humiliating Cedar Point's new ride Shoot the Rapids? I have never ever been to the park and you guys are already dissing STR...and it just opened for 2010!!! Geeeezzz..what's wrong with the new ride..everything is wrong with it for a flume in every category is that what your saying? They would'nt have built this water ride in the first place...if they did'nt want a new type of flume that's a little more creative. Yes the boats look like Pilgrim's Plunge..and STR has some minor adjustments they need to fix for the last row of boats..but again why are you guys hating on the new ride???? Are you just going to sit back and see what CP builds next year and ignore the new ride? Some of you guys are now not making me want to go to CP..like the park is a failure..your saying even the Dragster's a failure. Come'on!!! I guess Millenium Force is a failure too eh...hahahahahahaha wake up people!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jamal said:
ok ok why are you guys just humiliating Cedar Point's new ride Shoot the Rapids? I have never ever been to the park and you guys are already dissing STR...and it just opened for 2010!!! Geeeezzz..what's wrong with the new ride..everything is wrong with it for a flume in every category is that what your saying? They would'nt have built this water ride in the first place...if they did'nt want a new type of flume that's a little more creative. Yes the boats look like Pilgrim's Plunge..and STR has some minor adjustments they need to fix for the last row of boats..but again why are you guys hating on the new ride???? Are you just going to sit back and see what CP builds next year and ignore the new ride? Some of you guys are now not making me want to go to CP..like the park is a failure..your saying even the Dragster's a failure. Come'on!!! I guess Millenium Force is a failure too eh...hahahahahahaha wake up people!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I also want to know really is STR really considered a Flume Ride or a Shoot the Chutes ride? And what are the special feature throughout the ride besides the two drops?

Holy drunken rant Batman.

Robin....hand me the bat decryption device.

HeyIsntThatRob? said:

We didn't sink and drown, so that was good. Other than that it was a pretty meh ride. Just like WWL was. I'm confident that if the water effects were turned off (especially the jets) that you would get WWL wet on this ride. So that's cool for the cooler months. The only bummer side was the boats. I really dislike the boats on both StR and Pilgrim's Plunge. I don't see why Magic Kingdom's Splash Mountain boats could have been copied in CP's case (and all the rows could have been used!). And the other downside of the boats is that it doesn't accommodate the smaller riders.

~Rob

First off, nice review Rob...this gave me some hope back for StR. However, your wetness opinion seems to be completely contrasting others, so now I'm not sure what to expect.

If StR gets you WWL wet, which was at most a small spash, then I'll be fine with it even if it's boring. However, I keep seeing over and over that the ride "drenches" or "soaks" you (and that even the splash downs are drenching)...and judging by the CP video release, this appears to be more of the case.

Would you say that StR is more of a spotty wetness like TC (btw, sorry, yes by WWC (last visited King's Island) I meant TC), so Rob may have just been "missed?"

Ffej. When I rode Saturday. I didn't get soaked at all. Just a wet back from ducking during the geyser someone shot at our boat. But I shouldn't have ducked, if I didn't I would have been almost completely dry. I was dry within the hour.

Looking at the Webcam, STR's queue looks full. I guess it has gone from failure to extraordinary success in just 1 day ;)

Captain Hawkeye said:
Looking at the Webcam, STR's queue looks full. I guess it has gone from failure to extraordinary success in just 1 day ;)

Yea, and I also don't see the ride running eather.

The commercial shoot was supposed to continue this afternoon. Which would explain why the ride looks "closed".

Ffej said:

If StR gets you WWL wet, which was at most a small spash, then I'll be fine with it even if it's boring. However, I keep seeing over and over that the ride "drenches" or "soaks" you (and that even the splash downs are drenching)...and judging by the CP video release, this appears to be more of the case.

It's possible that you could more or less get wet even with the water effects off. I didn't experience the wall of water that pours over the front of the boat and soaks those in the front row on the first drop. Now this could have been because I was one of two people in the boat, we both sat in the front row. I didn't get drenched until the final drop which I thought was due to the jets that may be aimed at the hull of the boat but I certainly felt the wetness of it. I did get the wall of water over the front row of the boat on the second drop, but again I'm attributing it to those water jets for the rapids effect.

I think Cedar Point did okay with this addition, but I think it could have been done better. I didn't think the themeing was anything that we haven't seen before. I thought it was themed as well as Maverick, Dragster (before they removed the tires and spoilers), and White Water Landing. There really wasn't anything surprising or ground breaking about StR on the surface, its just another ho-hum ride to me. Compare it to the addition of Maverick which was a small ride but packed a punch and included some surprises, StR was nothing more than a scenic tour of Millenium/StR's island.

~Rob

I was in this morning's commercial shoot and you DO get wet on this ride! At least where I sat..I was in row 2 for both camera shoots, the first time seat 1, the second time seat 2.

The misting in the tunnel got you moist-well got us all cold since it was kind of chilly out this morning. On hill 1, if you sit in the front your lap will get drenched. The boat nose dives and all the water comes flowing into the boat. It hit our feet after it got the people in the front good.

After that the waterfalls-if you sit on the left hand side of the boat you can get slammed 2x if boat stays to the left, only 1 waterfall on the right. HOW wet will depend on how far to the left or right the boat happens to be at that moment.

On the way to the 2nd hill are these innocent looking water cannons sitting there. These things wait until the perfect moment and with quite precise aim got the whole boat pretty well. They do NOT play!

The 2nd hill, you get hit with the sideways falls when you get to the bottom and the last splash isnt all that bad. Now if you've got someone willing to pay the 25 cents to use a water cannon at the end of the ride, that could be a different story. The good thing is people seem to be hitting it too soon, the bad thing is once the GP gets the hang of these things I suspect alot of people who think they got away without getting very wet will get a big surprise.
Even the camera crew was trying to use them today..their shooting skills better behind a camera then a water cannon, they too were shooting way too soon!

Is STRs better than SRFs? I believe so since there is so much more to STRs. If you just want to get wet and skip the candy, then SRFs is for you. Is it the same ride as SRFs? Not exactly...

Is STRs better than WWL? My absolute favorite part of WWL was over by the train station, the one tunnel that used to drip tons of water. It was always so fun to watch people try to duck out of the way of the water. I also liked the fact you didnt get terribly wet on WWL.

I can say by the riders reactions today that STRs is a nice little fit. It is really cool to be able to watch MF during its course on parts you rarely could see before.

I didnt know what I would think about the ride myself and was pleasantly surprised. I look forward to my next hot and humid day at CP because I will certainly head for STRS again! :)

Jo
Lifetime Raptor flights: 2031 :)

I have a wonderful idea for how everyone can form an opinion.

Ride it first. I wrote my opinion in the STR commercial thread.

Just got off the ride 24 hours ago , was in from Colorado to burry my Mom and be with family.

I have watched the entire ride be built this winter and was thrilled to see it develope into the visually neat thing on that corner.

But my reaction was this ride is a total turkey... If ya make it so that you dont get wet (which is quite easy while also allowing the neat visual effects) gramma and the kids will end up riding it. With the soak factor, all your gonna get is punk teens riding it.

I would take the pirate ride or earth quake as much more thrilling than this was in thier unique and awsome sort of way.

Absurdly slow, back 2 seats cant be used due to the boat balance factor, and just not that cool.....

Still a huge fan of the park had 2 fabulous days......

Excellent post Luv Raptor...I echo everything you said....Check out my post in the commerical thread.

In the shoot today did they still have the back row closed?

I was also in this morning's commercial shoot, and while we did get wet on this ride, it wasn't as wet as I was expecting. From the reviews I've read, I was preparing to get absolutely soaked but to my pleasure, I got refreshingly wet and was able to dry off in the sun in 15 minutes. (However, after they sent us on the boats for the 4th time, that was a different story...)

Overall, there are many pros and cons to the ride that could lead guests to form opinions as to whether it is a "success" or failure."

For one, it is indeed an absolute beauty from the midway. It's quite the sight to see and is a much refreshed look for that part of the trail. They were testing it all morning without some of the effects on and it looked magnificent. However, when they turned the sprayers on at the bottom of the hill and the water cascaded over the rocks, it just added something brilliant to the ride's atmosphere and look.

Second, I'm still on the fence about this one. The ride's layout, IMO, was a bit more boring than expected. As was stated before, I would have hoped CP could have done a little more with some of the slower moments during the ride. The theming looks nice; however, I didn't think it was anything spectacular. It certainly gives you something to look at, but I wouldn't say that it was their best theming on a ride. Love the story line, though.

The two hills were very nice. I enjoyed the first more than the second one. You'll get mildly wet on the first hill; the boat will skim along the water and then the front will finally dip in towards the end of the stretch. On the second hill, dryness is not an option - you will get wet.

Again, the waterfall effects are a small spinoff of Thunder Canyons, however I prefer the thrill of the "is it going to get me this time?" on Thunder Canyon more than the automatic hits on StR. After riding it 5 times, the boats are timed to bank off the right and flow to the left, causing the person on the left to get showered by the second waterfall. (Riders on the right can almost duck out of the way to avoid their waterfalls...)

The "water surprise" at the base of the 2nd lift hill was a nice surprise; however, the ride broke down causing us to stop there for about 10 minutes and a few boats lined up behind us, triggering the water to go off and off and off. Understandable, but our boat was filling up quick.

Overall, it's worth a check out. It's definitely for some people. If you're in the mood, it's a good cool off. I think it really is just exciting the first time you go on it. I think I've had enough for the season, but I can't say for sure that the July heat won't bring me back to that wild river for a another spin...