Shoot the Rapids 2012

With it being in the 90s lately, has Shoot the Rapids had a full queue? I know Thunder Canyon and Snake River Falls probably have, but what about Shoot the Rapids?

Tilt-a-Whirl said:
I really am disappointed with STR. While I understand there was a gap in the attraction lineup as far as flumes go, this is probably the point's biggest mistake in capital dollars since Disaster Transport.

With so much technology out there today, I can only imagine that the 10.5 million investment could have been used a little more creatively. The ride is boring, and should have a much lower height requirement.

Well, this is what WB Movie World got for their 18 million investment.

http://youtu.be/8fNWpJrPHG0

This ride would've went perfect where Maverick is.

Yeah that would have been a great investment remove a log flume only to put a flume in the exact same spot.

Well it was a great spot for a log fume and in a very picturesque location for a mountain. I think we can trust that people would notice the freaking mountain, new name, in-park advertisements for it and conclude that it's a new attraction. To me, replacing an old ride with a newer superior version of it is a good investment and also ensures that you don't leave any gaps (like not having a log fume in the park). For example, if they ever remove Mean Streak to put in a better wood coaster, I'd consider that a good investment.

Adding some actual rapids in the flume will add a few points to the excitement level. I definitely miss White Water Landing!

I would love to know how satisfied they are with the final product they got with Shoot the Rapids!

One advantage with STR versus Frightful Falls (and similar, fast-moving flumes): less side-to-side slamming. I prefer not having my knees or elbows whacking the sides of the boat every few seconds.

Still, it would be nice to get some action in that placid area between the two drops. Some whitewater effects like hydro jets or bubblers, just to liven it up.

Standing in line for STR now. Anyone know why they're not loading the middle row on any of the boats? I would've thought the sinking issue would've been soved by now!

I would bet it has something to do with buoyancy during/after splashdowns. Obviously they need to reduce total weight, and the only way to do that while maintaining balance of the craft is to keep the middle row empty.

I don't know the exact reason, just the originating reason:

Intamin is stupid.

That's the short explanation.

Intamin isn't stupid. I doubt you could build a 420 foot coaster

Maybe stupid isn't the right word, but makes poor choices is better. Seriously, the water ride they built is not a new type of ride, but rather simply over-engineered. What was wrong with the log rides that have been built before?

Flume rides have been around for a century. They didn't get it right.

Stupid is as stupid builds a flume ride.

^Making the boats to heavy to float & not verifying that the ride vehicles were the right length to allow them to actually, you know, move... well that certainly fits my definition of 'stupid'.

I'm officially calling it, henceforth, "Stupid the Rapids".

I'm not giving Intamin a pass for this problematic and disappointing ride, but if CP wanted to play it safe, they could have chosen one of Intamin's classic flume rides or another proven alternative:

http://www.intaminworldwide.com/amusement/WaterRides/tabid/108/lang...fault.aspx

They went with a prototype "spillwater" water ride for whatever reason. While taking a risk with MF, TTD, WT, and Maverick arguably paid off, things didn't work out here.

I'd love to sit down with CP management and ask them why they chose this ride. The description for the "spillwater" concept makes it sound like it's designed more for a heavily themed park.

I thought StR looked boring and uninspired from the first second I saw it unveiled. Even if the ride had worked flawlessly, it'd still be a dud as is.

If CP wanted to gamble, they should have done so with an Aquatrax or reversing boat ride, which appear to add some excitement to classic water rides. This ride decision and the outcome frustrate me to no end.

I agree, I think Shoot the Rapids was one of the worst decisions made my Cedar Point in the past decade. I think the location is great, but the ride just doesn't meet standards. I've ridden it once, I've had no desire to ride it since. I think an AquaTrax would have been much better.

CedarPointTaylor said:
Intamin isn't stupid. I doubt you could build a 420 foot coaster

Anyone with a few engineering textbooks can design a 420 tower with some coaster track on it.

But apparently it takes a team of seasoned rocket scientists to create an 85' tall log flume where the boats don't sink.

I totally forgot to talk about my experience on it last month. They were loading the boats in an extremely odd configuration, alternating passengers on some boats, putting them side-by-side on others, leaving the second to last row empty, but filling the last row with one person.

I just don't get it. At one point, they had us move three times, and we were still in the loading gates. We ended up in the front row and STILL got the deluge of water over the front of the boat, even though the new rubber "guards" were added. And the water STILL pooled up inside the boat.

I was under the impression that the boats were fixed over the winter. Apparently not. This ride has always been, and always will be a lemon. TAEr It DOWn!!#R%$

When I rode it on 7/19, we were the only 3 people on the ride (it was sadly cycling empty boats every time we saw it run).

But, I sat in the front, and my 2 friends sat in the 2nd row. Our bars were locked down, ready to go, and then they opened them and made 1 friend move up front with me.

I wonder if there is a balance warning or something coming up? There has to be a reason for all these odd loading patterns.

:dreaming:

Anyway, I was wondering if they could salvage this investment by turning it into a hybrid Aquatrax coaster where the ride gets boring. Just connect steel track from the bottom of the first drop through to the 2nd drop lift with some bunny hills and twisty Maverick turns through the canyon, etc. Then, the final hill can actually serve as a climax, as it'll be the only hill into a floating water splash down.

CP would have an extremely unique flume>coaster>flume ride, they could rename it, add more of a theme, and it'd be a year's new big attraction. They could save a huge part of the original investment, and I can't imagine the new work would cost more than $5 million. +1 coaster count, +1 Intamin hit, +1 Fast Lane ride

:end dreaming: :)