Shoot the Rapids ride experience
Well I tried to look around for topics relating to the overall ride experience of Shoot the Rapids. I couldn't really find anything so I figured I'd share a little information. Ever since Shoot the Rapids opened last season, I've loved it! In my opinion, it's almost similar to what White Water Landing used to be. You don't get as wet as you do both Thunder Canyon and Snake River Falls. That's the cool part about it. I also wanted to add that if anybody has the chance, ride Shoot the Rapids at night. Going through the first tunnel as you pull out, you cannot see a thing because everything is very misty and dark. It's almost like going through the fog during Hallo weekends. Anyway though, share your thoughts about what you like about Shoot the Rapids.
My favorite parts of Shoot the rapids is planning what pose to use for the picture on the first drop, and the tunnel.
The only thing I REALLY DISLIKE about STR is the fact that there is almost ZERO foliage. That is one thing that White Water Landing had that STR does not.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doU-ygkQy4o
Watch the video, and you will see that throughout most of the ride, you can't even see any park of the park. It was just so nice to have all the trees around on that ride.
The only time you can't see the park on STR is when you go into the mist tunnel.
I actually like it. The actual course itself has more elements and surprises than WWL. Of course on the downside, one of the last remaining sections of real trees/woods was turned into a big concrete pool. I think people's expectation of some intense thrill ride is where the disappointment came from. Give it another decade and I bet it'll be rather forgotten, but highly ridden.
My favorite part of Shoot the Rapids is going up the first hill and then plummeting down. Yes there isn't much foliage as of now, but wait 10 years from now, and I'm sure it will fill in nicely.
SSL488 said:
The only thing I REALLY DISLIKE about STR is the fact that there is almost ZERO foliage. That is one thing that White Water Landing had that STR does not.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doU-ygkQy4o
Watch the video, and you will see that throughout most of the ride, you can't even see any park of the park. It was just so nice to have all the trees around on that ride.
The only time you can't see the park on STR is when you go into the mist tunnel.
I remember quite clearly that WWL had no foilage around when it was first built either. In case your not old enough to remember...
One of the nicer touches at Shoot the Rapids is the whole truck/dock scene by the first tunnel. It looks rather pleasant at night from Paddlewheel with the glowing lanterns on the dock. Too bad we won't have that view anymore...
"Thank the Phoenicians!"
Sorry to disagree but I rode it on Thursday with my niece and we both pretty much hated it. The water moves way too slow and much of the ride is completely boring. The water rides at Cedar Point 20 years ago had faster moving currents then Shoot The Rapids does. The whole ride is the hill. The rest of the ride is worthless
Steve1984 said:
The water rides at Cedar Point 20 years ago had faster moving currents then Shoot The Rapids does. The whole ride is the hill. The rest of the ride is worthless
WWL moved at a rather slow current as well, with only one drop. The rest of it was drifting around the ground after the tunnel, and flowing through the elevated trough before the big drop. STR enters a tunnel at the start similar to WWL, takes you up to the first of TWO drops.
STR may be a little shorter in length, but it gives the same if not more excitment rating as WWL. I know it sounds like a long time, but give STR 5-10 years and it will be a nice attraction with the brush and vegetation grown in. The ride still has a a lot of potential, the park can still add another tunnel on the island portion somewhere.
It sounds silly to add to a western themed ride, but those new dinosaurs should be added to a segment of the attraction.
Shawn Meyer said:
Shoot the Rapids closes at 9:00 pm. Maybe that's why it's been closed for you. Just a thought.
I went a lot in the middle of summer when it didn't get completely dark until around 10, so that would be why I don't have a night ride.
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kylepark said:
Steve1984 said:
The water rides at Cedar Point 20 years ago had faster moving currents then Shoot The Rapids does. The whole ride is the hill. The rest of the ride is worthlessWWL moved at a rather slow current as well, with only one drop. The rest of it was drifting around the ground after the tunnel, and flowing through the elevated trough before the big drop. STR enters a tunnel at the start similar to WWL, takes you up to the first of TWO drops.
STR may be a little shorter in length, but it gives the same if not more excitment rating as WWL. I know it sounds like a long time, but give STR 5-10 years and it will be a nice attraction with the brush and vegetation grown in. The ride still has a a lot of potential, the park can still add another tunnel on the island portion somewhere.
It sounds silly to add to a western themed ride, but those new dinosaurs should be added to a segment of the attraction.
I am probably old for this board (49) but I remember the original Shoot the Rapids and The Mill Race water rides. They probably werent as good as my memory thinks but those rides seemed to be a lot more fun then the current Shoot The Rapids to me
Part of that comes from the feeling that rides like Mill Race and especially White Water Landing feel like they "went somewhere" instead of essentially slowly lining up for two large drops like the current Shoot the Rapids. In this sense Shoot the Rapids is more like Snake River Falls (slow drifting to a drop, then slow drifting to the station) than the older flumes.
"Thank the Phoenicians!"
I like the view you get when you go down the first drop and through the turns. From the boat view, you feel even with the grass which to me is neat.
I just wish something could be done with the boat so the back seat rider's body doesn't completely go under water. When the boats go down the hill (mostly on the 2nd) the boats stern dips into the water which results in a nice pants full of water for the riders.
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My opinion of StR went up this year after the changes to the ride. However, after visiting Kennywood, Dorney, and King's Dominion (I don't think their flumes are even highly regarded?), I realize why StR is a let down.
StR really breaks the mold of flumes in a bad way. All the flume rides I have ridden recently shared this formula: fast-paced, personal boats, no restraints, lightly wet. All these qualities are what make flumes a really fun experience in my opinion.
Shoot the Rapids does the exact opposite of all the defining qualities. The slow pace makes the ride dull, the group boats remove the personal feel, the restraints remove the old-fashioned charm, and the high level of wetness is annoying, causing early closings and rides only on hot days.
pointperson said:
I just wish something could be done with the boat so the back seat rider's body doesn't completely go under water. When the boats go down the hill (mostly on the 2nd) the boats stern dips into the water which results in a nice pants full of water for the riders.
I agree. There needs to be a shield or something on the back of the boat. I sat in the back on Saturday, if it weren't 92 degrees out, I would have been soaked the whole day.
The sequence of the ride experience on STR seems out of order in my opinion. Having a small drop as the final part of the ride really isn't appealing. It would be much more appealing to have a gigantic 85 ft drop at the end of the ride.
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