Shoot the Rapids still not running fully loaded boats

I agree that WWL's troughs needed maintenance, but I think the bulk of the cost of operating the ride came from the pumps required to run the ride. Especially when water had to be pumped 50 ft up to give enough volume to run down two chutes for the final drop.

That's not to say that StR doesn't have it's fair share of pumps to run the ride, but I'm sure the energy usage wasn't as high as WWL. Although we are talking about an Intamin ride so maybe is uses more!

Looking at the progression of Intamin's "flumes" from Giraffica, to StR, and then to Divertical, I think Intamin conceded that their boats belong on a track as very little of the ride is actually a flume.

~Rob

Shoot the Rapids design flaws and the keystone cops attempts to rectify them always reminded me of 'Bart the mother':

"Well, I was wrong. The lizards are a godsend."
"But isn't that a bit short-sighted? What happens when we're overrun by lizards?"
"No problem. We simply unleash wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the lizards."
"But aren't the snakes even worse?"
"Yes, but we're prepared for that. We've lined up a fabulous type of gorilla that thrives on snake meat."
"But then we're stuck with gorillas!"
"No, that's the beautiful part. When wintertime rolls around, the gorillas simply freeze to death."

Rob is on to something there about the power...

Recall that Thunder Canyon is, or at least was, the biggest power consumer in the park, and its pumps only have to lift about 15'. All of the water used to run the flume on White Water Landing had to be pumped up 40' in enough volume to keep the channel full. On Shoot The Rapids, only enough water for show has to be pumped; all the elevated portions of the ride are using roller coaster track. As for why Shoot the Rapids has more conventional lift hills...note that the lift hills are high enough for the Paddlewheel boats to clear.

That doesn't change the fact that Shoot the Rapids is a lousy design which yields a not very impressive ride. I dare say the Hafema and Hopkins rides at the Columbus Zoo are more interesting, maybe even more reliable.

I also think flume rides are an area where Arrow Dynamics is sorely missed. Karl Bacon had all the necessary details worked out, so Arrow flumes are fast, and the flow carries the boats instead of making them bang all over the place. Just compare the flume at Kennywood, which is an Arrow ride, to the one at Kings Island, which is a Hopkins ride following the path of an old Arrow ride, and notice how much better the Arrow ride runs...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

All excellent points, as usual.

darkrider68 said:

3snoH un=l said:
The ride was down in the heat of the day Saturday when we were going to ride it. I don't know what the issue was, how long it was down, and if this happens frequently.

I was there at that time as well, wonder if we walked past each other. I left the park after that. Had plans with the gf, plus not fond of saturday crowds.

why did you even go on a Saturday then? :)

Also, someone has mentioned getting too wet on STR, actually when I ride and sit in the middle or back, I find you barely get wet, but when you sit in the front row, you get soaked.....

Thunder Canyon uses more power than our 2 LIM coasters and Hydraulic Launch coaster? That's incredible!

Kevinj said:
Nope. WWL was a family ride. They couldn't even get the family part right.

+20

Vette said:
Thunder Canyon uses more power than our 2 LIM coasters and Hydraulic Launch coaster? That's incredible!

I think that's where the "or at least was" part comes in.

But remember too, those rides use energy in bursts, or at least charge a system and then sit idle waiting for the energy to be used.

TC is running its pumps constantly from open until after close.

Just think...that ride has to pump that water in from lake Erie every day, and then it's pumped out every night. Also mind you the wave generator area and platform itself all draw current. It does consume quite a bit of money...when I was there it was mentioned that it did consume the most power daily/hourly

Do you think it would be that crazy to think that Thunder Canyon might not be here for too much longer? When ever I go I never see many people in line or it's closed. Plus it takes up a huge plot of land.

I like Thunder Canyon, but I always "rinse off" the Erie water on STR or SRF.

Speaking of Thunder Canyon, is the observation deck still closed this year? Or did they find a way to make it handicap accessible and re-open it?

I like TC, it's actually my favorite of the 3 water rides at the park. I know the water is disgusting, but I'd hate to see it go. I know it seems that rides like these are starting to become a dying breed, but I hope Ouimet realizes the uniqueness and level of fun TC provides. And usually it's fairly busy on warm days.

Back to the whole CF-Intamin conflicts, I also wouldn't be surprised if we don't hear anything from Intamin at a CF park anytime soon. This actually upsets me since even though I love a good amount of B&M coasters (went to KI for the 1st time the other day, and I think Diamondback might have slipped into my #1 favorite B&M spot), I love Intamins. I really hope Ouimet tries to repair the 2 companies' relationship since everything Intamin creates (except StR) is brilliant, IMO. Sure, they can be maintenance nightmares, but they usually create the most memorable rides. But for the next decade I think adding more B&Ms across all the parks wouldn't be a bad thing...You need some balance in ride lineups. I also wouldn't be surprised if CF starts to have RMC start on some projects...Hint Hint...Nudge Nudge...

t2fastspin said:
I like Thunder Canyon, but I always "rinse off" the Erie water on STR or SRF.

Snake River Falls uses the same lake water as Thunder Canyon. Best ride STR after you ride the other two.

No they don't they are separate.

Thunder Canyon / Lake Erie Water

Snake River Falls / Chlorinated Filtered Water (i.e. pool water)

Shoot the Rapids / Chlorinated Filtered Water (i.e. pool water)

Snake river is chlorinated? I always thought it was lake water. Learn something new very day.

Rotunda_Chillin said:
Speaking of Thunder Canyon, is the observation deck still closed this year? Or did they find a way to make it handicap accessible and re-open it?

It is closed again this year.

The Thunder Canyon observation deck is closed due to accessibility issues? How wasn't that an issue before? I find it hard to believe that CP can't find a way to build a "proper" ramp up to the platform. While they're at it, why not build some coin-operated water cannons? Most other rapids rides have them.

We were kind of surprised at that as well. It was somewhat understandable that a proper fix didn't happen last season since there were so many adjustments to be made all over the park. Apparently they didn't feel it to be a priority and/or worth the effort this year. It's kind of a shame.

Is the bridge at Snake River Falls closed too because an advocate for the disabled could claim that is an experience someone who is disabled cannot have just as the observation deck at Thunder Canyon is. Sensitivity run amok.