Shoot the Rapids?

^Agreed.

My personal approach:
-Do an evening at Soak City, then wear your swim trunks/clothes you don't care to get wet into the park and ride the three water rides or whatever water rides you want to ride Head back out to the Soak City lot. Change. Come back in and finish off the evening.

-Get a locker with a fresh change of clothes. Ride the rides, remove the wet clothes, put on the dry ones. Piece of cake!

That's basically what we do. We'll hit up morning ERT in our street clothes, then head out and change into swim gear, then hit the water rides a few times each before heading to SC.

The water rides close at 8 if i remember correctly.

^depends on crowds/weather. STR does not get you that wet people. It's wetter than WWL but much dryer than SRF and TC.

I always see people come off STR drenched.

You get drenched if you stand on the bridge as a boat comes down the final drop. How wet you get on the actual ride varies based on your seat and how the boat is loaded.

I've gotten soaked pretty good on a few rides but have also managed to only get splashed pretty good on other rides.

CoasterKid20 said:
^Agreed.

My personal approach:
-Do an evening at Soak City, then wear your swim trunks/clothes you don't care to get wet into the park and ride the three water rides or whatever water rides you want to ride Head back out to the Soak City lot. Change. Come back in and finish off the evening.

-Get a locker with a fresh change of clothes. Ride the rides, remove the wet clothes, put on the dry ones. Piece of cake!

Last visit we went in the afternoon and rode Thunder Canyon & Snake River Falls in our bathing suits several times and got soaked (STR was a 45 min wait so we didn't do that). Then we spent the night at Soak City until closing. It was nice to have chlorine rinse off the stinky CP water :)

djDaemon said:
To me, having a water ride that doesn't get you wet is ridiculous.

If you're spending money pumping thousands of gallons of water, and no one is getting wet, you've just built a fountain. A $10.5 million fountain.

Thanks for the clarification DJ. I guess any ride such as flume rides, Mack custom rides, or anything you get just damp on are a waste of money.

CPboy77 said:
^depends on crowds/weather. STR does not get you that wet people. It's wetter than WWL but much dryer than SRF and TC.

What's your definition of "that wet"? Last time I rode it water poured on us though the "canyon area". Is that shut off sometimes?

coasterJay said:
Thanks for the clarification DJ. I guess any ride such as flume rides, Mack custom rides, or anything you get just damp on are a waste of money.

How many flume rides have been built in the last decade?

If they were a wise investment, the number you come up with would likely be greater.

djDaemon said:

How many flume rides have been built in the last decade?

If they were a wise investment, the number you come up with would likely be greater.

How do you determine they aren't a wise investment? Was STR a wise investment? I've seen longer lines for WWL then I've ever seen for STR. Sure on a hot day many people might want to ride STR, SRF or TC - but from what I've seen those other rides can run on days with average temperatures and still get ridership - so what's your definition of "wise investment"?

You referenced "flume rides" in a context that suggests you were referring to rides like the old Arrow fiberglass log flumes. Those rides aren't being built anymore, which is a very strong indication that they're not wise investments.

And it's always amusing to me how popular WWL is in some people's memory. ;)

If those flume rides were as popular as some claim, more parks would be building them, rather than removing them.

djDaemon said:

If those flume rides were as popular as some claim, more parks would be building them, rather than removing them.

What is your proof other than your anecdotal observations?

Hopkins still makes log flumes and has had recent installations. The ones I've visited seem pretty busy to me.

Uh, you just asked for proof, but then gave an anecdote to support your counterclaim.

djDaemon said:
If those flume rides were as popular as some claim, more parks would be building them, rather than removing them.

Not to mention Arrow would still be in business. ;)

coasterJay said:
What is your proof other than your anecdotal observations.

A dearth of new flume installs is not anecdotal. That's a measurable data point.

What other parks have built an Intamin flume, and what parks other than CP have removed log flumes?

Six flags great adventure took one done after 2006 but they still have another one

I think Great America removed one also, but others like Kennywood, Waldameer, Darien lake, Kings island, Dorney, Sea World Parks, Hershey, etc, oddly enough still have a flume ride. So it doesn't seem they are being removed or as unpopular as some experts claim them to be.

I never claimed to be an expert.

I merely pointed out that the rate at which new flume rides are being built doesn't surpass the rate at which they're being closed. That is a very strong indication that their ROI isn't what it used to be.