and was installed in Astroworld Park in Houston, Texas. The first river rapid ride was developed in 1980 by Intamin Ltd. Electric submersible or conventional shafted axial flow propeller pumps and centrifugal pumps deliver water for travel throughout the attraction flume troughs. Walt Disney World’s Splash Mountain attraction is an example of a super flume. It uses larger and wider fiberglass log vehicles that can accommodate side by side or two riders per row, doubling the vehicle capacity and ride customer throughput. The super flume is a more recent derivative of the traditional log flume attraction. Electric submersible propeller pumps or conventional shafted axial flow propeller pumps deliver water for travel in the lower trough while a centrifugal pump generally delivers water for the upper trough. Luna Park at New York’s Coney Island is one example of a fixed place Reverchon Log Flume. Several of these semi-portable attractions are installed in fixed locations as well. Reverchon Industries developed and sold a semi-portable log flume ride for large carnival operations that could be set up, dismantled and moved several times per season. The Flume at Knoebel’s Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, is one example of a classic double-drop log flume ride. Some log flume rides use two uptakes and two drops with the final drop being the most dramatic. Unlike the Shoot the Chute’s simple horseshoe-shaped upper trough, the log flume traverses a narrow serpentine channel, which provides twists and turns, ending with a thrilling steep descent and splash-down. Similar to Shoot the Chute, after embarkation, the log flume ride begins with a lift hill using a chain or rubber belt taking the four-to-six passenger, fiberglass faux log boat vehicle up to an elevated trough. The ride trough of the Knott’s flume is enclosed within a structure, simulating the experience of traveling through an animated working saw mill. One of the first heavily themed log flumes built was the Bud Hurlbut-designed Timber Mountain Log Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm. The first modern-day log flume was designed and constructed by Arrow Dynamics of Clearfield, Utah, at Six Flags Over Texas in 1963-a ride that remains in operation today. In fact, amusement park development experts list it as one of the top 10 attractions that every park needs. The log flume ride is a cornerstone attraction of any amusement park. After several mechanical lifts inside a themed building, the ride ends with a traditional Shoot the Chute drop and large splash run-out, soaking the riders.ĭudley Do-Right log flume at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventures Log Flume Rides With the Jurassic Park attraction, the boat vehicle begins the journey in a large pond where more than 40 small horizontal submersible propeller pumps, located along the channel pathway, generate a current that propels the boat along its heavily themed journey. Many custom attractions, such as Universal Studio’s Jurassic Park attraction, are derivatives of Shoot the Chute. An additional submersible centrifugal pump is used to deliver approximately 5,000 to 6,000 gallons per minute of water to the upper ride trough supplying the waterfall effect. Generally, two horizontally mounted, flow generating low-head submersible propeller pumps are installed near the passenger embarkation area in the lower pond to generate a steady current to propel the boat along the lower pond course.

Many parks use that wall of water to provide additional excitement as guests exiting the ride from the previous cycle can get drenched by that water swell. Because of the hull design, it also generates a huge water wall in front of the boat. The boat travels along the run-out track, causing an initial large splash.

The boat travels down the steep decline, splashing down into the lower pond. This creates a visualization that the boat is coming over a waterfall or spillway. The upper horseshoe-shaped trough contains water that ends up spilling down the drop-track. This attraction proved popular, and many more attractions of this type were constructed around the Midwest.Ĭomponents of the modern Shoot the Chute attraction include a flat-bottomed boat that generally seats from 12 to 24 guests, a powered uptake (lift chain or wide, rubber belt lift hill) that takes the boat up from the embarkation area to an upper trough and a steeply inclined drop. The ride located at Watchtower Park consisted of a boat that would carry patrons down 500-foot slide of greased wooden plank placed on the side of a hill, ending with a splash onto the lake. Shoot the Chute, the first type of amusement water thrill ride, was originally constructed in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1884.

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