The rapids comes close to the Runaway Mine Train as it passes through the tunnel. It features twin waterfalls, and boats pass between the two waterfalls, along with three wave machines positioned at strategic points around the ride.
History
The lift hill to return boats to the station at the end of the layout, 2015
The ride first opened in 1986 as "Grand Canyon Rapids" and was named as part of the Aqua Land[broken anchor] area. The ride's queueline was originally routed from the present day Mutiny Bay area, with the ride itself largely hidden from view.
In 1992, the Katanga Canyon area was built in the centre of the rapids circuit, along with the new Runaway Mine Train, allowing more views of the attraction. To suit the new area's theme, it was renamed "Congo River Rapids". The original red boats held six riders but were replaced in 2004 by yellow eight-passenger boats to increase throughput.
From the 2019 season, new restrictions from the park reduced each boat's capacity from 8 to 7 and barred all riders under the age of 18 from riding without an accompanying adult during school trip seasons. In 2023, a new soundtrack was added with additional announcements.
Operation
The ride consists of three main elements a flatbed lift, the concrete trough and a turntable station that is in continuous motion in order to boost capacity, as boats leave the turntable they meander around Katanga Canyon, passing through a tunnel shared with the Runaway Mine Train, past the Pizza Pasta restaurant, through the waterfalls and up the lift to return to the turntable; this is also where the pumps are located which pump water from the base of the lift up to the level of the turntable.
The ride's energy requirements are considerable, with its large pumps requiring 15 minutes to bring water volume to the required level for operation. It features its own electrical substation and 1.3 million gallon water reservoir. The ride has 4 pumps available for use with three being used at any given time and one as a back up.
The rapids effect of the water is largely achieved by the placement of wooden blocks secured to the bottom of the ride's concrete channel. When water flow is activated via its pumps, turbulence is seen at the wooden blocks as the water flows over. There are also three "Wavemaker" machines placed at strategic points around the ride however these are now isolated due to safety concerns.
The ride is equipped with 35 8 seater boats but only 31 are able to be used on the system at once, however now significantly less than this are in regular service.
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