Logger's Leap

Last updated

Logger's Leap
Off to get wet - geograph.org.uk - 1293811.jpg
A log just after leaving the station
Thorpe Park Resort
AreaCanada Creek, Now Old Town
Coordinates 51°24′08″N0°30′47″W / 51.402173°N 0.51297°W / 51.402173; -0.51297
StatusRemoved
Opening date1989 (1989)
Closing date2015
Replaced by Hyperia
General statistics
Type Log flume
Manufacturer Mack Rides
Lift systemBelt lift
BoatsRiders are arranged in two rows (of 2 and 3 respectively) which totals 5 riders per boat.
Height Restriction1m & 1 – 1.3m must be accompanied by an adult (18+)
Virtual queue
Fastrack unavailable
Wheelchair symbol.svg Wheelchair accessible

Logger's Leap was a log flume ride at Thorpe Park, UK. It was the tallest log flume in the UK. The ride closed in 2015. [1]

Contents

History

Logger's Leap opened in 1989 on the lake at the back of the park, along with a new themed area 'Canada Creek'. It was manufactured by Mack Rides. The attraction featured a 'country and western' pop soundtrack including 5,6,7,8 by Steps, Cotton-Eyed Joe by Rednex, Southern Nights by Glen Campbell and 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton.

The ride was the tallest log flume ride in the UK upon opening, although this was surpassed by "Nightmare Niagara" at American Adventure theme park near Derby. Following the closure of American Adventure, Logger's Leap regained its record.

The ride famously featured in press photographs of the royal family with Princess Diana in 1993. A dedication plaque was erected next to the attraction following her death.

In 2013, the tunnel enclosing the first lift and drop was removed due to poor structural maintenance over time.

Logger's Leap did not open after the 2015 season and stood not operating. The park announced via social media that the ride was "under redevelopment". In February 2019, it was confirmed that Logger's Leap had permanently closed and ride parts were to be auctioned in May, however no auction ever took place. [2]

During Fright Nights 2019, the old station was used as the venue for a new scare maze, "Creek Freak Massacre". [3]

Ride experience

Riders queued up in one of five queues at the front of the station. Each Logger's Leap boat held up to five people - two in the front and three in the back.

Once the boat left the station it meandered towards a tunnel. The boat was then lifted up into the tunnel before descending the first drop in complete darkness. The boat exited the tunnel amongst woodland at the back of the park, where it crossed the main lake and made its way to the second lift hill. This hill, the biggest of the ride, featured a steep drop with a double dip. The boat descended the drop into a splashdown, then meandered back to the station across the edge of the lake.

Post-closure redevelopments

Thorpe Park initially claimed via social media that they were "hoping for it to make a splashback soon". [4] Since the official closure, however, Thorpe Park stated on their website in 2019 that "situations can change and as plans develop they often move in different directions". They followed by stating that "the area that Logger's Leap once dominated will be forming part of our long term development plans." [5]

On 14 March 2022, Thorpe Park submitted an extensive planning application to Runnymede Borough Council detailing their proposed redevelopments of the Old Town area of the park. [6] The main focus of the application is their proposed new roller coaster, at the time, code-named 'Project Exodus'. The demolition of Logger's Leap was completed in early 2023 [7] to make way for the new roller coaster now known as Hyperia. Some sections of the flume still remain towards the back of the site.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alton Towers</span> British theme park

Alton Towers Resort is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, mini golf and hotel complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorpe Park</span> Resort Theme Park

Thorpe Park, formerly also known as Thorpe Park Resort, is a theme park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertainments and includes rides, themed cabins, live events and Hyperia, the United Kingdom's tallest and fastest rollercoaster. In 2019, Thorpe Park was the UK's third most visited theme park, behind Alton Towers and Legoland Windsor. However, in 2020, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the park only had a 125-day operation season, along with limited capacity, leading to massively reduced visitor numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Walking Dead: The Ride</span> Steel indoor roller coaster

The Walking Dead: The Ride is an indoor roller coaster haunted attraction located at Thorpe Park, England. It was the park's first non-powered roller-coaster. It was themed around a rave and had the strapline "Ride on a wave of light and sound" — when it was titled X — but currently The Walking Dead: The Ride's slogan is "Those who ride, survive".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tower of Terror II</span> Roller coaster at Dreamworld Australia

The Tower of Terror II was a steel shuttle roller coaster located at the Dreamworld amusement park on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. When the Tower of Terror opened on 23 January 1997, it was the first roller coaster in the world to reach 100 miles per hour (160 km/h), making it the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world of its time. The ride was situated on the Dreamworld Tower, which also houses The Giant Drop free fall ride. The ride was originally known as the Tower of Terror until it was modified and relaunched in September 2010 as Tower of Terror II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The American Adventure Theme Park</span> Former theme park in Ilkeston, Derbyshire, England

The American Adventure was a theme park in Derbyshire, England, quite close to both Nottingham and Derby on the edge of Heanor. The park for many years had a number of large white-knuckle attractions, but in 2005 was rethemed as a 'family' park aimed at the under-14 market. In January 2007, the owners announced that it would not reopen for the new season, and the rides would be sold off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom</span> Amusement park in Pennsylvania

Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom is an American amusement and water park located in Dorneyville, Pennsylvania, outside Allentown. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the park features 64 rides, including eight roller coasters, several thrill rides and kiddie rides, and a waterpark, Wildwater Kingdom, with 19 water rides.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vampire (roller coaster)</span> British roller coaster at Chessington World of Adventures

Vampire is an Arrow suspended swinging roller coaster at Chessington World of Adventures theme park in London, England. It opened in 1990 in the new Transylvania area and is the only Arrow Dynamics suspended roller coaster still operating outside of North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Plunge</span>

American Plunge is a log flume water ride at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. The queueing line of this ride is parallel to the path to Silver Dollar City's steel looping coaster, Wildfire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Log flume (ride)</span> Type of amusement ride

Log flumes are amusement rides consisting of a water flume and (artificial) hollow logs or boats. Passengers sit in the logs, which are propelled along the flume by the flow of water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Valhalla (Pleasure Beach Resort)</span> Ride at Pleasure Beach Resort, England

Valhalla is an indoor log flume water ride located at Pleasure Beach Resort in Lancashire, England. Opened on 14 June 2000 at a cost of £15 million, it is one of the longest indoor dark rides in the world, with a ride time of over four minutes. Valhalla features three drops and uses special effects which simulate fire, water, and snow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shoot the Rapids</span> Current log flume ride at Cedar Point

Shoot the Rapids was a log flume water ride located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The ride was built and designed by IntaRide and opened to the public on June 26, 2010. Based on a Western theme, Shoot the Rapids featured two drops with the second one crossing under the first.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Swarm (roller coaster)</span> Roller coaster at Thorpe Park

The Swarm is a steel roller coaster located at Thorpe Park in the United Kingdom. The Swarm was the world's second Wing Coaster model designed by Swiss roller coaster manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard and the first one located in the United Kingdom. Construction commenced in May 2011, and the coaster opened on 15 March 2012. From 2013 until 2015, the last two rows of each train faced backwards, while the first five rows faced forward. This was restored to the original configuration in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocky Hollow Log Ride</span> Amusement park ride

The Rocky Hollow Log Ride was a log flume which took groups of 4 riders on a gentle four and a half-minute cruise through channels, in and out of buildings, before ascending the lift hill. The ride concluded with a 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) drop causing all riders to become soaked.

Rocky's Rapids is a Log Flume ride at Indiana Beach, in Monticello, Indiana. The ride is located next to the Cornball Express, and boats occasionally duel with trains from the roller coaster. The park does not have a Rapids ride, so this is one of the park's only water rides. The ride is located near Cornball Express and is also not far from Indiana Beach's two other coasters, Hoosier Hurricane and the steel coaster, Steel Hawg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viking's Revenge Flume Ride</span> Defunct log flume in Australia

Viking's Revenge Flume Ride was a log flume at the Sea World theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Flume (Alton Towers)</span> Removed log flume water ride

The Flume was a Log Flume at Alton Towers in Staffordshire. It opened in 1981 and was rethemed in 2004 coinciding with its sponsorship by Imperial Leather. The ride was a bath time themed log flume with three drops. It was the longest log flume attraction in the world at the time of opening. The attraction closed in 2015 and was replaced by the Wicker Man rollercoaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wicker Man (roller coaster)</span> Wooden roller coaster

Wicker Man is a wooden roller coaster at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Great Coasters International, the £16-million ride opened to the public on 20 March 2018 following a three-day weather delay. It set several milestones among wooden coasters including the first to be built in the UK in 22 years and the first to incorporate fire. Initially codenamed "Secret Weapon 8", a traditional naming scheme for major upcoming projects at Alton Towers, its official name was revealed in January 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mystic Timbers</span> Wooden roller coaster at Kings Island

Mystic Timbers is a wooden roller coaster located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio. Constructed by Great Coasters International and designed by Skyline Design, the roller coaster opened in the Rivertown section of the park on April 15, 2017. The ride's fictional theme is set to the site of an abandoned logging company where unexplained events are taking place. During its marketing campaign, the finale element in an enclosed shed was not revealed to the public until opening day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">PortAventura Park</span> Theme park in Spain

PortAventura Park is a theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort, 85 km southwest of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca, on the Costa Daurada. The park opened on 1 May 1995 under the management of the Tussauds Group which had a 40.01% share in the park, La Caixa (33.19%), Anheuser-Busch (19.9%) and FECSA (6.7%). It opened to the general public on 2 May 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hyperia (roller coaster)</span> Roller coaster at Thorpe Park, England

Hyperia is a steel roller coaster located at Thorpe Park in Chertsey, Surrey, England. Manufactured by Mack Rides, the hypercoaster opened as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the UK on 24 May 2024, with a height of 236 feet (72 m) and a maximum speed that reportedly exceeds 80 mph (130 km/h). Hyperia also features three inversions and was built on the site formerly occupied by Loggers Leap and Rocky Express. The ride closed unexpectedly after only one day of operation and reopened two weeks later.

References

  1. Resort, THORPE PARK (20 February 2019). "It's with a heavy heart that we announce the time has come to say goodbye to a much loved ride here at Thorpe Park & what was the UK's tallest log flume, Logger's Leap. Fans of the ride will get the chance to own a piece of Logger's Leap memorabilia via an online auction in May.pic.twitter.com/N9cZyV79Kq". @THORPEPARK. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  2. Thorpe Park Mania (26 August 2017). "Princess Diana memorial plaque relocated into a newly planted out Logger's Leap boat in Old Town". @ThorpeParkMania. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  3. BEHIND THE SCENES OF: CREEK FREAK MASSACRE | THORPE PARK. YouTube . Archived from the original on 11 December 2021.
  4. Resort, THORPE PARK (9 January 2018). "Loggers is currently closed for redevelopment, we're hoping for it to make a splashback soon! #firstof2018". @THORPEPARK. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2019.
  5. "Will Loggers Leap be re-opening?". THORPE PARK Resort. An Island Like No Other. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 21 February 2019.
  6. "Planning Application: Redevelopment of 'Old Town' area within Thorpe Park". Runnymede Borough Council. 14 March 2022.
  7. "Loggers Leap Station Fully Demolished". themeparkguide.co.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2023.