Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges | |
---|---|
Universal Islands of Adventure | |
Area | Toon Lagoon |
Status | Operating |
Opening date | May 28, 1999 |
General statistics | |
Type | River rafting ride |
Manufacturer | Barr Engineering |
Speed | 11 mph (18 km/h) |
Duration | 6 minutes |
Height restriction | 42 in (107 cm) |
Capacity | 12 per raft [1] |
Theme | Popeye |
Universal Express available | |
Single rider line available |
Popeye & Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges is a river rafting ride at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida, inspired by the character Popeye created by cartoonist Elzie Crisler Segar. Opened on May 28, 1999, it is one of the park's original attractions and was the first river rafting ride Universal constructed in its parks.
Initial plans for what would become Islands of Adventure featured an entire park themed to cartoon-based intellectual properties that was to be named "Cartoon World". The park plans contained a section called "Popeye's Island", which was split into two subsections, "Sweethaven Village", themed after the town of the same name featured in the 1980 live-action film Popeye , and "The Docks". [2]
Two rides were planned for Popeye's Island. Sweethaven Village was to feature an indoor boat ride called "Popeye's Adventure", while the Docks was to feature a rafting ride called "Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges". When Cartoon World was redeveloped into Islands of Adventure, Popeye's Adventure was scrapped, with Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges being re-themed to feature both characters. [2]
The attraction's queue emulates that of a ferry, with dock pilings placed along the pathway in the outdoor portions. Early on, guests pass a sign welcoming them to "Popeye's Paradise Cruises", but as they approach the boat load, they find that the entrance is closed off. This leads to a detour into a queue building for “Bluto's Bilge-Rat Barges”, setting up the main story of the ride.
The attraction experiences an average queue time of 15 minutes throughout the year. [3] Like all primarily outdoor attractions at Universal Orlando, it is closed when there is a risk of thunderstorms or during other severe weather events. [4] The attraction, along with the other water ride in the park, Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, is typically closed during the colder months of the year, often from mid February to mid March, for maintenance and refurbishments. [5]
During the morning of February 12, 2021, a fire broke out along one of the ride's channels, with a thick plume of smoke visibly rising from the attraction. The attraction was closed at the time for its annual winter refurbishment, and no guests or workers were harmed in the incident. It was later revealed that the fire was the result of a construction worker overfilling the fuel tank for an external pump that was being used to remove water from the channels. [6] The fire caused minimal damage and the ride finished its refurbishment, returning to standard operation on February 20, 2021. [7]
Bluto, at times known as Brutus, is a cartoon and comics character created in 1932 by Elzie Crisler Segar as a one-time character, named "Bluto the Terrible", in his Thimble Theatre comic strip. Bluto made his first appearance on September 12 of that year. Fleischer Studios adapted him the next year (1933) to be the main antagonist of their theatrical Popeye animated cartoon series.
Universal Islands of Adventure, originally called Universal Studios Islands of Adventure and later Universal's Islands of Adventure, is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened on May 28, 1999, along with CityWalk, as part of an expansion that converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort. The resort's slogan Vacation Like You Mean It was introduced in 2013.
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Popeye Village, also known as Sweethaven Village, is a purpose-built film set village that has been converted into a small attraction fun park, consisting of a collection of rustic and ramshackle wooden buildings. It is located at Prajjet Bay/Anchor Bay, 3 km from the village core of Mellieħa, Malta.
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Popeye the Sailor is a fictional cartoon character created by Elzie Crisler Segar. The character first appeared on January 17, 1929, in the daily King Features comic strip Thimble Theatre. The strip was in its tenth year when Popeye made his debut, but the one-eyed sailor quickly became the lead character, and Thimble Theatre became one of King Features' most popular properties during the 1930s. Following Segar's death in 1938, Thimble Theatre was continued by several writers and artists, most notably Segar's assistant Bud Sagendorf. It was formally renamed Popeye. The strip continues to appear in first-run installments on Sundays, written and drawn by R.K. Milholland. The daily strips are reprints of old Sagendorf stories.
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