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Shoot the chute is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume or super flume, which generally seats up to eight passengers, a modern-day shoot-the-chute ride generally has larger boats seating at least four across. [1]
The first of this type of amusement ride was built by J.P. Newburg in 1884 down the side of a hill at Watchtower Park in Rock Island, Illinois. The ride traveled along a 500-foot (150 m) greased wooden track, skipping across the Rock River at the bottom. It was then pulled back to the ramp by an onboard ride attendant. Newburg took this unique ride concept next to Chicago, where more flumes were built and the rides grew in popularity. [2]
Paul Boyton opened Paul Boyton's Water Chute, America's first modern amusement park, at 63rd and Drexel in Chicago, on July 4, 1894. Boyton's was the first amusement park to rely solely on mechanical attractions. Paul Boyton and Thomas Polk built another example in 1895 for Sea Lion Park at Coney Island. The ride was widely copied and "chute" rides were found at many amusement parks throughout the United States, [3] and even became the name of several amusement parks. While the original form of the ride is largely obsolete, modern log flume rides work on similar principles.
On the earliest chute rides, the flat-bottomed boat was pulled up the ramp by cable, sometimes with a turnaround on a small turntable. In the ride at Sea Lion Park, the passengers arrived at the top by elevator. The bottom of the ramp curved upwards, causing the boat to skip across the water until it came to a stop. The boat was guided to a landing by a boatman on board. [4] The oldest ride of this type still in operation is the boat chute constructed in 1926 and 1927 located at Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park in Rossville, Georgia, near Chattanooga, Tennessee. [5] An operating modern reproduction of the Luna Park shoot-the-chute ride of the early 20th century, The Pittsburg Plunge, is currently in operation at Kennywood amusement park in Pennsylvania.
Water chutes were also a popular attraction in the United Kingdom in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, with large multi-chute examples built at Blackpool, the Bradford Exhibition, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, and Southport, all now demolished. Smaller single-chute versions are extant and operating at East Park, Kingston upon Hull, Peasholm Park, Scarborough, and Wicksteed Park, Kettering. A large single chute ride was built at the Battersea Park funfair - now demolished - and was an integral park of a chase sequence in the 1959 Dial 999 episode "Inside Job". [6]
The shoot-the-chute concept has evolved over time in the amusement park industry. All modern shoot-the-chute rides feature a guide track after the descent down the chute into the pool of water that allows the boats to return to the loading platform—completing a closed-circuit track.[ citation needed ] Most modern shoot-the-chute rides usually consist of (though not limited to) an oval-shaped layout or a figure-eight layout.[ citation needed ] Many shoot-the-chute installations also have an observation platform or bridge so that spectators, in addition to riders, can get wet from the splash created by the boats.[ citation needed ]
Intamin took the shoot-the-chute concept to extremes with the opening of its first Mega Splash, Perilous Plunge at Knott's Berry Farm. At its opening, it was the tallest and steepest water flume ride in the world. Three seven-ton 24-passenger boats would climb a 121-foot (36.8 m) lift-hill, round a curve and descend a 115-foot (35 m) water chute at a 77.8-degree slope. Upon landing in the lagoon below, the boats created a 45-foot (13.7 m) high splash that drenched riders as well as spectators standing on an observation bridge overlooking the ride. The ride used an adjustable electromagnetic braking system to control the volume of the splash. A similar ride, Hydro, was later constructed at Oakwood Theme Park in Wales, UK. Perilous Plunge was removed from the park in 2012.
Schlitterbahn in Corpus Christi, Texas, opened "Padre Plunge" in May 2017. This ride previously stood at Alabama Splash Adventure where it was known as "Buzzsaw Falls". [7] It was damaged by Hurricane Harvey three months later and the ride permanently closed to the public. It was demolished in March 2020.
Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, built an even larger shoot-the-chute ride named Pilgrims Plunge. Designed and built by Intamin and dubbed a Hyper Splash, it was, at its opening, the world's tallest water ride, with a top speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). Pilgrims Plunge featured a 135-foot open elevator lift leading to a 131-foot (40 m) drop at a 45' angle that would propel the boat to speeds approaching 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). [8] Pilgrims Plunge opened for the 2009 season and was featured on a segment of the Travel Channel's Extreme series. [9] It was renamed Giraffica for the 2013 season and removed in April 2014 due to downtime and reliability issues. [10]
Schlitterbahn is an American brand of water parks and resorts owned by Cedar Fair. It was previously a company family owned and operated by the Henry family that was based in New Braunfels, Texas. Schlitterbahn opened its first location, Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, in 1979. At its peak, the company consisted of five outdoor waterparks, two indoor waterparks, and three resorts.
Kings Dominion is an amusement park in the eastern United States, located in Doswell, Virginia, twenty miles (30 km) north of Richmond and 75 miles (120 km) south of Washington, D.C. Owned and operated by Cedar Fair, the 280-acre (1.1 km2) park opened to the public on May 3, 1975, and features more than 60 rides, shows and attractions including 13 roller coasters and a 20-acre (8.1 ha) water park. Its name is derived from the name of its sister park, Kings Island near Cincinnati, and the nickname for the state of Virginia, "Old Dominion."
Alabama Adventure & Splash Adventure is a water park and amusement park in Bessemer, Alabama. It is owned by Koch Family Parks, which consists of members of the family who formerly had minority ownership in Holiday World & Splashin' Safari.
Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other establishments. The Intamin brand name is a syllabic abbreviation for "international amusement installations". The company has corporate offices across the world, including three in Europe, three in Asia, and two in the United States.
Journey to Atlantis is the name shared by three Water Coasters located at SeaWorld theme parks. These attractions, while different from one another, tell a similar story of a trip to the mythical land of Atlantis. Each one combines roller coaster elements, such as chain lift hills and steep drops, with boat-based attraction elements, such as splash-down landings. All three attractions were designed by Mack Rides of Germany.
Lake Winnepesaukah, commonly known as Lake Winnie, is an amusement park located in Rossville, Georgia, on the south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Carl and Minette Dixon opened the park to over 5,000 guests on June 1, 1925. They named it after the Native American word Winnepesaukah, meaning "bountiful waters" or "beautiful lake of the highlands". The park originally featured the largest swimming pool in the southeastern United States, which debuted in 1926 and was later removed. Its Boat Chute attraction, designed by Carl Dixon and opened in 1927, is the oldest mill chute water ride of its kind still operating in the United States.
Escape from Pompeii is a shoot-the-chutes water attraction designed by Intamin located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Hopkins Rides is an amusement ride manufacturer based in Palm City, Florida. The company has had experience in amusement rides for over 45 years and currently specializes in water rides.
Water rides are amusement rides that are set over water. For instance, a log flume travels through a channel of water to move along its course.
An old mill is a type of amusement park ride where unaccompanied boats float on guideways and traverse through dark tunnels. These themed dark rides originated in the late 19th century and are known by a variety of names, including tunnel of love and river cave. While generally considered a gentle ride, a variation of an old mill featuring a climactic splashdown ending, similar to the modern-day log flume, is known as a mill chute.
The Wonderland Amusement Park operated from 1906 to 1910 in Revere, Massachusetts. Wonderland featured various state-of-the-art rides, attractions, and performers. Although some features remained constant through the life of the Park, most of the attractions changed from year to year. The park was served by the Boston, Revere Beach and Lynn Railroad, known as the "Narrow Gauge". Today, the rail stop is named Wonderland, and is the northern terminus of the MBTA's Blue Line. The title of the 1998 film Next Stop Wonderland refers to this station.
Rim Runner was an Arrow Dynamics Shoot-the-Chutes located at Adventuredome theme park at Circus Circus Las Vegas and was one of the world's longest and tallest indoor water flume rides with a height of 65 feet and a drop of 60 feet. The ride ceased operation on February 3, 2013 to make way for El Loco which opened in February 2014.
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.
Perilous Plunge was a shoot-the-Chutes style attraction located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. The ride opened on September 15, 2000, and closed on September 3, 2012.
Sea Lion Park was a 16-acre (65,000 m2) amusement park started in 1895 on Coney Island by Paul Boyton. He fenced the property and charged admission, the park becoming the first enclosed and permanent amusement park in North America. Up until the establishment of this park, amusement areas around the country consisted of pay-as-you-go concessions. In 1903, Sea Lion Park was replaced by Luna Park.
White City is the common name of dozens of amusement parks in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Inspired by the White City and Midway Plaisance sections of the World's Columbian Exhibition of 1893, the parks started gaining in popularity in the last few years of the 19th century. After the 1901 Pan-American Exposition inspired the first Luna Park in Coney Island, a frenzy in building amusement parks ensued in the first two decades of the 20th century.
White Water Landing is a Shoot-the-Chutes ride at Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom amusement park in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was built in 1993, 10 years after a sister park named Cedar Point built a defunct flume using the same name: White Water Landing. This ride is identical to Snake River Falls at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. It is located in the upper side near Hydra the Revenge.
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.
Texas Chute Out was a 200-foot-tall (61 m) Intamin "parachute drop" ride that operated at Six Flags Over Texas. It closed on September 3, 2012.
The Chutes of San Francisco (also known as the Fillmore Chutes was an amusement park located on Fillmore Street, in the Fillmore District of San Francisco, California, bounded by Webster, Eddy and Turk Streets. San Francisco has been known for its water ride amusement park that enchanted visitors and locals alike during its existence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. From its beginnings at the Haight Street location to its subsequent move to Fulton Street and later Fillmore Street, the Chutes left an indelible mark on San Francisco's amusement landscape.
