The Flume | |
---|---|
Alton Towers | |
Area | Mutiny Bay |
Coordinates | 52°59′20″N1°53′20″W / 52.988995°N 1.888847°W |
Status | Removed |
Opening date | 1981 |
Closing date | 10 October 2015 |
Replaced by | Wicker Man |
General statistics | |
Type | Log flume |
Manufacturer | Mack Rides |
Height | 27 m (89 ft) |
Drop | 26 m (85 ft) |
Length | 886 m (2,907 ft) |
Speed | 45 km/h (28 mph) |
Capacity | 1,400 riders per hour |
Duration | 6 minutes |
Vehicle type | Boat |
Boats | 35 boats. Riders are arranged 1 across in 5 rows for a total of 5 riders per boat. |
Height restriction | 100 cm (3 ft 3 in) |
Site area | 5 1/2 acres |
Must transfer from wheelchair |
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.
The ride was approximately six minutes long and began with the loading of passengers into the boats, which had a maximum capacity of five. The boarding took place in a moving, circular station. Once the boat dispatched from the station, it took several turns through woodland and then travelled up to the first lift hill. The boat was then dropped down a small drop to gain some height, turning around the woodland until it came to the second lift hill, which was enclosed in a darkened hut, followed by a 'blind' drop. Following the Imperial Leather sponsorship, a shower sprinkler and riders were met with a giant rubber duck statue. The ride then traveled through more woodland before embarking up a 86ft lift hill, then swiftly dropping riders 85ft where riders were usually soaked with water. The boats then travelled through two shower sprinklers before returning to the station.
In 1980, Alton Towers opened the ride Corkscrew along with a few other amusement attractions. Alton Towers gained popularity so for the 1981 season they decided to open a log flume. Construction started in late 1980 to open the ride for the 1981 season.[ citation needed ] the park's first major scale engineering project including purpose built reservoir sunk into a former field. The 5.5-acre site was bordered on two sides by the Park Railway. initially access to the new ride was via a railway bridge over the tracks, by 1982 the Railway had been shortened to allow easier access for the popular new ride. [1]
In 1981, the 'White Water Flume' opened to the public as the world's longest log flume with its 2,600-foot (790-metre) waterway themed around the Canadian Falls; by 1983 the ride had acquired its traditional and more popular name of 'The Log Flume' and for the next 23 years operated as such. Between 1984 and 1995 it also featured props from 'Dinosaur Land' which had been closed the previous season to make way for The Black Hole, including a prehistoric family inside the tunnel section of the flume. [1]
In 2003, Alton Towers approached WGH Transportation Ltd to supply new boats for the new 2004 season, and the ride was going to the rethemed and renamed to 'The Flume' with a bath theme, as sponsored by the soap manufacturer, Imperial Leather. Stuart:Pease of Rotherham [2] was the contractor used to produce 35 new 'bath' boats replacing the logs for a cost of £282,580.A new lining, maintenance, a refurbished station, a yellow duck, shower and other bath-time theming was introduced for the new theming. In 2008, the area in which the ride operated was re-themed to Mutiny Bay, however the ride retained its bath time theme.
Weeks before the beginning of the 2016 season, Alton Towers announced that the ride was to be closed permanently. [3] On 16 March 2016, the park posted a photo through their Towers Loving Care Twitter page of a sign on the perimeter of the former area of the attraction that reads "SW8. Ground breaking new ride development", [4] marking the construction site for the resort's next large investment SW8.
After the ride's closure and during the construction of Wicker Man, the resort held charity auctions with lots containing a variety of items from The Flume. This included various queue line and warning signage, as well as the ride boats. [5]
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.
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a 128 acres theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Central London. The complex originally opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931; the theme park aspect was developed by The Tussauds Group, debuting on 7 July 1987 as one of the first combined animal-amusement parks in the UK. The theme park, which features over 40 rides, is now owned by Merlin Entertainments, following its merger with The Tussauds Group in 2007. Under Merlin, Chessington has been increasingly developed into a resort and tourist destination, including two on-site hotels, swimming pools, a campground, spa and fitness facilities.
Splash Mountain is a log flume ride at Tokyo Disneyland. Other versions, which have since been rethemed, were formerly located at Disneyland and Magic Kingdom. The attraction is based on the animated sequences of Disney's 1946 film Song of the South. The ride experience begins with an outdoor float-through that leads to indoor dark ride segments, with a climactic steep drop followed by an indoor finale. The drop is 52.5 feet.
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.
Rita, formerly known as Rita: Queen of Speed, is a launched roller coaster located in the Dark Forest section of Alton Towers amusement park in Staffordshire Moorlands, England. Designed by Intamin, the Accelerator Coaster model opened to the public on 1 April 2005. It features an acceleration from 0 to 98.3 km/h (61.1 mph) in 2.5 seconds. The ride is loosely-themed to a drag racing concept, which partly changed when the section of the park transformed from "Ug Land" into the "Dark Forest" in 2010, when the ride TH13TEEN was added into that section. It is now themed as an abandoned drag racer that is used as the escape cart to escape the Dark Forest.
The American Adventure was a theme park in Derbyshire, England, near Nottingham and Derby on the edge of Heanor. The park for many years had a number of large white-knuckle attractions, before being rethemed as a 'family' park aimed at the under-14 market in 2005. In January 2007, the owners of the park announced that it would not reopen for the new season, and the rides would be sold off.
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.
Congo River Rapids is a river rapids ride made by Intamin. It is located in the Katanga Canyon area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England.
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.
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.
Tiger Rock is a flume ride at the theme park Chessington World of Adventures in Chessington, southwest London, England. The ride was manufactured by Mack Rides, based on a concept designed by John Wardley, and opened in 1987. It is located in the Land of the Tiger area of the park that was formerly known as Mystic East. The ride was originally extensively themed, although the majority of its scenic design was later removed due to lack of maintenance and durability over time. A contest was held in 2014 that focused on possible new themes for the ride. In September 2017, the ride closed for refurbishment and reemerged on 5 May 2018 as Tiger Rock.
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.
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.
The history of Dreamworld dates back to the mid-1970s when John Longhurst envisioned the future theme park. After a seven-year construction period, Dreamworld officially opened to the public on 15 December 1981. Now owned by publicly listed Ardent Leisure, the park has seen many expansions, closures and replacements over its 30-year history.
Nemesis Sub-Terra is a haunted drop tower dark ride located at Alton Towers theme park in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. The ride opened to the public on 24 March 2012. Its theme is focused on the discovery of a nest of eggs in a network of caves, an extension of the theme and concept of the park's Nemesis Reborn roller coaster that opened in 1994.
Viking's Revenge Flume Ride was a log flume at the Sea World theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia.
Marauder's Mayhem is an operating spinning teacups ride at the British theme park Alton Towers. It is located in the pirate-themed Mutiny Bay.
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.