Top Spin Water Effects

Are there any Top Spins operating that use the water effects system purely for the sake of getting riders soaked? Each video I've seen only shows the water getting near the riders, but never actually touching them.

PCW's topspin you do get wet on.

Big Kahuna at Kennywood managed to get my shoes wet since we were sitting in the front row, but nothing more.

I saw one at a fair one time but it did nothing more than fog.

Does the one at Alton Towers get the rider wet? I saw a video a while back on coasterforce but can't find it now.

Riders will get thoroughly drenched on the Top Spins at Worlds of Fun and Chessington World of Adventures.

The Top Spin at WOF will even splash spectators standing in front of the ride. When I was there in June it wasn't real warm and they were running the water jets every other cycle, so you could get a 'dry' ride if you wanted to (except that the seats were already wet).

I think Chessington was one of the first to get the water package. I know it surprised all the ACEers on the Great Britain Preservation tour of 1996.

*** Edited 8/23/2004 5:01:26 PM UTC by Jeffrey Seifert***

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Intamin Fan said:
Big Kahuna at Kennywood managed to get my shoes wet since we were sitting in the front row, but nothing more.

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The King Kahuna for at least this year isn't supposed to get you wet. If you did get wet, that would be the operator's fault. I know the final part of the ride which is the nose dive facing down into the fountains, we occasionally shut up the fountains, to make the riders think they are going to get wet, but they won't.

It did however get riders drenched last year, but the water would get underneath the ride causing a whole bunch of problems.

It's not quite a Top Spin, but the Mondial Splashover at Lagoon will get you friggin' SOAKED! Good times.

does riptide @ knotts count? I thought i was going to drown in the upside-down position... -- awesome ride, minus the fact the end seats stay dry, and not everybody wants that...

hmmm what is the official name for that ride, anyways?

-- alan j

AFAIK PKI no longer soaks riders on Tomb Raider.

Mostly because when the ride first opened, the lava pit geisers would shoot up and spray riders in the face. Passengers then could not see and, because of the cumbersome restraint, could not reach around to wipe their eyes.

They still "tease" with the water, but it has been ages since I saw it really douse someone.

Shaggy

Yes, Ripsaw gets you wet. Top Spins at German fairs also splash you, and were long before Chessington's Rameses Revenge was installed.

Riptide is a Huss Suspended Top Spin.

I never got wet on several TR:TR rides during its opening year, and never saw anyone get wet (aside from the "raindrops"). Hmm.

LOL,

Den... you should have seen folks at the media day. Sean F and I still laugh hysterically at the thought of our first ride.

It was snowing outside and they had the water cranked!

Shaggy

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Shaggy said:
AFAIK PKI no longer soaks riders on Tomb Raider.

Mostly because when the ride first opened, the lava pit geisers would shoot up and spray riders in the face. Passengers then could not see and, because of the cumbersome restraint, could not reach around to wipe their eyes.

They still "tease" with the water, but it has been ages since I saw it really douse someone.

Shaggy

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Hmmm that's weird. Everytime I rode during opening year no body got wet. When I was there opening day (a nice warm 40 degrees) they were telling people the water was on, but it would not hit them.

This year everytime I have ridden it when I get on I've noticed the seats are always soaked. Then when it's time for the water on our cycle people get soaked. It sucks getting drilled in the face as I have several times this year.

Lagoon's Cliffhanger (though it's a Splash Over)pratically assaults you! Someone I know who works at Lagoon told me that it's classified as a water attraction, and rightfully so. My personal favorite is when the gondolas are locked rightside up at the top, and then unlocked at the bottom while upside down and sent flipping through the waterfall, completely drenching everyone.

Also, there's a water spigot for every seat so no one is safe! They usually turn the water off at night, but it's no where near as fun without it.

King Kahuna didn't do anything to us on the 4th of July. I don't even recall seeing any water effects.

Knott's RipTide gets all riders soaked. Unless you are riding in the corner seats of the gondola where the fountains don't hit you. The entire gondola is run through the fountain jets numerous times - usually right before it spins you off into those fast topspins.

King Kahuna at Kennywood soaked people on and off in 2003, but the geysers have been permanantly off for this season. In '03 the water was completely controlled by the ride operator, and your soaking level depended on how they controlled the fountains. I heard several people complain that the water was too forceful when they did this, and an unfortunate result of it was water getting into the mechanics of the vehicle, causing breakdowns and quite a few headaches for Kennywood staff. I'm hoping the park will install a computer-controlled system similar to the other Top Spins, but no one seems to know if the park is even looking into this option.
*** Edited 8/23/2004 9:45:56 PM UTC by PhantomTails***

Ya, thats the main reason I didnt ride King Kahuna when I was at KW in 03. I just didnt feel like getting soaked. I will say that I rode it this year and its a nice ride, but I do think that it would be more exciting if they had the computer controlled water effects working...not actually getting you wet, but coming close just to scare you.