VF The Flume...gone.

I know that this is not current news. But I am surprised that there hasn't been much mention about VF removing their landmark log flume ride for a lousy wave pool. Waste of space if you ask me to put in a giant toilet for the park.:p

Went to the haunt last night and there is NOTHING left of the ride except for one of the boats broken in half next to the path to SV. Along with the graveyard of past rides.

The Flume's location has been completly stripped to an open patch of dirt (insert joke of CF removing trees here) from WT's loading station to the south side of Imax. I honestly didn't think that ride took that much space when you see it the way it is now. It depresses me. I will miss the slapping sound of the anti-rollbacks.

Not being a fan of water rides to begin with, The Flume was one that I would ride when it got hot. I guess I'll have to go to MOA now and walk around with soaked pants there.

Ye Olde Log Fume/The Flume: 1979-2008

I could only dream that it will be moved to Cedar Point. Why are the parks removing flume rides? They are an important part of the amusement park experience (to me anyways).

...And a wave pool may have more capacity, but will it be open throughout the season as long as a log flume would?

I hate the removal of flumes. They are fun rides especially when you want to cool off but not get soaked like on a rapids or splashdown boat ride.

Wave pools are very popular with families, and Valleyfair was long overdue for theirs. They can entertain large crowds and are relatively inexpensive compared to other potential additions. That being said, I did like the Flume at VF and it seemed to still be in good condition. I will miss it - it was a fun ride. The problem was space and VF's very small water park is basically surrounded making it difficult to expand. I suspect that one of these years they will finally pull the plug on Excalibur. That would give them space to expand the waterpark.

Most parks are removing flumes due to maintance and people trying to get off mid ride. There have been several cases recently.

Valleyfair was way overdue for a wave pool, so that's a separate issue from the flume. It was the right thing to build.

The maintenance of flumes must be ridiculous. Heck, I can't think of any ride at IOA that's closed more for rehab, and that one isn't even a decade old. Have you seen Kennywood's lately? I'm surprised the thing still holds water. Sure, I hate to see the things disappearing, but someone has to step up and develop a ride system that will last longer.

KD's has been open since the park opened in 1975, and as far as I know it runs well with very little downtime. It's also one of the best flumes around, IMO, with most of its course riding at ground level through the woods. I'd hate to see that one removed.

Well I can understand the removal of one log flume if there is two currently at a park, having none at a park seems like a questionable decision.

Of course maintenance cost is probably a big issue, but a refurbishment and retheming would probably bring new life to the attraction and renewed popularity. I think Paramount's decision to do the retheming and overhaul with the log flume at Kings Island appears to have brought new life and increased ridership to that attraction.

I really am not sure of the cost of such a rehab, but I still think their is a benefit of remarketing the rethemed attraction, at least six flags seems to be doing this with a few selected attractions this past year and also for next year.

Totally lame. VF's flume was one of the best around. Just when the park was starting to get good again, Cedar Fair has to gut it. :(

Well, Playa finally gets his wavepool.

I'm happy for 'Playa.

I'm sad that another flume bites the dust. I love those things.

Brian Noble said:
I'm happy for 'Playa.

Ha! I thought the same thing. :)

I've never noticed this one to be a maintenance problem and never heard complaints that it was. The majority of it was at grade. They did rework the drop a few years ago.

The only good out of this for me is that if the wave pool is a big draw for the park, then the rides I like will have shorter lines. Down side: more wet seats.

By the way, AV. Renny was better than it has been all year last Sat. Usually it slows a bit going over the street on the return. Saturday I was out of the seat each time. It was moving!

Sorry. Back on topic.

I actually ran into Playa at Renegade over Labor Day weekend. Shoulda ridden the flume instead of waiting all that time for Superman: Ultimate Twisted Venom Escape Steel or whatever. Happy Waves Playa... ;)

The log flume was the one ride I always told newbies not to miss. As far as traditional "non-moutain" flumes, it was my favorite, mostly for the surprises in the tunnel with the drop into the flat urn and then shooting out through the waterfall. And it wasn't all elevated up in the air looking like a portable model. It had great theming.

I wonder how much longer Dorney's magnificent flume will last.

Like I said, I think there's an opportunity for a ride manufacturer here. If they can get it right and really get to the root of maintenance issues, and design something better, I think we'd see new flumes popping up. They've gone relatively unchanged now for decades, while coasters have evolved into a higher art form by comparison.

At this rate, there is going to be a huge demand for new flumes in the next few years, so maybe the "genre" will be jump-started again and more reliable rides will surface.

What about rides like Deluge? Would you consider that type of water ride to be a "next-gen" flume? Imagine that on a larger scale.

I think typical low-capacity flumes are what needs to be re-envisioned. In-line seating is going to have to be sacrificed for two-abreast if capacity is going to be where it needs to be. or having a station like DDRRF whic allows for *several* boats to load at once...capacity and maintenenace seem to be the major drawbacks...

You and your abbreviations, Gator. It took me awhile to figure out what DDRRF stood for!

I agree, capacity is a huge issue. Look at any scorching hot day at an amusement park and the longest lines will always be for the water rides. All of these lines always move slow, however, as the capacity for these attractions is horrendous.

The other issue I see, however, is making it so that the attraction is ridable when it is not so warm out. Look at a park like VF, that flume is only usable for part of the season (then again, it's replacement doesn't has an even shorter time that it is usable). Making the ride exciting enough where it does not rely on the splash to generate the excitement may be a goal that designers may want to look at. One only need look at Disney water attractions or Universal or Seaworld for inspiration.

If all flumes were operated like Knoebels', capacity wouldn't be an issue. ;)

2-abreast seating is a very good idea; however, that means wider troughs with more steel and more water and larger pumps to move the water... even more expensive to operate.

I'm not sure having a longer "useable season" even matters. The parks can save on operating costs when the weather is too cold for the rides to operate.