VF The Flume...gone.

Okay, I give up. What does DDRRF stand for? (Kick the Sky, since you figured it out you should have shared with the class. ;))

^Sorry, not everyone lives at USF/IoA....Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls (aka, the first log flume on the 30th Century) :)

Ah! ::the sound of enlightenment descending upon the grasshopper::

Thanks, gator.

rollergator said:
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.

I'm not so sure it's fair to say they're low capacity. I believe White Water Landing did easily 1,000 an hour, probably more depending on how many people were in each boat.

Certainly having a turntable station is better than a linear one in most places, though the solution on Dudley's seems to work pretty well despite having a lot more moving parts.

A lot of boats (cars, logs?) go out with only 2 people, or sometimes even a single person . I think the close in-line seating makes people from separate parties more hesitant to share with another small group.

I'm really sad to see these things go as well. I have always enjoyed these rides but the cost to operate and maintain compared to the throughput seems to be making them go extinct. . I've worked at two different Arrow fumes and can remember that the SFOG the hourly capacity was listed as around 900 with two sides running. But factoring in people that don't want to fill up the boats and people taking their time getting in and asking for seat wipedowns (yes this is common!) it's more like 5-600 an hour. I've never worked on one with a turntable but can imagine the moving boat would encourage people to load a bit faster.

I can't remember if the reservoir got cleaned out but do remember that the track area needed to be power washed at least once a season but it may have been both. If they don't get cleaned they'll look like this by about July:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRoZVIWNn9I

I've been on the Centreville flume and it's pretty gross. If you get a good look at the water and things growing in the through it makes the idea of getting that refreshing splash much less appealing.

Washing down the flume was a big operation and usually involved about 8 -10 rides staff members working for a few hours after park close. I don't remember any other rides needing this much extra TLC.

It's sad to see them go and I particularly enjoy the older Arrow flumes. But I assume due to simple business sense and age they will eventually be a thing of the past.

All these flume ride removals are going to open up a big opportunity for a manufacturer to start cranking out the next generation (post splashwater falls style) when guests complain about the removal of the beloved classic ones and need for reinstalling one during their in-park guest surveys. It doesn't get any more family friendly than a classic flume ride - grandparents will sometimes climb in and even toddlers are allowed to ride in the less strict parks

The newer Mack flumes are not as maintenance intensive, except for Ripsaw Falls at IOA. Ripsaw Falls is a special case, as it seems Universal asked for a log flume/water coaster hybrid and it just didn't work out, as Mack was pretty horrible when it came to designing drops and layouts. Journey to Atlantis at SWF had 2-3 track replacements and Poseidon at Europa Park had to get a whole section redesigned, due to a nasty lateral jolt.

I've been on a few Mack flumes in Europe and they're all awesome, reliable and got great capacity. They use a straight conveyor belt in the station that doesn't stop and they even offer boats with 3 "sections", allowing 6 people. The flume at Tripsdrill in Germany was possibly the best I ever rode... 3 drops, 1 of them backward and an awesome dark ride section. The flume at Toverland is indoor/outdoor and features a unique turntable to flip boats on the main lift. Parks in north america would do well to look at Mack for new flumes...

RatherGoodBear said:
A lot of boats (cars, logs?) go out with only 2 people, or sometimes even a single person . I think the close in-line seating makes people from separate parties more hesitant to share with another small group.

You mean people don't enjoy rubbing their crotches on the backs of strangers?

Try having to talk someone into that on a Saturday in July with a 2 hour wait. The convincing process usually exceeds the capacity benefit.