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Will we ever see a comeback of water rides at dry parks?


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Most water rides at dry parks are fading away but their are few that still remain like the classic log ride/flume type, splashdown rides seems to be fading, raging rapids raft rides still seem to be hanging on as a popularity with Infinity Falls opening in late 2018 at SeaWorld Orlando. But their was once in the early 2010’s a comeback of water rides just a little bit starting of with shoot the rapids flume ride at cedar point by Intamin. The ride design seemed really cool. It had 2 drops and some great theming with water flowing down rocks. Unfortunately this flume ride did not last very long and closed down in a couple of years. Then perilous plunge came actually before shoot the rapids and pilgrims plunge at holiday world taking water rides at dry parks to new heights. Making them about 150+ft tall and a very steep drop. The elevator lift on pilgrims plunge seems terrifying as it seemed like the elevator lifted you up on side and the other you can just see the ground as you went up higher. Pilgrims Plunge and Perilious Plunge which was at Knotts Berry Farm no longer exist anymore sadly. I thought this was a start of something cool with water rides at dry parks. Now you see a few years ago at walilbi Belgium a water ride/coaster called Pulsar seems really cool and uniquely designed. With a big splash at the end. It reminds you of Superman the escape at Six Flags Ohio than renames I believe possessed and relocated to Dorney Park. It really does suck that most of these types of water rides are disappearing does this mean it’s the end of water rides at dry parks expect for the rapids raft rides like Infinity Falls? Or will see a new generation future built type of water rides like flumes, tall splashdown rides, splash battle interactive dark rides, and raft rides in the near future? Powersplash and supersplash seem to be the lastest shoot the chute/water coaster overseas. Not sure if that will be brought over to the United States.

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It's all about the maintenance costs. Dry park water rides require a lot more maintenance and upkeep in order to keep them functioning appropriately. For most small-to-mid size parks, these are costs that just don't make sense to deal with.

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Who knows? It's all hypothetical. Maybe a manufacturer comes up with a ride with reduced costs. Maybe the general public suddenly starts demanding those types of rides again. Maybe I trip, fall, and smash my head on the concrete sidewalk, causing severe-enough brain damage to keep me from ever again having to spend yet another sleepless night worrying about whether or not future generations may experience a water ride without having to go through the inconvenience of changing into a bathing suit.

 

If that answer doesn't suffice, I suggest consulting your nearest Magic 8 Ball.

Edited by michaellynn4
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The reason why we aren't seeing a whole lot of new water attractions at "dry" parks in the United States is because most parks already have their bases covered. Most of the time that's just a log flume and another water ride - either a river rafting ride, or a shoot-the-chute, or a water coaster. Very few parks have the complete set, but I think that's because they feel as though they don't need it.

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Definitely something I can appreciate at Busch Gardens Williamsburg is their trio of fun water rides. I think more water coaster style rides will be added to some parks going forward but it's difficult to see any of the traditional ones going up with the rare exception of Infinity Falls.

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I thought I read that Six Flags was inquiring about the Mack Power Splash in surveys recently. While that doesn't guarantee anything, it would seem they're at least kicking the tires on something like that.

Edited by Ed Farmer
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Definitely something I can appreciate at Busch Gardens Williamsburg is their trio of fun water rides. I think more water coaster style rides will be added to some parks going forward but it's difficult to see any of the traditional ones going up with the rare exception of Infinity Falls.

 

Coney island is getting a new log flume as well.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.amny.com/amp/news/coney-island-luna-park-expansion-1.20626460&ved=2ahUKEwiPm5CK74PfAhUNjq0KHVQICe4QFjADegQIBhAB&usg=AOvVaw2OjqDfVyvHwKrxYHVQYGtd&ampcf=1

1932084374_Screenshot_20181203-092454_SamsungInternet.thumb.jpg.a58ff5ff452983d1ff2bf3d0658b30c0.jpg

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It depends on the type of park.

 

Water rides are in a weird spot because their popularity (aside from those terrible splash boat things) is overwhelming and they maintain that popularity forever regardless of what other rides get added to the park which generally isn't the case with coasters or thrill rides but they're never the reason that people GO to the park. It's more of an impulse thing once people have been in the park for awhile and they're hot. People love the rides but they're expensive to operate and take up a lot of room that could be used for a ride that draws gate (or is just cheaper to operate and maintain) so for pay-one-price parks the temptation is there to remove them.

 

I think that a lot of parks do value their popularity but as A.J said, most parks already have their bases covered. There's not really much incentive for established parks to fork over a bunch of money for a water ride that won't draw gate... especially since they probably already have a few of them.

 

The exception of course is pay-per-ride parks. You rarely see these parks remove flume style rides and you often see them add them. Coney Island is building a giant flume next year (even though they already have another flume) because even though it's not an initial draw, people ride them impulsively in droves so they absolutely print money.

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Ok all I was really asking since it is the topic I started really I should rephrase if they are looking into that’s if they’re looking into creating a new type of water ride for a dry park is MackPower Splash, SuperSplash the next generation of water rides at dry parks? Shoot the rapids at CP didn’t close for high maintenance I don’t think it was because their was an accident causing the boat to go backwards on the lift hill.

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Ok all I was really asking since it is the topic I started really I should rephrase if they are looking into that’s if they’re looking into creating a new type of water ride for a dry park is MackPower Splash, SuperSplash the next generation of water rides at dry parks? Shoot the rapids at CP didn’t close for high maintenance I don’t think it was because their was an accident causing the boat to go backwards on the lift hill.

 

What?

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Ok all I was really asking since it is the topic I started really I should rephrase if they are looking into that’s if they’re looking into creating a new type of water ride for a dry park is MackPower Splash, SuperSplash the next generation of water rides at dry parks? Shoot the rapids at CP didn’t close for high maintenance I don’t think it was because their was an accident causing the boat to go backwards on the lift hill.

What I got from this was: Are the Mack water coaster types (PowerSplash, SuperSplash, water coaster) the next generation of water rides at dry parks?

 

My answer to that would be: not necessarily. Smaller parks, especially international parks, still do log flumes because they're simple. A kid or parent can just hop in the boat and go. The vehicles are easy to maintain because they're effectively just shells with wheels.

 

A water coaster from any manufacturer - Mack, Intamin or someone else - is much more involved. For a start, the boats have locking restraint systems and have to be able to switch from a free-flowing channel to a track and back again (EDIT: technically log flumes do this too but their "track" is a lot simpler). The PowerSplash is less of a water coaster and more of a regular shuttle coaster with a water splash, as the "boats" are always running on the coaster track.

 

EDIT 2: The other argument being made was that Shoot the Rapids closed because of the accident and not because of the maintenance costs.

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It's not just maintenance and upkeep, but also the cost of water. In many communities water is becoming more and more expensive and those rides pump through a lot of it.

The cost of water is nominal since it is continually recycled although some does has to be continually added.

 

Another reason I see as to the decline or stagnation of dry park water attractions is many dry parks have added small water parks which are included with admission. SFoG added a (really) small Hurricane Harbor in 2014 and it has proven to be very popular. If anything this section has dramatically reduced ridership on traditional water rides since those guests wishing to cool off no longer have to wait in a queue just to accomplish that, but rather they can just stroll into the wave pool or stand under the giant bucket - street clothes and all. Meanwhile the 'chute-the-chutes "Splashwater Falls" ride, which has existed since 1987, has stood SBNO all season and no one seemed to notice.

 

On the other hand, Thunder River remains very popular since it is a thrill ride in addition to a water ride. And the Georgia park has a really nice scenic version.

 

The Mack Power Splash does look intriguing though.

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Most of the water rides removed have been ones that dated along with the park's inception or at least during the burst of activity in the late 70s/early 80s for theme park construction/expansion. They just got old. They also require large footprints, which increasingly landlocked parks want to take advantage of.

 

I'm sure they'll be "back" - most parks still have at least one or two. Good log flumes are hugely popular attractions for example.

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Most of the water rides removed have been ones that dated along with the park's inception or at least during the burst of activity in the late 70s/early 80s for theme park construction/expansion. They just got old. They also require large footprints, which increasingly landlocked parks want to take advantage of.

Agreed. I think we're just starting to see a lot of old log flumes and shoot-the-chutes reach the ends of their service lives. Most new water rides I've kept track of have either been themed (Infinity Falls, Chiapas), or have been direct replacements for a previous water ride (Everland's Thunder Falls). They just aren't the novelty they once were, which begs the question - besides virtual reality, what exactly IS the late 2010s - early 2020s theme park novelty anyway?

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It's not just maintenance and upkeep, but also the cost of water. In many communities water is becoming more and more expensive and those rides pump through a lot of it.

The cost of water is nominal since it is continually recycled although some does has to be continually added.

 

I'm not so sure it's "nominal", I don't have a calculation but we're probably talking in the millions of gallons annually that have to added as makeup just from evaporation alone.

 

I'm still waiting for the "amusement style water rides" at a water park revolution to begin.

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It's not just maintenance and upkeep, but also the cost of water. In many communities water is becoming more and more expensive and those rides pump through a lot of it.

The cost of water is nominal since it is continually recycled although some does has to be continually added.

 

Maybe in Georgia (which appears to be your area of expertise) but I can assure you that it is NOT nominal in many places in this country.

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Most of the water rides removed have been ones that dated along with the park's inception or at least during the burst of activity in the late 70s/early 80s for theme park construction/expansion. They just got old. They also require large footprints, which increasingly landlocked parks want to take advantage of.

 

I'm sure they'll be "back" - most parks still have at least one or two. Good log flumes are hugely popular attractions for example.

 

So you think the water rides will be back in a whole new way in the future but probably have a different design like a Mack powersplash or supersplash with a coaster track instead? Infinity Falls raft ride I think we will see more raft water rides like that I’m pretty sure. An old log flume can be replaced with a newer version of a aqua water coaster I believe that is from overseas though their isn’t a new one here in the U.S. The best flume rides I can think of at any theme parks here in the United States are, Jurassic Park:The Ride now closed at USH but still open st Universal Orlando IOA as the JP River Adventure, Splash Mountain-Disney World & Disneyland, Journey to Atlantis-SeaWorld Parks, Timber Mountain which I think is at Knott’s Berry Farm, Bugs Bunny Log Flume I believe is at Six Flags Fiesta Texas Still, Escape From Pompeii at BGW, Matterhorn bobsleds at Disney Parks I guess you can consider that a very greatly themed water coaster, Dudley Do Right & Ripsaw Falls lastly at IOA, so yea those are the best water flume rides in the USA I can think of if I have left anything out let me know. But if you think since the existence of these water rides are still their why won’t they start planning a new design for water rides at dry parks in the coming years & beyond?

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I can think of a couple reasons water rides might have lost popularity besides maintenance costs and water scarcity:

 

Most amusement parks have their own waterparks now, so if they are going to invest in a water ride; they might as well put it in the waterpark.

 

Amusement parks are trying to stay open more year-round and water rides have limited appeal outside hot summer days.

 

Trackless water rides are limited in height and speed and since we have hit those limits; it is hard to break any water slide or flume records without it getting too dangerous. A new 50' or 60' tall slide sounds more impressive for a waterpark than an amusement park, as amusement parks are already full of bigger drops.

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