Log flume (ride)
Log flumes (colloquially known as "log rides") originally referred to a special construct used to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain to a sawmill by using flowing water. Today, however, the term is also used to refer to an amusement ride 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.
The ride usually culminates with a rapid descent and splashdown into a body of water, which may happen more than once (normally the largest drop being just before the end). It provides people with an entertaining way to get wet and cool off on a hot summer day, with certain seating sections usually being splashed with more water for a more exciting and wet ride.
Most log flume rides have a height restriction.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/WalterKnottBudHurlbutLogRideKBF1969.jpg/220px-WalterKnottBudHurlbutLogRideKBF1969.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/Flumeride.jpg/200px-Flumeride.jpg)
The first log flume amusement ride is said to be El Aserradero ("The Sawmill" in Spanish), built by amusement company Arrow Development (later known as Arrow Dynamics, and now part of S&S/Arrow) in 1963 at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. The ride proved to be so popular that a second separate flume was opened in 1968. The designer, Bud Hurlbut, drew his inspiration from stories of lumberjacks riding logs down rivers. Another notable log flume is Splash Mountain at the Disney theme parks, based on characters in Song of the South. Log flumes are now a staple at many amusement parks.
Log flumes are a variant of the chute rides that were popular in the United States in the early 20th century and that continue to be built today, usually called Shoot-the-Chutes. The chutes ride consists of a boat that slides down a long chute and splashes into a lake. The oldest existing ride of this type is Boat Chute, constructed in 1926 and 1927, located at Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee.[1]
Ride design
Log flumes are generally out in the open, though some may contain enclosed or tunneled sections. Enclosed flumes are sometimes referred to as River Caves[dubious – discuss] (such as the "Niagara Falls" flume ride in Sunway Lagoon Theme Park, Malaysia) to set them apart from typical log flumes. "Log Chute" at Mall of America's indoor park Nickelodeon Universe contains sections within a large rocky structure and some out in the open. Disney's Splash Mountain consists of a single trough running in a continuous circuit through the middle of a show building with Audio-Animatronic scenes playing on the left and right of the main flume, with only the largest drops and a few turns positioned place outside the show building.
To increase the probability of being soaked, the flume can be designed to be turbulent, or to run underneath waterfalls. Water cannons (typically coin-operated by passersby) aimed along the path are sometimes installed alongside the flume. Additionally, the exit path from the ride may cross over or go near to the flume, such that departing riders are drenched by the boat currently en route.
Partial list of log flume rides
Africa
- Log Ride — Gold Reef City, South Africa
- Monkey Falls — Ratanga Junction, South Africa
North America
- Adventure Canyon Log Flume — Buffalo Bill's
- American Plunge — Silver Dollar City
- El Aserradero — Six Flags Over Texas
- Big Timber Log Ride - Enchanted Forest Theme Park
- Boston Tea Party - Canobie Lake Park
- Bugs' White Water Rapids — Six Flags Fiesta Texas
- Cahaba Falls — Alabama Adventure
- Coal Cracker — Hersheypark[2]
- Daredevil Falls— Dollywood
- Desperado Plunge — The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom
- Double Splash Flume — Dutch Wonderland
- Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls — Universal Orlando Resort
- The Flume — Knoebels[3]; Playland
- Frightful Falls — Holiday World & Splashin' Safari
- Gator Falls — Lowry Park Zoo
- It's A Small World - Disneyland and Magic Kingdom (no drop just a long scene)
- Pirates of the Caribbean -Disneyland and Magic Kingdom (not outdoor but indoor)
- Jet Stream — Six Flags Magic Mountain
- Journey to Atlantis - SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Antonio, SeaWorld San Diego
- Jurassic Park River Adventure - Universal Studios Florida
- Log Chute — Nickelodeon Universe
- Log Flume — Rye Playland; Martin's Fantasy Island; Seabreeze Amusement Park; Silverwood Theme Park; Six Flags St. Louis; Family Kingdom Amusement Park; Camden Park; Lagoon Amusement Park
- Log Jamboree — Six Flags Over Georgia
- Log Jammer — Kennywood
- Logger's Revenge — Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk
- Logger's Run — California's Great America; Michigan's Adventure; Six Flags Great America
- Old No. 2 Logging Company — Magic Springs and Crystal Falls
- Paul Bunyan's Loggin' Toboggan — Idlewild and Soak Zone
- La Pitoune — La Ronde
- Policy Pond — Canobie Lake Park
- Race for your life Charlie Brown - Kings Island
- River Rapids Log Flume — Adventureland
- Rocky Rapids — Indiana Beach
- Saw Mill Log Flume — Six Flags Great Adventure
- Saw Mill Plunge — Lake Compounce
- Le Scoot Log Flume — Busch Gardens Williamsburg
- Shenandoah Log Flume — Kings Dominion
- Shoot the Rapids - Cedar Point
- Sissiboo Sizzler — Upper Clements Park
- Skloosh — Knoebels[3]
- Splash — Frontier City
- Splash Mountain — Disneyland; Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom
- Splashdown — Castles N' Coasters
- Stanley Falls — Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
- Tidal Force — Hersheypark[4]
- Thunder Creek Mountain — Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom[5]
- Thunder Rapids — Darien Lake
- Thunder River — Waldameer Park
- Timberwolf Falls - Canada's Wonderland[6]
- Timber Mountain Log Ride — Knott's Berry Farm
- Tiny Timbers — Hersheypark[7]
- Treasure Falls — Legoland California
- Troncos — Mundo Aventura Bogotá, Colombia
- Viking Voyager — Worlds of Fun
- Water Flume — Astroland
- Wild River - Luna Park, Coney Island (2010)
- Yankee Clipper — Six Flags Great America
- Zoom Phloom - Morey's Piers
- El Rio de Tiempo (now Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros)-Epcot (2007) (no drop just scenes like It's a Small World)
- Jurassic Park River Adventure-Islands of Adventure Orlando,Florida
South America
- Aguas Turbulentas, Hidrovertigo — Parque de la Ciudad, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- SPLESHI — Hopi Hari, Vinhedo, São Paulo, Brazil
Asia
- Flume Ride — Lotte World, South Korea
- Log Flume — Yokohama Cosmoworld, Japan
- Indiana Logs — Siam Park City, Thailand
- Super Splash — Dream World, Thailand
- Niagara Falls — Sunway Lagoon, Malaysia
- Sungai Rejang Flume Ride - Genting Highlands, Malaysia
- Wonder Drop — Tokyo Dome City, Japan
- Wild River — Star City, Pasay City,Philippines
- Jungle Log Jam — Enchanted Kingdom, Laguna,Philippines
- Midi Flume Ride — Gloria's Fantasyland, Dapitan, Philippines
- Raging River — Ocean Park, Hong Kong
- Splash Mountain — Tokyo Disneyland
- Sindbad's Seven Voyages — Tokyo DisneySea
Australia
- The Plunge - Aussie World[8]
- Rocky Hollow Log Ride — Dreamworld[9]
- Viking's Revenge Flume Ride — Sea World
- Wild West Falls — Warner Bros. Movie World
New Zealand
- Enchanted Forest Log Flume - Rainbows End
Europe
- Dragon Falls - Chessington World Of Adventures Resort, Surrey, United Kingdom
- Great Expectations Log Flume Ride — Dickens World, Chatham, United Kingdom
- Donau Jump — Prater, Austria
- Zambezi Water Splash — West Midland Safari Park, United Kingdom
- Log Flume — Camelot Theme Park, United Kingdom; Gt. Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, United Kingdom; Gulliver's Kingdom, United Kingdom
- White Water Log Flume — Codona's, United Kingdom; M&D's, United Kingdom
- Wild River Flume — Clarence Pier, United Kingdom
- Wild River Log Flume — Botton's Pleasure Beach, United Kingdom; Brighton Pier, United Kingdom
- Wild Wasserbahn — Bobbejaanland, Belgium; Heide Park, Germany
- Wildwasserbahn — Skyline Park, Germany
- Stonewash Creek — Phantasialand, Germany
- Teufelsfässer — Holiday Park, Germany
- Timber Falls Log Flume — Pleasurewood Hills, United Kingdom
- Tirol Log Flume — Europa-Park, Germany
- Tukkijoki — Sarkanniemi, Finland
- Water Chute — Harbour Park, United Kingdom
- Pirate Falls — Legoland Windsor, United Kingdom
- Raging River Log Flume — Paulton's Park, United Kingdom
- Riviere Canadienne — Nigloland, France
- Riviere Sauvage - Walygator Parc, France
- Rocky River Falls — Wicksteed Park, United Kingdom
- Waterchute - Wicksteed Park, United Kingdom
- Aviaries - Wicksteed Park, United Kingdom
- Menhir Express — Parc Asterix, France
- Dragon Falls — Chessington World of Adventures, United Kingdom
- Fantasy Flume — Fantasy Island, United Kingdom
- The Flume — Alton Towers, United Kingdom
- Flumeride — Liseberg, Sweden
- The Rugrats' Lost River — Blackpool Pleasure Beach, United Kingdom
- Canyon River Log Flume — The Flambards Experience, United Kingdom
- Crazy River — Walibi Holland, Netherlands
- Alpine Log Flume — Gulliver's World, United Kingdom
- Loggers Leap — Thorpe Park, United Kingdom
- Flume-Ride — Zoomarine, Portugal
- Colorado Boat — Gardaland, Italy
- Colorado Boats — Cavallino Matto, Italy
- Autosplash — Mirabilandia, Italy
- Silver River Flume — Portaventura, Spain
- Cataratas del Nilo (The Falls of Nile) — Terra Mitica, Spain
- Anaconda — Isla Magica, Spain
- Tømmerstupet — Tusenfryd, Norway
- Nilen — Dyreparken, Norway
- Indiana River (Indoor) — Bobbejaanland, Belgium
- Wild Water Slide - Bobbejaanland, Belgium
- FlashBack - Walibi Belgium, Belgium
- Splash — Plopsa Coo, Belgium
- Pirate's Adventure-Drayton Manor United Kingdom
See also
References
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- ^ Lake Winnepesaukah. "The Boat Chute". Archived from the original on January 3, 2006. Retrieved May 17, 2006.
- ^ Hersheypark Rides - Coal Cracker
- ^ a b Thrill Rides at Knoebels
- ^ Hersheypark Rides - Tidal Force
- ^ Thunder Creek Mountain - Dorney Park
- ^ [1]
- ^ Hersheypark Rides - Tiny Timbers
- ^ Williams, Patrick (8 December 2011). "Aussie World's first water ride". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 9 December 2011.
- ^ Rocky Hollow Log Ride (Dreamworld)