29yrswithaGApass Posted October 16, 2007 Report Share Posted October 16, 2007 Click here to see the whole Spotlight! Comments and discussions welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulieGBones Posted November 26, 2007 Report Share Posted November 26, 2007 Great stuff there and a great ride. I love this ride only when there is someone with me who isn't riding it and will hold my wallet and stuff so my money dooesn't get soaked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Adventurer Posted January 4, 2008 Report Share Posted January 4, 2008 I love this ride. I hope it sticks around unlike most water rides... It occupies a large area filled by water though, it would be very taxing to rip it down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 Such a classic and great ride. I have had a few visits to Six Flags on hot summer days solely to get some butterfly fried, take a couple of rides on Congo Rapids and then a quick dry off ride on Nitro before either heading somewhere else in the park or even home back out of the park. It can be nice to get a good soaking when it's going to be humid at night and I am staying at the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 (edited) Of all the raft rides I have been on, GAdv's is my favorite. I like that it does not have waterfalls dump water right on top of you like the raft rides at other parks. Roaring Rapids does have a waterfall in a corner where the rafts can't float under it and the last time I rode Roaring Rapids they where not working. Edited January 8, 2008 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted January 8, 2008 Report Share Posted January 8, 2008 It really does have that good balance of a fun raft ride without getting wet to the point of discomfort. It's too bad it really is only operating through the summer because I would love to have a ride like that dressed up for Halloween or something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted February 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 A 1982 Great Adventure commercial featuring Roaring Rapids has been added to the Great Adventure History Media Gallery - Advertising. Click here to see the commercial! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted February 21, 2008 Report Share Posted February 21, 2008 Featuring "Broadway" Joe Namath!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted March 26, 2008 Report Share Posted March 26, 2008 Considering the park is going to be giving this ride some special attention in terms of capacity, I am looking forward to seeing if it picks up that much more ridership, especially on warm days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted June 18, 2008 Report Share Posted June 18, 2008 I was a little dissapointed to see that the park was not laoding this from both dock sides last weekend, and instead were only using the one side to move people about. Had both sides been open they would have been able to keep the line looking shorter, in which case more people would have been willing to wait for it than did considering it is one of only two options now for refreshing water rides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted September 4, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 For the first time in a couple of years I went on Rapids this past Sunday at night. It was just as much fun as ever less the waterfalls. I was very surprised to see (or maybe it's not see) how dark it was in the back stretch. It provided for a great ride! On a side note, I have to give credit to the employees who sit back there monitoring the ride. It must be scary back in the dark woods by the lake. Last day for Rapids 2008? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted September 7, 2008 Report Share Posted September 7, 2008 Just had to stick the dagger on here to end the operations right Harry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 The park kept to their word- Rapids was closed today, although the Log Flume was still open after Labor Day with a long line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JetsDevs4Lyf Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Well I am sure the Flume saw the rapids crowd and its own so those attendants got their work in. Too bad Congo wasn't open though as it was a beautiful day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 So with all the "plussing" of rides going on, what additions, changes, or theming do you think could be incorprated into Congo Rapids to breathe new life into this theme park industry classic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warnerleroy Posted July 1, 2009 Report Share Posted July 1, 2009 1. Add fog 2. Bring back the waterfalls 3. Add jungle plants 4. Add some lights 5. Add speakers along the route. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pashacar Posted July 27, 2009 Report Share Posted July 27, 2009 (edited) I rode the rapids recently for the first time in a while. As happy as I was to see both sides of the platform being used to load, in my opinion the ride itself was nothing short of humiliating for the park. None of the water effects worked, and the ride was just plain boring. I think geysers and waterfalls would be a great help, especially since there are only two small segments of rapids in the whole ride. I found myself floating calmly for a huge majority of the experience, waiting for something to happen, but then the ride ended before anything did. I also think that the landscaping around the ride needs a huge amount of work. The faux rocks are all faded and could use some touching up, and more importantly, the area surrounding the water trough is mostly gross dirt, which adds a depressing feel to the experience. Planting shrubs, grass, or, even better, flowers would be an enormous help to this ride and a very welcome addition; the park has showed us how well than can do with a jungle theme in the Golden Kingdom, so why not add some details to this ride to make it feel a little more like the Congo? I was also upset to see that the ride takes guests past some dirty backstage areas, without any attempt to hide them. You can see trailers and machinery from the ride at multiple points, which not only detracts from the Congo River theme, but also further advances the dirty, neglected feel of the ride experience. Again, some strategically-placed shrubs would make a huge difference here, or even adding a big rock facade with a cascading waterfall. I understand that the park doesn't like to put much money into rides that aren't directly going to bring guests into the park, but in my opinion they've let Congo Rapids fall so far below what should be an acceptable ride experience. I think it should be next in line for "plussing" as it needs it even more than LTSP (although maybe they'll improve both in a pachage deal for next season!). I could see a Looney Tunes theme being added, like on the flume ride at SFFT. Ridership this season has seemed very low (during my visits, it's had 10 minute waits when the Log Flume's have been 90), so hopefully that will serve as a wake-up call and encourage management to find some funds to fix the ride up. I do seem to be in the minority here, but I think the ride really needs it. Edited July 27, 2009 by pashacar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafreak Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 i cant agree with you more on this topic, i would gladly put off a new atrration next year for some major ride improvments around the park and this one is top of the list Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 I do seem to be in the minority here, but I think the ride really needs it. I don't think many would disagree with you. Unfortunately because it was one of the first of its kind we now suffer with an "outdated model" rapids ride. In the early years the ride was pretty exciting but because of safety modifications (the narrowing of the river with the wooden walls) and alterations (removal of the wave machines, waterfalls, and geysers) it is now lack luster and could use some major upgrades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMax Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 why were the wave machines, waterfalls and geysers removed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pashacar Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) I don't think many would disagree with you. Unfortunately because it was one of the first of its kind we now suffer with an "outdated model" rapids ride. In the early years the ride was pretty exciting but because of safety modifications (the narrowing of the river with the wooden walls) and alterations (removal of the wave machines, waterfalls, and geysers) it is now lack luster and could use some major upgrades. I did know that it was one of the first models, and I understand why that limits what the park can do with it, but the thing that gets me is that they can still add a thousand different things that the ride's age would have no effect on. Waterfalls, geysers, mist, music, a tunnel, or even just some landscaping would have no effect on the ride itself, and all would improve the experience immensely. Riding past the rock facade right now and seeing a dry waterfall just gives the impression that the park doesn't care at all. Edited July 28, 2009 by pashacar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 (edited) They also really need to remove the poison ivy from the banks of Roaring Rapids since it looks really bad. They also need to remove it from the ride's exit before somebody gets a rash! The park just let the banks become overgrown with weeds and poison ivy and it's time to clean it up. Edited July 28, 2009 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 In 1988 as part of a series of "safety improvements" the wave machines were stopped and the walls were added throughout the ride. Before then boats would regularly get stuck in the wave pools and require crews to go out and push them out into the channel. Several times this resulted in employees (and sometimes guests) falling into the water. As for the waterfalls, that is a maintenance issue. The OLD park management decided that fixing things like that wasn't important. Now there are really tight budgetary constraints, and when it comes down to fix a waterfall versus fix the Big Wheel and Carousel, they need to be the priority. It wouldn't be a bad idea to do kind of a Bizarro style makeover to Rapids and really update and improve it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertDavid Posted July 28, 2009 Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 Does anyone know why the name was changed from Roaring Rapids to Congo River Rapids? It's not like the area is themed to the Congo or anything. Was there some kind of trademark infringement? I've always wondered the reasoning behind it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted July 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 28, 2009 They changed the name from Roaring Rapids to Congo Rapids in 1991 when it was incorporated into the new Adventure Rivers section of the park and wanted to make all the water rides named after various rivers of the world. Six Flags still uses the name Roaring Rapids at Magic Mountain and Great America. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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