Rapid river Water Rides
A river rapids ride sends guests down a circular channel where the water does the steering. The rafts float free and turn on themselves as they meet the current, so nobody on board knows which side will take the next wave. Getting wet is the point, which is what fills the queue on the hottest afternoons of the season.
What makes a rapids ride different
Pumps and water jets placed along the channel generate the waves, the cross currents and the drops. There is no track underneath: direction comes from the shape of the channel together with the force of the water, which is why the same raft never repeats the same run. On a flume the boat follows a fixed line. On a rapids ride the ride changes every lap.
The Rapid River by Preston & Barbieri runs eight rafts of ten seats along a 321 metre channel (1,053 ft), carrying up to eighty guests at the same time. The circuit folds into a footprint of 51 by 26.5 metres (167 by 87 ft), so a full scale water attraction fits inside the space of a midway. Reinforced rafts, integrated safety systems and a minimum height of 130 cm (51 in) keep it open to families.
The water runs in a closed circuit, recirculated rather than replaced, which cuts both consumption and running costs across a season. The ride is available trailer mounted, self supporting or on foundations, with theming applied to the channel banks, the rock work and the station. Parks that want a second water attraction alongside it often add a flume ride, which soaks guests once at the bottom of the drop instead of for the whole lap.
