Shoot the Chute

Snake River Falls at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

Chute-the-chutes, Dreamland, Coney Island, NY, 1905

La Cascade, Magic-City, Paris, France, 1913

Final 85 ft (26 m) drop on Jurassic Park River Adventure, part of Islands of Adventure at Universal Orlando

Shoot the Chutes is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume, a Shoot the Chute ride generally has larger boats and one single drop.

It may also refer to a playground slide in New Orleans vernacular.^[1]

History

The first of this type of amusement ride was built by J.P. Newburg in 1884 down the side of a hill at Watchtower Park in Rock Island, Illinois. The ride traveled along a 500-foot (150 m) greased wooden track, skipping across the Rock River at the bottom. It was then poled back to the ramp by an on-board ride attendant. Newburg took this unique ride concept next to Chicago, where more flumes were built and the rides grew in popularity.^[2]

Paul Boyton opened Paul Boyton's Water Chute, America's first modern amusement park, at 63rd and Drexel in Chicago, Illinois, on July 4, 1894. Captain Boyton's was the first amusement park to rely solely on mechanical attractions—specifically, America's first major Shoot the Chute ride.Paul Boyton and Thomas Polk built another example in 1895 for Sea Lion Park at Coney Island. The ride was widely copied and "Chute" rides were found at many amusement parks throughout the United States,^[3] and even became the name of several amusement parks. While the original form of the ride is largely obsolete, modern log flume rides work on similar principles.

On the earliest chute rides, the flat-bottomed boat was pulled up the ramp by cable, sometimes with a turnaround on a small turntable. In the ride at Sea Lion Park, the passengers arrived at the top by elevator. The bottom of the ramp curved upwards, causing the boat to skip across the water until it came to a stop. The boat was guided to a landing by a boatman on board.^[4] The oldest ride of this type still in operation is the Boat Chute, constructed in 1926 and 1927 located at Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park in Chattanooga Tennessee.^[5] An operating modern reproduction of the Luna Park shoot the chute ride of the early 20th century, The Pittsburg Plunge,^{[Note 1]} is currently in operation at Kennywood amusement park in Pennsylvania.

Modern rides

The Shoot the Chute concept has evolved over time in the amusement park industry. All modern Shoot the Chute rides today feature a guide track after the descent down the chute into the pool of water that allows the boats to return to the loading platform—completing a closed circuit track. Most modern Shoot the Chute rides usually consist of (though not limited to) an oval shaped layout or a figure-eight layout. Many Shoot the Chute installations also have an observation platform or bridge so that spectators, in addition to riders, can get wet from the splash created by the boats.

Intamin took the Shoot the Chute concept to extremes with the opening of its first Mega Splash, Perilous Plunge at Knott's Berry Farm. At its opening, it was the tallest and steepest water flume ride in the world. Three seven-ton 24-passenger boats climb a 121-foot (36.8 m) lift-hill, round a curve, and descend a 115-foot (35 m) water chute at a 77.8-degree slope. Upon landing in the lagoon below, the boats create a 45-foot (13.7 m) high splash that drenches riders as well as spectators standing on an observation bridge overlooking the ride. The ride uses an adjustable electromagnetic braking system to control the volume of the splash. A similar ride, Hydro, was later constructed at Oakwood Theme Park in Wales, UK

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, built an even larger Shoot the Chute ride named "Pilgrim's Plunge." Designed and built by Intamin and dubbed a Hyper Splash, it was, at its opening, the world's tallest water ride, with a top speed of 50 miles per hour (80 km/h). Pilgrims Plunge features a 135 open elevator lift leading to a 131-foot (40 m) drop at a 45' angle which will propel the boat to speeds approaching 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).^[6] Pilgrim's Plunge opened for the 2009 season, and was featured on a segment of the Travel Channel's Extreme series.^[7] It was renamed Giraffica for the 2013 season, and removed in April 2014 due to downtime and reliability.^[8]

Examples

Modern Adventure Falls — Michigan's Adventure, Muskegon, MI, US Aquaman — Six Flags Over Texas, US Boston Tea Party — Canobie Lake Park, US Buzzsaw Falls — Alabama Adventure, US Congo Falls — Kings Island, US Escape from Pompeii — Busch Gardens Williamsburg, US Flash Flood - Noah's Ark Water Park, Wisconsin Dells, WI, US Fuga da Atlantide — Gardaland, IT Grand Splatch — Parc Astérix, FR Drenched — Oakwood Theme Park, UK Jurassic Park River Adventure — Islands of Adventure, US Jurassic Park: The Ride — Universal Studios Hollywood, US Jurassic Park: The Ride — Universal Studios Japan, Japan Los Fiordos Vikingos — Parque de Atracciones de Madrid, Spain Lost River Ride — Flamingoland, UK Lumberjack Falls — Wild Waves, US Mega Tsunami — China Dinosaurs Park, CN Mile High Falls — Kentucky Kingdom, US Monsoon — Worlds of Fun, US Monsoon Falls — Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, US Niagara — Bellewaerde, B Niagara — Mirabilandia, IT Perilous Plunge (closed 2012) — Knott's Berry Farm, US, Pittsburg Plunge — Kennywood, US Plummet Summit — Magic Springs, US Power Surge — Six Flags Fiesta Texas, US Shipwreck Falls — Darien Lake, US; Elitch Gardens, US; Six Flags New England, US; Six Flags America, US Rim Runner (Closed early 2013) — Adventuredome, US Shoot the Chute — Nagashima Spa Land, Japan; Wonderland Park, US; Chime-Long Paradise, CN; Happy Valley Shanghai, CN; Happy Valley Shenzhen, CN; Happy Valley Wuhan, CN Snake River Falls — Cedar Point, US Splash — Duinrell, NL Splashute — Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise, Japan Splashwater Falls aka Movietown Water Effect — Six Flags Great Adventure (closed 2007), US Splashwater Falls — Six Flags Over Georgia, US Tanganyika Tidal Wave — Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, US Tidal Force — Hersheypark, US Tidal Wave — Adventure Island, UK Tidal Wave — Six Flags Magic Mountain, US Tidal Wave — Six Flags St. Louis, US Tidal Wave — Thorpe Park, UK Timberwolf Falls — Canada's Wonderland, Canada Tutuki splash — PortAventura, Spain The Wave — Valleyfair, US Viking — Vialand, TR White Water Landing — Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom, US Whitewater Falls — California's Great America; Carowinds, US Splash Caribe— (opening Dec 2015) Parque Diversiones Costa Rica; Costa Rica, CR

Historic Shoot the Chute, Watch Tower Amusement Park, Rock Island, Illinois. Invented by J. P. Newberg of Rock Island in 1884. Barber Park, Bellows Falls, Vermont Chutes Park, Los Angeles, California Chutes Park (Milwaukee), Milwaukee, Wisconsin Crescent Park, Riverside, Rhode Island Idora Park, Oakland, California Lagoon Amusement Park, Farmington, Utah. This was Lagoon's first thrill ride[9] Lewis and Clark Exposition (1905), Portland, Oregon Chute-the-Chutes[10] Naval, Shipping and Fisheries Exhibition (1905), Earl's Court, London Luna Park, Berlin (1909–1933) Luna Park, Cleveland (1906–1929)[11][12] Luna Park, Coney Island (1903–1944) Luna Park, Olcott Beach (1898–1926) Luna Park, Paris (1909–1931) Luna Park, Pittsburgh (1905–1909) - current Pittsburg Plunge ride in Kennywood Park is based on Luna Park Shoot the Chute Luna Park, Schenectady (1901–1933) Luna Park, Scranton (1906–1916) Luna Park, Seattle (1907–1913) Ontario Beach Park, Charlotte, Rochester, New York Playland, San Francisco, California, originally known as Chutes-at-the-Beach Wonderland Amusement Park (Revere), Revere, Massachusetts (1906-1911) Riverside Amusement Park (1903–1970), White City (1906–1908), and Wonderland (1906–1911) - all three Indianapolis amusement parks had Shoot the Chute Wonderland Amusement Park (Minneapolis) Savin Rock Park, West Haven, Connecticut—ride called The Mill Chutes Sea Lion Park, Coney Island White City, Chicago, Illinois[13] Wonderland Amusement Park (Milwaukee), Milwaukee, Wisconsin Wonderland Amusement Park (Minneapolis), Minneapolis, Minnesota, Minnesota

Tidal Wave at Thorpe Park,UK

Notes

1. Pittsburgh was spelled as Pittsburg from 1890-1911, and Pittsburg Plunge is located in the Old Pittsburg section of Kennywood Park, reflecting that era of Pittsburgh.

References

1. Fleurty Girl T-Shirts. Retrieved 12 October 2010.
2. Watchtower Park Article by Rock Island Historical Society. Retrieved 30 April 2008.
3. Amusing America Exhibits of the San Francisco Public Library. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
4. Stanton, Jeffrey (1998) Coney Island-Sea Lion Park. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
5. Lake Winnepesaukah. "The Boat Chute". Retrieved May 10, 2010.
6. "Holiday World Adds World's Tallest Water Ride |". Holidayworld.com. 2009-04-29. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
7. "Don't throw your back out, Will! |". Holidayworld.com. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
8. http://www.holidayworld.com/holiblog/2014/04/17/wisdom-sir-isaac/
9. History of Lagoon
10. PDXHistory.com
11. Luna Park article by Russell Allon Hehr from The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History
12. History of Luna Park - Case Western Reserve University
13. "Shoot the Chute Ride In Chicago". Roller Coaster History: How It Started. UltimateRollerCoaster.com. Retrieved 2008-12-07.

External links

• Hopkins Rides Manufacturer
• Intamin official website
• Film of Shoot the Chute from the Library of Congress
• Another film of Shoot the Chute from the Library of Congress