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Shoot the chute

January 01, 1970

Shoot the chute 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 or super flume, which generally seats up to eight passengers, a modern-day shoot-the-chute ride generally has larger boats seating at least four across.[1]

Snake River Falls at Cedar Point, Sandusky, Ohio

History edit

 
Chute-the-Chutes at Coney Island's Dreamland, 1905
 
La Cascade at Magic-City in Paris, 1913
 
Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure in Orlando

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 pulled back to the ramp by an onboard 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, on July 4, 1894. Boyton's was the first amusement park to rely solely on mechanical attractions. 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 Rossville, Georgia, near Chattanooga, Tennessee.[5] An operating modern reproduction of the Luna Park shoot-the-chute ride of the early 20th century, The Pittsburg Plunge, is currently in operation at Kennywood amusement park in Pennsylvania.

Water chutes were also a popular attraction in the United Kingdom in the late-19th and early-20th centuries, with large multi-chute examples built at Blackpool, the Bradford Exhibition, Earls Court Exhibition Centre, and Southport, all now demolished. Smaller single-chute versions are extant and operating at East Park, Kingston upon Hull, Peasholm Park, Scarborough, and Wicksteed Park, Kettering. A large single chute ride was built at the Battersea Park funfair - now demolished - and was an integral park of a chase sequence in the 1959 Dial 999 episode "Inside Job".[6]

Modern rides edit

The shoot-the-chute concept has evolved over time in the amusement park industry. All modern shoot-the-chute rides 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.[citation needed] Most modern shoot-the-chute rides usually consist of (though not limited to) an oval-shaped layout or a figure-eight layout.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]

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 would 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 created a 45-foot (13.7 m) high splash that drenched riders as well as spectators standing on an observation bridge overlooking the ride. The ride used 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. Perilous Plunge was removed from the park in 2012.

Schlitterbahn in Corpus Christi, Texas, opened "Padre Plunge" in May 2017. This ride previously stood at Alabama Splash Adventure where it was known as "Buzzsaw Falls".[7] It was damaged by Hurricane Harvey three months later and the ride permanently closed to the public. It was demolished in March 2020.

Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana, built an even larger shoot-the-chute ride named Pilgrims 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 featured a 135-foot open elevator lift leading to a 131-foot (40 m) drop at a 45' angle that would propel the boat to speeds approaching 50 miles per hour (80 km/h).[8] Pilgrims Plunge opened for the 2009 season and was featured on a segment of the Travel Channel's Extreme series.[9] It was renamed Giraffica for the 2013 season and removed in April 2014 due to downtime and reliability issues.[10]

Notable manufacturers edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Hopkins Rides Brochure". WhiteWater West. Retrieved April 19, 2021.
  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, Westland Network. Retrieved 4 August 2007.
  5. ^ Lake Winnepesaukah. . Archived from the original on April 22, 2010. Retrieved May 10, 2010.
  6. ^ http://avengerland.theavengers.tv/Dial999/99933.htm
  7. ^ "Padre Plunge log ride makes a splash at Schlitterbahn". Corpus Christi Caller-Times.
  8. ^ . Holiday World. 2009-04-29. Archived from the original on 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  9. ^ "Don't throw your back out, Will! |". Holiday World. 2009-06-24. Retrieved 2010-09-14.
  10. ^ "The wisdom of Sir Isaac". Holiday World. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2018.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shoot-the-Chutes.
  • Film of Shoot the Chute from the Library of Congress
  • Another film of Shoot the Chute from the Library of Congress
  • HD Remaster of Coney Island Chutes and Elephant Slide

January 01, 1970
shoot, chute, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, c. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Shoot the chute news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message Some of this article s listed sources may not be reliable Please help improve this article by looking for better more reliable sources Unreliable citations may be challenged and removed February 2020 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message Shoot the chute 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 or super flume which generally seats up to eight passengers a modern day shoot the chute ride generally has larger boats seating at least four across 1 Snake River Falls at Cedar Point Sandusky Ohio Contents 1 History 2 Modern rides 3 Notable manufacturers 4 References 5 External linksHistory edit nbsp Chute the Chutes at Coney Island s Dreamland 1905 nbsp La Cascade at Magic City in Paris 1913 nbsp Jurassic Park River Adventure at Islands of Adventure in Orlando 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 pulled back to the ramp by an onboard 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 on July 4 1894 Boyton s was the first amusement park to rely solely on mechanical attractions 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 Rossville Georgia near Chattanooga Tennessee 5 An operating modern reproduction of the Luna Park shoot the chute ride of the early 20th century The Pittsburg Plunge is currently in operation at Kennywood amusement park in Pennsylvania Water chutes were also a popular attraction in the United Kingdom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with large multi chute examples built at Blackpool the Bradford Exhibition Earls Court Exhibition Centre and Southport all now demolished Smaller single chute versions are extant and operating at East Park Kingston upon Hull Peasholm Park Scarborough and Wicksteed Park Kettering A large single chute ride was built at the Battersea Park funfair now demolished and was an integral park of a chase sequence in the 1959 Dial 999 episode Inside Job 6 Modern rides editThe shoot the chute concept has evolved over time in the amusement park industry All modern shoot the chute rides 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 citation needed Most modern shoot the chute rides usually consist of though not limited to an oval shaped layout or a figure eight layout citation needed 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 citation needed 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 would 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 created a 45 foot 13 7 m high splash that drenched riders as well as spectators standing on an observation bridge overlooking the ride The ride used 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 Perilous Plunge was removed from the park in 2012 Schlitterbahn in Corpus Christi Texas opened Padre Plunge in May 2017 This ride previously stood at Alabama Splash Adventure where it was known as Buzzsaw Falls 7 It was damaged by Hurricane Harvey three months later and the ride permanently closed to the public It was demolished in March 2020 Holiday World amp Splashin Safari in Santa Claus Indiana built an even larger shoot the chute ride named Pilgrims 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 featured a 135 foot open elevator lift leading to a 131 foot 40 m drop at a 45 angle that would propel the boat to speeds approaching 50 miles per hour 80 km h 8 Pilgrims Plunge opened for the 2009 season and was featured on a segment of the Travel Channel s Extreme series 9 It was renamed Giraffica for the 2013 season and removed in April 2014 due to downtime and reliability issues 10 Notable manufacturers editArrow Dynamics Hopkins Rides WhiteWater WestReferences edit Hopkins Rides Brochure WhiteWater West Retrieved April 19 2021 Watchtower Park Article by Rock Island Historical Society Retrieved 30 April 2008 Amusing America Exhibits of the San Francisco Public Library Retrieved 4 August 2007 Stanton Jeffrey 1998 Coney Island Sea Lion Park Westland Network Retrieved 4 August 2007 Lake Winnepesaukah The Boat Chute Archived from the original on April 22 2010 Retrieved May 10 2010 http avengerland theavengers tv Dial999 99933 htm Padre Plunge log ride makes a splash at Schlitterbahn Corpus Christi Caller Times Holiday World Adds World s Tallest Water Ride Holiday World 2009 04 29 Archived from the original on 2010 06 12 Retrieved 2010 09 14 Don t throw your back out Will Holiday World 2009 06 24 Retrieved 2010 09 14 The wisdom of Sir Isaac Holiday World 17 April 2014 Retrieved 23 April 2018 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shoot the Chutes Film of Shoot the Chute from the Library of Congress Another film of Shoot the Chute from the Library of Congress HD Remaster of Coney Island Chutes and Elephant Slide Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shoot the chute amp oldid 1207692151, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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