Attraction Source Forum

Themeparksandy1981 wrote:Does anyone remember the hose pipes that were at the end of the ride before the lift to the station. They were aimed to hit the boats but think they were removed cause guests would stand up and try to move out of its way.

I remember those! I want them back, Thorpe still have them!

I really want them to come back as well, they were great at getting those who thought they had gotten off lightly.

stealthsmiler wrote:I really want them to come back as well, they were great at getting those who thought they had gotten off lightly.

That reminds me when my misses wore the poncho thing to keep dry, got all the way round and was laughing how wet I got (this was the rare occasion I got wet) then she took it off and got wet right at the end. :lol

Dan.B wrote:

Themeparksandy1981 wrote:Does anyone remember the hose pipes that were at the end of the ride before the lift to the station. They were aimed to hit the boats but think they were removed cause guests would stand up and try to move out of its way.

I remember those! I want them back, Thorpe still have them!

I heard that they were removed, not because of guests trying to dodge them, but because sometimes the odd boat would get a bit delayed down there and the people in the boat would get soaked because of them.

As for the future of the Rapids. Nothing needs changing. You can still get very soaked on this and i personally think its the best themed ride in the park.

Thorpe's ones aren't on all the time, they're on and then off, so at least if you got stuck you wouldn't get drenched.

I don't think anything needs to happen to the rapids, but I wouldn't mind seeing these back.

I don't think that Congo River Rapids will be going anywhere anytime soon. It's really well themed and could be easily refurbished. The seats must be quite easy to refurbish because they've done it once before, and I think that the theming around Congo River Rapids could be easily changed.

The rapids won't be removed but they may be rethemed when Alton put in it's own version of the Chiapas log flume.

I remember both being soaked by the water shooter at the end, the boats used to get stuck here all the time, sometimes with a 3 boat pile up.

AND we once got stuck UNDER the third waterfall on the right every1 was completly drenched and a girl in the boat was balling crying. The water was coming in sideways as it splashes off the side and seats. It was only when another boat came down that's we were knocked free.

I also remember regularly bumping boats with others. Are there fewer boats in the ride now.?

I love the rapids. I get stuck almost every time but that's part of the fun and why I enjoy it so much. Last time was just before the lift at the end, got stuck just bouncing off the rocks then another boat would come and push us back into the rocks. I think it was 11 boats that overtook us in the end before we managed to get on the lift.

I have to say, I did prefer the red boats, I wonder why they changed them.

For those who were talking about restraints a few pages back - You couldn't have restraints on this ride for health & safety reasons, like if the boat did capsize.

The red boats where swapped so it could achieve a higher through-put.

The rapids is fun and is one of the most popular rides on-park. However, when I went on, I barely got wet. I know this rapids ride is a hit-and-miss, but I think they should add something that gets you really wet! I'm going on a water ride to get wet!

TTheory wrote:The red boats where swapped so it could achieve a higher through-put.

Thanks.

But why choose such a horribly garish colour for them? The old ones were a much duller colour, that fit in with the background, so it added to the overall theming of the area, which is excellent. The newer yellow tubs look awfull & don't fit in at all for me. Does anyone happen to knowif they got them from new? Or were they a refurbed job-lot brought in from another park?

& TOTALLY agree on the getting wet thing. You go on the ride with the intension of getting wet. The last 4 or 5 times I've ridden it I've barely even beem splashed!

I personally have a love of water rides. I think they can be just as thrilling and fun as coasters. The rapids is the best themed rapids ride in the UK and it doesn't really need anything changing on it. If i personally was to change anything on it i would maybe put a waterfall over the entrance and exit to the cave. I know this probably couldn't be done because of RMT, but it would guarantee that guests get wet. The water cannons are a very good addition to the ride. The people using them do aim for the faces though! How rude! But i love the rapids and don't think it really needs anything major to improve it. It is one of those rides that has been continuously great year on year.

The Congo rapids have the right formula for a UK water ride in my opinion. Loggers Leap, Tidal Wave and The Log Flume just get you too wet for the weather for 60% of the operating season, Rumba Rapids is...well the less said about that the better, and Storm surge is too unpredictable, you could come of soaked or bone dry.

If they were anything like the Congo Rapids at Busch Gardens, I don't think anyone would dare ride it outside the month of July and August

Credit: TowersStreet

That new boat does look quite good, however, if it were to be implemented, it probably wouldn't be until next season.

In other news, Towers finally announced the air date for that Channel 4 documentary in this tweet. It'll air at 9pm on the 23rd and is called "Inside Alton Towers".

Here is a look at the new style boats which may possibly be introduced across the fleet.









With thanks to DeadJack5 for the photos.

As originally reported by DeadJack5 above, TowersTimes is pleased to bring you further images of Congo River Rapid boat modifications.

As part of Alton Towers' ongoing work to improve safety on Congo River Rapids following last year’s incident at Drayton Manor Theme Park, the Resort appear to be testing new style rafts on the popular attraction.
Three modified boats are currently sat in the area near the end of the Congo River Rapids, featuring a rail around the top and gates on each of the four exit points.
If introduced, could these boats enable the waterfalls on the attraction to be reinstated?

Images and Source: TowersTimes Facebook

Very interesting. Hopefully they can restart the waterfalls as it's a real eyesore at the moment. If they aren't going to have restart them I rather they just get rid of them (or put another feature in their place)

In related news it sounds like there may be corporate manslaughter charges being brought against Drayton over the death on their intamin rapids https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-s ... e-45161739

Whether the waterfalls are on or off doesn't make any difference to safety be honest. I understand that they may just be being extra cautious, but they had operated for 30+ years without any incident as far as I can tell, so they're pretty much proven as being safe. 

The investigation against Drayton seems to be focusing on whether the park reacted accordingly and whether they had the appropriate measures enforced to minimise the risks of the accident occurring in the first place. So long as Alton's safety measures were adequate, they shouldn't have needed to turn the waterfalls off.