Shoot the chute
Shoot-the-Chutes is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a flume into a lagoon. The bottom of the flume curves upwards, causing the boat to skip across the water until it comes to a stop. Paul Boyton and Thomas Polk invented the earliest example in 1895 for Sea Lion Park at Coney Island. Crescent Park in Riverside, R.I. was the site of a famous Shoot-the-Chutes in the early 1900's.
While the ride is largely obsolete, an operating modern reproduction, The Pittsburg [sic] Plunge is currently in operation at Kennywood. Modern log flumes work on similar principles.
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.
The most technologically advanced ride based on the Shoot-the-Chute concept is Perilous Plunge at Knott's Berry Farm. It is presently the tallest and steepest water flume ride in the world. 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 staggering 77.8 degree slope. Upon landing below in the lagoon below, each of the ride's three seven-ton boats are capable of generating an amazing 180-degree, 45-foot (13.7 m) high splash that drenches riders as well as spectators standing on an observation bridge overlooking the ride. It was the first water-based amusement park ride in the world to utilize an adjustable electromagnetic braking system to control the volume of the splash.
Locations and Names of this Type of Ride
- Pittsburg Plunge--Kennywood USA
- Perilous Plunge--Knott's Berry Farm USA
- Escape from Pompeii--Busch Gardens Europe USA
- Mile High Falls--Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom USA
- Boston Tea Party--Canobie Lake Park USA
- Shipwreck Falls--Darien Lake Theme Park Resort
- Shipwreck Falls--Geauga Lake USA
- Snake River Falls--Cedar Point USA
- Splashwater Falls--Six Flags Great America USA
- Splashwater Falls--Six Flags Over Georgia USA
- Splashwater Falls--Six Flags Over Texas USA
- Tidal Force--Hersheypark USA
- Tidal Wave--Six Flags Magic Mountain USA
- Tidal Wave--Six Flags St. Louis USA
- White Water Landing--Dorney Park USA
- Hydro--Oakwood Park UK
- Tidal Wave--Thorpe Park UK
- Monsoon--Worlds of Fun USA
External links
- O.P. Hopkins Rides Manufacturer
- Film of Shoot-the-Chutes from the Library of Congress
- Another film of Shoot-the-Chutes from the Library of Congress