Shoot the Rapids was a log flumewater ride located at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. The ride was built and designed by IntaRide and opened to the public on June 26, 2010. Based on a western theme, Shoot the Rapids featured two drops with the second one crossing under the first. In February 2016, reports surfaced that the ride would be permanently dismantled. On February 20, 2016, Cedar Point officially announced the ride's permanent closure.
History
A log flume named Shoot-the-Rapids debuted at Cedar Point in 1967. The ride closed in 1981 to make room for White Water Landing. Following weeks of dropping hints on Facebook about an upcoming new thrill ride for 2010, Cedar Point Vice President John Hildebrandt announced on September 3, 2009, that the new ride would be a log flume called Shoot the Rapids, reusing the name of the previously defunct log flume. Details confirmed that the ride would be designed and built by Intaride LLC, the North American subsidiary of Intamin, on the Millennium Island location of the park. Shoot the Rapids opened to the public on June 26, 2010, and was Cedar Point's most expensive water ride ever built. On February 11, 2016, less than six years later, it was reported in the Sandusky Register that construction crews began removing elements of the ride's structure leading them to believe the ride was being removed from the park. Initially, Cedar Point officials did not publicly comment on the matter. Then on February 20, 2016, during the park's annual "Winter Chill Out" off-season tour, Cedar Point confirmed the reports stating that Shoot the Rapids would not reopen in 2016 and would be removed from the park. In its spot is Professor Delbert's Frontier Fling, formerly RipCord, which had been moved to the former log flume's location due to the expansion of the waterpark area, Cedar Point Shores. Professor Delbert's Frontier Fling is named after Professor Delbert Feinstein, a character appearing on the Paddlewheel Excursions ride, which was removed when the Dinosaurs Alive walk-through attraction was added.
The ride
The ride was based on taking a journey through a rustic western environment and took riders through an illegal moonshine business. Guests boarded flat bottom, 10-passenger fiberglass boats that advanced through the attraction along a canal of water. Special effects included rock canyons, geysers, water features, and a dark tunnel. Riders had to be 48 inches tall, or 46 inches tall to ride with an adult. Shoot the Rapids had two lift hills. The first hill had an drop, at 85 feet tall, which made the ride as tall as the Corkscrew roller coaster. The second hill was tall and crossed under the first. The drops were about 45 degrees. Depending on where one sat, a rider could get slightly wet or totally drenched.
Incidents
On July 19, 2013, a boat carrying seven passengers rolled backwards down the first lift hill and flipped over, injuring all seven riders on board; one was taken to a local hospital and later released. The ride remained closed for the rest of the season.
