In the 1980s, it morphed into a dinosaur theme, and these days, you ride in floating bath tubs, bobbing past rubber duckies among the three big drops, including one that’s 85 feet high. When The Flume opened in 1981, it was the longest log ride in the world-2,900 feet long-and had a forest theme. Find kid-friendly hotels in Orlando, Florida.) ( MORE: Experience all three log rides in Orlando. Height requirement: 42 inches with an adult and 48 inches alone. Each has a 70-foot drop and goes up to 42 mph. They differ slightly: Orlando has a bigger indoor section, while San Diego offers the longest ride. The aquatic theme park swaps the mystical underwater city for a lumber mill in this hybrid coaster flume ride that lives at all three Sea Worlds. Journey to Atlantis at SeaWorld San Antonio (Sea World Parks) Journey to Atlantis (SeaWorld parks in Orlando, San Diego and San Antonio )

Serious Disneyphiles give special props to the version at Tokyo Disneyland, where the ride is most like the Orlando version, except that you get to hear the song “Zip-a -Dee-Doo-Dah” in Japanese. This classic flume ride opened at Anaheim’s Disneyland in 1989-it moves more briskly than its predecessors, at up to 40 mph-and has near replicas in Orlando and Tokyo Disneyland, all with a 53-foot drop, and is based on the 1946 film Song of the South. Splash Mountain at Disneyland (Flickr: Evelyn Lim) Splash Mountain (Disneyland, Magic Kingdom and Tokyo Disneyland) Height requirement: 44 inches with an adult and 48 alone. Along the way, the ride boasts of being the first to send you “below” the water’s surface, with a 75-foot drop and an “exploding” dynamite shack. Set in a sawmill in the Canadian North Woods, this much-loved log ride has its own storyline: Mountie Dudley Do-Right must save a damsel in distress, Nell Fenwich, from classic villain Snidely Whiplash. Height requirement: 36 inches.ĭudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls (Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Orlando)ĭudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls at Universal’s Islands of Adventure (Universal Orlando) Considerately, since you’re largely indoors (and depending on the time of year, Minneapolis is mighty chilly), the ride is designed to just mist, rather than douse, riders. The ride breaks out into the outdoors for sections and has two drops, including a 40-foot plunge as its finale. This Paul-Bunyan-themed ride debuted in 1992 with the rest of the Mall of America’s mostly-indoor amusement park, Nickelodeon Universe. Log Chute (Nickelodeon Universe, Minneapolis) ( MORE: Find kid-friendly hotels near Knott’s Berry Farm.) Height requirement: 36 inches with an adult or 46 inches alone. In keeping with its It’s a Small World-esque appeal, the characters and scenes got spruced up in 2013. The 3,900-foot-long ride includes an 8-story building and runs on a traditional lumber mill theme. This early log ride has been a favorite at the Orange County park since 1969 (John Wayne took the inaugural ride). Mechanical figures, taxidermy animals, and a 19th century vibe. Timber Mountain Log Ride at the Knott’s Berry Farm (Flickr: AngryJulieMonday) Timber Mountain Log Ride (Knott’s Berry Farm, Buena Park, CA) You can also ride its twins at parks such as Six Flags Great Adventure. It lasts just 3.5 minutes and only goes 15 mph, but it’s a classic.

This is the oldest log ride around, debuting in 1963 at this Dallas area theme park and sitting in the Spain section of the park (the park’s zones are themed by the different flags under which Texas has existed). While most theme parks have some version of a log ride-most based on that lumber mill theme, but some straying from the theme (and even into the sewers)-here are the most classic, and craziest:Įl Aserradero (Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, TX) Back in the 19th century, v-shaped flumes were used at saw mills to transport logs, with the rushing water preventing the dreaded “log jams.” No doubt, somewhere along the way a few mill workers realized it was fun to joy-ride on the logs, but it was not until the 1960s that a faux saw mill first appeared at an amusement park, with modern technology adding some speed and thrills. The classic theme park ride-fun, but rarely scary-has some legit historical roots. Log Chute at Nickelodeon Universe (Nickelodeon Universe)ĭuring the mid-afternoon heat at a theme park, nothing (short of ice cream) breaks the fatigue quite like a log ride.

Oldest log flume ride