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Rating:
* * * *
Type: Log flume ride
Time: 6 minutes
Kelly says: Laughs and screams
In Dudley’s hometown of Ripsaw Falls, as you might expect, Nell is once again in the clutches of the dastardly Snidely Whiplash. That’s all the excuse you need to take off on a rip-roaring log flume ride that, like so many other attractions in this park, takes the genre to a whole new level.
The build-up takes us through a series of scenes in a “moving melodrama” in which the much-loved characters unfold a typically wacky plot that includes not just Dudley, Nell, and Snidely but Inspector Fenwick and Horse, too, as our five-passenger log-boats rise inexorably to the mountainous heights where Snidely has his hideout. Along the way we pass animated tableaux that advance the tie-her-to-the-railroad-tracks plot. The landscape is dotted with signs that echo the off-the-wall humor of the old cartoons. At one point the boat detours into the abandoned Wontyabe Mine, at another we pass a billboard advertising Whiplash Lager (“made with real logs”). Of course, Dudley triumphs almost in spite of himself. Anticipating victory a bit too soon, he strikes a heroic pose with his foot on a dynamite plunger, precipitating a plunge through the roof of a TNT storage shack as the riders are shot beneath the water surface only to pop back to the surface 100 feet downstream. This is the first log flume to pull off this little bit of wizardry and how they manage it I’ll leave you to discover. Another nice touch is that the final drop is curved rather than a straight angle; the result is that, as the angle steepens, you could swear you’re hurtling straight down.
Tip: You can speed your way through this ride by asking the attendant to point you towards the single-riders line.
This is one ride that just may be as entertaining to watch as to take. If you’d prefer not to take the plunge and actually go on the ride, you can stand and watch others take the steep 60-foot drop into the TNT shack. Or you can use the Water Blasters (25 cents) to spray the riders as they pass below you — good, clean, evil fun.
Tip: If you’re coming from Marvel Super Hero Island, you can take a shortcut to Ripsaw Falls. Just turn left at Betty Boop’s piano!
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