| Watch the on-ride POV |
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| Riders per tube | 1-2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Containment | Open | ||||||||||||||||
| Length | 700 feet | ||||||||||||||||
Key West Rapids was a tube rapids water slide formerly located at Adventure Island Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida, USA.
History
Key West Rapids opened on March 31, 1995, as part of a park-wide retheme to Key West, Florida.[1][2]
In 2011, a 21-year-old lifeguard was killed when the slide was struck by lightning while he was standing in one of the slide's pools.[3][4] The Occupational Safety and Health Administration later fined Adventure Island $7000 as a result of the accident.[5]
Plans were filed by Adventure Island for the plot that Key West Rapids stood on in 2019.[6]
On August 28, 2019, Adventure Island annouced that the slide would close on October 1, 2019, to make way for a new attraction.[7][8] The date was later changed to September 30, 2019.[9]
Key West Rapids was replaced by Solar Vortex, which also reused its tower and some of its supports.[6][9]
Deisgn
- Some of Key West Rapids' design elements were reused on Solar Vortex
-
Double down on Key West Rapids -
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_2020_01.jpg)
The slide opened with 4-person tubes, which were the reason for the slide's width, but these were later swapped for a choice of a 1 or 2-person tube.[1][10]
Both the tubes and the flume design are very similar to those produced by Surf Coaster.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Backman, Lisa (February 17, 1995). "Busch parks add new attractions". The Tampa Tribune. p. 33. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ↑ Clarke, Jay (May 14, 1995). "Polar bears aliens and... Barney invade theme parks". The Miami Herald. p. 79. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ↑ Fogel, Stefanie (September 10, 2011). "Adventure Island employee dies after being struck by lightning". 10 Tampa Bay. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ↑ Thompson, Paul (September 12, 2011). "Heroic lifeguard killed by freak lightning bolt at top of giant theme park ride hours after celebrating his 21st birthday". Daily Mail. Retrieved December 3, 2024.
- ↑ "Adventure Island fined in lifeguard's death". Tampa Bay Times. July 25, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 ?, Bill (July 23, 2019). "New Plans Detail Adventure Island Project 90". Touring Central Florida. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ↑ "Last Chance to Ride Key West Rapids | Adventure Island Tampa Bay". Facebook - Adventure Island. August 28, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ↑ Carter, Ashley (August 29, 2019). "Busch Gardens to Open New Ride at Adventure Island". Spectrum Bay News 9. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Visit today and be among the final guests to ride Key West Rapids!". Facebook - Adventure Island. September 30, 2019. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ↑ "Water Cam". Land 4Adventure. Archived from the original on October 23, 1996. Retrieved December 4, 2024.
- ↑ Langford, Frederick (November 15, 1989). "Coupleable flotation apparatus forming lines and arrays". Google Patents. Retrieved December 4, 2024.