Thunder River (Six Flags AstroWorld)
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| Manufacturer | Intamin | ||||||||||||
| Product | River Rapids | ||||||||||||
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| Capacity | 12 per boat | ||||||||||||
Thunder River was a River Rapids ride built by Swiss manufacturer Intamin previously located at Six Flags AstroWorld in Houston, Texas, USA. It opened in 1980 and was the prototype River Rapids installation from Intamin.[1][2]
History
Thunder River opened at Six Flags AstroWorld on May 30, 1980.[3] The ride's concept was formed by Bill Crandall, who was the general manager of Six Flags AstroWorld at the time and was largely inspired by the 1972 Munich Olympics.
The ride was a huge success upon opening, leading to Six Flags constructing many identical copies across their other parks. Unlike later river rapids models made by Intamin, Thunder River would feature steep dips throughout its course.
During its early operation, the ride boats would face difficulty navigating the course. To remedy this, the park experimented with around six different kinds of bumpers and guide rails put along the river course, with the final method of bolting wooden guide rails in the concrete structure eventually solving the problem of boats getting stuck. This made the ride much more reliable.[4]
During the 1999 season, Thunder River would receive new rafts purchased from Opryland USA's former Grizzly River Rampage after the park closed in 1997. Around this time also, the ride would temporary close following a serious incident on Roaring Rapids at Six Flags Over Texas.[5]
During the 2001 season, Thunder River was closed for refurbishment.[6][7] On December 11, 2001, its refurbishment commenced and it was completed for the 2002 season. Thunder River reopened on April 29, 2002.[8]
The ride would receive new wooden queue line rails in 2003.
Six Flags AstroWorld closed permanently on October 30, 2005.[9] Six Flags would relocate many of the park's rides to other Six Flags properties, while others were put up for auction or demolished for scrap. Thunder River, including its course was demolished after the park's closure, with the ride's hardware being relocated to other Six Flags parks which had similar river rapids rides.[10][11]
Thunder River's rafts would be sent to Six Flags Great America and Six Flags Over Texas as spares.[12][13]
References
- ↑ "Thunder River". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. 1980-06-29. p. 77. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ↑ "Theme parks". The Modesto Bee. 1981-06-07. p. 60. Retrieved 2021-11-10.
- ↑ "New Ride, Schedule Highlight AstroWorld Summer Season". The Oakdale Journal. 1980-06-12. p. 2. Retrieved 2022-01-02.
- ↑ "Whitewater rafting comes to the theme park: Part 1 of our look at River Rapids attractions". ParkVault.
- ↑ "Six Flags Astroworld". Theme Park Timelines.
- ↑ "Astroworld News and Rumors". Six Flags Houston.
- ↑ "Flat Rides, Water Rides, and other Attractions". Six Flags Houston.
- ↑ "Astroworld News and Rumors". Six Flags Houston.
- ↑ "For AstroWorld, the ride is over".
- ↑ "Astroworld 1968 - 2005". Save AstroWorld.
- ↑ "Status of former Astroworld attractions". Six Flags Houston.
- ↑ "From Astroworld, With Love". Flickr.
- ↑ "Where Are They Now..." Thrillhunter.
