White Water Canyon

[ROBBE1]

I have always loved whitewater raft rides.  Ever since I first rode Congo River Rapids down in Tampa I was hooked.  Needless to say, when I found out my home park was getting one I was ecstatic.   I remember riding the train and seeing the construction progress back in 1984 when it was being built.  I could not wait.  To this day, I still love getting cooled off with a splash.  

I was wondering 2 things.  Hopefully someone on here could shed some light.  The first question i have is what happened to the first employee controlled 'snake' hose that used to greet guests around the first bend of the attraction?  Why was it removed?

Next, in the second tunnel there used to be a set of water sprayers that would fire off every so often while you were going through.  This seemed to be random and I thought I remember that even if you were in the tunnel as you went through, the amount of water that sprayed on you was minimal, more of a mist if anything.  If I recall correctly, it seemed to spray more up onto the ceiling.  However, the water being sprayed through the tunnel did sound loud and ominous.  It always made me anxious when approaching as to whether or not it was going to go off or not.  This was also removed from the ride.  

Anyone have any insights as to why?

[jensenracing77]

I just told my girls about the water that would spray in the tunnel. They said they want it to come back. Only one cannon was working Monday. The ones closer to the end were not working. I love these rides also. We went on it 5 times and the log ride one time just before we left. 

[wabashcr]

I have no insights as to why those features would have been removed.  My guess is that they stopped functioning properly, and the park didn't see fixing them as a high priority.   The tunnel sprayers were definitely a fun part of the attraction.

I love White Water Canyon.  I have so many memories of riding it as a kid, sometimes waiting for 2 hours on a hot day.  Since the line was mostly through a wooded area, it was a nice way to break up the day and cool down.  These days I skip the water rides.  The wet shoes just aren't worth it to me anymore.  I can't remember the last time I rode WWC, Amazon Falls or the log flume.  As much as I wish they hadn't taken out the keelboats, I probably wouldn't ride them anymore, either.