How much longer for Congo Falls?

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

Congo Falls is an intamin shoot the shoots ride that opened as Amazon Falls in 1988. However, ever since parks have started taking away these types of attractions, KI fans have speculated when the attraction would bite the dust. It also sits on a nice plot of land right near two other aging attractions that aren't popular (Invertigo and Timberwolf Theater) that could open up a nice plot of land right next to the front gate. How long do you think KI will keep Congo Falls and when do you think it will give it's last splash? What would you like to see replace it? Will Invertigo and Timberwolf leave along with it? Let's discuss here! 

[Rivertown Rider]

I would not be surprised if it left but I have thought for the last twenty years that its time was short.  I would be curious to know its ridership numbers, but it is also a very efficient ride system by design. 

I did ride Drop Tower today and there are no signs of construction around Timberwolf regardless of what others have been floating.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

50 minutes ago, Rivertown Rider said:

I did ride Drop Tower today and there are no signs of construction around Timberwolf regardless of what others have been floating.

I rode Drop Tower several times today and I saw nothing either. However, I don't think there were signs around Firehawk and Vortex during the summers of 18/19 before their removals. I think timberwolf wouldn't take longer than a few months to tear down. 

[KIBeast]

I haven't been on Congo Falls in years. I have noticed that there isn't much ridership as well. Even if you leave Timberwolf and Invertigo out of the equation, it opens up enough space for a nice flat ride to go in there.

[purdude86]

I think eventually it and Invertigo will go and a new ride will take their place. The two together open up a large area.

[SonofBaconator]

 I'd rather it and Invertigo removed for a path to Timberwolf like @Hawaiian Coasters 325 drew out

[Shawn Meyer]

I don't know if this idea makes any sense or not, but it's nice to have Congo falls on a nice hot day. However I don't think it's in a good spot there where it currently is. If tearing up concrete wasn't expensive, I'd say relocate Congo falls over where Vortex used to be. I know that would get pretty pricey to smash concrete and then relay concrete in a new spot, but Congo falls might get better ridership there. This would also open the door for a possible ferris wheel in the same plot of land. 

[robintodd]

My thought would be they would relocate it next to white water canyon.  Having all the water rides together is nice, like at CP.  I have been thinking that they may remove/relocate congo falls, remove timberwolf and remove/relocate Invertigo to create a coaster to interact with the main gate.  It just may take 2 - 6 years till it happens (which means it may already be in the planning phase).

[DoomPlague]

I don't feel like the ride serves much purpose other than for people to stand on the bridge to get soaked. I say ditch it and put a dark boat/flume ride somewhere else in the park (not likely to happen but I can dream).

[Skibum]

I may have stated this before but my preference would be to get rid of this ride and Invertigo and that is where a lovely RMC hybrid could go.  Maybe take out Timberwolf, if needed, and that would give such a great first view of Kings Island.  Plus, you eliminate a low capacity coaster and a water ride that is not adding much to the park.  Of course, I'm not a "shoot the chutes" fan to begin with and that colors my perspective.  At the same time, Action Zone could be rethemed to a more  spooky setting (The Bat and Banshee are already there) by changing Delirium's and Drop Tower's names and adding just a little themed pieces to the area.  

I would then add more trees to the concrete slab that is Action Zone.

[medford]

Congo Falls.....best air time in the park 

Even on hot days when I've been this summer, on sunday's since mid week wasn't possible for much of this summer like it has been in the past for my family, Congo falls rarely had much of  al line.  It does tend to eat lines pretty quickly even with only 2 boats running like it seems like it usually does.  My kids love it, I love it, but I do agree that its location is no longer ideal and I'll assume its somewhere near the end of its service life (though for all I know, those things could run forever with minimal maintenance, I just know its been around for a while).  I'd love to see it relocate elsewhere in the park, but that seems unlikely/expensive relative to what, if any increase in customer satisfaction it would provide elsewhere.  I'd love to see something similar to it takes its place elsewhere in the park to make room in that spot, along with the removal of Invertigo and perhaps Timberwolf for a B&M dive machine.  I know some don't get all that excited for dive machines, and with Cedar Point getting their not all that long ago, I suspect KI would have to wait another 10 years or so, but that is an ideal location for a B&M dive machine.  Station back by the lift hill for  Congo Falls, hold/drop/dive facing out towards the entrance where Invertigo's lift hills, loop back towards the front of Invertigo/congo falls, loop around with some interaction with the plaza area, etc...  Just not sure there is enough room there for all of that w/o eating into Timberwolf's spot (which wouldn't be much of a loss in my mind)

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

I can't see anything but another family friend attraction going here if it was going to go right after something like Orion was built. If it does have to go, I think some sort of 'light horror' themed flat ride could go there.

[MDMC01]

I like that B&M Dive idea, @medford; I think that would be a much better place to put it than in Vortex's plot (cross-threading). Though it would be sad to see it go (like Vortex, Congo Falls has just "always been there" and also, it's one of the remnants of the old Adventure Village area - though back then, it was called Amazon Falls), it would be interesting to see that area revitalized.

[Joshua]

I have always enjoyed the simplicity and quickness of Congo Falls. I know its location isn't popular with most but it is nice having a water ride in AZ that you can hop on real quick to cool off in a jiffy.  When it goes, I'd like it to be replaced by another water ride. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

20 hours ago, Joshua said:

I have always enjoyed the simplicity and quickness of Congo Falls. I know its location isn't popular with most but it is nice having a water ride in AZ that you can hop on real quick to cool off in a jiffy.  When it goes, I'd like it to be replaced by another water ride. 

I would not hold my breathe. Look at Carowinds. The furthest south park on the east coast and no water rides in the dry side of the park. 

[Aaron88stang]

On 11/16/2021 at 3:25 PM, IndyGuy4KI said:

I would not hold my breathe. Look at Carowinds. The furthest south park on the east coast and no water rides in the dry side of the park. 

Carowinds is a nice park, but they have removed much of their history and closing the raft ride made zero sense based on the climate. When I last visited it was extremely hot and we waited close to an hour for the raft ride just to cool off. 

[super7]

Carowinds gets blazing hot in the summer and Cedar Fair has removed their Powder Keg Flume, Whiewater Falls shoot-the-chute and closed Rip Roariin’ Rapids.    While KI has retained all three rides.    

[cdubbs727]

Congo Falls was a big deal when it opened, I remember (as Amazon Falls). As a kid, I remember its drop terrified me, and it was guaranteed you'd get soaked. The theming also fit well with the Animal Habitat.

In recent years, it feels more like an afterthought. The theming doesn't fit Action Zone (although AZ itself is overdue for a major retheme) and I never see much of a line. It's been visually neglected -- it no longer has that jungle feel to it; it just looks like an ugly piece of steel standing out by itself. And the last few times I rode it, I don't recall getting very wet. I've tried to get my kid to ride it (he's 10) and he seems bored by the idea -- he can still get plenty wet on WWC and Race for Your Life Charlie Brown, and they both take fun routes through the woods. Congo Falls feels like a relic. And if you cleared out Invertigo, Congo Falls and Timberwolf (which basically only exists for Spirit Song these days), you could do something really cool in that area. 

[purdude86]

As much as I enjoy the rides themselves, Congo Falls and Invertigo are towards the bottom of my list of stuff to do in the park and often don't ride them. Usually don't want to get soaked when I'm over there to ride Congo Falls, and Invertigo usually has long, slow moving lines with it's one train operation that I feel it isn't worth it. If they removed them along with Timberwolf, and relocated Xtreme Skyflyer to X-Base they would have a huge area to do something with. And honestly, even if they left Invertigo, it is on the edge already and takes up a small footprint so could stay. With Banshee, Bat, and the colors for Inveritgo and Delerium, I would love to see a dark forest theme for the area, along with trees planted to convey that (along with Planet Snoopy to Camp Snoopy all the trees throughout the park would be amazing and help with heat by providing more shade. Would love to see 2 or 3 new flats and a hybrid/RMC style coaster added to round out the area.

[CorkscrewMcPuke]

On 1/31/2022 at 4:04 PM, purdude86 said:

As much as I enjoy the rides themselves, Congo Falls and Invertigo are towards the bottom of my list of stuff to do in the park and often don't ride them. Usually don't want to get soaked when I'm over there to ride Congo Falls, and Invertigo usually has long, slow moving lines with it's one train operation that I feel it isn't worth it. If they removed them along with Timberwolf, and relocated Xtreme Skyflyer to X-Base they would have a huge area to do something with. And honestly, even if they left Invertigo, it is on the edge already and takes up a small footprint so could stay. With Banshee, Bat, and the colors for Inveritgo and Delerium, I would love to see a dark forest theme for the area, along with trees planted to convey that (along with Planet Snoopy to Camp Snoopy all the trees throughout the park would be amazing and help with heat by providing more shade. Would love to see 2 or 3 new flats and a hybrid/RMC style coaster added to round out the area.

I often wonder who enjoys having soggy undies in Action Zone.

[silver2005]

51 minutes ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said:

I often wonder who enjoys having soggy undies in Action Zone.

That's why you blow dry on Invertigo or Banshee.

[purdude86]

1 hour ago, CorkscrewMcPuke said:

I often wonder who enjoys having soggy undies in Action Zone.

Yea with RFYLCB and White Water Rapids next to each other, we'll usually bring a change of clothes if we really want to do them and then marathon them over and over, change into dry clothes and then enjoy the rest of the park. Or if planning to go to Soak City, jsut wear our swimsuits into the park with a random t-shirt and ride them first, then go straight over to Soak City.

[Shaggy]

In the 1980's - there was a large surge in water attractions within most theme parks.  They were very.... no, not very.... IMMENSELY popular.  The addition of one rivaled a coaster in draw.  The year(s) after WWC opened at Kings Dominion, the line would routinely stretch to International Street - outside the Old Virginia area of the park.  Kings Island's followed suit, and just like its KECO predecessor, the line would routinely snake all the way out of Rivertown.  (Trivia... Dominion's uses a conveyor-style loading platform... but due to the popularity and long waits, Kings Islands was given a turntable for speedier load times.)  I rode both Dominion's and KI's WWC the years they opened - and the years following - and waited hours each time.)

The "rapids" attractions set the "get soaked" trend in motion, and other dry-park water attractions followed suit - mainly modern-day shoot-the-shoots rides (I think Intamin coined them "spillwater" rides.)  As the decade ticked on, the popularity of those water rides gave birth to a surge in waterpark additions. The spillwater rides didn't retain the novelty the way rapids rides did - most people found them a one-trick pony.  (I recall my friends and I being super stoked to ride "Diamond Falls" at Kings Dominion... the commercials were great!  But then when we got to the park and saw it, our reaction was "That's it?")

Obviously, with time, the popularity of many of the dry park water rides has waned.  Partly due to people's general hesitation to walk around wet in non-bathing attire, but also the general "aging-out" of the rides.  Specifically, the single novelty of just getting splashed/soaked has caused a noticeable drop in ridership of the shoot-the-shoots rides.  But having a sizable hourly capacity, short lines can deceive the mind when judging a ride's popularity.

Personally, I am surprised that Congo Falls has lasted as long as it has.  I thought for sure it was headed for the scrap heap back in the early Paramount Action Zone days.  When Diamond Falls bit the dust, I again thought Congo's days were numbered.  But it seems to be chugging right along at the Island. Its saving grace has likely been good hourly ride counts, relatively low cost/maintenance, and placement in a non-prime piece of real estate.  (The plot of land it sits on is, essentially, land locked.  Unless of course its used for a smaller flat ride addition or Timberwolf/Invertigo etc meet their demise with it.) 

 

[amapan]

So maybe the park should close White Water Canyon…. Those river rapids rides are some of the most unsafe rides ever created. With White Water Canyon closed, the park would have an ideal spot to relocate Congo Falls.  The “river” part could be converted to float boats down, decreasing the cost of new concrete and plumbing. Maybe add a splash pad. Or fish ponds could be brought back to the park. There’s so much verdant, beautiful space back there. To me, it seems like shady areas in the park disappear with every addition or renovation.  It could possibly relieve some congestion in that weird area where Planet Snoopy blends into River Town. 
 

I really, really miss all the gardens, ponds, and unique landscaping that used to be in the park. While some has survived, and AMAZING things have been added in their place, I’d like to see it come back. I believe they missed a huge opportunity for some of this type of landscaping when antique cars came back. Landscaping was a huge part of the OG antique cars experience that the new cars don’t deliver. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

57 minutes ago, amapan said:

Landscaping was a huge part of the OG antique cars experience that the new cars don’t deliver. 

I am struggling to know what they missed with the autos? Gas station, bridge, pond with 2 fountains, signage that references old rides, and there is quite a bit of landscaping on the path. What else were your wanting them to do?

[amapan]

44 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I am struggling to know what they missed with the autos? Gas station, bridge, pond with 2 fountains, signage that references old rides, and there is quite a bit of landscaping on the path. What else were your wanting them to do?

The placement of the ride seems ill-planned.  Kind of like it is squished into a small plot in an already congested area. I think the antique cars would be AMAZING back behind WindSeeker  and The Racer turnaround. I love it back there lol. The park has Disney World levels of real estate, compared to practically every other regional park, that they seem unwilling to work with. Even though the original antique cars ride was in the middle of the park, I think the inclusion of topiaries and the other landscaping around that general area made it seem more secluded and meandering. Maybe I’m misremembering the scale of the original because I was a shorty kid when I first experienced the antique cars.   Or maybe that In The Loop video I watched yesterday about Gilroy Gardens has me feeling some kind of way about what KI has lost in landscaping and GG has excelled in executing. 
 

antique cars @4:26
 

 

[PKIDelirium]

My only complaint with KMAA is putting the "covered bridge" at the back, along a fence, instead of using the "dueling" section between the two ponds.

[CoastersRZ]

Well, part of the reason the "covered bridge" was placed where it was was to camoflauge the site screen fence that is on the left side as you are driving through it.  This fence is present both before and after the "covered bridge."  Yes, the area that KMAA is in could have been bigger.  I am just glad that they brought the ride back into the park, and fixed up an area of Coney Mall that had needed some sprucing up for years.  Really since the mid-90s after Flight Commander left.

[KIghostguy]

3 hours ago, amapan said:

The placement of the ride seems ill-planned.  Kind of like it is squished into a small plot in an already congested area.

Did you ever go into that section of the park before Antique Cars were put there? You had Coney Drinks, which was never open, the Flight Commander queue rotting in front of guests' eyes, and the ride's platform which had been empty of any permanent fixture since Flight Commander was removed. And the empty concrete Dinosaurs Alive! entrance plaza (smoking area). It was an embarrassing stretch of midway. Yes, it's a compact space, but it was the right place to put the return of Antique Cars. 

[amapan]

2 hours ago, CoastersRZ said:

I am just glad that they brought the ride back into the park, and fixed up an area of Coney Mall that had needed some sprucing up for years.  Really since the mid-90s after Flight Commander left.

I agree. New attractions are typically a  net positive for parks and their guests.  Was always confused as to why the left the Flight Commander spot sat empty for so long. Practically any carnival-like flat would have fit there, been on theme for the midway, and filled a need for that type of attraction. 

 

55 minutes ago, KIghostguy said:

It was an embarrassing stretch of midway. Yes, it's a compact space, but it was the right place to put the return of Antique Cars. 

That part of the park wasn’t the best before the renovation of the midway and addition of the antique cars. However, I have to disagree that it was the best placement. More flats and some new facades on the old buildings would have been better for that part of the midway, in my opinion. 

I suppose my point was that with so much land to work with I have been surprised and confused by how space has been utilized at the park during Paramount’s and continuing into CF’s stewardship. 
 

But yeah…. Congo Falls could and should be relocated.