Future of the Congo River Rapids

[Josh555]

Would be good if they actually turned the rapids back on so the ride actually involved you getting wet.

 

[Hid]

Would be good if they actually turned the rapids back on so the ride actually involved you getting wet.

I wouldn't underestimate Congo River Rapids it can get you soaked sometimes but is really luck of the draw

 

[VerticalLoop123]

I wouldn't underestimate Congo River Rapids it can get you soaked sometimes but is really luck of the draw

Last year I was taking the big I am in the queueline -“This ride doesn’t get you wet. They’ve tuned it down since Drayton”. They filled the boat with another group and I got absolutely drenched through to the bone!

Definitely proved me wrong

 

[havaska]

I wouldn't underestimate Congo River Rapids it can get you soaked sometimes but is really luck of the draw

I got absolutely drenched on it this summer. To the extent where I went back to my car to get a change of clothes!

 

[owenstreet7]

The camera has something maybe, but I would most argue it is just how society is today in 2025. People do not want to share experiences like that anymore with strangers.,

From recent experience, it tended to be if there was a single rider that they'd batch them in with another group.

Unlike Rumba Rapids who'd batch different parties including single riders separately nowadays.

 

[Matt N]

From recent experience, it tended to be if there was a single rider that they'd batch them in with another group.

Unlike Rumba Rapids who'd batch different parties including single riders separately nowadays.

I’d be surprised if they were ever batching single riders separately. When I tried to ride Drayton’s rapids as a single rider in 2022, I was explicitly told by the platform host that I couldn’t ride alone for safety reasons, and needed to be batched with another group.

I know some exact policies might differ between park, but I’d be surprised if Merlin allowed single riders to ride alone and Drayton didn’t.

 

[Skyscraper]

From recent experience, it tended to be if there was a single rider that they'd batch them in with another group.

Unlike Rumba Rapids who'd batch different parties including single riders separately nowadays.

That's probably because of Towers' unusual policy which states that ride vehicles must have at least two riders. Think it's so that if there was an issue, there are at least two people to verify it, or something along those lines.

 

[owenstreet7]

I’d be surprised if they were ever batching single riders separately. When I tried to ride Drayton’s rapids as a single rider in 2022, I was explicitly told by the platform host that I couldn’t ride alone for safety reasons, and needed to be batched with another group.

I know some exact policies might differ between park, but I’d be surprised if Merlin allowed single riders to ride alone and Drayton didn’t.

With Rumba at Thorpe, that's something I can confidently confirm is the case with single riders being batched alone.

I'm surprised too with this as I'd think rapids rides should batch singles with other groups for safety reasons.

 

[Zeock]

I got absolutely drenched on it this summer. To the extent where I went back to my car to get a change of clothes!

It definitely depends on chance, as the way the ride enters certain parts of the route varies wildly.

 

[Skyscraper]

With Rumba at Thorpe, that's something I can confidently confirm is the case with single riders being batched alone.

I'm surprised too with this as I'd think rapids rides should batch singles with other groups for safety reasons.

I remember riding Splash Canyon at Drayton (pre-changes) alone; that was certainly a strange experience. I agree that singles should be batched with another group for safety reasons.

 

[owenstreet7]

I remember riding Splash Canyon at Drayton (pre-changes) alone; that was certainly a strange experience. I agree that singles should be batched with another group for safety reasons.

There is the other extreme though and that is a log flume.

Pirate Falls at Legoland

Blatantly refusing single riders without batching with another group with no justification other than outdated social distancing guidance or "the ride restrictions"

I can't believe a park requires you to have a friend to ride a log flume it'd be interesting what will happen if Tiger Rock closes as rumoured

Now back onto Congo River Rapids, I think in the long term, it could be a fantastic area for something substantial.

 

[Hid]

There is the other extreme though and that is a log flume.

Pirate Falls at Legoland

Blatantly refusing single riders without batching with another group with no justification other than outdated social distancing guidance or "the ride restrictions"

I can't believe a park requires you to have a friend to ride a log flume it'd be interesting what will happen if Tiger Rock closes as rumoured

Now back onto Congo River Rapids, I think in the long term, it could be a fantastic area for something substantial.

Katanga Canyon and Congo River Rapids is one of the best themed areas at Towers as it still is mostly the same classic version of what Towers used to be. Runaway Mine has that great looking Wooden Structure.

 

[Josh555]

I wouldn't underestimate Congo River Rapids it can get you soaked sometimes but is really luck of the draw

Perhaps I’m misremembering it but I’m sure it used to be far more intense in the past?

 

[Steve74]

Perhaps I’m misremembering it but I’m sure it used to be far more intense in the past?

It used to be - in the wide area where your photo is taken just before the waterfalls there used to be a wave machine and I think there was another wave machine nearer the start too. Would love to see those come back though as they really helped the roughness of the ride.

 

[AT86]

I think there were three? Near the start of the ride where the monorail goes overhead, just after the exit of the tunnel and just before the waterfalls.

Whether they are switched off for safety reasons or to save on energy costs, or a combination of both, I don’t know.

 

[Steve74]

I think there were three? Near the start of the ride where the monorail goes overhead, just after the exit of the tunnel and just before the waterfalls.

Whether they are switched off for safety reasons or to save on energy costs, or a combination of both, I don’t know.

I believe they went off in the wake of Drayton so I suspect safety first, costs second. Although with the cuts recently, maybe that's swapped!

 

[BarryZola]

There used to be a water squirter near the end where the boats all pile up before going back up the lift hill. That went many years ago though. That could also give you a decent soaking if you were unlucky enough to go under it.

 

[Islander]

Tbf the cost of running the wave machines compared to the cost of running the primary ride pumps will be negligible, so I doubt cost came into it.

 

[Matt N]

Is the “KFC MegaWave”, as it used to be coined on Theme Park Worldwide, generated by a wave machine, or is that just generated by an underwater log?

 

[DistortAMG]

Is the “KFC MegaWave”, as it used to be coined on Theme Park Worldwide, generated by a wave machine, or is that just generated by an underwater log?

A log. The community was calling that wave the KFC mega wave way before TPWW existed.

The wave machines as they are generally called, are specifically the ones that are know as 'wave makers' by Intamin. Congo has 3, in the 3 lake sections along rides course. These differ from the 'rapids' which are created with the logs strapped to the channels base.

Its a hidden metal plate that swings back on forth to create waves at a 45 degree angle to the water flow. The same type of wave machine you would generally find in a waterpark wave pool.