Over the weekend, we were able to check out Cedar Point’s newest roller coaster / water ride – Shoot the Rapids. There has been a lot of advertising and anticipation building for this new ride all summer. After a couple manufacturing delays, Shoot the Rapids is Open! And well worth the wait!
Our Family Review of Shoot the Rapids
Cedar Point’s Frontier Trail is where all the action is this summer as people line up for Shoot the Rapids! Luckily, they have 10 boats that take up to 8 passengers at a time so the wait is minimal. We were there on a weekend with only 1/2 hour wait, not bad at all! The canyon, old western atmosphere adds to the excitement as we headed out for our family adventure
Kids have to be at least 46 inches to ride this ride so only Elijah, my 5 year old was able to ride the ride, not my 3 year old daughter. Elizabeth was such a trooper waiting while we rode, of course we bribed her with old ice cream afterward! The height restrictions are completely understandable as this is a serious roller coaster with lots of hills, thrills, and many opportunities to get WET!
Elijah rode it first with Daddy in the front seat! What an experience! My husband said that Elijah was scared but mostly excited. Shoot the Rapids starts out by going through a dark tunnel through the mine with gentle, misty water sprays coming from all directions. It’s Perfect for a hot summer day! It’s just enough to tell you that you are going to get wet but enough to make you think that it may not be that wet…
Here’s a picture of Daddy with Elijah coming out of the mine. The rustic buildings, stills, and boulders create an impressive out West canyon atmosphere.
Notice the numbers in the water? Those are actually geysers that people on the boardwalk can use to soak those on the boats. I think 1/2 of the fun of Shoot the Rapids is getting your friends and family wet by putting a quarter in the numbered geysers and shooting them! Elizabeth and I got the whole boat wet as we went from geyser to geyser soaking Matt & Elijah.
#’s 5-8 get the riders wet before they ever make it to the first hill! #’s 1-4 get them wet after the grand finale splash as people shoot down the last hill.
Shoot the Rapids Hills
There are two hills on Shoot the Rapids. The first hill is actually the largest with a drop of 85 feet! This is quite impressive for a water ride! I have to admit that I was a little nervous as I didn’t expect quite a hill on a “water ride”. Elijah was nervous too!
After the first hill, your taken through the river past old looking bridges, buildings, stills, and several water falls on either side ready to splash you. You may or may not get drenched under one of the falls, all depends on your luck!
The second hill is the big finale. The boat is dropped 49 feet as the boat shoots through the water!
Check out those side sprays! You are guaranteed to get wet and soaked if you are in the first row!
What a thrill! This is especially wonderful on a hot, sticky day!
Don’t you love seeing big smiles on your kids faces?! Elijah is a happy kid here in the front seat, soaked! After Elijah got off, it was my turn to ride with him! I was super excited to ride this new ride! I was not disappointed! In fact, Shoot the Rapids is my favorite Cedar Point ride! It has the thrill of a roller coaster with the good time fun of a water ride! My husband and son were in the front seat, when Elijah and I went, we were in the 2nd seat. I did not get soaked like my husband did. So, if you aren’t sure you want to get completely drenched, you could try a seat other than the front. But, you will get wet! I was refreshingly wet. Somehow, the pics of me where blurry, oh well. lol
Shoot the Rapids was more than I expected with a thrill level of 5 but it wasn’t too much for my brave 5 year old. It’s a super family ride for kids 46″ and up.
There is still plenty of time to plan a trip to Cedar Point this summer! Your family will love the time playing and having fun together. Expect to ride Shoot the Rapids at least twice as it is too much fun to only ride once!
Cedar Point, America’s Roller Coast, Ride On! www.CedarPoint.com
This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to Cedar Point who supplied the tickets for the review.
Yes! Don’t you just love soaking complete strangers? Especially the ones that act like they don’t want to get wet?! lol
I love those kind of rides. Here in Florida we have Busch Gardens and I sit on the bridge all day and spray the riders. Looks like they have that too at Cedar’s.