A new family water ride opens this summer at Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas. The highly themed Congo River Expedition will take guests deep into the heart of the rainforest.
Towering over a themed encampment is a giant angry volcano that blasts water more than 20ft in the air. At the volcano’s base lies an enormous “lava-heated” hot tub offering explorers the last opportunity to relax prior to beginning their river expedition. Guests are greeted by an archeologist who warns about the dangers of travelling the Congo River. As the voyage begins, riders float deeper into the jungle and are surrounded by an intensifying thunderstorm and variety of special effects and animatronic creatures. The attraction finale takes unsuspecting riders down a 25ft long waterfall and plunges them into an underground abandoned diamond mine on the verge of collapse.
The ride, which is set to open over the Memorial Day weekend (May 25), will total 835ft in length and last more than eight minutes. All the construction has been carried out in-house by Schlitterbahn, except for the animatronics, by TBFX.
“Not only do we feel that this is the most exciting new attraction to open this year in Texas,” says the waterpark’s general manager Darren Hill, ”but we are also proud to premier our new family adventure as part of our 30th anniversary celebration.”
