Dr. Geyser’s Remarkable Raft Ride is the unique river rapids ride at Story Land.
Unlike most rapids rides that use large and turbulent rapids to soak guests, Dr. Geyser’s
takes a different approach.
This attraction uses- as the name suggests- a series of geysers plus a variety of well-themed
sprayers.
But how does it compare to the other rapids rides out there?
Find out in this review of Dr. Geyser’s.
Intamin introduced the river rapids ride in the 1980s and had a monopoly on the genre
for much of the decade.
In 1988, Hopkins debuted their first river rapids ride in Rattlesnake River at Wonderland
in Amarillo, Texas.
But it had two key differences from the Intamin ones.
First, it had a much gentler course with barely any rapids.
Second, it had a lower height requirement of just 36” because of the milder waters.
That second item caught the eye of Story Land.
This New Hampshire children’s park had previously worked with Hopkins on the Polar Coaster and
the park was looking for a water ride.
And the Hopkins raft ride was just what the doctor ordered.
So for the 1989 season, Story Land debuted the first river rapids ride in New England
in Dr. Geyser’s Remarkable Raft Ride.
Like Rattlesnake River, Dr. Geyser’s has a fairly peaceful trough with barely any rapids.
There are only a handful of rapids and at most, they just send a sprinkle into the boat.
So Story Land got creative how to get guests wet.
Dr. Geyser is a fictional character and he will write guests a prescription for H2O.
Dr. Geyser has various methods to get guests wet- misters, sprayers, and geysers.
There are three advantages to this approach.
One, several of them hit the entire raft so you’re guaranteed to come off wet.
There’s nothing worse than queuing for a rapids ride on a hot day only to come off
bone dry.
Two, the effects are set up such that your shoes will come off dry.
The one thing I dread with water rides is getting my shoes soaked.
Rapids rides are notorious for this when they send cascades of water into the water.
Wet shoes makes for an unpleasant experience the rest of the day as you skloosh around
the park and possibly get blisters.
Most effects on Dr. Geyser’s designed to hit your upper body, which is where I want
to get wet.
Three, every single sprayer is themed.
The whimsical appearance of the effects fits Story Land perfectly.
And even better, the attraction and area around it is paired with one of the most underrated
amusement park soundtracks out there.
The Dr. Geyser’s melody is simplistic, but it’s infectious and cheerful.
Despite the fancy sprayers, Dr. Geyser’s has a more basic queue house mimicking the
Victorian architecture of an old doctor’s office.
And you may spend some time in there.
Each raft seats up to 6 riders and unfortunately, Dr. Geyser’s is not a fast loader.
Unlike most rapids rides that feature continuous load platforms to give boarding guests a sense
of urgency, Dr. Geyser’s has a stationary load platform.
Add in the fact that a lot of kids struggle to fasten their own seat belts, and this one
will send out rafts at a slower pace than other rides like it.
Hopkins would add moving load platforms to their future rapids rides, but their first
two didn’t have this feature.
Dr. Geyser’s does have a separate unload platform at least, so new guests can start
boarding their raft as soon as it enters the station.
If the entire indoor section is filled, the queue takes roughly 15 minutes.
If the entire queue is filled, you will have to wait roughly a half hour.
I recommend heading to Dr. Geyser’s first thing in the morning when it’s usually a
walk-on since it usually has one of the longest lines in the park later in the day.
Once dispatched, you slowly head towards the ride’s largest rapid…which again is tiny.
But it’s at this moment you pass the camera.
Except this old-fashioned camera won’t take your photo.
Instead, it surprises guests with a gentle stream of water.
It’s probably the least wet effect on the ride.
The first turn takes place under the rain machine.
Sprinklers from the cloud above your head send a refreshing drizzle onto guests.
The next straightaway features another small rapid and then you pass a small fire station.
There, the fire marshall and his trusty dalmatian aim their hoses directly at you.
This effect emits a moderate stream, but it doesn’t always hit.
Instead of being continuous, the effect goes off in two pulses.
And the raft sometimes passes in between those squirts.
After another small rapid, you pass a man bathing in a tub.
You’d think this is where the effect goes from, but it’s a distraction.
These two little ducks hidden in the bushes shoot a thin and forceful jet of water towards
guests.
My dad hated those ducks when he used to have to take me on this ride.
After a calm turn, you head towards the water tower, which of course has a few holes in
it, which sends a few weak jets of water into the raft.
You then pass three consecutive geysers.
While they shoot high into the air, they aren’t timed well enough to soak guests.
At most, you’ll get just a light misting.
But don’t worry, Dr. Geyser’s gets his revenge later in the ride.
You then pass a bandstand and the tuba player shoots another small jet of water into the
boat.
You then head into Dr. Geyser’s Mystical Water Source, which is a misty cave.
This cave feels super refreshing on a hot summer day, but it does have a dank smell
to it.
And the music that plays during the section matches the smell perfectly.
At this point, everyone probably is moderately wet.
The finale is where you can get soaked.
There are three more geysers.
The first occurs in front of the boat and it’s a distraction.
Shortly thereafter, an evil geyser goes off behind the boat that I call the spinner.
The spout rotates as it comes out of the water.
It will always send a good amount of water into the raft.
But sometimes, it will launch right up against the boat.
When that happens, the person adjacent to that geyser will come off soaked.
The third geyser occurs right before the unload platform and it gives a nice splash to roughly
half the raft.
Dr. Geyser’s thankfully ends with a bang with those two geysers.
So what would I rate Dr. Geyser’s Remarkable Raft Ride?
I would give this unique rapids ride an 8 out of 10.
This ride is different.
But different is a good thing.
It’s a refreshing change of pace from the other rapids rides.
I like how this one gets you wet.
The thematic sprayers all look great and the ride focuses on getting your upper body wet,
as opposed to wrecking your shoes.
Most people come off comfortably wet, but occasionally you can get soaked depending
how the final 2 geysers hit.
So those are my thoughts on Dr. Geyser’s at Story Land.
What are your thoughts on this rapids ride?
How do you think it compares to the more traditional rapids rides out there?
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