The Boston Tea Party at Canobie Lake Park is a themed shoot the chutes ride.
At most amusement parks, the shoot the chutes is just another ride.
But for Canobie, the Boston Tea Party is one of their signature rides and it’s the focal
point of an entire themed area.
So in this video, I will review the Boston Tea Party.
Planning for the Boston Tea Party began in 1996.
This Hopkins shoot the chutes was to be placed in the back of the park along Canobie Lake.
However, the park’s neighbors complained the attraction would cause noise issues.
This delayed the attraction’s approval process and it’s the reason the ride has a clear
tube on the drop to muffle the sounds of screams.
Many sites list the Boston Tea Party’s opening year as 1998.
And that is the year Canobie advertised it as a new attraction in commercials and brochures.
The ride was supposed to open in 1997, but the late approval pushed the ride’s construction
timeline back.
But the ride technically opened at the very end of the 1997 season.
The Boston Tea Party is the centerpiece of a 1770s themed Boston area.
And this area looks great.
The brick buildings surrounding the ride and atmospheric colonial music fit the timeframe
perfectly.
And there are all sort of little touches around the ride.
There are gallows by the ride’s splash and murals along the ride’s queue line.
The queue circles around the attraction.
As long as the Boston Tea Party is running two boats, and it typically is, the ride usually
has no more than a 15-20 minute wait.
If you want to ride this with no wait, come back at the very end of the day.
When I was younger, I’d lap this ride repeatedly once the sun went down.
Each boat weighs 4 tons and seats a maximum of 20 riders across 5 rows of 4.
The seat selection doesn’t matter on this ride.
Every row will get you drenched head to toe.
And since this ride isn’t in the water park, shirts and shoes are required to ride.
I’d recommend a pair of sandals unless you want to get blisters.
The Boston Tea Party begins with a 50 foot or 15 meter tall lift.
The lift runs alongside Canobie Lake, so you get some gorgeous views overlooking the water
on your left.
Once atop the lift, you slowly rumble around a turn and then approach the drop.
The drop isn’t overly steep, but it has some zip to it because of the extremely heavy
boats.
Then comes the ride’s signature splash.
It’s just as tall as the ride and roughly 100 feet or 30.5 meters wide.
The splash is massive regardless, but if you have a particularly heavy boat, the splash
can reach the queue line and even hit the adjacent buildings.
The massive splash is one of the best visuals of any ride.
It’s a wow moment for sure.
And then that wall of water falls on riders, soaking them.
No one on the ride is spared from the splash.
If you’d prefer not to ride or get drenched a second time, you can get hit by the wave
on the ride’s exit platform or on the midway adjacent to the drop.
And as wet as riders are from the splash, there’s still another way to get wet.
The exit platform crosses over the ride.
So when boats pass under it, the water from the prior splash is rapidly dripping off the
platform, so it feels like a pseudo waterfall.
You then float back to the station, ending the ride.
So what would I rate the Boston Tea Party?
I would give this ride a 7 out of 10.
This is your standard Hopkins shoot the chute with a solid drop and massive splash.
It’s a short and simple ride.
But his one is plussed by a fabulous view and some great theming around the attraction.
I don’t always ride this at Canobie because of how soaking it is, but it’s just what
the doctor ordered if you want to cool off on a hot and humid summer day.
Even with Canobie opening the Castaway Island water park, the Boston Tea Party has retained
much of its popularity, so I expect this ride to last for many more years.
Meanwhile, a lot of larger parks seem to be losing their shoot the chutes rides.
But they often aren’t as important to the park’s lineup as Boston Tea Party is for
Canobie.
So those are my thoughts on the Boston Tea Party at Canobie, the Boston-themed shoot
the chutes.
Have you ridden this attraction?
What are your thoughts about this ride?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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