40 Years Ago: Fury of the Nile is announced!

 

For about the past decade or so, I've written blogs celebrating what would have been the 40th anniversary of various Worlds of Fun attractions. For once as we approach the 2024 season we will focus on a 40th anniversary for an attraction that still exists: Fury of the Nile. Fury of the Nile would open on May 26, 1984, but would be announced to the public and amusement industry on November 14, 1983. 40 years ago today. Nile was the first major new announcement that I can personally recall when the ride opened and in which I rode early during its existence. It quickly became my favorite ride at the park and stayed so for many years, so much so my husband still jokingly calls me "water princess." 

Like many early Worlds of Fun attractions, Nile was fairly groundbreaking, but it wasn't the first of its kind. Thunder River at Six Flags AstroWorld opened in 1980 and was the first. Influenced by its General Manager, an avid white water rafter, they took the idea to Intamin Amusement Rides and designed what became an extremely prolific ride in the amusement industry.

Ten more rapid rides would open over the intervening years. Three years later, in 1983, Mid America Enterprises and Worlds of Fun General Manager Lee Derrough would announce a $3.5 million, 5-acre expansion project known as Fury of the Nile. Nile would be the longest Intamin Rapids Ride to date at 1,800 feet long, containing one million gallons of water, and is the first-ever rapids ride in the United States to feature a new loading technology, the turntable loading system. Before Nile, all rapids rides in the United States instead used a rather clunky conveyor belt system, like Thunder River at Six Flags St. Louis or the old Lost River of the Ozark at Silver Dollar City. The turntable offered a more elegant design yet also increased throughput by keeping the boats constantly moving. Today, a nearly identical loading system can be found on the largest rapid rides in the country at both Universal Orlando and Walt Disney World resorts. 

The four 250-horsepower pumps that power Nile. 

The Nile originally came with 23 circular rafts that were and still are free-floating and travel 7-10 mph around the 1,800-foot-long course. The actual depth of the ride might surprise some, as for most of its duration, it's only 2-3 feet deep. The deepest section of the ride is located under the ride's lift hill and is up to 25 feet deep, used for holding water while the ride is not operational. Initially, eight geysers, two churning lagoons, and waterfalls would leave guests completely soaked. The water is pushed along a concrete trough that varies between 16 to 40 feet wide and is powered by, per General Manager Lee Derrough, "four 250-horsepower engines, three of which will be used at a time".

Today, the ride is far tamer than it was in 1984. Still, its legacy lives on, and as many rapid rides are being demolished in favor of newer and flashier rides, I am thrilled Fury of the Nile continues to roar on.