Congo River Rapids

Congo River Rapids is a river rapids ride made by Intamin. It is located in the Katanga Canyon area of Alton Towers in Staffordshire, England.

The rapids course comes close to the Runaway Mine Train as it passes through the tunnel. It features twin waterfalls, and rafts pass between the two waterfalls.

Congo River Rapids shares its name with a ride at Busch Gardens Tampa in Tampa, Florida, but it has different layout.

History
Congo River Rapids first opened in 1986 as Grand Canyon Rapids and was part of the Aqua Land area of the park.

The entrance to the queueline was originally located where the path to Katanga Canyon starts in Mutiny Bay today, meaning that the ride was hidden from view. This was changed when Katanga Canyon was built in the centre of the rapids circuit as part of John Wardley's plan to open up the area. Katanga Canyon opened in 1992 along with the new Runaway Mine Train.

The Grand Canyon Rapids were rethemed to adopt the African safari theme of the new area, including the change of name to Congo River Rapids.

The original rafts held six riders. These were changed years later for eight seat rafts to increase passenger throughput.

The ride would close for safety on May the 17th, 2017 when it was announced that the Swiss company Intamin were the makers of the similar ride, Splash Canyon, involved in an incident where an eleven year-old child fell from the raft into the waters and died.

Inspiration
The inspiration for this ride comes from the real Congo River rapids. They lie on the outskirts of Brazzaville in the Republic of the Congo, where the Djoué River meets the Congo.

In media

 * In the 2010 dark comedy film Four Lions, the now-popularized phrase "rubber dinghy rapids" was introduced by the premise that not having to queue for the ride is like achieving Islamist martyrdom by a suicide bombing.