Carowinds is finally bringing a major water ride back to the dry park.
The park announced June 8 that Rip Roarin’ Falls, a new record-breaking log flume ride, will open in 2027. The ride will be located on the former site of Rip Roarin’ Rapids, which closed in 2019. That alone makes this a pretty exciting announcement. Carowinds hasn’t had a dry-park water ride since Rip Roarin’ Rapids closed, and fans have been wanting something like this for years. Now, instead of just bringing back a basic rapids or standard log flume, Carowinds is going much bigger.
Rip Roarin’ Falls will be a WhiteWater Super Flume with a 100-foot drop, a top speed of 50 mph and more than 2,240 feet of high-flow water. The full ride is expected to last about 6.5 minutes, which is actually pretty long for this kind of attraction.
Carowinds says the ride will break three world records: the tallest drop on a water ride or flume, the tallest reverse drop on a water ride or flume and the tallest reverse camelback drop on a water ride or flume. The main drop will be 100 feet tall, while the reverse drop will be 42 feet tall. The reverse camelback will create two backward airtime moments. That last part is what makes this ride sound especially intersting. Rip Roarin’ Falls won’t just be a normal flume where riders float around for a few minutes and then drop at the end. The boats will change direction twice using high-speed reversing switches, sending riders both forward and backward during the course.
Each boat will hold eight passengers, with riders seated in four rows of two. The ride will also have a low height requirement compared with the size of the attraction. Guests can ride at 35 inches with a supervising companion or 41 inches unaccompanied. That’s probably the most impressive part of this whole project. On paper, Rip Roarin’ Falls sounds like a thrill ride. A 100-foot drop and 50 mph speed aren’t small numbers. But with that height requirement, it should still be accessible to a lot of families.
Carowinds President Bridgette Bywater described the ride as a mix of a family ride and a thrill ride. That kind of family-thrill blend isn’t a totally new idea in the theme park industry, but Rip Roarin’ Falls still looks like a very strong version of that idea. It gives younger riders something big they can actually experience, while still giving older guests and thrill fans a legitimate reason to care.
The theme also sounds like a good fit for the ride. Rip Roarin’ Falls will take riders through an abandoned lumber mill that may or may not be haunted. According to the story, two brothers named Frederich and Johann Holz once operated the Holz Brothers Logging Company in the Carolina logwoods. After building a sawmill and towering log flume, the mill was mysteriously abandoned. Now guests will enter the deserted camp and try to figure out what’s really behind the strange rumors in the woods.
The concept art and animated POV show off several themed moments, including rustic lumber mill structures, saw blades, wooded areas and small animal figures, including raccoons. The ride will also be located near Fury 325 in the Thrill Zone section of the park, so it should have some great views of one of the best coasters in the world while still having its own wooded identity.
This is definitely a smart addition for Carowinds. The park already has an excellent coaster lineup with Fury 325, Copperhead Strike, Thunder Striker and Afterburner. But the dry park has been missing a true water ride for several years, and a huge modern flume helps fill that gap in a way that feels both nostalgic and new. It also helps that the name connects back to Rip Roarin’ Rapids. That gives the ride a little extra history for longtime Carowinds fans, even though this is a completely new attraction.
Rip Roarin’ Falls doesn’t have an exact opening date yet beyond 2027, but construction is already underway. If the final ride lives up to the stats and concept art, this could easily become one of the most interesting new water rides in the world. The park really needed a major water ride, and they went even further than that and decided to go with one of the wildest log flumes ever built. I’m excited to see it in action next year!
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