Spee-lunker Cave at Six Flags Over Texas

[Princess Victoria]

Was anyone else fortunate enough to visit this water boat dark ride from the early '60s? As a child it was my favorite ride in the park. Whenever we'd go to the park, it was the one thing I'd always look forward to the most. It was dark and somewhat eerie, but also immersive and captivating for some reason. There were times that I'd get off and then get back on again for another ride. It was one of the unique things about the park. Then, when I went to visit the park a few years later after Warner Brothers had taken over, I was sad to discover that The Cave was now a Looney Tunes ride. The one thing I'd loved most about the park was gone. Apparently there are quite a few people on the internet who are upset by the change. If rumors are true, it is said Walt Disney himself had a hand in the attraction's development.

In any case, I'm just curious if anyone else had the good fortune of experiencing this wonderful ride when it was still The Cave. Unfortunately there aren't many videos on YouTube, but this was the best overall clip I could find for those who never rode it.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOVG7OQVsU0"]YouTube- Six Flags Over Texas - 1964 - The Cave[/ame]

[RooBear]

I've noticed, over the years, that due to the high quality of Disney's dark rides, you just sorta don't really see those kids of rides outside of the various D-Lands and D-Worlds and D-Seas. Too many people compare them and the competitor pales by comparsion.

However, I've experienced the Monster Plantation in it's older incarnation and I thought it was great, like yourself and this wonderfully mellow tale.

Nothing like a walk down memorylane with you. Thanks for sharing.

Peace,
Roo

[Noski]

I was never able to go on the original version, but I have been on its current iteration: Yosimete Sam's Gold River Adventure. It sounds like a really lame idea, and its certainly not up to Disney standards for a boat-based dark ride (the character's mouths just barely move when they talk), but it really isn't bad. It captures the feeling of the classic cartoons very well, and serves the park well as its only dark ride.

As for Walt Disney's involvement, which is possible, it most likely comes from the fact that the ride's technical systems (meaning the vehicles and flume) were designed by Arrow Dynamics, then owned by Disney. They used a variation on the same technology found in PotC and Its a Small World, as all of these rides are relatively slow boat rides.

[aimster]

Ok those things in the cave were uber creepy. They would have given me nightmares as a child.

Ok I just heard there apparently used to be water moccasins in the water in the cave ride back in the day.

[sir clinksalot]

Is this where the Looney Tunes Ride is now? This looks totally cool, wish I could have seen it back in the day.

[Noski]

^ My post above will answer your question.

[sir clinksalot]

^ My post above will answer your question.

It helps to read.

I agree with you about the Looney Tunes one. It's a fun little ride. I liked Monster Plantation better though.

[Princess Victoria]

Is this where the Looney Tunes Ride is now? This looks totally cool, wish I could have seen it back in the day.

It was an AWESOME ride. After going back trip after trip with The Cave being the one thing I looked forward to most, I can't express how sad and disappointed I was when I went back and found that it was a Looney Tunes ride. Yeah, it's a fun ride, but it doesn't come close to the feeling of immersion that The Cave provided. I hope they bring it back someday, but I'm not too optimistic.

[wumbology]

I wish we had something like Monster Mansion (and this) up here in Six Flags New England, or Great Adventure. It would seriously improve my opinion of those parks.

[dude17]

I remember the looney tunes ride when i visited six flags over texas

It could be worse, they could have taken it out to save money

[Noski]

If they wanted to save money, they would have left it. It cost much more to replace it than it would to just keep it running, unless it needed a major refurb at the time.

[PinBrian]

As for Walt Disney's involvement, which is possible, it most likely comes from the fact that the ride's technical systems (meaning the vehicles and flume) were designed by Arrow Dynamics, then owned by Disney. They used a variation on the same technology found in PotC and Its a Small World, as all of these rides are relatively slow boat rides.

Disney never owned Arrow. Arrow was founded in 1946, and Disney first contracted with them in 1953. They did purchase about a 1/3 ownership, but never outright owned the company.

FWIW I LOVE old-style dark rides. I have fond memories of going on the Cave-train ride and the Haunted Castle in the early 80's. They were nowhere near Disney standards, but they had that charm and plain old cheesiness that made them very special.

[Noski]

Thanks for the correction. I guess if they were completely owned by Disney, they probably wouldn't have been allowed to build things for other companies.

[RobotWolf]

I enjoyed the ride as a child. And as a small child, I was a little intimated by dark ride experiences. But the Speelunker cave didn't frighten me at all. It was just a series of scenes of cute little cave creatures having fun.

One memory that stuck with me (and I only went on it once, so I don't know if this was always the case) is that the water looked like blue milk. Maybe they were having filtration problems that day. But it was definitely not the color nor the opacity of any other boat ride attraction I've ever been on.

The "Yosemite Sam's Gold River Adventure," however is just plain awful. It may have been ok when it opened. But SFOT's maintenance on this ride is below even Six Flag's standards. The characters are dingy looking and their mouths barely move, if at all. The metal frame of the pop-up Roadrunner head is always visible. And it's hit or miss if the "blown up Yosemite Sam" scene triggers at all! Half the time you just float thru a completely dark scene. I had the opportunity to walk thru it when the park was closed and the building is literally rotting to the ground.

They should completely demolish the building and the barely used shop next door, keep and extend the trough and put in a abridged version of Monster Mansion. With a western twist perhaps based on that themed area. It even has a mini lift/drop like Monster Mansion has when you enter the swamp. And Six Flags owns the characters so they would have to pay zilch for licensing fees.

[Noski]

I don't really think that's a good idea. It has nothing to do with Texas history (not that Looney Tunes or anything else in the park does either), plus Six Flags over Texas is not actually owned by the Six Flags company. They just manage it and license the name. Chances are, they would make the Wynne family (who has owned the park ever since it openned in 1961) pay for those characters. It would probably be less than what they are paying for Looney Tunes characters though.