Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Thorpe Park has permanently closed Rumba Rapids, marking the end of an attraction that had been part of the park since the 1980s.

But this isn’t the first rapids ride we’ve lost. Legoland Windsor removed Viking River Splash a few years ago, and with Rumba Rapids now gone that leaves just one rapids ride across all Merlin parks in the UK.

So why are theme parks quietly removing these once-popular attractions?

In this video I look at the history of river rapids rides in the UK, the reasons parks are now removing them, and what Merlin’s wider investment strategy might tell us about the future.

And with only Congo River Rapids at Chessington remaining… could it be the next to go?

Let me know what you think in the comments.

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