Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls

The final drop of the ride. Notice the explosives near the splash area.

***Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls*** is a log flume ride located in the Toon Lagoon section of Islands of Adventure. The ride is based on the Dudley Do-Right character, who is featured in the eponymous segments of Jay Ward's *The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show*. The ride opened with Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, and despite the waning popularity of the associated franchise, continues to be a popular ride at the park. The ride features guests accompanying Dudley Do-Right and his faithful Horse as they set off to once again rescue Nell Fenwick from franchise antagonist Snidley Whiplash. Along with *Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges*, it is the signature attraction of Toon Lagoon.

## History

When animator Jay Ward passed away from cancer in 1989, several rights to his characters, which included Rocky and Bullwinkle, Dudley Do-Right, and George of the Jungle, were up for grabs. The Walt Disney Company won the distribution rights to Ward's characters, while Universal won merchandising and theme parks rights. Following this, a stage show based on *The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show* that has since been closed was opened at Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood.

Universal had further plans for Ward's characters during the development of Islands of Adventure. With many concepts that were too early in planning to be greenlit, Dudley Do-Right was among the first characters to be considered for the park. In addition, Universal had also planned on introducing some water rides, as the weather in Orlando tended to be very warm. With the Dudley Do-Right character being a Canadian, it was decided the ride based on the character would be a log flume water ride, tying in with the logging industry of Canada.

A concept originally proposed for the ride featured Snidley Whiplash attacking the riders' boat with a large saw, cutting the boat in half and causing the riders to travel down two separate drops before reuniting near the end of the ride. It's not known why this feature was removed in the final project, but it was most likely due to either complications of properly reattaching the boats to maintain the illusion, or fear that riders could be accidentally injured by the saw prop. Snidley Whiplash still uses a saw on the ride, but only threatens the riders rather than attacking.

*Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls* opened with the rest of Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, and continues operation to this day.

On January 1, 2011, a major fire broke out in a building behind the ride at around 5 p.m. It was contained and extinguished soon afterwards. The Toon Lagoon section was evacuated. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

The ride was closed, and a scheduled refurbishment was pushed forward and initiated immediately. The ride was reopened on March 14, 2011, with all special effects restored and the entire ride repainted.

## Background

### Queue

Guests enter a theater where several parody films are advertised, as well as clips featuring Dudley Do-Right and the supporting cast of his segments on *The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show*. Two animatronics of a beaver head and a bear head can be found in the queue, occasionally telling each other corny jokes.

### Ride Experience

Unlike most log flume rides, riders sit with their legs stretched out in front of them, and hold on to handlebars either on the side of the log, or on the back of the seat in front of them. The ride features multiple drops and splashes, with many animatronics of Dudley, Horse, Nell, and Snidley. As with most episodes of *The Dudley Do-Right Show*, the ride focuses on Dudley and Horse setting off to rescue Nell Fenwick from Snidely Whiplash. The riders are caught in the middle of the action, and are occasionally threatened by Snidley as they attempt to aid Dudley in rescuing Nell. Though Dudley successfully manages to rescue Nell, he accidentally steps on a dynamite fuse box. Riders then enter the final drop, which uses the giant splash to simulate the impending explosion. Dudley has once again saved Nell, but unfortunately for him, she does not reciprocate his feelings of affection. Meanwhile, Snidley is imprisoned for kidnapping Nell, and can be seen attempting to convince a beaver on guard duty to give him the key to his cell. The beaver however, shakes his head "no" at Snidley. This is a reference to a scene from the *Pirates of the Caribbean* ride at the rival Walt Disney World Resort, where a jailed pirate can be seen trying to lure a dog with a key to his cell.

The ride ends with the narrator (Corey Burton) saying, "And so our hero proves that a Mountie always gets his man, but not always...his girl." Riders see Dudley being presented a medal by Inspector Fenwick, while Nell kisses Horse and a lively rendition of the Dudley Do-Right theme song plays in the background as the ride ends.

## Trivia

* In both this ride and *Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges*, the animatronics are not very advanced compared to other attractions at the resort, possibly because of water damage risks.
* Keith Scott provides the voices of Dudley Do-Right and Inspector Fenwick for this attraction. He also voices Popeye and Bluto on *Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges*.
* It's very likely that this ride is Universal's answer to Disney's *Splash Mountain*, as both rides are log flumes featuring animatronic characters that tell a story.
	+ However, it's worth noting that *Splash Mountain* has far more detailed animatronics, possibly due to extra space that prevents the nearby water from damaging them as they would on this ride.