Log flumes will always be one of my favorite attractions at an amusement park no matter how old I get. As a kid, they were my absolute favorites since they were pretty much the only major attractions teeming with thrills to be had that never seemed to have any real height requirement. Even to this day I am still wowed by a great log flume, and even in a massive park like Busch packed with highly rated, thrill-machines like Apollo and Alpengeist, I still gave their flume multiple rides. Why, you may ask? Well, as I stated earlier, I am an avid log flume fan and also, this is a really darn good one that often gets overshadowed in such a great park.
Located way in the park of the park over in the New France section of the park, Le Scoot flat out looks great off-ride. The entire area around the ride is very well themed with the incredible landscaping we have all come to love and expect from Busch. Not only that, but the outstanding view of the climatic final plunge off-ride just heightens the anticipation for the ride that will soon follow. But other than the colossal plunge, pretty much the rest of the ride is hidden from view high amongst the dense trees featured so prominently at the park like an owl in the midst of a dark night.
Now you may expect there to be long waits on a 100 degree day. Well, I sure did, but I was absolutely shocked to find that this was a walk-on! In fact, I got three consecutive rides without having to get out of my log! I don’t know if I was just incredibly lucky or what, but nonetheless there was no wait whatsoever presumably due to my choice to ride this within the final half hour or so before closing, and even then it was still about 100 degrees. Whatever the reason may be, part of it definitely can be attributed to the ride’s stellar crew who simply did not mess around when it came to dispatching the logs, even without there being any such line at all! Wow!
Before I start describing the ride itself, let me begin by saying that I unfortunately never got to experience this in broad daylight as I stated earlier, and ultimately I was unable to take in all of the incredible sights that the ride may have offered during the day, but anyway the attraction began with a long climb up a massive lift hill, a unique beginning for most flumes. Following that was a series of high turns that were taken at a brisk pace in absolute darkness, but I’m sure during the day that some incredible views can be provided from that high up. Now typically I enjoy log flumes that hug the ground much better than ones that don’t, but I didn’t really mind since the atmosphere was so incredible traveling through the beautiful woods in the middle of the night. It was just so peaceful and relaxing, while at the same time the anticipation was mounting for that climatic final plunge that would soon ensue.
Then there is a light at the end of the tunnel! Soon enough the log casually entered a very nicely themed shack, which is innocent enough until a buzzsaw lunges towards the heads of riders! Almost simultaneously, the trough drops out and I embarked down the incredibly tall plunge viewed off-ride, and I can say that it was every bit as good as it looked. It’s fast, steep, and definitely one of the best drops I’ve ever experienced on a flume anywhere, only behind the drops of the two great Orlando flumes! The following splash is decent, as it got everyone moderately wet, but not soaked, a perfect amount in my opinion at night since it was refreshing but not absolutely dampening.
Le Scoot is simply one of the best log flumes I’ve been on anywhere. Despite being somewhat unorthodox with its layout, the incredible woodsy setting combined with that amazing final plunge really make this flume stand-out against the competition. But as I said earlier though, I typically prefer flumes that hug the ground and really that’s my only gripe with this flume, though it isn’t all that big of a deal since the tranquil setting manages to nullify the problem. Nonetheless, no one should consider skipping this delightful flume since it really is one of the park’s hidden gems.
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