Back when I was little, my parents would take me to the several parks near me in Canobie Lake Park, Story Land, and Santa’s Village, and Riverside (now Six Flags New England). Unfortunately due to my small size, at that age I was often unable to ride the roller coasters at these parks. As a result, log flumes often turned into my favorite attractions at these parks. Since flumes often did not have height requirements, I was always able to ride these very enjoyable attractions. Despite how I am obviously now able to ride roller coasters, I still have a soft spot in my heart for log flumes. And Seabreeze has one of the best I’ve been on.
Located towards the back of the ride park, the generically-named Log Flume fits in great with the park. With a simple layout that winds its way around a small pond teeming with ducks, I just loved the ride’s setting. Honestly, the only thing that would have made the setting better would be if I could see the bottom of the pond, but again that is not a major issue, especially since the pond did not give off a putrid odor. With a very nice looking station, I the Log Flume’s wait varied directly with the temperature. As with most parks, the flume had its longest line midway through the day since the temperature was the greatest at this time. When I rode midway through the day, I ultimately waited 15-20 minutes, and this was with a full queue. Sadly, my wait did move rather slow due to a deficiency in the number of logs; however, a 15-20 minute wait for a log flume on a very hot day is more than worth it. By late afternoon, the Log Flume was a walk-on, so if you don’t mind getting wet after the sun goes down, I definitely recommend riding this.
Being a Hopkins flume, Seabreeze’s Log Flume seemed to share several things in common with the other Hopkins flumes I’ve been on at several other parks such as Santa’s Village, Story Land, Funtown U.S.A., Canobie, etc. Containing 2 of Hopkins’ signature mini-drops, these are welcome additions to the layout as they provide quick moments of thrill and also are good for a splash or two. Additionally, there is a really cool tunnel midway through the ride. At the end of the tunnel is the lift hill, which leads into the ride’s definite highlight- the final drop.
While the drop itself is no taller than the drops on other log flumes I’ve been on, this drop is still something special. Why? Is it because of the cool wooden supports. No, but that definitely is a plus. Rather it is the drop’s steepness. I later found out via Jim Futrell’s Amusement Parks of New York that Seabreeze’s flume possessed the steepest drop on any flume in North America. Upon cresting the drop, I was absolutely stunned by how steep the drop was. Not only was the drop incredibly swift and zippy, but it also possessed an incredibly thrilling moment of floater air that completely caught me off-guard. Following this breath-taking plunge was the splash, and I would have to saw that this flume has the perfect amount of wetness. While I did not get soaked from head-to-toe (I would go to the water park for that), I got really wet, which is perfect for a log flume.
Overall, Seabreeze has a real winner with their log flume. While the ride may not seem like much that drop, setting, and layout make it a real winner. After waiting 15-20 minutes midway through the day, I returned later to find the Log Flume a walk-on and as a result, I grabbed 3 additional rides back-to-back-to-back primarily for that amazing plunge that blew me away each and every time. Outside of the two incredible Orlando flumes (Splash Mountain and Ripsaw Falls), Seabreeze’s Log Flume is my favorite log flume anywhere and following Whirlwind, the Log Flume was my favorite attraction at Seabreeze. This watery attraction simply should not be missed in any visit to Seabreeze.
Times Ridden: 4
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