El Aserradero
| Texas | |
| 42" Height Requirement
(None w/Adult) |
|
| Medium Thrill |
| Flash Pass Attraction | |
| On-Ride Photos | |
| Flume 1 Opened | 1963 |
| Flume 2 Opened | 1968 |
| Ride Type | Log Flume |
| Drop Height | 44 Feet |
| Maximum Speed | 15 MPH |
| Riders Per Log | 5 |
| Manufacturer | Arrow Development |
The First-Ever
El Aserradero was quite the engineering feat at the time. Angus G. Wynne, Jr., the founder of Six Flags, led the way for the development of innovative attractions and the log ride was no exception. Teaming up with Arrow Dynamics, Six Flags spent around $300,000 on the new attraction. $52,000 of this money was spent on engineering and research alone. Once testing began, engineers discovered that the runout at the bottom of the final drop was not long enough to slow down the ride units. What did Arrow do? They deepened the splash pool and reconfigured the boat’s nose, pushing water away from the ride unit and therefore helping it slow down quicker.
Once constructed, Six Flags management was reportedly unhappy with the large amount of water thrown onto guests. They did not want guests getting wet at all! Changes were made so that the logs would push water away from the guests instead of onto them. However, this decreased the overall popularity of the ride. Six Flags eventually reached back out to Arrow so that the attraction could be reconfigured to transition back to water splashing guests.
El Aserradero’s queue and the station of flume one.
Six Flags Over Texas features two log flume rides.
The final drop of El Aserradero flume one.
Crews constructing flume one prior to its opening in 1963.
Image: Six Flags Archives
Doubling Up
In 1968, Six Flags Over Texas installed a second log flume, right next to the first, to increase rider capacity. Sharing the same queue, riders could decide if they’d rather ride the first log flume or the newly-constructed second version. Though both rides share the same drop heights and speed, Six Flags added a few elements to create two different ride experiences. Sid and Marty Krofft, whom produced shows in the Krofft Puppet Theatre at the park, used their skills to create characters for the two flume attractions. Atop flume one’s first lift hill sat a villain animatronic named Snidely Whiplash. As logs went up the lift hill, Snidely would saw away at a log, creating the effect that it could fall onto riders at any moment.
Flume two’s first lift hill had its own giant lumberjack animatronic character. This character would swing his ax towards riders, also creating a dramatic effect. What else made flume two different from the original? It featured a tunnel that spanned down the final drop. Unfortunately, the animatronics and tunnel were removed some time ago.
Ride History
The main entrance to both flumes of El Aserradero.
Looking down at the station of El Aserradero flume one.
Riders enjoy the final splashdown on El Aserradero flume one.
El Aserradero flume two makes its final splashdown.
El Aserradero flume two leaves the station to begin its log ride adventure.
El Aserradero flume two as seen from the Six Flags Railroad.