Compare this type of ride to most any other ride that actually seems to go somewhere and do something and it seems like there is little adventure involved to the ride at all. And don't even think to compare it to something epic like Splash Mountain.... as you might fall into a deep depression if your local park still has one of these splash boat rides wasting space that could be taken up by something way cooler.
The shoot the chutes rides are good for a hot summer day, but I definately favor the themed rapids rides. Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Pompeii is a lot of fun, especially when the hot volcanic fire effects are working well. Plus its a really beautiful ride. Our local historic landmark park, Kennywood, has an old time shoot the rapids ride in their Lost Kennywood area. The ride itself is not themed, but the area around it has a beautiful turn of the 19th century theme with a ornate lake & fountains. A nice ride, but it is rarely crowded...As for Universal, I just don't believe they would give up such a hot commodity as Marvel Island (especially Spider Man) for just about anything. It has too much economic & promotional worth, plus, even more important, it checkmates their rival Disney in the Orlando marketfrom capitalizing on Marvel's success. I've never been a proponent of the Universal selling rights back to Disney crowd. The argument makes little sense.