Looking for some information on Perilous Plunge

Perilous Plunge...even though it never fit in at Knott's, I still really miss that ride. For a water ride, it was absolutely insane, and if it still existed I'd say it'd still have the best drop in the park (yes, even including HangTime).

To answer your questions:

What was the public's perception of the ride? Was it a hit?

When it first opened, everyone wanted to ride it. However, after a year or two, it seemed like less and less people were interested in the ride. My suspicion is that with Xcelerator right nearby, a water ride with a near-vertical drop half as tall wasn't quite as impressive anymore, so more people switched to simply riding that. It still drew quite a crowd during the warmer months of the year, but because of the wetness level few people rode it during cooler times.

How were the lines on an average day?

During the off-season, it was usually a one or two boat wait depending on temperature. During busier periods and on higher temperature days, however, waits of 60-90 minutes were fairly typical. Part of this was simply the number of people who wanted to ride, but it was also due to the horrible capacity of the attraction...my estimate is realistic capacity was only 200-300 riders per hour.

How much did the public's perception of the ride change after the accident?

I can't say for sure, but it did seem to get a lot less popular. I rarely saw the line longer than the switchbacks near the station.

Were there any major changes in the restraint check procedures during and after the accident?

I did not ride prior to the accident, but I do know that the ride originally had a standard Intamin T-Bar and seatbelt similar to what is used on Xcelerator. When the ride reopened following the accident, four point harnesses typical of those found on go-kart attractions were installed. Employees were required to pull these harnesses tight, and if you could not be secured with no slack in the harness you were not allowed to ride. This led to people being removed both for being too large and being too small, with at least a couple removals on most boats (I never got kicked off the ride, but I visited with both friends and family members who did). After a few years of this, the park purchased new boats with a more traditional OTSR, and as long as this could be pulled down far enough to clip the belt in guests were allowed to ride.

How long were the dispatches?

With the four point harness, the entire loading cycle typically took 6-8 minutes. Employees would wait until everyone had exited the station before opening the loading gates, then once everyone was seated they would go through one at a time and check harnesses. Only after all harnesses were checked were the lapbars locked, lowered by employees, and checked, then the boat could be dispatched. With the OTSRs, dispatches improved to about 4 minutes per boat, but were still slow due to the need to clear exiting guests and the harnesses being somewhat sensitive. Due to dispatch times, it was typical to run only a single boat (the ride was only about two minutes long), and even with both boats capacity wasn't improved that much.

AJ covered everything thoroughly. I rode post accident and remember almost feeling claustrophobic with how tight they had me strapped in. I have an awesome pic that someone took of us just going over the crest of the hill. Like any “one and done” water drop ride, when it was hot, there were lines, when it was not, it still took about 15 minutes due to the long load time AJ discusses.