New "Water Coaster" Opens At Disney's Typhoon Lagoon

Lake Buena Vista, FL — "Flash flooding" takes on a whole new meaning for Walt Disney World guests when they experience Crush 'n' Gusher, a new white-knuckle "water coaster" thrill ride that opened today at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon water park.

Crush 'n' Gusher launched with a splash Tuesday. Local swimmers sloshed and rode the new attraction as soap star Kirsten Storms ("Days of Our Lives") emceed.

Walt Disney World guests find themselves immersed in a dense tropical jungle amid the towering remains – rusted-out and dilapidated – of a fruit exporting plant. The once-landlocked packing plant known as Tropical Amity now sits on the shores of Hideaway Bay, a body of water left in the wake of a torrential storm.

The wobbly remains of the wash facility – what used to be a controlled environment with fruit flowing gently down to the packing plant – is now a turbulent series of gushing water flumes. It is these flumes, spiraling out of control through twisted and crumbling wash spillways with crushing force, that redefine "flash flooding" for Typhoon Lagoon guests.

While riding Crush 'n' Gusher, guests are whisked away on inflatable rafts and immediately begin to experience the up-and-down sensations of a roller coaster, made possible by utilizing some of today's latest water ride innovations. Powerful water jets propel guests through cavernous twists and turns, eventually spitting them out into the tranquil waters of Hideaway Bay.

"We were so excited about offering this state-of-the-art water ride technology to our guests, that we created three separate ride systems for them to experience," said Patrick Brennan, lead creative designer for Walt Disney Imagineering. "In addition to being the only water coaster thrill ride of its kind in Central Florida, Crush 'n' Gusher is the first-ever water coaster attraction in North America to offer guests three different ride experiences at one location."

"Crush 'n' Gusher is a great addition to Disney's Typhoon Lagoon," said Reggie Williams, vice president of Disney's Wide World of Sports and Water Parks. "With the thrills and excitement that this water coaster ride offers, Crush 'n' Gusher is like having our very own E-Ticket attraction."

Disney's Typhoon Lagoon, itself the result of a calamity of nature (so the legend goes), continues to make the best of a bad situation – in this case the uncovered structural remains of Tropical Amity. With the newly discovered water coaster thrill ride of Crush 'n' Gusher in the backyard jungle of Typhoon Lagoon, guests have one more reason to enjoy this tropical paradise.

Fast Facts:

• Crush 'n' Gusher is the only water roller coaster in North America that has three unique and separate rides off of one tower.
• Each Crush 'n' Gusher water jet nozzle puts out 1350 gallons per minute.
• The average length of each slide is over 400 feet.
• One slide from Crush 'n' Gusher can fill a standard home-size pool in about one minute.
• Crush 'n' Gusher can fill up Disney's Typhoon Lagoon wave pool (2.7 million gallons) in about 3 hours.
• If you were to connect the average fire hose to a single Crush 'n' Gusher jet nozzle, it could shoot water over The Twilight Zone® Tower of Terror attraction at Disney-MGM Studios.
• Ride height requirement is 48 inches.