El Aserradero (meaning The Sawmill) is a

log flume A log flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Logging operations pre ...

located in the ''Spain'' section at

Six Flags Over Texas Six Flags Over Texas is a 212-acre (86 ha) amusement park, in Arlington, Texas, east of Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth and west of Dallas, Texas, Dallas. It is the first amusement park in the Six Flags chain, and features themed areas and attracti ...

in Arlington,

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, since 1963.

History

'El Aserradero' was the first ever log flume attraction in the world and the fourth oldest ride currently operating at the park, built by

Arrow Development Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company, incorporated in California on November 16, 1945, and based in Mountain View. It was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Karl Bacon, William Hardiman ...

, which later became

Arrow Dynamics Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (194 ...

. The log flume replaced the 'Burro Ride', which operated from 1961 to 1962. From 1963 to 1968, El Aserradero only operated one flume. Then in 1968, due to the ride's popularity,

Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park corporation, headquartered in Arlington, Texas. It has properties in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Six Flags owns the most theme parks and waterparks combined of any amu ...

added a second flume to next to the original doubling the capacity of the attraction. The park billed the ride as "the most popular and exciting ride ever devised." During the 1970s, Six Flags Over Texas added themed animations along the ride in which

Lumberjack Lumberjacks are mostly North American workers in the logging industry who perform the initial harvesting and transport of trees for ultimate processing into forest products. The term usually refers to loggers in the era (before 1945 in the Unite ...

s could be seen sawing logs. Also added was a cover to the drop on flume 2, which later was removed along with the animations. El Aserradero's success inspired many amusement parks around the world to add a log flume of some type.

Ride Experience

El Aserradero's entrance is located in the Texas theme section of the park, but the ride is in the Spain section along with the exit. Once guests load into one of the fiberglass logs, the log then travels to the first lift hill. The log is carried up the lift hill on a

conveyor belt A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system is one of many types of conveyor systems. A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to ...

, then drops down a slide into the flume, which is the highest part of the ride. The log then floats around the curving flume, carried forward by the water and traveling slightly downhill. The log then reaches a second lift hill, then drops down a much longer slide and splashes down at the end of the ride. El Aserradero operates from spring to the end of

Fright Fest Fright Fest or FrightFest may refer to: *Six Flags Fright Fest, a Halloween event at Six Flags parks. * FrightFest (film festival), a British film festival, also known as Film4 Fright Fest. *"FrightFest", a Halloween event at the Elitch Gardens Th ...

in October.

Primary sources

*Park Times
''El Aserradero''
full of information of El Aserradero {{DEFAULTSORT:El Aserradero Amusement rides introduced in 1963 Six Flags Over Texas Water rides Water rides manufactured by Arrow Dynamics Six Flags attractions

History

Ride Experience

See also

Primary sources