Video: Shoot the Rapids finally opens at Cedar Point

Cedar Point finally opened its $10.5 million water ride Shoot the Rapids on Saturday, following a series of delays caused by oversized boats.

The park overcame last-minute issues raised by state inspectors on Friday to enable the ride to open - saving itself from embarrassment after it had earlier announced the June 26 opening date via its Twitter account. The ride was originally scheduled to open on May 15, but was delayed after the ride's boats were discovered to be too large during testing.

Photos from the Shoot the Rapids' opening day can be seen over at Cedar Point fan site Point Buzz. An official video of the ride in action is embedded below:

Smaller children hoping to ride Shoot the Rapids may be disappointed, after the park raised the minimum height limit from the originally announced 42 inches. Riders must now be a minimum of 46 inches tall to ride with an adult, or 48 inches tall to ride on their own.

Shoot the Rapids sees riders boarding 10-person boats, before travelling along a 2,100 feet, 3-minute-long course. The ride is themed around the Crystal Rock Bottling Company, with guests encountering "some wild feudin' and fightin'" as they pass through an "illegal moonshine still". The family ride features an 85-foot, 45-degree first drop through water rapids and rock work.

Cedar Point hopes that Shoot the Rapids will boost flagging annual attendance figures at the park, after a drop of 256,000 during the 2009 season.

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