Cartecay River Experience has a really good tubing experience because they have several options for you when you go to the first location for the business. You can sign up there (where the pizza shop is) to go on the regular lazy river or you can sign up to go on the "Extreme" river. If it's a weekend, you're definitely looking at a line, so plan ahead. They allow you to bring your own tubes and just pay the shuttle fee. That's fantastic! The extreme river experience is several miles up the road, which makes it a longer trip, but also puts you above a bunch of rapids. DO NOT TIE YOUR TUBES TOGETHER IF YOU ARE IN BIG GROUPS!!!! Two is OK, but more than that runs the risk of one of your tubes going the wrong direction and then tearing holes in your tube. There is NO ONE COMING. Your best bet, if your tube pops/rips/deflates is to just keep going down the river the best you can. We made the mistake of tying the 4 of us together....my mom and sister went down one side of the rapids while her boyfriend and I went down the other. There wasn't any choice in this- it was just where the current led our tubes. Since we were connected, the rope stopped us from passing through the rapids easily. We got stuck! My sister managed to get untied and floated on down. My mom had to get out of her tube. I got out of mine and had to help my mom and her boyfriend, and by the time I got to him, his tube was shredded open. I ended up giving him my tube and I just rolled across all the rocks on my way down the rest (more than half) of the river. It kinda sucked for me. I don't know if it's allowed or if it costs more, but you should ask for an extra tube if you're going thru any rapid sections. It may sound like my experience was terrible, but it was fun for everyone else. We brought our own tubes too- so we saved some money on rentals! If you're going on the "extreme" run, and you're renting tubes, you'll need to wait for the shuttle- which could take up to an hour and a half- depending on the lines. Bring water- stay hydrated. If you bring your own tubes, the only shuttle you'll be using is the one at the bottom of the run to bring you back to your car(s). If you plan on going tubing regularly- I highly recommend getting your own tubes. We were able to park, fill up our tubes, and get in the water in like 30min. Same thing for the return trip in the shuttle and packing up. The people are very nice and everything seems sets up with ease. I DO have to take a star away for the changing rooms. They only have 2 and they are AWFUL. I must recommend that you bring a changing pop-up tent with you. It'd be a much more hygienic option. Would I go back! Absolutely! It was fun! We learned a few things and our next trip on the Cartecay will be perfect! I guarantee that if you follow our tips, things will go swimmingly. read more

Very unorganized. There are no people guiding you where to go and no one telling you how long the wait time will be. There are actually two locations. The pizza place and the actual place that you get to get on a tube. Do not go to the pizza place as you will wait two hours in the bearing heat, I'm talking the devil's ass crack hot because there is no shade whatsoever. There is overpriced snow cones but other than that just heat. You wait here and sign in only to get on a bus that will take you to the actually place where the tubes are. You tell them your name and the amount of people you have. I had an issue with this as well because there was no cap that means that they were allowing larger groups of people to sign up to get tubes. I'm talking groups of 16 plus and you have to wait until they get done. People at this location were nicer and they offered free bottles of water and beer for waiting. When we finally got to get on the river is actually nice... the first hour. This is a three hour long River. After a while of floating in the heat I was starting to get a headache and I kept running into branches on the side and getting stuck under the rocks. I recommended some kind of device that will help you navigate the water. I fell in once, lost my tube and someone was nice enough to get it for me. For that I was grateful as I would have wadding another hour. The best part of the trip was the whirlpool and the slide. If you can brave it that long it is a small pay out. Don't see myself returning but it was experience. read more

Cartecay River Experience - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

Water level wasn't optimal and it was still a great float! The only strenuous part was having to carry your tube up steep steps to meet the bus that carries you back to the starting point. Other than that, the staff was great, the tubes were great and a fun time was had by all. Greatly appreciate that there's a catch rope you can grab on to so you don't go past the exit point. Looking forward to coming back again before the summer is over. Side note- Coolers and alcohol are prohibited. Wish they could find a way to prohibit cigarette smoking as well... read more

0/10 experience! Drove all the way from Birmingham, AL to get to experience this. We called the day before and spoke to the owner to ask a few questions and to see if they were going to be open, and we were told to be there between 10 and 2. Since it was a 3.5 hour drive we arrived by 12:30pm. We also called at 10:30am to verify they would still be open and running. The owner asked which river we wanted to do, we told him the adventure and he said to just get there by 2 just like the day before, so we were really excited. Upon arrival we were greeted by said owner with the worst attitude and could feel the laziness and annoyance he felt of having to wait for us to complete the adventure. He even had the audacity in front of us to vocalize his complaining about having to wait for us and he was going to call someone else to do be cause he didn't want to wait around. Then he started to complain about how the weather was acting up and that it was going to be storming in thirty minutes, which nowhere did he mention any of that in the two previous phone calls, the day before or when we spoke the morning of just two hours prior. We totally understand not being able to go because of weather and safety. What was completely unacceptable was his attitude towards us just showing up and asking why he didn't mention it when we called just two hours prior. He offered us to go down the lazy river and not the adventure river but at the end of the interaction I didn't want to give his business my money nor was I sure he'd even be there to pick us up at the takeout so we left. read more

This is THE BEST place to kayak and tube in north Georgia! Woody and his staff are fun and well qualified to take care of you. LISTEN to the directions and advice when you check in! The river starts with a mile of mostly flat water, so you have time to get your river legs and a little practice. Next you come up to a rocky area, known as The Rock Garden. Depending on the level, you may have to work you way through. The next stop is at a nice little surfing hole where kayakers like to play. Finally you get to the rapids: S Turn, Whirlpool and BlackBerry (aka Stegall) Falls. The falls is just a big(10-12 ft.) limestone slide. From the falls you can see a bridge. The take out is on the right immediately after the bridge. Please take your trash out with you and be respectful of the residents down the river and at the take out!!! My favorite river for 38 years!!! read more

We had a great time! We did the lazy river experience. The duration was perfect and experience was relaxing. Staff were friendly and so helpful! read more

Good price and fun for whole family. Have done this tubing place 3 times now and never disappointed.

Friendly staff, we had a blast floating down the lazy river section. I'd recommend bringing a stick to avoid getting stuck on rocks!

EXTREMELY UNORGANIZED!! We paid at 12 and then we got onto the shuttle at 3:00 after waiting in the parking lot lot. We didn't mind waiting since they had a large crowd. When we arrived at the place to get into the river... they had no tubes. So we waited for around another hour and finally got a tube. Then they had no life jackets and we waited another 30 minutes or so for those. You are not allowed to enter without one. The man out front there who said he is the owner is VERY rude and VERY inappropriate!!!!!!!!! however all the other staff was extremely kind to us. We will NOT be returning and if you want something fun/ relaxing... DO NOT go to this place. After standing in lines for 4 hours in total... it's totally not worth it. They didn't know who was going where and who had what... it was just complete chaos and confusion. We also witnessed drug use on the property which was nerve racking. The owner seemed to not care about said drug use. You have to walk or push yourself for the first 45 minutes of the river or else the tubes don't move. Hope this helps! read more

Ok boys and girls...grab your best pair of cheap sunglasses, your faithful water shoes and head to CRE for a day of ...oh yeah this water feels good, hey,hey, watch out for that rock, grab that freakin limb, why am I floating backwards, wish I'd got a tube with a head-rest thing on it, no I only brought enough beer for me, GREAT FUN!!!Only did the 1 1/2 hour float but it was just right. Seriously, get a tube with the head-rest!! read more

Went here with our grands. The staff was super friendly and so much fun! I can not tell you how much fun we had here! The water was perfect! Do yourself a favor and do the stick. I laughed so much with the kids! My husband and I will cherish these memories forever! read more

The north river entrance is better than the south entrance. Tubes were dirty and deflated

This is one of our favorite places to tube. The view is awesome. The prices are good. $13 if you pay in cash and $16 if you use a card. There's no luxury by any means but you shouldn't expect it while going tubing. They have porta potty's to use at the beginning and it's pretty rustic, but the people are super friendly and the tubes are comfortable. We go every summer at least once or more. read more

Always a great time using Woody and Cartecay River Experience ! Pick up after trip always on time with friendly folks helping load the gear! read more

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Amazing time doing the lazy river float. Lasted about 1.5 hours and the whole family really enjoyed it.

We had an absolutely amazing time. Whether you are a beginner or seasoned, this is the river experience of a lifetime and a great way to beat the Georgia city heat. We took a float on the lazy river and kayaked the beautiful cartecay rapids. We had a wonderful day on the Cartecay. The trout fishing is amazing also. Thanks to Tripp and the Cartecay Team! read more

IT WAS A BLAST The first day we did the small lazy river and it was fun the next day we did the 3 hour with the class 2 and 3 rapids. All I can say is what a blast it was. I highly recommend it read more

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THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR KIDS We were visiting Georgia and wanted to go tubing and i saw this place on google and checked the reviews, the pictures on google are completely different from what the place actually looks like, it shows umbrellas with benches: not there. It also says safe for all ages, Definitely not!!! When we got there they said it would take about 1-2 hours to do the whole river ( it did not, it probably took 5hrs) for my kids we got the kid floats (13yr and 14yr) they didn't think to tell us that the kid float were for small kids! so the first 30mins they popped, of course and we couldn't go back and we didn't bring a phone ( out fault) so our kids just sat on top of me and my husband. my husband and 13yr kept falling every 5 minutes. then once we got to the rocky part we all fell and my 14yr got a really bad bruise ( i put the picture there) also not to mention the kid floats were pool floats, Definitely not for tubing! Anyways like i said my husband and kid kept falling and we didn't know how much more there was, my kids were freaking out because they were falling and kept scratching themselves. We saw this guy with his kids relaxing on their porch and we just got off of out tubes and swam to him, we couldn't go much longer,the water was cold, my kids were both freaking out, me and my husband were both stressed and i am so thankful for the guy there because he literally saved our lives . So unless you want to come back home with scratches and bruises Do. Not. come here. read more

Cartecay River Experience - bruise from falling off the tube - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

The first part starts out just like all of the other tubing adventures in Helen. Make sure you listen to the instructors as this one is not for the faint of heart! Point your feet first if you should fall out in one of the rapids after getting stuck on a rock. If you are not a strong swimmer, be extra careful at the last couple of rapids as the water is pretty deep, approximately 7-10 feet deep at times, depending on the water level. Also be sure to avoid the tree as my son ran right into it and his inner tube blew a slow leak and he had to go the whole way without a tube. Not fun; but he was a tough guy and made it through. Phew! read more

My 12 year old son and I had a great time! I highly recommend during your stay. Very cost effective! read more

Cartecay River Experience - Lazy river - Rafting/Kayaking Near Me - Ellijay, Georgia

NOT A RIVER FOR TUBING!!!!! Went tubing at the Cartecay two days ago and we got there to find sub par tubes and the only available life vests were child sized and poor quality. The unprofessional worker that took our payment said that we shouldn't worry too much about wearing the life vests. Had to sign a waiver before we were allowed to get in the river (which struck me as a little odd. Tubing is normally supposed to be relaxing and fun.). Hit rapids classified at around a 3 in TUBES near the end of the tubing route. VERY DANGEROUS! Got tossed out of my tube and sucked through a hydraulic and body slammed a few rocks. Water was over my head in some places. I and the people I was with work out and are pretty strong individuals and we were unable to keep our heads above water Found out after that experience that locals don't go to the Cartecay and tube and only highly experienced kayakers try to storm rapids like those. I don't recommend the Cartecay to anyone looking for a fun and family friendly activity. You have to have a death wish...especially this time of year. read more

Kinda run down and the trip goes past an industrial area with a drainage pipe that's kinda gross. The rapids are fun. I did it in one of their kayaks so it wasn't as thrilling as the tubes but I also was not afraid of drowning. The staff was nice, but the tubing in Helen is more fun and scenic. read more

My husband and I had such an awesome time. We did the adventure river and there's a decent amount of rapids while still giving you plenty of time to float and relax. Head my warning- get the push stick. Get it. We didn't and had to hunt for a stick on the river and I fell out of my tube into frigid, deep water. It added to the fun of my personal experience but I can see why some people may not enjoy that. Overall, everyone was super kind and made us feel right at home. 1000/10 recommend. read more

Went tubing this morning and it was a great trip staff super helpful tubes easily accessible minimal sign in quick walk to river. They hang your car keys no lockers etc so leave your crap in the car or bring in waterproof bag- which they sell if you forget. One mile ride for ten bucks heck yeah!! Staff is great friendly helpful and fun make sure you tip them!! They catch you at end so no run away you do need to climb up a bit of a bank but they are there to help you quick n easy ride right back to your car. Beautiful tubing!! Go for it so worth the trip!! read more

***THIS IS NOT SAFE FOR KIDS!!!*** My family, my sister and her family and my Mom and stepdad tubed here on Mother's Day... All I have to say is... Every person took a swim, including small children in rapids (traumatic)... All the kids cried. The adults needed a drink after. All the tubers who finished with us were freaked out. No smiles. People with scratches from getting dumped. Some rapids were so dangerous for tubing I had to go to the side to get my kids around them to avoid... Ambulances took away 2 KAYAKERS - one for a broken wrist and one for a broken back right before we finished. My mom lost her shoes and my stepdad lost his tube. Janky bus getting there and back. Dude running the place smoked near my kids and seemed intoxicated. We are pretty open minded. But damn, bro. Just go to Helen. It's much more benign. NO ONE should be on this section of river in a TUBE! read more

My family and I were so excited to go tubing down the Cartecay. However, when we were arrived, we were extremely disappointed. Not only was it overcrowded, but not one guest was social distancing in line nor wearing a mask. No one seemed to care. I saw maybe one sign, and not one person attempting to enforce it. Not even staff wore a mask or kept a six feet distance. It also required two buses to get there, and by buses I mean super questionable van. I was completely appalled at the lack of staff willingness to care for their own safety much less the safety of their customers. Would not recommend, especially during the pandemic. read more

After three days of mountain biking my group was looking for something relaxing. The folks over at Mulberry Gap suggested a tubing trip and suggested Cartecay River Experience. Located in Ellijay it was easily accessible. When I first arrived to the check in area I was a little concerned. The building looks like it should be condemned. With that being said as soon as we walked up we were greeted by the operator who asked us to sign waiver and pay our $11.00 for the two and a half hour river trip. After a quick briefing we were whisked away on a bus (which looked like it should also be condemned) to put our tubes in down river. The river was so much fun, great class II rapids and we had a great time as we floated down river. The price you pay for this trip is an amazing value! If you have time to spare you have to do this trip. You will be in for a great surprise on the last rapid before you take out of the river. (Can't tell you, don't want to ruin the fun) read more

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Highly recommend it if you have an adventurous spirit and are a true thrill seeker. **** Do not recommend it for anyone with small children, who doesn't want to have brushes with death and drowning while trying to save that small child. This is not tubing in Helen, GA. My Husband and I are still reeling from the experience. I flipped 4 times and almost drowned trying to save my 2 year old daughter from going under 3 of those times. The fact that we were allowed to bring small children on our laps is crazy irresponsible and parents should be strongly discouraged from doing such a thing. The rapids we went down were a level 3 ... in a tube, without a helmet, with a 2 year old on my lap and a 4 year old on my husbands lap. Thank you to all the amazing experienced kayakers who helped pull us out of the water so we missed the next even bigger rapid and for holding and comforting my screaming 2 year old while I tried to grab my tube and find my shoes and my BROKEN life jacket. At that point I had no clue where my Son and Husband were. We were so disoriented. My two year old and I managed to reach the exit point a good 20 minutes before My Husband and son did (they got stuck on a rock). A very stressful 20 minutes. *side note, if I had no children with me, this would have been so fun. read more

Three of us did tubing. The prices r reasonable. $15 for tubbing included life vest, tube, and ride to and from the "put-in" location. I will highly recommend u wear water shoes with good soles as the the river has lots of pointy & slimy rocks. We had a great time! Even though we ended up with bruises & cuts at end. The workers were great. The only issue I had was at the end when we needed to get back to pick up our cars, due to the confusion on where to wait for the bus to take us back. We kept going from one line to another as we got wrong information of where to wait. There was lots of people trying to get back so we waiting a long time until the right bus got there to pick us up. Great experience just b ready to get wet & have a few minor injuries at the end. read more

I don't generally write up things like this so if you're perusing what to do around Ellijay I'd ask that you read on just a little bit. This isn't a review of the river - it's rocky and low at parts and was a bit strenuous scooting along the rocks in a kayak, but the river is fine. This is a review of the business itself. My wife and I spent a long weekend up on Ellijay for our anniversary, and going kayaking on the river was at the top of our to-do list. This place is the top ranked one in Google so we just followed that. When we got to the put-in, we met Woody - a man who I'd assume is the owner. He gives us the rundown and right off the bat starts patronizing and talking down to us - any questions my wife and I had were immediately met with a snarky, rude response. He mentions going "left at the split, and right at the bridge to the take out" and when I asked for him to repeat it he said "you know what a bridge looks like, don'tcha!?" and got in my face about it in a totally uncalled for, aggressive way. By then I was reconsidering giving the guy our money. We did anyway. As I fumbled with the rental life jacket, he made fun of me while other customers and employees laughed. My wife whispered to me "we should ask for a refund and leave", and I thought maybe we would. I figured once we were out on the river we could just shrug it off, because both of us really wanted to spend the day on the water. While we were out, we were friendly with other tubers and kayakers that we saw, and each time asked them about the "guy at the tent" and everybody seemed to have their own experience similar to mine - one group said they asked about snakes and critters in the river and he tried to scare them while others laughed. An older couple said he was aggressively asking for their change when he broke a larger bill, others just said he was rude and a 'character'. So at least I can't take it personally, I suppose. This was yesterday though, and I still don't feel right giving this guy my money, so this is the least I can do to try to warn others away from here and to explore one of the other river options close by. If you ever wondered where your high school bullies went after you graduated and lost touch, at least one of them is baking in the sun collecting tubes and life jackets at a river in Ellijay, and harassing his customers while we try to enjoy ourselves in spite of it. If you're like me and go there, have a negative experience and *then* check Yelp, at least write something up to help spread the word about their poor business practices and hopefully knock them down a peg. With the amount of people he was openly rude to in just one day of business, I hope karma catches up quickly. read more

A beautiful peaceful tubing ride with some Rapids that are seriously Fun! My 14 and 16 year old Kids rode the final Falls over and over ! I could not get them off the river ! We loved it!! read more

Absolutely the best river experience I have had to date. This river is clean and adventurous. The grounds are well kept and the owner (Woody) makes you feel as though you are a part of the family. I learned that this group partakes in a cleaning ritual to ensure a clean scenic trip and to keep this beautiful river free of pollution so its ecosystem and the one that surrounds it isn't affected (cheers for that!) 5 stars isn't enough for this place! I will definitely return and will be suggesting that others follow me!! read more

Been going here for the past five years so much better than Helen and Chattahoochee combined!!

Wish I didn't have to give it. 1 star. DONT TAKE KIDS THERE FOR SURE. We were planning a whole family outing and went on Groupon and it never mentioned that this was not kid friendly. The place is hard to find to begin with, we started off by trying to find a blue trailer near some pizza trailer and were told that there was a map in a mailbox to get us to where we needed to go. Finally we get to the put in and the guy was so rude, he scared the crap out of my kids and the other children in the group. Finally we left before ever setting foot on that river because he scared us all. It was dirty. I ended up having to call GROUPON to get my money back. We ended up going to the TOCCOA RIVER RAFTING ... colorful tubes. Friendly service. Awesome tunes with head rest and cooler tunes. read more

Don't waste your time!!! Go 5 minutes down the road to ELLIJAY RIVER OUTFITTERS! Only went here because I bought a Groupon and they were rude! I had called before buying it to make sure they would accept it in the afternoon and the guy said to come anytime. When we arrived after a 2 hour drive they said they weren't taking GROUPON anymore so we left. Thankfully Groupon refunded my money and we had a way better time with Ellijay River Outfitters!!! read more

I took 5 kids down the river today in tubes. (10,8,7,6 and 4) Everyone had an awesome time! The kids have had experience on rivers with small rapids. They were so excited about all the rapids and loved the big one at the end. Bring kids good life jackets, wear water shoes and enjoy. Kids are ready to kayak it next time! read more

I am a former ACA Certified Kayaking Instructor and have owned my own kayaking outfitter company. Highly experienced in kayaking and water and know what a great outfitter looks like. These guys are disrespect to customers, their equipment is old and didn't stay inflated the duration of the trip (a deinflated tube is not fun to float in), the shuttle is unsafe (a wooden bench in the back of a van, seriously?) and you have to take two shuttles to do the trip (what?). The end of the trip looks fun and actually IS a blast...for adults (a 12 ft waterfall slide). But, it actually has a keeper hydraulic that is unsafe for little kids. My own daughter (11) flipped in her tube coming down (at the top), got banged up on her legs on the way down, but the scary part is she was stuck under water in the hydraulic at the bottom of the gals and I had to do a rescue. Now, I am a professional so I know how to do it, but do you? Bottom line: Do not go with this outfitter. But if you choose to run the river with someone else, do not let kids go over the falls solo. And I would recommend an adult be at the bottom spotting the rest of the group for a potential rescue. read more

"Rubber dinghy rapids bro." -- Four Lions (2010) I loved tubing down the river - however the effort to get there was an issue. We showed up at 9:15am (our group was supposed to be there at 9:30) and were told by a kid that Jenny (apparently an owner) had an issue with childcare and she wouldn't be there today. We needed to park up front and wait for our group and then we would be bused to the top of the river. Okay - no problem. We all signed our waivers, paid our $10 (normally $11, but with our large group, we got a deal). Now, once our group of 40 arrived in full (our problem, not theirs), they started to cart us to the top. With only one bus (which should probably be in a junk heap someplace and not carting humans anywhere), it took 2 trips, plus one of our larger cars to get us to the put in. This is a problem. Because that process took close to 45 minutes and we wanted everyone to start together. So we put in - and down the river we went. My biggest complaint is that there are a lot of rocks and places to get hung up - and if you are in a tube and on your back, you have no way to get free. They really need to provide push-sticks like other tubing operations do. The entire trip took us about 3 hours (there might have been a rope swing along the way that deterred us a bit... I would offer that there should be signs posted with ideas of how far you have gone - the infamous fork (you MUST go left here) so you go the right way and where the put out is (because if you miss it, it's another 4 to 6 hours - so they say) to the bottom. Signs would not kill you. Once we got out of the river (after the awesome waterfall at the end and people kept riding over and over), it took another 45 minutes to get picked up. Again - only one bus. There is a van that will take you to the top put in - only good if that is where you parked, and then the bus that takes you to the bottom. Well, the bus makes multiple stops - bottom, top, middle. So this process takes time and with only one - it takes a lot of time. So getting all of us back to the right place (remember, 40 of us), took well over an hour. When we got back to the bottom (home base), there were two other large groups - one of whom said they had 38 people, had been already waiting over an hour to be taken to the top. So I would say they need some more organization, and more transportation. I think it is time to invest in more of both and you would get more stars. The frustration on both ends didn't make me want to come again. read more

This was our first experience on the Cartecay River. We typically tube in Helen, but we liked that this was a lot closer! So here's the sitch... The set up is super weird! You park and pay at one site, then you are taken to another site by a super old bus. THEN, you are dropped at a site that you collect your tubes. THEN you have to be bussed back to your car when the ride is over. The Bad - We waited an hour and a half for the freakin tubes! The dude at the check in was not very child friendly due to his use of foul language during his speech to us. The tubes are old and worn out! After the 3 hour tubing experience was over (a bit too long) we had to WAIT AGAIN to get a driver to haul us back to where we parked! The first driver that came through was super rude when we asked which spot we were parked at, due to him yelling "UPPER OR LOWER"??? WTH is upper or lower? Well obviously we annoid him by asking this question because his response was just RUDE! The Good - The river is really beautiful. It is a lot larger than the Helen river and A LOT LESS ROCKS! Although they do have rocks that you have to deviate around it is a lot less than the other river. The tubes are $11.00 per person which is a great price for family fun. read more

We had so much fun! We had a group of 10, 4 adults and kids ranging from 6-14. Everyone loved it! Yes, you need an adventurous spirit, dont be a lame duck about flipping or just dont go tubing. A 4 foot stick will help you. The staff were great, the transportation was fun and the kids loved it. I was on the fence after reading some of the reviews, but after doing this with all the kids I have to say those who did not appreciate this experience probably just shouldn't go tubing. I definitely dont think the water at the end was so wicked crazy. Wicked fun, yes! My 6 year old who freaks about rides had his hands up every time the water got fast. I had to tell him to hold on for the last one. He wanted to go again! Again the staff was great helping us pull out of the river and we only waited about 5 minutes for a ride back. The pizza, you must try the pizza. Its amazing. read more