David Chapman is the owner of the Facebook Group, Amusement Park Portal, and offers a great collection of historical Cedar Point photos and details. Therefore, we asked for his unique perspective comparing the new Snake River Expeditions to the former Paddlewheel Excursions.

New for 2021, Cedar Point introduces a new boat ride, Snake River Expeditions, in collaboration with the 2019 Forbidden Frontier. Snake River Expeditions takes you on a western cruise thru the snake river. Before you board the boat, guests will walk thru a well themed line and pre-show explaining the adventure that awaits. During your cruise, you will encounter several scenes featuring animatronics and actors.

If you are a fan of the former Paddlewheel excursions that operated at the park 1961-2011, then you will love this updated version. Snake River Expeditions follows the same route around the parks lagoon, but with a totally new story line and scenes. Not only is this attraction good for all ages, but it is a nice way to relax and take a break from the hustle and bustle of the packed midways. Fans of the old version will also notice a few Easter eggs honoring the Paddlewheel Excursions attraction. We do not want to spoil where they all are, but pay attention to some of the props while waiting in line.

As you enter the line to the ride, you will notice a lot of theming and props geared to a western cruise. Some of the props include a gramophone that plays, a post office, and several pictures. There are two buildings that house the queue, but only one was needed during our visit. The other building features additional theming as well. After you exit the buildings, you will be grouped together with several other people on the boat dock. An actor then confronts you, and goes over some of the rules and gives you additional information about your cruise. After a few moments, another actor will usher you into another building where you will experience the pre-show.

The pre-show consists of a short presentation that explains how you are smuggling gold now instead of going on a standard river tour. Two lucky passengers will be picked to carry gold and dynamite onto the cruise boat. We do not want to give away too much, but there are several other things that happen during the pre-show also.

After instructions, your group is ushered onto the awaiting river boat where you will be seated 2 people per bench. The lucky passengers that were chosen during the pre-show, will be seated up front near the boats captain.

As the boat leaves the dock, you are taken on an adventure around the Cedar Point lagoon (aka Snake River). Guests will come in contact with a bandit who intends on steeling the gold from one of the participants that were chosen. Needless to say, it does not go quite as planned. Also, be on the lookout for snakes! What is nice about this type of set up, is that the story line can easily change whenever they choose to.

We are sure that if you are a fan of the original Paddlewheel Excursions, you will notice that the animatronic scenes are located in the same areas where the old ones were once found. Many of them are similar, and others are totally different. Gone are the days of the Canfield’s and Magee’s feuding down river and spooking away all the game. Snake River Expedition offers a whole new story line now.

We enjoyed the story line, and are sure it will be tweaked over time. Just like the original version, the jokes are cheesy as ever. Included, are pictures of a few of the old scenes from Paddlewheel Excursions and some of the new scenes.

To see more pictures of the former Paddlewheel Excursions, visit the Amusement Park Portal.

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