Who builds them

Manufacturers

• ABC Rides

  Switzerland · 19 rides

  Swiss ride manufacturer based in Wil (Canton St. Gallen), specialising in water attractions. ABC Rides builds rafting rides, boat rides, log flumes and family water rides for theme and leisure parks, often designed to fit compact sites. Notable installations include the Wildalpenbahn rafting ride at the Vienna Prater.

• Arrow Development

  United States · 16 rides

  Californian company founded in 1946 by Karl Bacon and Ed Morgan. Arrow worked with Disney on the original Disneyland rides and invented the log flume: El Aserradero at Six Flags Over Texas (1963) was the world's first. It also built the first tubular-steel coaster (Matterhorn Bobsleds). Arrow later became Arrow Huss and then Arrow Dynamics.

• Arrow Dynamics

  United States · 16 rides

  Californian manufacturer (originally Arrow Development) that built the classic log flumes of the 1960s and 70s. Closed in 2002.

• Arrow Huss

  United States · 1 ride

  The name used by Arrow Development after it was bought by German company Huss in 1981. Under this name the company continued building log flumes, river rapids and roller coasters until it became Arrow Dynamics in the mid-1980s.

• ART Engineering

  Switzerland · 0 rides

  Swiss engineering company (ART Engineering GmbH) that designs ride systems and attraction engineering for theme parks, including water ride components.

• Australian Electric Vehicles

  Australia · 1 ride

  Australian Electric Vehicles (AEV) was an Australian company that built ride systems, including the boat ride system for the Looney Tunes River Ride at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast.

• Barr Engineering

  United States · 4 rides

  American ride engineering firm known for river rapids and water ride installations at US theme parks during the 1980s.

• BEAR GmbH

  Germany · 3 rides

  German company that builds water rides, boat rides and themed attractions for European theme parks.

• BEAR Rides AG

  Switzerland · 5 rides

  Swiss ride manufacturer (Bear Rides AG) that develops family and water rides for theme parks. Linked to the German BEAR company, it supplies boat rides and themed water attractions.

• Beijing Shibaolai Amusement Equipment

  China · 2 rides

• Big Country Motioneering Ltd

  United Kingdom · 10 rides

  British engineering firm that designed and built log flumes and boat rides for UK parks and seaside amusement sites in the 1980s and 1990s, often as a more affordable alternative to continental European builders.

• BoldMove Nation

  Unknown origin · 1 ride

  Attraction design company involved in themed experiences for theme parks.

• D.P.V. Rides

  Netherlands · 1 ride

  Dutch ride manufacturer (DPV Rides) known for compact family attractions and boat rides for amusement parks.

• Fabbri

  Italy · 5 rides

  Italian ride manufacturer from Verona (Fabbri Group), founded in 1952. Fabbri builds thrill rides, family rides and water attractions including log flumes and splash boats, for both permanent parks and travelling fairs.

• FantaWild Holdings Inc.

  China · 27 rides

  FantaWild Holdings Inc. is an entertainment-technology and theme-park group based in Shenzhen, China. It brings attraction design, engineering, equipment production and film-making together in-house, developing experiences that combine physical scenery, animated characters, projection and special effects. Its park brands include Fantawild Adventure, Dreamland, Oriental Heritage and Glorious Orient, with themes ranging from Chinese legends and history to the Boonie Bears animated characters. Boat rides are an important part of this work. FantaWild designs and supplies the ride systems for gentle indoor journeys such as Colourful Kingdom, River of Tales and The Tune Tour, where boats carry visitors through colourful cultural scenes. White Snake’s Fury, also presented as Battle at Jinshan Temple, combines an indoor boat journey with a theatrical water-screen finale. Its Zhi Yuan attraction takes a different approach, using an indoor tracked boat system with controlled movement to tell the story of a historic Chinese warship. The group’s teams also create attraction films, show-control systems, themed scenery and animatronics. Alongside these in-house productions, its parks feature attractions purchased from other manufacturers, including roller coasters supplied by Vekoma.

• Gulliver’s

  Unknown origin · 1 ride

• Hafema

  Germany · 13 rides

  German specialist in river rapids rides, known for compact multi-level layouts with vertical lifts and whirlpools.

• Hopkins Rides

  United States · 20 rides

  American manufacturer specializing in water attractions including log flumes, river rapids, and shoot-the-chute rides.

• I.E. Park

  Italy · 1 ride

  Italian ride manufacturer from Bologna, known for family coasters, family rides and children's water rides supplied to parks in Europe and beyond.

• Intamin

  Liechtenstein · 99 rides

  Swiss-Liechtenstein ride maker behind the world's first river rapids rides and many of the most famous water attractions.

• Interlink

  United Kingdom · 12 rides

  British water ride manufacturer from Lincolnshire, founded in the 1980s and now part of the Interlink Group. Interlink specialises in log flumes (including its Super Flume), shoot-the-chutes and boat rides, and has supplied hundreds of water rides worldwide, from small family flumes to large splash rides such as Niagara at Bellewaerde.

• International Theme Park Services

  United States · 0 rides

  International Theme Park Services, Inc. (ITPS) is a leisure consulting and design firm based in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1983 by Dennis Speigel and advises on feasibility, master plans, design and pre-opening operations for amusement parks, water parks and other attractions worldwide. ITPS is a design consultancy rather than a ride manufacturer: it plans parks and selects the attractions, while the ride hardware itself comes from other builders. Its best-known project is Hopi Hari in Brazil, which it designed and built using the layout of Kings Island in Ohio as a starting point.

• J&J Amusements

  Unknown origin · 1 ride

• Jinma Rides

  China · 5 rides

  Chinese amusement ride manufacturer (Jinma Amusement Rides), one of the largest in China. Jinma builds roller coasters, family rides and water rides such as log flumes, rapids and shoot-the-chutes for parks across Asia.

• Kumbak

  Netherlands · 1 ride

  KumbaK is a Dutch amusement-ride engineering company based in Nederweert. It was founded in 2001 as KumbaK Coasters by nine former Vekoma employees. The team brought its roller-coaster experience to new ride projects before changing direction in 2009, when the company became known as KumbaK – The Amusement Engineers and focused on improving existing attractions. Its best-known water ride is De Vliegende Hollander at Efteling, which opened in 2007. KumbaK engineered the original ride system for this combination of a dark ride and a water coaster, with boats that remain connected to a track even through the lake. Efteling developed the attraction’s story and elaborate themed surroundings. KumbaK’s work also extends to upgrades and replacement components for water rides. Its projects have included a redesigned lift-drive assembly and a programme to replace wheel carriers on an existing water attraction. Across its wider portfolio, the company supplies new vehicles, braking systems, controls and drive components, helping parks modernise rides without replacing the entire attraction.

• L&T Systems

  Unknown origin · 9 rides

  Ride builder known for supplying log flumes and boat rides to parks in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Many of its rides were built for seaside piers and smaller family attractions.

• Mack Rides

  Germany · 83 rides

  German amusement ride manufacturer founded in 1780, famous for water coasters, log flumes, and dark rides.

• MCA / Totally Fun Company

  United States · 2 rides

  The design arm of MCA, Universal Studios' former parent company, behind attractions at Universal parks, including themed water rides.

• Metallbau Emmeln

  Germany · 29 rides

  German ride manufacturer from Haren (Ems), known for water carousels, boat rides and other family attractions.

• Mimafab

  Sweden · 1 ride

  Swedish engineering company that has built rides and ride components for Scandinavian amusement parks.

• Morgan

  United States · 2 rides

  California ride manufacturer (D. H. Morgan Manufacturing) founded in 1983 by Dana Morgan, son of Arrow Development co-founder Ed Morgan. Morgan built log flumes, family rides and roller coasters, and became known for hyper coasters such as Steel Force in the 1990s. It was bought by Chance Rides in 2001.

• Premier Rides

  United States · 2 rides

  Premier Rides is an American amusement ride manufacturer based in Baltimore, Maryland, known for launched roller coasters and water coasters.

• Preston & Barbieri

  Italy · 5 rides

  Italian ride manufacturer from Reggio Emilia, formed by the merger of Preston and Barbieri. The company builds a wide range of family and thrill rides, including log flumes, rafting rides, splash boats and family coasters, with installations at many Italian and European parks.

• RES Rides AG

  Switzerland · 2 rides

  Swiss company that develops water rides and family attractions for theme parks.

• Reverchon

  France · 35 rides

  French ride manufacturer founded in 1925 by Gabriel Reverchon near Paris (Chalifert). Originally a fairground builder of carousels and bumper cars, the company became one of Europe's most prolific makers of log flumes and spinning rapids rides from the 1970s onward, alongside its well-known spinning coasters. Reverchon flumes are found in parks across Europe, from small family parks to major resorts. The company closed in the early 2020s.

• Rides and Fun

  Italy · 1 ride

  Italian supplier of family rides and children's water attractions for amusement parks.

• S&S – Sansei Technologies

  United States / Japan · 1 ride

  American ride manufacturer from Logan, Utah, founded by Stan Checketts in 1994 and owned since 2012 by Japan's Sansei Technologies. Best known for air-launched tower rides and coasters; Sansei itself has a long history of building amusement rides, including water attractions, in Japan.

• SBF Visa Group

  Italy · 7 rides

  Italian manufacturer from Cartura (Padua) formed by SBF and Visa. The group builds family rides, junior coasters and children's water rides such as compact log flumes and boat rides, supplied to parks and travelling showmen around the world.

• Sea World Australia

  Australia · 1 ride

  In-house development by Sea World on Australia's Gold Coast, which designed and built some of its own attractions rather than buying them from an outside manufacturer.

• Soquet

  France · 2 rides

  French ride builder that supplied rides, including boat rides, to French amusement parks and fairs.

• Sunkid Heege

  Austria · 18 rides

  Sunkid Heege is an Austrian ride manufacturer based in Sterzing (South Tyrol, Italy) with roots in Germany. The company is known for a broad range of family attractions, including the Moving Carpet, wood'n'fun playgrounds and the Nautic Jet water ride, in which a boat is pulled up a ramp and launched into a free-flying jump before splashing into a pool.

• Van Dalen Products

  Netherlands · 1 ride

  Dutch company that makes pedal boats and leisure boats, used for water attractions at parks and recreational lakes.

• Van Egdom

  Netherlands · 6 rides

  Dutch company specialising in theming, rockwork and attraction construction for theme parks. Van Egdom has worked on water ride scenery and complete boat rides for parks in the Netherlands and abroad.

• Vekoma

  Netherlands · 8 rides

  Dutch manufacturer of roller coasters and themed water attractions including river rapids and shoot-the-chutes.

• W.G.H. Transportation Engineering

  United Kingdom · 6 rides

  British engineering company that built log flumes and water rides for UK parks in the 1970s and 1980s, during the first wave of log flume installations at British amusement parks.

• Walt Disney Imagineering

  United States · 49 rides

  The research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for designing and creating Disney theme parks and attractions.

• WhiteWater West

  Canada · 12 rides

  Canadian company from Richmond, British Columbia, founded in 1980 by Geoff Chutter. Best known as the world's largest water park supplier, WhiteWater also builds water rides for theme parks after acquiring Hopkins Rides' technology, including Super Flumes, shoot-the-chutes and rapids — such as Rip Roarin' Falls at Carowinds.

• Zamperla

  Italy · 14 rides

  Italian ride manufacturer from Altavilla Vicentina, founded by Antonio Zamperla in 1966. One of the world's largest makers of family rides and coasters, Zamperla also builds water attractions such as log flumes, rapids and children's boat rides, and operates Luna Park at Coney Island.

• Zierer

  Germany · 13 rides

  German ride manufacturer from Deggendorf, Bavaria, founded in 1930. Best known for its family and junior coasters (the Tivoli and Force series), Zierer also builds water rides, most notably its Jet Ski boat ride, in which riders steer their own jet-ski-style vehicles along a water channel. The Jet Ski is installed at many European family parks.