Do people really pay money to get strangers soaked at some theme parks?

YES! The photograph on the right was taken at Sea World in San Diego, California. There are three vending machines that allow customers to press a button that activates a water cannon aimed at random ride-goers.

Each vending machine accepts 25 cents which is good for a single shot of the cannon. The ride typically has long lines in the summer, so it is unlikely that you could get access to one of the machines exactly when a friend is passing by on the ride; the vast majority of usage is by people paying to get random people wet.

The placard on the vending machine reads: "WATER CANNON, Shoot Water at Invader's Raft, Push Button, 25 cents PER SHOT

Have you seen similar vending machines at other theme parks? Let us know in the comments below!

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Answer by 14lvl (144)

Yeah, they actually do pay all that money. I worked at an amusement park last summer, and people paid money to soak the boat riders all the time. Some riders loved it, and some got upset, but regardless, people paid to squirt other park goers, all in the name of fun and a quick buck for the park.

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Answer by rickscholz (27)

Yes... it's been quite a few years since I've been there, but Great America in Santa Clara, California also had a similar feature when I was last there. I don't know that I would do it with strangers, but I do remember people waiting by the machine to get their friends wet as they passed by.

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Answer by SriLanka (264)

People also pay money to squirt random people at the "Flying Super Saturator" at Carowinds in Charlotte, North Carolina.

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Answer by DulceDeLeche (219)

I have seen something similar on the Roller soaker ride at Hersheypark in Pennsylvania.

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Answer by Anonymous

I wonder if people on the rides ever get upset that they are getting sprayed by other park goers. If so, are there ever confrontations about this?

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Reply by snippets (16):
We observed for about 20 minutes and didn't see any confrontations. The end of the ride is quite far from the location of the water cannons. Unless the ride-goer was familiar with the layout of the ride/park, it would be difficult to even find the water cannons. add a comment

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Answer by udaipur (219)

The log flume at Silverwood in Idaho also has water cannons.

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