Rhaw757 said:
I'm too lazy to scroll through, but I thought I recalled a few posts by some that said they wanted them removed [...]
I am one of the people who suggested that. I'd be happy to see the blasters removed. I'd also be happy just to see them relocated to some part of the park where guests could
volunteer to serve as human targets for primarily overzealous token wielding adolescents, instead of seeing it coupled non-negotiably to a completely unrelated ride experience.
If Pompeii were the kind of splashdown ride that gets you completely drenched on a regular basis, then I don't think it would matter much. But Pompeii isn't that kind of ride -- by design. Without the (relatively minor) financial benefit I sincerely doubt the park would have the blasters there, profiting from what many guests experience as the disappointing and uncomfortable inconvenience of getting solidly drenched just for a stranger's brief jollies. It's tacky and obnoxious.
Even for people on a water ride, it can be too much. You try to get a nice dark ride, medium thrill, medium splash, but then some stranger decides you're going to slog around in far wetter clothes for hours because they just felt like it, and because the park actually rented them a cheap purpose-built means to accomplish exactly that end! Within 15 minutes they've probably forgotten all about it, and the park made what? A buck? But for the target, that may represent hours of mild to moderate discomfort, and for some it's blister city. So their only practical option is to treat Pompeii as they treat Roman Rapids and just avoid it altogether, taking the amusement out of the amusement ride. They'd ride Pompeii if it just meant the "normal" splash exposure due to the ride itself. It's a shame.
That said, I agree about the occasional bursts of negativity around here. I think it comes with the territory, as we all know what familiarity breeds. In this case, I might be fine with the blasters if each passing boat triggered a random thick, ropy blast of water
back at one of the cannons. Of course, then the park wouldn't make the same amount of money off the things. But at least there would be some sense of fair play, and all the budding Li'l Douglas MacArthurs couldn't keep buying their skins out of the risk pool for a measly dollar.