Before Splash Mountain, There Was Mountain Torrent

If you think Disney invented the story-driven thrill ride, let me introduce you to Mountain Torrent, the water-soaked wonder of Luna Park in 1906. Before there were Imagineers, there was Frederic Thompson—an architect-turned-showman who blended spectacle, mechanics, and illusion into an attraction that feels startlingly modern.

Thompson and his partner, Skip Dundy, didn’t just build rides; they built worlds. Mountain Torrent at Coney Island wasn’t a simple chute—it was an early fusion of roller coaster, log flume, and theatrical storytelling that Disney would later refine half a century later. The ride was immersive, daring, and drenched—literally—in innovation.

It’s one of those moments in amusement park history that makes you realize Disney didn’t create something new—the imagineers perfected something that visionaries like Thompson and Dundy had already dreamed into existence.

The Wild Engineering of Mountain Torrent

The Brooklyn Times Union (May 6, 1906, p. 13) called Mountain Torrent “a mountain range, through which a torrent of water rushes at a speed of nearly a mile a minute.” Boats “shoot down the mountain side a distance of a quarter of a mile to a placid stream at the bottom,” all “perfectly controlled so an accident cannot occur.”

The structure cost $200,000—an astronomical sum in 1906—and required “thousands of gallons of water a minute” surging through a wooden mountain that spanned 120 by 400 feet (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Apr. 29, 1906, p. 11). It reportedly used fifteen carloads of lumber, and the result was both engineering marvel and theatrical set piece—a hand-built mountain where technology met fantasy.

A Quarter-Mile of Screams and Scenery

For the “true lover of thrills,” wrote The Topeka Daily Capital (May 20, 1906, p. 20), Mountain Torrent delivered “the dash through the falling waters.” Riders could climb an artificial Alpine trail, past “a sleeping mountain village” and over rustic bridges, or take “the escalator, that destroyer of romance.” At the summit—ninety feet up—they saw all of Coney Island before plunging into a torrent that raced “round and round as on a scenic railway… through valleys and rivers” until a final splashdown in a calm lake.

The same article marveled at Thompson’s scenic illusions: “Ten feet are made to look like hundreds … valleys and mountain streams and gardens are so set that the onlooker sees apparently for miles and miles.” That’s forced perspective—decades before Disney turned it into a design philosophy.

A “Thriller” in Scientific American

Even Scientific American couldn’t resist covering Mountain Torrent. In its August 15, 1908 issue, the magazine called it “one of the most interesting rides in Coney Island.” It described a two-part escalator lift, a sinuous track “partly under water,” tunnels, lakes, waterfalls, and eight-passenger boats hauled to the summit by an endless cable.

“The ride,” they wrote, “never fails to furnish material for wild screams.”

That’s early 20th-century for “you will absolutely scream your head off.” The coverage wasn’t hype—it was awe. Scientific American saw the ride not as a carnival stunt, but as a machine that delivered emotion through design.

How Fast, How Wet, How Wild?

Depending on which reporter you believe, Mountain Torrent poured anywhere from 40,000 to 300,000 gallons of water per minute. The Times Union called it “elaborate, pretentious and unique” (June 17, 1906, p. 18), promising “a most thrilling and fascinating aquatic journey.”

But no one captured the raw, sensory chaos of the experience better than Leslie S. Bray of the Tampa Tribune (Sept. 11, 1910, p. 20). His first-hand account is pure, gleeful bedlam:

“A river rushed past us, and when our boat arrived about a dozen of us piled in—the banker and the boys were there, and the old man looked as though he had just stolen a watermelon and been caught climbing through the fence. A couple of jolly girls were sitting behind us and we all laughed and talked like old friends.”

“Look out! Bumpety, bumpety, chug! bang! swish! hold your hats! We are going down a torrent steep as a salamander’s hole, hitting curves like they were not worth mentioning, splashing water high in the air, scooping it up and dropping it over the crowd in a beautiful shower, reaching at times a speed of sixty miles an hour, so if you’re holding a girl, let go of her—you’ll need something more substantial. Laugh? Well, you might as well. Everybody does. Yell? Of course; that’s the only way to keep your nerve up.”

“When we hit the bottom we all wondered what made our legs so weak.”

It’s exuberant, chaotic, and impossible to read without smiling. Bray’s account is ride journalism before ride journalism existed—a perfect mix of nervous laughter, shared joy, and reckless exaggeration that could’ve come straight from a Disney press release decades later.

Building Mountain Torrent and the Price of Wonder

The *Brooklyn Daily Eagle* confirmed that Mountain Torrent occupied the former site of the “Fire and Flame” building and opened to the public on Memorial Day 1906. By summer, it was the headline attraction of Luna Park—a beacon of mechanical joy.

Fifteen train carloads of lumber built the structure. The boats held eight passengers. Escalators carried riders skyward. And all of this spectacle cost just ten cents per ride. According to *The Chattanooga News* (May 28, 1906, p. 7), Thompson and Dundy prided themselves on keeping the price of an entire day’s experience under $1.50—about $48 today. They weren’t just selling thrills; they were democratizing delight.

The Great Sunday Showdown: Coney Island vs. the Mayor

By the summer of 1909, Coney Island—New York’s playground of light, laughter, and questionable moral fiber—found itself in the crosshairs of reformers determined to make Sundays a day of silence. Mayor George B. McClellan Jr. invoked blue laws to shut down Sunday amusements. His goal? To turn Coney Island into something resembling a sermon.

Frederic Thompson didn’t blink. He fought back with a mix of humor and legal ingenuity, rebranding Luna Park as The Institute of Science. If the city wanted educational attractions, he’d give them a master class in irony.

• Mountain Torrent became “an institute for the illustration of a mountain logging sluice.”
• The Dragon’s Gorge became “a practical demonstration of gravity.”
• Shoot-the-Chutes was labeled “an exhibition for the practical demonstration of rapid transit.”

“Mayor McClellan says all institutes of learning should not be molested by the police on Sundays,” Thompson told reporters. “If that is so, I’m safe.” (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 21, 1909, p. 2.)

The courts backed him—at least for a while. In July, a New York Supreme Court justice granted Luna Park a 90-day injunction protecting its Sunday operations (New York Times, July 2, 1909). The lights stayed on, the band organs played, and the “Institute of Science” survived the summer. McClellan wanted saints; Coney’s crowds preferred halos lit by electricity.

What Mountain Torrent Taught Disney

Disney didn’t copy Luna Park—the imagineers evolved it. But it’s impossible not to see the DNA.

Story and Structure

A climb, a vista, a plunge. It’s the same rhythm that drives Splash Mountain, Timber Mountain Log Ride, and nearly every modern flume ride.

Hybrid Tech

Coaster physics plus water dynamics equals the water coaster—a concept Thompson nailed before Disney,SeaWorld, and others had a drawing board.

Scenic Illusion

The “ten feet look like hundreds” is pure Disney forced perspective, proving that illusion is timeless engineering.

Safety Spectacle

The 1906 claim that “an accident cannot occur” is the same balance of reassurance and thrill that every Disney attraction still uses.

Emotional Payoff

Riders left laughing and shaky-legged—a design goal unchanged for 120 years. Thompson and Dundy built the emotional blueprint for modern themed entertainment.

The Legacy of Mountain Torrent

By 1912, records show the ride listed at $10,000 (Brooklyn Daily Eagle, June 8, 1912, p. 24). Were they trying to sell it? The theme persisted in later Luna Park attractions like The Burros—a mountain trail ride with “a magnificent perspective of mountains, cliffs and canyons, with a mountain torrent” (Berkshire Eagle, May 24, 1913, p. 12).

Even as Luna Park faded, the DNA of Mountain Torrent flowed into the 20th century—showing up in water coasters, scenic railways, and Disney’s mountain adventures. The technology changed, but the story—the climb, the plunge, the scream—remained the same.

Standing on the Shoulders of Splashed Giants

It’s easy to credit Disney with inventing the story-based ride, but the truth is far more fascinating. Mountain Torrent proved in 1906 that technology and storytelling could merge to create awe—and that guests would pay (and queue) for the privilege.

Frederic Thompson fought blue laws, physics, and public skepticism to build joy. His masterpiece may be gone, but its spirit echoes in every mountain flume, every hidden lift hill, and every carefully timed splash.

Next time you float past a laughing animatronic or crest a misty drop, take a moment to tip your hat to Mountain Torrent—the ride that roared first.

Join the Conversation

I love uncovering stories like Mountain Torrent because they remind us that every Disney innovation has roots in the wild experiments of the early 1900s. Now I want to hear from you—what early amusement park ride do you think most inspired Disney’s mountain adventures?

Was it A Trip to the Moon, Under the Sea, or another forgotten gem from Coney Island’s golden age? Drop your thoughts, theories, or favorite historical rabbit holes in the comments below. Let’s keep the conversation—and the imagination—flowing.