Master Blaster

Master Blaster is a type of uphill water coaster at Schlitterbahn New Braunfels Waterpark in Texas, USA. Master Blaster opened in 1996 in the Schlitterbahn East section of the park as the anchor attraction to a second themed area called Blastenhoff. The ride is 65 feet tall and 1,100 feet long. History In the late 1980s, Jeff Henry, a member of the Henry family that, at the time, owned and operated Schlitterbahn, convinced the family to help provide R&D for a surfing-type ride that was being developed by Thomas Lochtefeld. He was working on an attraction that was capable of spraying a stream of water over molded plastic sheets and asked the Henrys for assistance with developing a soft foam coating. In 1991 Schlitterbahn installed the first Wave Loch FlowRider, an attraction that simulates a continuous wave on which a rider can "surf." The FlowRider, dubbed Boogie Bahn, opened as the centerpiece of Surfenburg, a newly developed section of the park east of the original Schlitterbahn. Following the FlowRider, Lochtefeld presented Henry with the idea of using water jets to propel a raft uphill on a waterslide. The device was called Master Blaster — an uphill water coaster. Schlitterbahn installed the first Master Blaster, called Dragon Blaster, in the Surfenburg section of the park. It opened in May 1994, and Public Relations Director Sherrie Brammall invited members of American Coaster Enthusiasts to the park to try the new technology and provide feedback. The enthusiasts were excited about the new technology but suggested the ride needed more hills — like a roller coaster. Two years later, Schlitterbahn opened an even larger Master Blaster, simply called Master Blaster in a newly developed area called Blastenhoff, across the parking lot to the southeast of Surfenberg.