The original Thunder River at Six Flags AstroWorld was the brainchild of the park's general manager, Bill Crandall.

He enjoyed white water rafting and was intrigued with the artificial river created for the canoe/kayaking slalom competition at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany.

[1] Six Flags partnered with Intamin Amusements Rides and Crandall worked closely with the company for seven years.

Being the prototype, the ride was plagued with operational difficulties the first year, but changes were made to the original and those design changes were implemented in subsequent installations.

Then water comes shooting out of the first sprayer and soaks the riders, then water comes shooting out of the second sprayer and soaks the riders, then the ride operator starts talking and the boat goes through big rapids while making a right turn into a short tunnel.

Then the boat makes one last right turn and catches onto the conveyor belt lift hill and enters the station.