image of my father emerging from the proto- or pre-Schlitterbahn water chute in New Braunfels. Added to augment the quote by iamdanw:
“A Master Blaster can cost more than $1 million. Water parks responded by raising their admission fees. An adult ticket to Schlitterbahn New Braunfels now costs $51.99. But that increase had an unforeseen benefit. Customers were staying at water parks all day to get their fifty bucks’ worth. In the process, they were spending more at the concession stands. “By itself, Master Blaster is not necessarily an economically viable piece of equipment,” said Geoff Chutter, CEO of WhiteWater West, which licensed the technology from Henry. “But add food and beverage around it and all of a sudden it does incredibly well as an addition to the bottom line.””