Old Mill (ride)



An old mill is a type of amusement park ride where unaccompanied boats float on guideways and traverse through dark tunnels. These themed dark rides originated in the late 19th century and are known by a variety of names, including tunnel of love and river cave. While generally considered a gentle ride, a variation of an old mill featuring a climactic splashdown ending, similar to the modern-day log flume, is known as a mill chute.

Tunnel of love
In early incarnations of old mill attractions, riders boarded two-passenger boats that floated along guided tracks through dark passages. Many were either a relaxing, romantic rides encouraging cuddling, or they were themed as haunted attractions where couples would cling to one another. The darkness provided a degree of privacy, and the frightening scenes offered a socially acceptable excuse for physical contact during an era when public affection – holding hands, hugging, and kissing – was considered inappropriate.

The appeal of such rides wore off as socially-accepted norms over public affection became less conservative and strict, including a reduced stigma for unmarried couples to engage in physical contact. Many were either rethemed as children's attractions or torn down completely.

Mill chute
A "mill chute" is a variation of the old mill, featuring endings with steep drops that often splashed or soaked riders. The primary difference between an old mill and a mill chute is the steepness of the drop at the end, hence the name "chute", which is milder in old mills or non-existent. Both types can feature the same-styled grottos and caverns. While old mills began rising in popularity during the late 19th century, the mill chute variation did not become prominent until the 1920s. The mill chute is considered the predecessor to the modern-day log flume ride.

River caves
The river cave variation emphasizes decorated caves and tunnels that feature different themed scenes of lighting, sounds, props, animatronics, or other visual effects. Boats on these rides would drift along on a gentle current, commonly generated by a paddle wheel. This type of amusement ride became popular at amusement parks across the UK and the US in the mid-20th century. The concept of the river cave is also very similar to those of the early scenic railways, intended to be both educational and entertaining.

Once a popular feature of many amusement parks around the world, river caves have become increasingly rare and can only be found in a few locations. Despite their popularity in the mid-20th century, the rise of more modern thrill rides in the latter half of the 20th century led to their eventual demise. Declining popularity resulted in the dismantling and destruction of aging designs with mechanical wear.

Notable installations

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In popular culture
In the 1928 film The Crowd, a tunnel of love is featured in which the sides are voyeuristically pulled down at a place where couples are likely to be kissing. The 1951 Alfred Hitchcock film Strangers on a Train features a tunnel of love ride that becomes the scene of a murder.

The tunnel of love was a favorite source of amusing scenes in Hanna-Barbera television series such as The Flintstones, The Jetsons, and Scooby-Doo, among others, often in a chase sequence gag in which rivals or combatants are shown entering the ride, then exiting in a romantic embrace. The tunnel of love has also appeared in Disney cartoons, in which a jealous Donald Duck storms the tunnel by foot and ruins the ride for a rival suitor and Daisy Duck.

In 1980, Dire Straits released a single entitled "Tunnel of Love" from their album Making Movies. In 1983, Fun Boy Three released the song "The Tunnel of Love" as part of their album Waiting. Bruce Springsteen recorded an album called Tunnel of Love in 1987 and a song of the same name.

A 1990 episode of the TV series 21 Jump Street was called "Tunnel of Love".

A tunnel of love is seen in a 1996 episode of Hey Arnold! called Operation Ruthless. A tunnel of love is also seen in a 2008 episode of The Simpsons called "Love, Springfieldian Style". A tunnel of love is seen in a 2010 episode of the show American Dad! called "May the Best Stan Win" and a tunnel of love is seen in a 2011 episode of the show SpongeBob SquarePants called "Tunnel of Glove".

In the graphic novel The Dark Knight Returns, an alternative future story published in 1986 that features the Batman supervillain Joker fighting with Batman in a tunnel of love and manages, after putting the superhero into a fit of rage, to frame Batman for his murder.

The video game Left 4 Dead 2's level Dark Carnival features a Tunnel of Love at the fictional Whispering Oaks Amusement Park. A tunnel of love is a location in the browser game Poptropica's quest titled Monster Carnival, available online from 2014 to 2020, and currently available via Steam.