Work has begun on a new water adventure ride at the 130-acre Dollywood theme park in Tennessee, US.

The US$5m River Battle, which is set to open in 2008, is a themed water raft ride where nine rafts, each carrying eight passengers and equipped with powerful water guns, follow a 500ft channel. As they proceed, the passengers aim at each other, passersby, and more than 100 targets – including talking beavers, skunks and bears.

Some of the targets also shoot back.

“The addition of River Battle continues to expand on the award-winning attractions we offer in the Timber Canyon area,” said Ken Bell, senior vice-president.

“In addition to creating a fun new ride for our guests, we will improve the flow of traffic as guests will be able to access two vital areas of our park via the new connector.”

The park’s founder, Dolly Parton, is excited about the introduction of the new ride: “When I was a kid, me and my brothers and sisters used to sneak away and start up a river battle of our own, but I never dreamed that kind of childhood fun would end up creating a great ride like my new River Battle,” she said. Details: www.dollywood.com