SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D

SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D is an 2003 amusement ride based upon the popular television series SpongeBob SquarePants. It debuted in various amusement parks owned by the now-defunct Paramount Parks (which was bought out by the Cedar Fair Entertainment Company in 2006) in May 2003. It can be found at various aquariums, Adventure aquarium, Six Flags Great Adventure, Six Flags Over Texas, La Ronde, and the Adventuredome theme park, Kings Island (one of the Paramount Parks-owned locations where it debuted, opening there on May 10, 2003) and Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. It is also found at Shedd Aquarium and the Nick Hotel. The ride is also found at Noah's Ark Water Park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin at the Noah's Ark Dive-In Theater and former Paramount Parks owned amusment park Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. In Europe the ride is found at Movie Park Germany in Bottrop, Germany and in Walibi Belgium in Wavre, Belgium The ride consists of a pre-show which then lets in to a stadium seated auditorium. The ride is in 4-D, meaning it's a motion simulator with a 3-D movie. The effects on the ride vary at different parks. Water spray, bubbles, wind, leg ticklers, smoke, and smells are usually found. However, none of the effects, besides bubbles, can be found at the Six Flags parks. The Six Flags name for the ride is SpongeBob SquarePants: The Ride, opposed to others using the traditional SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D. Although the title is different, the rides are the same. A successor called SpongeBob SquarePants 4D: The Great Jelly Rescue premiered at Nickelodeon Family Suites Resort on April 19, 2013. Since then, SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D has only a limited amount of still-operating locations.

Plot

The film opens with Painty the Pirate literally bringing the riders down to the Krusty Krab, where Mr. Krabs and SpongeBob welcome the riders as a trainee fry cook. SpongeBob attempts to complete a Krabby Patty by adding a pickle (in some versions of the ride, when SpongeBob opens the barrel, riders can actually smell pickles), but it slips off and lands into a pogo-sticking Patrick's hands; Patrick immediately dashes out the door.

SpongeBob blows a bubble bike to go into Downtown Bikini Bottom after Patrick, causing mayhem along the way. In Jellyfish Fields, he is greeted by jellyfish which sting him. After a brief encounter with Patrick, SpongeBob accidentally pedals the bike into Rock Bottom, where a giant fish creature pops the bike, causing SpongeBob to fly in the air along with the rider.

While in the skies, SpongeBob spots Patrick pogo-sticking into the Chum Bucket, where he lands. He finds Patrick locked up. He also spots a second Patrick on a pogo-stick, which freaks Patrick out. Plankton appears, claiming his Robo-Patrick truly stole the pickle. Robo-Patrick then attacks SpongeBob with a claw, a buzz saw, and a paddle ball, in a chase around Plankton's lab, yet Plankton's plan fails after Patrick unplugs the robot to plug in his toaster.

SpongeBob receives the pickle which gets into the patty. The customer appears asking for the Krabby Patty. SpongeBob gives it to him, which causes the customer to inflate and explode, as he is allergic to pickles. The effect is a mist on the riders (some versions have water drops thrown at the riders).

Trivia

• The ride appeared briefly at Camp Snoopy (now known as Nickelodeon Universe) in Mall of America as a film rotation of the now-defunct Mystery Mine Ride. Instead of being in 4-D with special effects, the ride was in 3-D, and the seats would move (causing a very realistic fall during the Rock Bottom sequence).
• This is the first SpongeBob-themed amusement park ride. The second would be SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge, and the third would be SpongeBob SquarePants 4D: The Great Jelly Rescue.

Amusement Park Rides

Movies

Feature-Length Movies: The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie (2004) • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (2015) • The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run (2020) TV Movies: Atlantis SquarePantis (2007) • Truth or Square (2009) • SpongeBob's Big Birthday Blowout (2019) Other: SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D (2003) • The SpongeBob & Mr. Krabs Movie (2007) • SpongeBob SquarePants 4D: The Great Jelly Rescue (2013) • The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie Rehydrated (2022)