Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges

Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges is a river rapids ride located in the Toon Lagoon section at Islands of Adventure. It is based on the characters of the Popeye franchise, and features riders going on a river tour organized by Popeye, only for Bluto to send the riders off-course into dangerous waters as a distraction while he once again kidnaps Olive Oyl. The ride opened with the park on May 28, 1999.

History
In the early planning phases of Islands of Adventure, Universal was hoping to make a park themed to cartoon characters in order to compete with the library of animated characters at rival resort Walt Disney World. While several characters and franchises did not make the final cut, such as those of DC Comics (which led to Marvel Super Hero Island), one set of the original plans involved the comic characters of King Features Syndicate, the publishers behind comics like Blondie, Beetle Bailey, and Popeye. These characters, along with the cartoon characters of Jay Ward, formed the backbone of Toon Lagoon. The island was named for its water rides, which were deemed as a necessity to the park as the Orlando area is known for high temperatures when it's not raining.

The original plans for Toon Lagoon also called for a dinner show themed to Popeye to compete with a stand-alone dinner show in the Orlando area, but these plans were scrapped. However, the Popeye theme would still be used for a river rapids ride, as well as a children's playground.

Popeye and Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges opened with the rest of Islands of Adventure on May 28, 1999, and has been in operation ever since.

Trivia

 * Much like Toon Lagoon's other major ride, Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, the animatronics of this ride are not very advanced compared to other attractions at the resort, possibly because of the higher chances of water damage.
 * Guests visiting the nearby Me Ship, The Olive playground themed to Popeye's ship have the opportunity to operate water cannons that can further soak guests on this ride.
 * Keith Scott, who provided the voices of Dudley Do-Right and Inspector Fenwick on Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls, also contributed to this ride as the voices of Popeye and Bluto.
 * Olive Oyl is voiced by Sandy Fox.