How long before someone dies on Verrückt

[TribalElder]

Verrückt, world’s tallest water slide, opens Sunday


What will it feel like, this Verrückt? We’re just a few days from finding out.

Schlitterbahn in Kansas City, Kan., will open its world-record-holding water slide to the public on Sunday.

There’s the Niagara-Falls-barrel-plunge analogy — Verrückt’s height at 168 feet, 7 inches is about right — although many of us probably haven’t done that either.

While Verrückt’s opening, originally scheduled for May 23, was delayed for adjustments a couple times, the hype over it seems to have gotten even hypier. USA Today debuted a countdown Monday. The promotional video (see below) of the ride has more than 4.8 million views. The park said the opening this weekend coincides with a one-hour Travel Channel special on “Xtreme Waterparks.”

The Guinness Book of World Records has declared Verrückt — German for “insane” — the world’s tallest water slide. It edged out the Kilimanjaro slide in Rio de Janeiro by several feet. To get to the top, riders will climb 264 steps. That’s about 17 stories.

On the way to the bottom, the four-person raft is expected to reach speeds of 60 to 70 mph in a seriously vertical plummet.

Then, after the big plunge, there is a five-story hump to fly over, so to speak. But not to worry: The hump features a protective net, just in case.

[displacedinMN]

Did you see all the test run stories about the rafts jumping the track with the. Test dummies in it? That is why they added the net at the top of the hill

Shouldn't they have seen that coming?

So, someone gets launched, How high is that net?
I don't see that as a good alternative.


Then in the winter they can run water over it and freeze it.
ZOOM!!!!!!!!!!!

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by TribalElder

Did you see all the test run stories about the rafts jumping the track with the. Test dummies in it? That is why they added the net at the top of the hill

I thought that rumor was debunked?

[displacedinMN]

Any one know who the first victims are?

[TribalElder]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I thought that rumor was debunked?

That is quite possible and would be news to me

Schlitterbahn’s record-setting Verruckt waterslide has garnered plenty of attention in recent months, as it gets closer to opening. But park officials are learning that attention can be accompanied by rumor and innuendo.

In the wake of the latest speculation surrounding the attraction — rumors that riders had gone airborne during a test run — a spokesperson for the Kansas City, Kan., waterpark on Friday denied any such occurrence.

“I can absolutely say that no test riders have gone airborne on the slide, because no test riders have gone down the slide,” said Layne Pitcher, chuckling.

The rumors began circulating earlier this week after posts on travel and news blogs.

But according to Pitcher, only sandbags and accelerometers have been used so far in the testing process.

He also laughed off the idea that the park might have leaked such a rumor to drum up publicity for the ride, which was named the world’s tallest waterslide by Guinness World Records.

“I can’t really say where that rumor would have come from,” Pitcher said. “The testing process we have in place is very extensive. We’re not going to let anybody get on this raft without it.”

Verruckt, which is German for “insane,” was originally scheduled to open in time for Memorial Day weekend. Last week, however, the park announced it would postpone the slide’s debut until June 5 as final adjustments and testing were carried out.

On Friday, Pitcher said the 168-feet-7-inch slide is still on pace to open June 5.

“A lot of the adjustments we were making have been made,” he said. “Nobody’s really done this before, so we’ve got to kind of expect the unexpected.”

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/incoming/a...#storylink=cpy

Aww shit

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

I go down slides that tall all the time !

[Just Passin' By]

Originally Posted by Deberg_1990

I thought that rumor was debunked?

From some (very limited) reading I was just doing, there seems to be some wiggle room.

“I can absolutely say that no test riders have gone airborne on the slide, because no test riders have gone down the slide,” said Layne Pitcher, chuckling.

But according to Pitcher, only sandbags and accelerometers have been used so far in the testing process.

http://www.kansascity.com/incoming/a...-airborne.html

Schlitterbahn officials admitted this week that Verruckt is "not behaving properly," but deny online reports that test dummies went airborne.

"I can tell you no test riders have gone airborne on the Verruckt," said park spokesman Layne Pitcher.

However, Pitcher said they are having to adjust the second hill on the slide after sending test sandbags down the nearly 168 feet.

http://www.kctv5.com/story/25590567/...en-on-saturday

So maybe it was sandbags that went flying rather than an actual test dummy, and maybe nothing went flying at all, but there was definitely a problem.

[TribalElder]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

From some (very limited) reading I was just doing, there seems to be some wiggle room.





http://www.kansascity.com/incoming/a...-airborne.html



http://www.kctv5.com/story/25590567/...en-on-saturday

So maybe it was sandbags that went flying rather than an actual test dummy, and maybe nothing went flying at all, but there was definitely a problem.

I think they changed the steepness of the hill also

[tk13]

The first time one of these riders ends up in Leawood, the park is going to get a very nasty letter from the Leawood city council.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Just Passin' By

So maybe it was sandbags that went flying rather than an actual test dummy, and maybe nothing went flying at all, but there was definitely a problem.

ah...interesting. Not sure id want to be the first "live" person down that slide.

[BullJunkandIron]

I think I saw a free library from the top.

[HonestChieffan]

Stupid name. And the water park looks like a third rate trailer park.

[TribalElder]

[Eleazar]

If you come off that raft and hit the net at speed, you're still going to be spending the night in the hospital at least.

[Deberg_1990]

Originally Posted by Armadillo Skin

I think I saw a free library from the top.

Yes, but was it a "little free library"?


this is important....

[KevB]

The "adjustments" they made consisted of taking apart the entire second half of the ride after the big vertical and rebuilding it a few weeks ago. I'm not getting on that thing, if for no other reason, I'm not climbing 17 stories.