Verrückt Video Shows Insane Ride As World’s Tallest Water Slide Opens
A new video reveals exactly what it’s like to take a ride on the Verrückt, the world’s tallest water slide, and the short answer is absolutely terrifying.
It’s not hard to empathize with the trio of riders, who hardly stop screaming as they barrel down the water slide, reaching speeds of 43 mph. Their decent from the Verrückt’s astounding height of 168 feet, 7 inches, is chronicled by Garmin VIRB cameras, giving viewers a front row seat for the full length of the water slide’s terrifying double drop.
Verrückt is opening tomorrow. Grab a Simon Fun Pack today at Guest services so you can try it.http://t.co/r5VAIXUfa7 pic.twitter.com/1MUgUQdCvs
— Independence Center (@IndependencMall) July 9, 2014
According to local ABC affiliate WFAA, the Verrückt is set to open to the Kansas City public on Thursday, July 9th, after a myriad of setbacks that have delayed the water slide’s debut, as The Inquisitr has previously noted.
“We had many issues on the engineering side,” admits Jeff Henry, one of the Verrückt’s co-creators. “Our correction coefficients were all off. Models didn’t show air and water friction. A lot of our math was based on roller coasters at first, and that didn’t translate to a water slide like this. No one had ever done anything like this before.”
Video from #Verruckt showing first riders down http://t.co/0Ybn7Foqh1
— The Kansas City Star (@KCStar) July 9, 2014
During early tests, rafts actually launched off of the Verrückt, which led to the slide being enclosed with a mesh netting that now prevents riders from being ejected. The “hill” which leads to the slide’s second drop was originally five stories, but it was at this point that rafts (and potentially riders) would be thrown off by their velocity. The slope at the bottom of the water slide had to be changed to a shallower angle, and the hill was raised by five feet, requiring patented water cannons to help push riders into the second of the Verrückt’s drops.
“It’s dangerous, but it’s a safe dangerous now,” Henry contends, admitting that the Verrückt isn’t for everyone. “Schlitterbahn is a family water park, but this isn’t a family ride. It’s for the thrill seekers of the world, people into extreme adventure.”
This is what it looks like to ride the world’s tallest water slide, the Verrückt http://t.co/s9FzNAuqln #verruckt pic.twitter.com/qhAbK7KNH6
— Guyism.com (@Guyism) July 2, 2014
John Schooley, who co-designed the Verrückt with Henry, told Gizmodo that he was “terrified” to ride the slide that he helped create. “You’re gonna have the experience of almost a free-for-all drop within the first section of the slide, with a brief period of G-force deceleration during the invert of the slide,” Schooley explained, adding that “It was a pretty exciting ride. I was terrified, especially being the first to go down it.” The pair acted as human guinea pigs for the water slide they designed, and were two of the first to actually ride the Verrückt.
[Image via The Verruckt]
