From designs that boggle the mind, to others that were shut down soon after opening, join
me, as I reveal the 8 most dangerous waterslides in the world.
8.
Black Hole Ah, what a better way to start off this list
than with a waterslide that actually sounds like a death trap!
Now, there are many water parks that have a slide called the Black Hole (I had my own
personal embarrassing tragedy happen on one of them actually), but the one I am speaking
of is in Orlando, Florida at the Wet N’ Wild Water Park.
Now, this slide, like many others on this list, have a history of being rather abusive
to its riders.
But some are just worse than others.
One man was actually struck by something in the slide, and this left him basically paralyzed
from the legs down.
He sued and got almost two million dollars due to damages.
But that's just the beginning of it all.
Multiple people have filed suit not just because the ride has a habit of knocking people off
of their inner tubes, but there have been documented cases of people colliding in the
slide itself.
How does that happen?
Well, the slide is long, and takes over 23 seconds to complete.
But, the people at the park send people down every 20 seconds.
This leads to a lot of problems, and a lot of collisions.
So if you go to the Wet N’ Wild Water Park...do as most astronauts do...stay away from black
holes.
7.
Shoot The Rapids Before I go into details on this one, you
need some context.
This slide made it onto this list because of a mechanical malfunction that almost created
a disaster.
It was not a design flaw like many other rides on this list.
Now you know.
Cedar Point Park is one the most beloved amusement parks in the United States, especially in
the midwest.
Tens of thousands flood to the park every year, and that means the rides get a lot of
abuse from the wear and tear, and that's exactly what happened with the ride Shoot The Rapids.
This ride was one of those massive raft rides where you and nine other people were fastened
into a raft that had you go down a stream and then down a massive slide at the end.
But, to get to that part, you had to get hitched to a rail and then go up the hill.
Unfortunately for ten people, that rail hitch broke part way up, and the people were basically
dropped back down in a free fall.
To make matters worse, the raft flipped, pinning all the people inside of it to the ground
and leaving them face down in water with no air.
Thankfully for all, there were people nearby who rushed to their rescue, and saved them
before anyone was killed.
There were injuries though, and to this day, this incident goes down as one of the worst
incidents in water ride history.
Technically wasn't the parks fault because parts break unexpectedly, but many people
accused them of not maintaining the ride properly.
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6.
The Aqua Sphere The Peninsula Aquatic Recreation Center is
home to a ride known as the Aqua Sphere, and it's not hard to see how it got the name with
those massive sphere popping out in certain places.
Side note, there are a lot of slides that have "aqua" in the title.
Why?
Are they struggling to come up with good names for the rides?
Or are they just trying to be super clear about what the ride entails?
Anyway, let’s move on.
This is one ride you might hesitate a second before getting on.
This ride has had issues for years with injuries.
Apparently, the long twists and turns have a tendency to throw people around.
To the extent that they get seriously injured.
One absolutely terrible case had a young child thrown so hard against the slide that he fell
unconscious, and then drifted to the bottom of the slide where he was basically lifeless.
He miraculously survived, but the incident was enough to shut the ride down to find out
what exactly went on.
Maybe even more puzzling, this wasn't even the first time someone had gotten injured
on the ride, it was just one of the more severe cases of injuries.
Even during the testing of the ride, yes, the TESTING, of the ride, there were injuries
reported by the test group.
Which begs the question, how was this ride open to the public when the tests of the ride
showed there would be injuries?
I am surprised they were willing to risk a lawsuit.
I guess they figured people still want the thrill!!
5.
The Aqua Loop Loops are a key attraction at both amusement
parks and water parks.
But the main problem with designing a ride with loops is that if you don't get enough
speed, you're not going around it.
This is what happened with one woman in Australia who rode The Aqua Loop.
Now, to be fair, the ride hasn't had too many complaints, and it was designed and tested
to ensure that you got enough speed to go up and over so you could go back down.
But as you know, "there’s a one in a million chance..."
And that chance ended up being a woman in 2012.
Something, it's not clear what, happened to her so that she honestly couldn't get enough
speed.
So when she got near the top of the loop, she didn't have enough momentum to continue.
She fell right back down the way she came, injuring her shoulder in the process.
The problem she then faced was that she couldn't go back up to continue the ride, and she also
couldn't go back up the way she came.
She was stuck.
Thankfully, there was an escape hatch that let her get out, but the fear and pain were
still very much on her mind.
She ended up suing the park because of the incident.
Wouldn’t you?
4.
The Verrückt Part of the fun of going on a waterslide is
seeing the way it's designed.
Since it's a park, it's meant to incite feelings of awe and wonder of what going on the different
slides will be like.
But, since they are competing to be cool and cause excitement, it can have some bad side
effects, including death.
Case in point, the The Verrückt located at Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City.
A slide that was actually taller than the Statue of Liberty.
Think about that for a second, I'll wait.
Terrified?
Same here.
On one hand, I could imagine the thrill of going up that high and seeing the world look
so small beneath me, and then the rush of getting to the bottom and then having a good
nervous laugh once I’m at the bottom.
But, if there's any issue at all with the ride, it could claim a life.
And that's exactly what happened.
In 2016, a young boy got on the ride, and didn’t make it.
Because of the incident, the slide is going to be demolished.
The owners of the park and the designer of the ride have been charged with second degree
murder.
3.
Streamer Slide When it comes to waterslides, there are two
ways to go down.
One, is bare body, which is standard in most slides.
The other is by inner tube, which can be solo or in tandem depending on the ride.
In regards to the tubes, there's always a danger of not holding on and losing them.
But the truly dangerous waterslides are the ones that make those tubes flip with you in
it.
For example, in The Calypso Water Park, located in Ottawa Canada, there was a waterslide known
simply as the Streamer Slide.
It was a simple enough creation, it gave you an inner tube and sent you on your way.
Nothing wrong with that, right?
Wrong!
This slide had a notorious habit of causing the tubes to flip, injuring tons of people!!
In fact, so many were injured that 20 different lawsuits were brought against the park.
Although some were dropped when the trial came around, the park was found guilty in
6 of them.
One of the worst injuries by far was when a woman broke two vertebrae in her back!
The worst part of it all though was that after these injuries happened, the park didn't report
them!
They just continued with business as usual.
And as maybe the biggest slap in the face, the ride is still there.
2.
Aqua Nova Adventure Pool This one is actually really terrifying, and
not even in the way you’d expect but it needs to be said.
You go on waterslides to have fun, to enjoy the water park and hang out in the pool.
It's great, except when the ending dangerous, especially for women.
The Aqua Nova Adventure Pool is located in Sweden, a place known for its beauty and peace.
Yet, in the pool that had people playing in it or people arriving at the end of their
waterslide adventures, many women and girls found an unpleasant experience.
This park is notorious for groups of men hanging out there, waiting to abuse women and girls
at the bottom of the rides.
Not only the water park but Sweden’s public pools in general have become dangerous places
known for assault.
While the government has ordered parks not to report certain things, especially the ethnicity
or religion of those who cause problems in the pool for fear of spreading hatred and
fear among society.
Men and women in Sweden have been swimming together in public pools for over 100 years
but sadly women are now afraid of going.
The media is only able to refer to this problem as “youth gangs”, groups of 10-20 men
who disrupt the water parks and threaten patrons.
1.
Cannonball Loop Ok, this one had to be at the top of the list.
Now, yes, it's not "in" the world anymore, but it was for a month, and from start to
finish this waterslide was not only dangerous, it was potentially lethal, and yet the people
who made it and ran the park didn't care.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you...the Cannonball Loop.
This abomination of good sense was located in 1985 at Action Park of Vernon Township.
If the look of the slide doesn't give you pause, then you need to study some science.
But if that's still not enough, take a look at the park itself.
Action Park of Vernon Township actually had a very dark history of abusing their customers
(via their rides and slides).
And there had actually been 6 recorded deaths at the park, with many other people being
seriously injured.
Yet, did this stop them from making the most dangerous water slide ever?
NOPE!
The problem with the Cannonball Loop is the loop itself.
Now, yes, roller coaster rides and certain other amusement park rides have loops in them,
but that's because they have enough speed to get you going fast enough to take the loop
smoothly.
The Cannonball Loop didn't have that.
Even with the long buildup, it was a guarantee that people would get hurt.
Yet, they didn't care, and they did whatever they could to get people on the slide.
Reports even came out that they bribed their own park workers with $100 to ride the ride.
The brave few that did wouldn't go on it again.
What's worse, the actual customers who went on the ride sometimes got stuck at the top
of the loop, and an escape hatch had to be put in to ensure they could get out safely.
Still not enough?
Well, the construction of the waterslide made it so that sand could pool at the bottom of
the slide, so anyone who went down it would get scratched by the sand, and the slide would
have to be closed down for cleaning.
Thankfully for everyone, the slide was closed down a month after opening.
Although most ironically of all, the park itself lasted for another 11 years, finally
closing down in 1996.
Thanks for watching!
Have you ever tried any of these waterslides?
Did you survive without injury?
Let us know in the comments!
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