WORLD’S LONGEST INFLATABLE WATER SLIDE IN USA AND IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

V T LONDHE 12–07–2015

The longest inflatable water slide ever constructed has made its way from New Zealand to New Jersey, measuring a ridiculous 1,975 feet long.

New Zealander Jimi Hunt, founder of anti-depression organization Live More Awesome, first got the idea to create an epic water slide as a fundraiser event in his home country to raise awareness about mental health issues, according to the New Jersey Herald.

The world’s longest inflatable water slide is seen in thus undated handout photo.

With no prior experience in building water slides, Hunt used 10,000 feet of the same PVC plastic used in inflatable bounce houses, consisting of 20 100-foot-long sections, each weighing 600 pounds. The total cost was about $100,000 according to the New Jersey Herald, funded by a crowd sourcing website he had built.

Two generators and 15 blowers inflate the slide, which uses 1,000 gallons of water per hour to propel riders an average of 35 miles per hour. The ride lasts about 60 to 90 seconds.

Hunt was being featured on a Travel Channel show about the manufacture of the slide, when one of the show’s producers contacted Action Park President Bill Benneyan to show him the footage.

“I watched the videos and said, ‘I want that here,’” said Benneyan.

Named simply “World’s Longest Inflatable Water Slide,” Hunt’s visionary water slide found its home at Action Park in Vernon, N.J.

The slide is laid along on the ski trails of Mountain Creek Resort at the amusement park. Action Park is known for its extreme water slides, including the world’s tallest and only double-looping drop box water slide, called Zero G.

“This water slide screams ‘Action Park’ and we knew our resort would be the perfect home for it,” said Bill Benneyan, according to ABC News. “What’s more wild and crazy than flying nearly half a mile down a ski mountain on the world’s longest water slide?”

The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed the new slide as the longest inflatable water slide on July 10.

The slide is currently not open to the public, as the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs has yet to approve the slide as a ride for the park. Benneyan said the approval process, which he said takes six months, would not be completed before the end of this summer.
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A water slide (also referred to as flumes, water chutes, or hydroslides[citation needed]) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to sit directly on the slide, or on a raft or tube designed to be used with the slide.

A typical water slide uses a pump system to pump water to the top which is then allowed to freely flow down its surface. The water reduces friction so sliders travel down the slide very quickly. Water slides run into a swimming pool (often called a plunge pool) or a long run-out chute. A lifeguard is usually stationed at the top and the bottom of the slide, so that if a rider gets hurt they will be treated immediately.

“Shoot the Chutes” at Wonderland Amusement Park in Indianapolis, 1906

A collection of inline tube slides at WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast, Australia

“Wild Water Rampage” at Dogpatch USA, an abandoned theme park in Marble Falls, Arkansas
Body slides
As the name suggests, body slides feature no mat and require the person to sit directly on the surface of the slide. There are a variety of types of body slides including simple flumes, speed slides, bowls and AquaLoops — the latter three are explained below.

Inline tube slides
Some slides are designed to be ridden with a tube which typically seats either 2 or 3 riders inline. Similar to a traditional body slide, these slides include many twists and turns and come in a variety of types including bowls, funnels and half-pipes.

Longest
The world’s longest water slide was a temporary installation in Waimauku, New Zealand, in February 2013. Constructed with a length of 650 m, of which 550 m functioned properly. Its creators claimed the previous record holder had a length of ~350m. The slide is being moved to Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey

The “Waterslide” at Buena Vista Lodge in Costa Rica is a 400 m long water slide where the rider sits directly on the slide, with an inner-tube around their upper body for safety.

The longest multi-person water-coaster (see below) is the 1,763 foot (537 m) long Mammoth at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana.

21st century water slides
AquaLoop
Main article: AquaLoop
The first known existence of a looping water slide was at Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey in the mid-1980s. Their water slide featured a vertical loop but was repeatedly closed due to safety concerns. In the late 2000s, Austrian manufacturer Aquarena developed the world’s first safe looping water slide, known as the AquaLoop. Their engineering featured an inclined loop rather than a standard vertical one. The slide is currently licensed and distributed by Canadian water slide manufacturer WhiteWater West.There are nearly 20 AquaLoop installations around the world. The first installation was in Slovenia in 2008. The largest collection is located at Wet’n’Wild Water World in Australia which houses 4 AquaLoops that opened in 2010. Wet’n’Wild Water World was also the first to install more than one AquaLoop at a single location. The AquaLoop uses a trap-door to release riders down a 17-metre (56 ft) near-vertical descent at a speed of up to 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). Riders experience 2.5 Gs in less than 2 seconds. The whole ride is over within 7 seconds.

An example of a water slide bowl attraction
Bowl
A bowl is a type of water slide where riders descend a steep drop into a round bowl. They then circle the outer area of the bowl before exiting down through the middle. This style of water slide comes in various styles and is manufactured by ProSlide, WhiteWater West and Waterfun Products. The different variations can be ridden on a 4-person cloverleaf tube, 2 person inline tube, single person tube or as a body slide.

A family rafting water slide attraction
Family rafting
Family rafting water slides have the largest capacity of all the different types of tubing water slides averaging between 4 and 6 riders per dispatch. Riders hop in a circular raft and travel down long, twisted 4.5-metre (15 ft) channels to the ground. This type of water slide is manufactured by Australian Waterslides and Leisure, ProSlide, Waterfun Products and WhiteWater West. All of these companies manufacture open-air slides while ProSlide also manufactures an enclosed version.

A ProSlide Tornado at Wet’n’Wild Water World on the Gold Coast, Australia
Funnel
A funnel water slide requires riders to sit in a 2 or 4 seater round tube. Riders drop from inside a tunnel out into the ride’s main element shaped like a funnel on its side. Riders oscillate from one side to the other until they exit through the back of the funnel and into a splash pool. The most common type of funnel is the ProSlide Tornado which is installed at almost 60 locations around the world dating back to 2003.[34] In 2010, WhiteWater West began developing a competing product known as the Abyss, utilizing a raft that holds up to six riders.

Half-pipe
Similar to a funnel, a half-pipe features a slide in which riders oscillate back and forth. However, this style of ride does not feature any enclosed sections. On a Waterfun Product Sidewinder or Sidewinder Mini, riders oscillate several times before coming to a rest at the base of the slide. Riders then need to walk off the slide returning their tube to the next riders. On a WhiteWater West Boomerango or Family Boomerango, riders are sent down a steep drop and up a steep hill on the other side, before sliding backwards down another path to the end of the slide.

A multi-lane racer at WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast, Australia
Multi-lane racer
A multi-lane racer is a ride where between 4 and 8 riders dive head-first onto a mat and down a slide with several dips. As an additional component of this ride, both some offer an additional enclosed helix at the top of the ride. ProSlide offer ProRacers and Octopus Racers, while WhiteWater West have designed the Mat Racers and Whizzards. Australian Waterslides and Leisure have also manufactured a standard multi-lane racer.

A speed slide at Beach Park in Brazil
Speed slide
A speed slide is a type of body slide where riders are sent down steep, free-fall plunges to the ground. Almost all water slide manufacturers offer a variation of this type of slide. ProSlide & WhiteWater West both offer a speed slide with a trap door, the same trap door found on the AquaLoop.

A funnel slide and water coaster at WhiteWater World on the Gold Coast, Australia
Water coaster
A water coaster is a water slide that mimics a roller coaster by providing not only descents, but ascents as well. There are three different ways water coasters operate: water jets, conveyor belts, and linear induction motors.High powered water jets power the first type of water coaster, generically known as Master Blasters. Originally manufactured by New Braunfels General Store (NBGS), the rights were sold in December 2006 to WhiteWater West of Canada. The first installations of this type of ride were Dragon Blaster and Family Blaster installed in 1994 at Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas. The following month a third Master Blaster opened at Adventure Bay in Houston, Texas. This type of ride features over 70 installations worldwide. The largest collection of Master Blasters is at Wild Wadi Water Park in Dubai where 9 of the park’s 16 water slides utilize this technology to power riders to the top of a mountain. The first conveyor belt was installed at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. Known as the Zip Coaster, the ride powers riders up hills using high speed conveyor belts.The third incarnation of the water coaster utilizes linear induction motors and specially designed magnetic rafts. The first installation to use this technology was Typhoon which opened in 2005 at Six Flags New England’s Hurricane Harbor. The longest water coaster utilizing this magnetic system is Mammoth at Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. This technology has been adapted to other ProSlide products and is collectively known as the ProSlide HydroMAGNETIC. In 2010, ProSlide announced that they would be combining the family rafting and water coaster technologies to create a Hydromagnetic Mammoth. The first installation of this variation is aptly titled Mammoth which premiered in 2012 at Splashin’ Safari in Indiana. It replaced the park’s own Wildebeest as the longest water coaster in the world.

Inflatable water slides
Inflatable water slides are designed for the home user. They are typically made of a thick strong PVC or vinyl and nylon, and are inflated using an electric or gasoline powered blower. The water slide is attached to a water hose in order to generate the supply of water. There are small sized inflatable water slides for private house uses or larger inflatable water slides for school, picnic, corporate, or carnival style use. There are also swimming pool water slides which users can set up to slide straight into a pool. Most parks avoid this due to safety concerns, and will have swimming sections in a separate pool.