THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, JULY 14, 20
WORLD RECORDS
Verrückt opens to public
ERIN ORRICK
news@kansan.com
John Dherampilly said it felt like the bottom of his raft dropped out after the front succumbed to gravity and fell from the peak of the slide.
The raft switched from horizontal to vertical positioning within a split second. He said it was a rush unlike any other he had ever experienced.
Dherampilly, from Orange County. Calif., wasn't alone. Amid screams of joy and fright, Schlitterbahn's Verrückt, the world's tallest water slide, opened to the public Thursday in Kansas City, Kan., after three delays forced eager thrill-seekers to contain their excitement for just a little bit longer.
The hype and expectation for Verruckt—which means "insane" in Germanhas swelled between delays especially after the release of a couple of point-of-view perspective videos documenting the first human test riders as they took the plunge last week.
The ride was originally scheduled to open May 23, but it was soon pushed back to June 5, and then to June 29. Pitcher said officials were testing the slide's distance limits with sandbags and developers were reconfiguring the angles and putting on the finishing touches, like the overhead covering, to ensure the ride was safe. The test results finally met their standards on July 1 when the first human riders plummeted down the slide.
"There has been a lot of anticipation," Layne Pitcher, director of marketing and sales for Schlitterbahn Kansas City, said. "I couldn't wait to get on this ride, and I think a lot of people feel the same."
Towering at 168 feet 7 inches, Verruckt was certified as the tallest water slide in the world in April by Guinness World Records, surpassing the 164-foot "Kilimanjaro" in Barra Do Pirai, Brazil, which held the Guinness record for 9 years.
Riders have to be ambitious to endure the 264 steps up to the top of Verrückt before they can scream their way back down. However, ascending
up the stairs gives riders ample time to change their minds as signs along the way point to how high they are off of the ground.
Three riders are strapped in and look straight down the barrel of the slide before they drop. Pitcher said it felt like a rollercoaster.
"There are a lot of different sensory perceptions going on as you're going through this attraction," Pitcher said. "It's a really amazing ride."
To ensure riders safety, Schlitterbahn has taken extreme precaution when it comes to Verrückt's ride restrictions: in the three-man raft, all riders must be 54 inches or taller, the combined weight has to be between 400 and 550 pounds and riders must keep their arms down for the duration of the trip, Pitcher said.
Parkgoers had mostly positive, adrenaline-filled responses after departing their Verrückt rafts Thursday.
Many were smiling from ear to ear, promptly hugging and high-fiving family and friends who were waiting for them at the end of the ride, while others had their hands on their head, awestruck in disbelief at what they had just experienced.
"It was a lot of fun," Aaron Shroyer, from Manhattan said. "A lot of fun."
"It was awesome," Dherampilly said with an emphatic fist pump. "Amazing."
Both Dherampilly and Shroyer agreed that the best part of the ride was the initial drop, a pure free fall.
Pitcher said the franchise's Texas parks are in iconic locations or have iconic rides in them already. He said Schlitterbahn felt like Kansas City the only location outside of Texas needed that one attraction to make its park truly special.
"I think from the reaction of folks to some of the things that we've had previous to this ride, it was probably a good decision to put it here," Pitcher said. "It's going to do a lot of good things for this park and for Kansas City."
SEE SLIDE PAGE 8
A view from the top of Verrück the tallest water slide in Apri
1741 Massachuse