For everyone that has ever wanted to ride a barrel off of Niagara Falls, their opportunity has come. While you aren't in a barrel and it isn't Niagara Falls, it's the next best thing. The Schlitterbahn Kansas City Water Park has opened up a new ride that is an inch taller than the famous waterfall, so all the height with none of the law breaking.
In Kansas City the Schlitterbahn, slippery road in German, Water Park built the largest waterslide to date. Named Verrückt, German for insane, the slide stands 168 feet tall and can reach speeds around 65mph. Requiring riders to travel 264 steps up to the top it is no easy feat to get on, but the ride seems to be worth it. Riders are placed into a three person raft and then let loose, first down a steep ramp and then up a 55 foot hill, followed by another plummet.
Kansas City mayor Mark Holland was one of the first people that had a chance to take a ride, he said that it both "terrifying and terrific." The ride was initially meant to be opened on May 23rd, but was pushed back three separate times for extra testing and to repair a few malfunctions. The ride was given the okay on July 10th.
Schlitterbahn is a family owned and operated company based out of New Braunfels, Texas since 1979. Since then they have built four water parks in Texas and the one in Kansas. The previous holder for world's largest water slide was from the Aguas Quentes Country Club in Brazil. The ride is called Kilimanjaro, it sits at 164 feet tall and continues to hold the title for largest body slide.
If there is ever an excuse to ride a water slide there are few better than to be able to say it's like going down Niagara Falls, but higher.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
