A ride on a slide is meant to be one of the gentle thrills of childhood – but in ‘Murica, they just do things differently. This oversized Detroit amusement finally reopened this weekend after being closed due to Covid-19. Families flocked to it and paid the sum of $1 to let their children ride – but were in for something of a shock. A fresh coating of wax on the surface supercharged the slide and sent the kids flying into the air. Footage taken at the bottom showed customers being launched skyward over ramps on the way down due to the sheer speed they were picking up. After five hours and with lawyers (probably) keeping a close eye on the proceedings, officials decided enough was enough and shut it down again. Managers at Belle Isle Park, home to the slide’s fairgrounds, have confirmed that some adjustments will be made to calm things down a bit. A statement on Facebook read: “…we scrubbed the surface and started spraying some water on the slide between rides to help control the speed.” Does this look… fun? (Image: @artcombatpod) The popular giant slide has been an attraction for decades (Image: Detroit New Channel 7) The ride received mixed reviews from kids returning for the first time since the pandemic began. Donovan Harrison, 12, told The Detroit News it was “scary” and “pretty shaky” because of the wind, adding: “It was fun, but I almost fell off the thing.” Max Maybee, 11, of Pleasant Ridge enjoyed the fact that he “got a bunch of airtime on one of the jumps in the middle” and said he “went down like crazy.” His mum Nikki Maybee said it was both “awesome” and “scary”. Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page.
