Verrückt (water slide)
| Verrückt | |
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Verrückt, as seen from Interstate 435
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| Schlitterbahn Kansas City | |
| Coordinates | 39°07′15″N 94°48′23″W / 39.120900°N 94.806426°WCoordinates: 39°07′15″N 94°48′23″W / 39.120900°N 94.806426°W |
| Status | Closed |
| Opening date | July 10, 2014 |
| Closing date | August 7, 2016 |
| General statistics | |
| Designer | Jeff Henry & John Schooley |
| Model | Water Coaster |
| Height | 168 ft (51 m) |
| Speed | 70 mph (110 km/h) |
| Max vertical angle | 60° |
| Height restriction | 54 in (137 cm) |
Verrückt (German for crazy or insane) was a water slide at the Schlitterbahn Kansas City water park. At 168 feet 7 inches (51.38 m), the slide surpassed Kilimanjaro at Aldeia das Águas Park Resort to become the world's tallest water slide when it opened in 2014. Following a fatal accident involving a 10-year-old boy in 2016, the ride was closed indefinitely pending a criminal investigation and will eventually be demolished.
In November 2012, Schlitterbahn Kansas City announced plans for the world's tallest and fastest water slide, with no name or height specifications, set to open in Summer of 2013. The height was kept secret in order to ensure that it would set a world record. The still incomplete slide was officially named , the German word for crazy or insane, in November 2013, with the ride expected to be open at the start of the park's 2014 season (which was May 23). The ride was not ready when the park opened for the summer, and the opening day was delayed until June 5, as it was "not working properly". After much of the lower portion of the ride was rebuilt, the opening date was announced to be June 29, to coincide with a television special about the ride. On June 26, the park cancelled two days of media previews and the opening. The ride opened on July 10, 2014.
Verrückt was voted the world's "Best New Waterpark Ride" at the 2014 Golden Ticket Awards.
Designed by Schlitterbahn co-owner, Jeff Henry, Verrückt was a three-person raft slide with an uphill section. The initial drop was a 17-story plunge with a five-story uphill section, which made it the tallest uphill water coaster section in the world. The starting point was taller than either Niagara Falls or the foot-to-torch portion of the Statue of Liberty. At 168 feet it was also higher than the 120 feet that zoning codes permitted and thus required a variance (the height was increased from its initial 148 foot high plan which also above the limit). The structure is taller than 11-story City Hall in Kansas City, Kansas, and is just 8 feet shorter than the tallest buildings in Kansas City (and Wyandotte County). It would have counted the city's fourth tallest building if it had been occupied.
After the announcement of the ride's height and the certification of its world record on April 25, 2014, Schlitterbahn tore down most of the lower part of the ride after sandbags were seen flying off the ride during testing. The rebuilt and re-engineered bottom resulted in the slope at the bottom of the large drop changing from 45 degrees to 22 degrees, as well as adding an extra 5 feet to the top of the uphill portion of the ride, in order to slow it down. The ride's 100 pounds (45 kg) rafts were carried by conveyor to the top of the slide, while riders climbed 264 steps to reach the top. To avoid issues with rafts leaving the ride, rider groups were weighed at the bottom of the slide to make sure that their combined weight was between 400 pounds (180 kg) and 550 pounds (250 kg), with no single person over 300 pounds (140 kg), and weighed again once they reached the top.
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