Status Closed Height 168 ft (51 m) | Model Water Coaster Opened 10 July 2014 Max vertical angle 60° | |
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Opening date July 10, 2014 (2014-07-10) Closing date August 7, 2016 (2016-08-07) Designer Jeff Henry & John Schooley Similar AquaLoop, Kingda Ka, AquaDuck, SkyScreamer, King Cobra | ||
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 an accident in 2016, in which a 10-year-old boy was killed while riding, the park announced that the ride would be demolished.
Contents
History
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 Verrückt, the German word for crazy or insane, in November 2013, with the ride expected to be open on at the start of the park's 2014 season (which started on May 23). The ride was not ready when the park opened for the summer, with the opening date pushed back to June 5, due to the fact that 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.
Design
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 reach the top.
One of the most controversial aspects of the design was the application of metal hoops supporting netting over the areas where riders were travelling the fastest 70 miles per hour (110 km/h). The installation of the netting after early tests had shown the rafts flying off the ride delayed the opening of the ride. Engineers commenting after the August 2016 incident in which a boy was decapitated on the ride said the netting "posed its own hazard because a rider moving at high speeds could easily lose a limb if they hit it."
Incident
On August 7, 2016, at approximately 2:30PM CDT, the 10-year-old son of Kansas state representative Scott Schwab died while riding Verrückt. The boy was decapitated when the raft went airborne and impacted a metal support bar. He was one of three passengers with two women, one of whom suffered a broken jaw, and the other a broken bone in her face requiring stitches. The park closed for two days following the incident, pending an inspection. Schlitterbahn decided to shut down the park after the incident. The park re-opened three days later on Wednesday August 10, 2016, however, the ride itself remained closed (SBNO) indefinitely.
Authorities later said the boy, who weighed 74 pounds, should have been in the center of the raft. Instead he was in front of two women – one weighing 275 pounds and another weighing 197 – which caused an uneven weight distribution and contributed to the raft going airborne. The cumulative weight of 546 pounds was under the maximum weight of 550 pounds recommended for the ride. On November 22, 2016, Schlitterbahn announced that Verrückt would be demolished following the closure of a criminal investigation.