This season guests at the world’s busiest waterpark have been enjoying one of the industry’s most eye-catching new attractions.
The SlideWheel at Chimelong Water Park in Guangzhou, China, is the world’s first rotating waterside. The colossal, 22.5m-tall construction was designed by Wiegand Mazeler (wiegand.maezler).
When viewed from the side, the ride’s twisting 2.7m diameter fibreglass tube forms the shape of a star. After testing of a full-scale prototype in Germany in 2017, construction began on site in China last winter, ready for the park’s grand opening on April 1.
According to a Wiegand Maezler spokeperson, “experiencing the SlideWheel is entirely crazy and wonderfully weird.” Arriving at the start platform, operators invite guests to take a seat in a circular four-person raft. One group is dispatched every 30 seconds, at a speed of 2rpm.
Still close to the rotational axis, the first few seconds give riders time to experience the inside of the SlideWheel until a speed lane pulls them towards the lowest point where they swing back and forth, experiencing a zero-gravity feeling. The structure keeps turning, eventually sending passengers off into the next speed lane. During five speed and swing sections, they enjoy a wonderful mix of emotions and loss of orientation.
After one-and-a-half-minutes inside the SlideWheel, the raft and its human cargo are are dispatched into an open tube section, which they slide along for a further 30 seconds before splashing down into the landing pool at ground level.
Chimelong Water Park regularly stays open after dark, when the SlideWheel’s 91 LED washers and 620 LED dots provide a magnificent light show. The season continues until October 7. Wiegand Maezler has confirmed that more SlideWheels are in production for various clents around the world.
