the sensation of jumping from the 13th floor at 100 km/h

With summer almost (almost) knocking on the door, it’s time to think about what to do on vacation and how to take advantage of the sun, the heat and the long days that provide light until late in the afternoon. There are those who choose the beach, the mountains, a cold beer on a terrace or, in the case of people hooked on adrenaline shots, jumping into the void from 13 stories high, without ropes or parachutes. It sounds strange, I know, but that’s precisely it. the experience featuring Verti-Go, one of the tallest water slides in Europe.

Its owners assure that when descending it they are easily reached. 100 km/h. As I said: an experience suitable only for people who really like adrenaline.

Who said vertigo? Spain offers many ways to cool off in summer, but few (none) like Vertigohe megaslide aquatic Aqualandia Benidorma huge water park located on the Costa Blanca. Whoever gets on it is guaranteed a dip, but first must face an experience that is not very advisable for people with vertigo or those who do not like strong emotions.

Before reaching the water you must climb several dozen meters and then drop into the void and travel, in a matter of three seconds, the equivalent of a multi-story residential tower. “It’s like jumping off a 13-story building,” they assure those responsible for the park, who specify that the level of inclination exceeds 60%.

Is it that big? Yes. And it comes with taking a look at your file to check it. According to Aqualandia Benidorm, the slide is 33 meters high and more than 100 m long, allowing those who slide down it to reach more than considerable speeds. Those responsible speak of more than 100 km/halthough they clarify that this information depends, among other things, on the body mass of the person jumping. To enjoy the experience you must meet certain conditions: measure at least 1.4 m and not exceed 120 kg.

If you want to release adrenaline, but with a somewhat more moderate experience, the same park has a second water slide 28 meters which extends over 95 m in length. It is a smaller version located right next to its ‘big brother’, although it still far surpasses the majority of water slides in Spain.

Is it new? No. Verti-Go was introduced to the world a few years ago, during summer 2013. At that time it was announced with great fanfare as one of the riskiest (and most attractive) bets of Aqualandia, a water park that also accumulates a long story. The venue opened its doors in 1985presenting itself as “the largest in Europe”, with a dozen attractions. from the park they explain which maintained that status for just over two decades, until 2008. That year opened in Tenerife Siam Park.

If Verti-Go is in the news these days it is because Aqualandia has just premiered its new season. It did so on Saturday the 23rd, with more than twenty attractions that include rapids, soft slopes, a wave pool, several slides, Verti-Go, children’s areas and another highlight: Cycloneinaugurated in 2019 and, depending on the park“holds the record for the longest water roller coaster in Europe.” The truth is that it reaches a greater height than Verti-Go (36 m) and travels more than 200 m, although the average speed is much lower (60 km/h).

Do you have any Verti-Go records? If you search on Google you will find a good handful of articles in which Verti-Go is referred to as “the water slide highest in Europe” or the “capsule slide fastest in the world“. The reality is more complicated. When it opened, in 2013, showed up as a unique case and the largest attraction of its kind on the entire continent.

The truth is that for years in Caribe Baya park in Veneto (Italy), there is a water slide that allows you to jump from a height of 42 m. His name: Captain Spacemaker. According to the Italian venue, it is “highest in Europe” in his style.

If we look further we find facilities still most surprising. In Meryal Park in Qatar, there is a slide that “reaches a height of 76.3 m.” Its name leaves little room for doubt: Vertigo. In Brazil there is also another mass to take into account, Kilimanjaro, built more than 20 years ago and offering a drop of 49.9 m. According to the Guinness Book it is “the tallest water slide”.

Have they overcome it then? If we talk about water slides, Vertigo or Kilimanjaro are much higher than Verti-Go, but if we talk about Europe things are a little more complicated. The rankings They usually place the Caribe Bay structure in Italy first, because exceeds 40 meters in height. However, some media indicate that the complete structure of Verti-Go is also around those dimensions. Aqualandia itself assured in 2016 that the attraction has a 42m high.

Are there more categories? Yes. The Alicante park also boasts that Verti-Go is a unique copy “capsule slide”, a label that identifies a very specific type of slide. Basically, users enter a capsule with a trapdoor in the floor that, after a brief countdown, opens to let them fall. In 2016 Aqualandia claimed that Verti-Go was “the tallest in the world.” Now keep defending which, at the very least, is “one of the tallest capsule slides.”

“Only the bravest dare with this attraction suspended on a 42 m high platform, where the tower has 250 steps to its highest point, simulating the height of a 13th floor and which is accessed through an airtight and transparent capsule,” clarify the company.

“At the moment of the fall, the swimmer is on top of a trapdoor that opens through a button managed by specialized personnel who are located at all times at the exit of the slide. From that moment on, a free fall and a rush of adrenaline begins.”

Images | Aqualandia

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