Giant Slide Causes Riders to Become Airborne and Is Shut Down 4 Hours Later

Giant slides are objectively fun, especially for adults. It's the perfect chance to feel like a kid again, if only for a fleeting minute or two. But folks who recently braved the Giant Slide in Belle Isle Park, Michigan, might’ve wished they stayed off the playground that day. After being closed for two years due to the pandemic, the undulating metal slide reopened on August 19 but shut down just four hours later.

In a viral video shared on Twitter, it's easy to see why the slide was temporarily closed. Riders were going so fast down it that they were briefly launched into the air before landing on the slide’s hills. This didn’t just happen once, either; people bounced multiple times until they reached the bottom. It’s best to watch these videos with sound to get the full scope of this experience.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which runs the ride, closed the Giant Slide in order to re-touch its wax and make other adjustments. They reopened it on August 21. To show that it’s now safe and ready to enjoy, the Michigan DNR filmed a demo of riding the Giant Slide. It's much tamer than it was just a couple of days earlier.

It costs $1 to ride the Giant Slide. If you’re in the Detroit metropolitan area, you’ve got just a little longer to do so—the slide closes after Labor Day weekend.

The Giant Slide at Belle Isle Park had riders catching some serious wind. Unfortunately, it didn't look or sound very fun.

@donlife #fyp #foryoupage @cityofdetroitoffical #detroit #belleisle #giantslide #funday #comedу #thingstodoindetroit #kids #michigan ♬ Jackass – TV Theme Players

Twitter had thoughts, and users shared some funny reactions.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources made some adjustments and reopened the slide on August 21. One of the workers gave a demo on how to ride it.

h/t: [DesignTAXI]

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met, Manager of My Modern Met Store, and co-host of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. As an illustrator and writer living in Seattle, she chronicles illustration, embroidery, and beyond through her blog Brown Paper Bag and Instagram @brwnpaperbag. She wrote a book about embroidery artist Sarah K. Benning titled 'Embroidered Life' that was published by Chronicle Books in 2019. Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She earned her BFA in Illustration in 2008 and MFA in Illustration Practice in 2013.
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