Stunned by Medusa—What the Mt. Olympus SlideWheel® Is Really Like
This is Part 3 of a three-part series together with architecture and engineering firm, Ramaker, on the significance of Wisconsin Dells as the water park capital of the world and the role Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park has played in shaping its history.
History will be made in the 2022 water park season; Mt. Olympus Water & Theme Park is opening the very first SlideWheel® in the Western Hemisphere. For water park fans in North America, this is an event not to be missed.
Why all this attention on this attraction named “Medusa’s SlideWheel?” We can tell you, but honestly, you will have to see it and experience this fantastical ride for yourself to believe that something like this is even possible.
Is It a Ferris Wheel? Is It a Water Slide?
Interestingly, the initial idea for the SlideWheel came from a 9-year-old Swiss boy who dreamed of a never-ending water slide. The concept developed further in Germany, where it turned into an engineering feat of a cross between a Ferris wheel and a water slide.
In Wisconsin Dells, the monstrous rotating Medusa’s SlideWheel will make a captivating billboard and an iconic Instagram reel for Mt. Olympus. Especially at night, this attraction will be putting on a stunning show through programmable lights. Guests standing in line indoor for the ride will be seeing the dynamic wheel through the glass façade in giddy anticipation, bringing a ton of energy to the park.
If you like numbers, the SlideWheel stands at 74 feet and comprises 443 feet of water slide, all wrapped up in a knot. Three 4-person rafts can be inside the wheel at the same time, where riders will spend 96 wild seconds before being churned out of the wheel into one last serpentine slide path, which is another 390 feet.
Can you handle a total of 115 seconds of exhilarating fun?
An Assault on the Senses—Challenging What You Know about Water Slides
If you like unpredictable experiences, then this ride is for you.
The rotating nature of Medusa’s SlideWheel means that it doesn’t have “drops” in the traditional sense. Instead, you oscillate back and forth as the wheel rotates, with each corner of the star shape representing a “drop.”
That means you are looking up where you are about to go down!
As if messing with your assumptions of physics isn’t enough, you will be surprised by colorful bursts of light through the AquaLucent effects as you experience intense g-forces alternating with weightlessness. Not only will you be screaming and laughing, but you will also hear mysterious screams and laughter seemingly coming out of nowhere because two other rafts will be inside the wheel at the same time as you.
Medusa’s SlideWheel creates unmatched thrills for your senses. No wonder the ride has already won an IAAPA Impact Award, a Brass Ring Award, a THEA Award, and a WWA Leading Edge Award. People travel from far and wide to experience this attraction for themselves.
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