Sweden: Skara Sommarland to Open Free Fall Slide with Trapdoor

This summer two European waterparks will open a new freefall waterslide. Besides PortAventura’s Costa Caribe Aqua Park in Spain (cp. EAP news from 12 Feb 2013), also Sweden’s Skara Sommarland announced to open a freefall slide. In contrast to the attraction in Spain, the slide in the Swedish park will feature a trapdoor through which riders will slip after a countdown when the door opens. Then they will experience a vertical drop of 21 meters at a speed of 60 km/h. The total length of the track is about 82 meters. “Big Drop”, this is the name of the new attraction, is scheduled to be open by 6 June this year replacing the older water attraction “Fritt Fall”. “It’s a fantastic feeling to be able to present a water ride that is one of a kind in Europe. This ride will put Skara Sommarland firmly on the map of Sweden’s top holiday destinations”, says Hans Ericsson, Skara Sommarland’s CEO. Both water attractions, for Spain and Sweden, will be supplied by Canada’s ProSlide company. The investment for Big Drop amounts to six million SEK (about 720,000 EUR). (eap)