Volume 1, No. 15. August 24, 2001
New Arrivals
PHOTO of Suzanne Melas standing in front of Icarus. Photo courtesy of Waterworld Waterpark
It's a
water slide!
Waterworld Waterpark in Ayia Napa,
Cyprus, announces the arrival of The Fall of Icarus, August 11, 2001.
Measurements: 9.6 meters high (32 feet), 21.9-meter-long bullet flume launch
(73 feet), 51.4-meter-long boomerang ramp (170 feet). Delivered by Whitewater
West.
The sun was not up yet, but no matter. The rest of the ride was ready so Waterworld
simply had the ride operating when the park opened that Saturday morning. Realizing
the unusual-looking contraption—the first Whitewater West Boomerango Ride
installed in the world—was finally open after season-long construction,
"people rushed over. It got the longest queue," said Suzanne Melas, Waterworld's
managing director.
By sun we don't mean the real heavenly body; that, in fact, was ever-present
on the cloudless, sweltering day. Rather we mean a Grecian sun that was supposed
to be perched atop the boomerang ramp. In its Ancient Greece theming apropos
the rest of Waterworld's look, The Fall of Icarus has riders in one-person
or two-person rafts descend a single-lane chute from a Greek temple tower and
ascend to the sun—like the ride's namesake— before sliding back to
earth and over a hump where water sprays douse them as they head into the run-out
toward the splash pool. The mythological sun would not rise to its place until
a week later.
However, because Icarus had been generating so much interest during its
building, the park decided to forego putting that shining touch on the structure
for the time being. Park officials also did no opening ceremony, per se. "The
opening ceremony was me going down to test it out," Melas said. "We're far too
busy in the peak season to do anything more." Still, Icarus' debut day
could not have been more opportune. Neutrino of the British garage band So Solid
Crew, whose single "21 Seconds" was topping the United Kingdom Top 40 charts,
happened to be in the park. Melas herded camera crews to record Neutrino's first
ride on Icarus, and he emerged with the most suitable of sound bites:
"That was the best 21 seconds I have had in ages." News crews also watched the
mayor of Lavrio Athens, Greece, Stavros Papastavropoulos, take his first ride
and issue a quick excited comment as he hurried back up the steps for a second
go-round.
PHOTO of Mayor
Papastavropoulos taking a dousing spin on Icarus. Photo
courtesy of Waterworld Waterpark
Waterworld has seen immediate returns on Icarus in more ways than one.
Thanks to a large number of local residents visiting the park, Melas said, attendance
has shot above the normal levels of this peak period when the Cypriot resort
is packed with vacationers. "All the locals have been waiting for the ride to
open. Even the return holiday-makers have been waiting for the new ride," she
said. "What attracted me when I purchased the ride was the shape, the idea,
the movement, the drop, the flying feature and to-and-fro. We've had the same
reaction from the visitors."