World's Tallest Water Slide?

I just saw this image shared by a coaster related page on Facebook and there's nothing I've found yet to corroborate it, but supposedly Acqua Thermas Park just outside Sao Paolo, Brazil will be opening a 197 foot slide. I'll pass, thanks. I've been on slides half as tall that are...uncomfortable, let's just say.

That's a no on stairs alone. Also, why? Water slides that go faster and are taller are not more fun. Ever.

Disagree...kinda. The big slide at Royal Caribbean's CocoCay is the tallest slide is North America (I believe), and it's pretty awesome. For me it's more about comfort, and that comes almost entirely from the quality of the joints between the tube segments. Back-shredder slides do indeed suck, but you can find those big or small.

But that's not straight down, right?

Well, I mean, you walk that much at the park anyways. It’s not even as bad as walking at Universal from the parking garage to the…

*ducks*

Yeah, I don't care if it's seamless, a plummet straight down hurts. Plus, we contact lens wearers have to ensure the spray (which stings at speed) doesn't steal them. Plus, it's hard to hold your breath longer, especially with the adrenaline. Drowning sucks. I don't know from experience, but I've heard.

Back in the late 80s or early 90s, there was a slide like this, probably 80 feet tall I guess, at Ocean City, MD. We knew the drill: cross your arms and ankles on the way down...but my (reluctant to ride) brother panicked on it and instinctively tried to slow himself down by pressing his feet against the sides. He sang soprano for several minutes. Then our friend went down and skipped the entire way across the surface of the pool (no trough at the bottom of this one), slamming into the coping on the far end and ripping his swimsuit almost all the way up the side. The slide was gone the next year, unsurprisingly.

Just gross to look at. Damn, that's gonna hurt.

Vater:

I don't know from experience, but I've heard.

Hearing "Tallest water slide in the world" brings up the well known death at Schlitterbahn in Kansas City. I still think its too soon to market a ride as such, but maybe things are different outside the U.S. in this matter.

There are no "safety" nets installed above the slide trough, so that's a good thing.

There’s also no airtime hill. I will forever struggle to understand the string of decisions that led to a net being placed over a hill where an empty raft jettisoned off the slide during testing.

Blizzard Beach is so underrated because you can ride the ski lift up to all the slides and never do stairs. I also think it’s a reason why Splashin Safaris water coasters are so popular. That said with the exception of Typhoon Lagoon (wave pool) and Splashin Safari (Mammoth) my favorite ride at a water park is almost always the lazy or not so lazy River.

Too soon after Verrückt disaster

Verruckt failed because it had a poorly engineered airtime hill. This ride doesn’t appear to have one — there’s no reason why it would be dangerous, though comfort might be another question.

(With that said, I’m not convinced this is real — I trust suggested posts on Facebook with a grain of salt. There’s no mention of this ride anywhere on their website.)

Of course it’s real. It was shared by a coaster related page on Facebook. Come on.
I have a friend who’s Brazilian and a couple of months ago he took his wife to São Paulo to meet his family. The last time I saw them I asked for stories from Brazil (the young lady is Texan, through and through) and she said the main social activity there is going to the mall. Unlike the US, malls are still very viable there and there are many, huge places like that with each trying to one-up the other. He said it’s nothing for his family to realize they have a few minutes to kill and just go to the mall for nothing in particular. Just to hang out, see and be seen. Everyone goes. Which I found kind of delightful.
That city is one of the world’s most populated. Maybe the water park hold the same kind of appeal.