The Belle Isle Slide is coming back for 2024! Hopefuly by now you’re fully healed from injuries sustained from the infamous 2022 season, if not you’d better start getting ready!
Detroit’s favorite slide opened to the public on either July 4th 1967 or 1968. Many sources can’t seem to decide when it actually opened, however the slide that made headlines in 2022 is not the same slide. The original was 45 feet high and made of yellow fiberglass. A company named “Sky-Slide International (foreshadowing?) out of California delivered the slide to Belle Isle.
According to the Detroit Historical Society website, the original yellow slide was part of a bigger and more controversial project called Funland. The website further explains that, “Funland was supposed to be a huge privately run amusement park on Belle Isle. Plans also included a Ferris Wheel, tilt-a-whirl, and a railroad. The only part of Funland that came to be was the famous slide. Some people argued against the commercialization of the island and were completely opposed to the slide and the rest of the proposed amusement park. Others felt that the slide was great, but its 25-cent ticket price left a lot of the city’s children unable to share in the fun and would lead to the haves enjoying Funland and the have-nots relegated to swings and other basic playground equipment. Meanwhile a prospective rival slide operator unsuccessfully tried to get in on action by proposing to open a similar slide at the neighboring Belle Isle Children’s Zoo where they would charge half the price. While the Common Council originally unanimously approved the Funland plan, within a year, they resolved to scale back the amusement park project to just the slide and to cut the price of a ride to 15 cents.
After a lot of seasons the original slide was in desperate need of repair. In 2004, It was replaced with the slide we have now. Little did we know what we were in for 18 years later. (insert evil slide laugh).
Fast forward to 2022. After 2 years of sleep, the Belle Isle Slide is awoken. Waking the slide made it angry. In case you forgot how opening day at the Belle Isle Slide went, let me refresh your memory.
People still braved it dispite the carnage!
The Belle Isle Slide was shut down August 17, 2022 after being open for only 4 hours. This short opening was long enough to make Detroit’s beloved slide go viral.
It was only a matter of time before Hollywood came calling for the Belle Isle Slide. Jimmy Kimmel Live! did several stories on the slide’s wild ride.
Detroit rapper Gmac Cash went on the show to perform his song “Giant Slide” to a natonal audience.
The now world famous Belle Isle Slide would remain closed for the 2023 season. Probably for the best. People needed to heal and retrieve their lost family members from the surrounding trees and buildings like kites that got caught in the wind of the Detroit River.
Just this week, Detroit was happy to hear that the beloved yet spicy Belle Isle Slide will reopen for the 2024 season! According to MLive, the safety improvements include replacing the rubberized landing zone at the bottom of the slide.
In an interview earlier this week with MLive Tom Bisset of the Michigan DNR said that it’s not quite clear when that work will be complete, but he does say the slide should be ready to open sometime this summer. Bisset went on to tell the publication per usual, the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs must inspect the slide as an amusement ride. He says when that passes, the Michigan DNR will be able to open it.
Do you think the slide will stay open this year? Or will it be our own version of the Cedar Point’s ill fated Top Thrill 2? I know, kind of a stretch but the anticipation of the ride is still the same!
I for one will be riding the slide this year. I just need to add more health insurance and maybe talk to someone about life insurance before I make the trip to Belle Isle.
See you at the bottom!
