Caribbean Bay, Lotte Water Park offer new thrill rides

Mega Storm is a new attraction at Caribbean Bay in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. The 355-meter-long slide has three sharp drops and sudden rises.
/ Courtesy of Caribbean Bay

By Kim Rahn

Summer has begun, and as fears of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome are subsiding, people are looking forward to doing fun activities in the water.

The Caribbean Bay, a water park next to Everland theme park in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, has opened a new attraction, Mega Storm. The supersized water slide is the park's first new attraction in four years since its last renovation in 2011.

On Mega Storm, guests go down the slide in a circular tube starting from a boarding deck 37 meters above the ground. During the 355-meter, one-minute slide, they experience multiple thrills, including three sharp drops and rises, until finally, they nosedive into an 18-meter-wide funnel-shaped structure called Tornado for a gravity-free experience.

While ordinary water slides use water pressure to gain momentum in an ascending section, Mega Storm uses a magnetic field with special materials on the slide and the tubes, raising the maximum instantaneous speed to 50 kilometers per hour.

The 17-billion-won attraction was made by Proslide Technology, a Canadian water ride maker.

Guests enjoy the 120-meter-long slides in eight lanes of the Racing Slide at Lotte Water Park in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province.
/ Courtesy of Lotte Water Park

"The theme of the slide is a strong storm hitting the Caribbean Bay. Visitors will be able to experience the ultimate thrill," a Caribbean Bay official said.

Special promotions for students are available through July 3. Those attending middle or high schools, colleges or graduate schools can get a 50 percent discount for admission, as well as other benefits.

Guests can also buy admission tickets and reserve sunbeds via the park's "smart reservation" system of the website, www.everland.com.

Lotte Water Park

Lotte Water Park in Gimhae, South Gyeongsang Province, has finally fully opened this month after being only partially open since last year. The park now has 43 attractions, the largest number in Korea, including nine new slides and rides.

While the previously open facilities were mainly pools and family-oriented rides, the new ones are mainly thrill rides, including the Rapid River, a 370-meter-long course where visitors enjoy rapid currents in a swimming tube; the Water Coaster, a 300-meter-long water slide; the Racing Slide, where guests slide down 120-meter-long slides on eight lanes; and the Giant Boomerango, where visitors experience repeated sharp drops and rises in a tube, like on a swing.

The other new rides include the Aqua Drop, where visitors fall vertically for 18 meters before sliding and turning 360 degrees; the Torrent River, a 410-meter-long course where visitors can enjoy floating with waves; and the Wild Surfing, where visitors can enjoy surfing on a surf board.

"Here, visitors can experience the nation's best water slides in one place," a Lotte Water Park official said.

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