A new waterslide is being built at the World Waterpark and West Edmonton Mall is seeking the public’s help to name it.
The mall said the two-person tube slide will be 50 feet tall and 450 feet long, featuring winding corners and transparent and colour-changing sections.
The new waterslide will allow people to slide with a second person by using a double tube. One other ride at the park, the Sun Runner behind the wave pool, also uses double tubes.
As with many of the mall’s waterslides, there will actually be two slides as part of this attraction — one teal, the other orange and purple, according to a renderings released by the mall on Monday.
“We’re thrilled to be adding this exciting new attraction to World Waterpark,” said Lori Bethel, vice president of parks and attractions at West Edmonton Mall.
“We’re always looking for ways to provide our visitors with an unforgettable experience, and we’re confident that this new waterslide will be a hit with thrill-seekers of all ages.”
The new slide very closely resembles the style of the former Corkscrew, according to WEM historian and creator of the Best Edmonton Mall YouTube channel Matthew Dutczak.
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The Corkscrew, which Dutczak said was original to the park’s 1986 opening, closed a few months ago and has since been removed.
In 2018, a Saskatchewan woman lost a finger after she said her ring got caught on some mesh and foam padding at the top of the waterslide.
From what Dutczak can tell, the new slide will use the same platform at top and follow a similar path as the Corkscrew. He thinks that is due to all the other slides already packed into that side of the park.
“Right in the same space is Nessie’s Revenge, behind is FlowRider surfer, everything is so tight, they only had a certain room to work with.”
The biggest change Dutczak can see, aside from the bright colour change, is the attraction becoming a tube side with a runout at the end, instead of the four-foot deep splash down pool Corkscrew riders would find themselves landing in.
Dutczak described the Corkscrew on his website as a somewhat gentle, beginner slide with no big drops and a shallow slope. He said it was named as such due to the fact that its path consists of many 360 degree paths, and resembles the look of an actual corkscrew.
“There’s some thrill with the turns, so it’ll be good for all ages,” he said the replacement slide following a similar design.
Dutczak said the the last major changes to the waterpark happened during a renovation in 2018/19, when more washrooms were added (instead of them being in the change rooms only), cabanas were redeveloped and a new rooftop patio rental space was created.
No new slides have been added to the park in several years.
“This is the most significant change in a very long time,” Dutczak said.
The mall said the name contest will be taking place at the waterpark when the slide opens in June.
Only people who pay to enter the waterpark are eligible to enter, the mall said in a reply to a comment on Instagram, as they will need to submit a name on-site. The winner will receive a Family Multi-play Pass to slide and ride for a year.
That isn’t stopping people from offering up their own ideas for the name right now.
As expected, Slidey McSlideFace was suggested — a nod to a similar contest held in 2016 in the U.K., where Boaty McBoatface topping the poll to name a new polar research vessel.
Another suggestion was The Last Of Us, a nod to the blockbuster HBO show filmed in Alberta.
Other names followers suggested include Twinsanity, Double Trouble, Twin Tornado, Whirlwind, Double Dragon, Thunder Run 2.0, and Bendy Straws.
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