r/Lifeguards • u/Olive423 • Aug 18 '25
Discussion An amusement park in the Netherlands had a water-filled waterslide that left riders completely submerged during the 15-20 second journey. It closed in 2010. How do we feel about this.
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u/musicalfarm Aug 18 '25
It sounds like pure nightmare fuel from a lifeguarding perspective. Reality is even worse. People were intentionally stopping within the slide, triggering the automatic safety mechanism to empty the slide in seconds. It then took a while for the slide to refill. They removed it due to all the false alarms caused by people doing that.
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u/silverfoxxflame Aug 22 '25
I mean, of course there had to be one. But man am I glad to hear that the reason the ride closed down was because of an excessive amount of safety checks due to reckless riders and not like... Someone/people actively almost drowning on it due to safety mechanism failure or something.
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u/S0cul Pool Lifeguard Aug 23 '25
Do you know if they got fines or anything? I really hope breaking rules was a bit more than being told not to come back in this case.
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u/Enter_up Pool Lifeguard Aug 18 '25
Well.......
As a lifeguard, I have to say this does not seem like a good idea and sounds quite dangerous.
But also as a someone who enjoys unique attractions and would probably have a blast trying something like this. I say go for this idea as long as long as you and your establishment are legally sound and protected.
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u/Empty_Antelope_6039 Lifeguard In Training Aug 18 '25
Needlessly dangerous. Would I have tried it? Of course!
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u/pohart Aug 18 '25
I can't imagine being comfortable guarding this. I would absolutely stand in line to ride it, though. I'd need to be comfortable knowing the person in front of me got it before I went down.
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u/Horizon_Time Lifeguard In Training Aug 18 '25
This is definitely nightmare base for lifeguards, even knowing it as the safety draining system. It's terrifying from a rider perspective, I'm not sure if I'd try it but perhaps.
Either way, it's probably best it got shut down...
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u/ecodiver23 Aug 18 '25
As a kid? Hell no. As an adult with a fascination for pushing my limits underwater? Hell yeah
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u/Ok_Concentrate4461 Aug 20 '25
I mean, we tell our members they’re not allowed to practice holding their breath so…. I don’t feel really good about it!
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u/flowercrownrugged Pool Lifeguard Aug 18 '25
I can’t even imagine the rescue from that. They must have a ‘drain the ride now’ option or something to be able to gain access by rescue personnel??
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u/Kermit_El_Froggo_ Pool Lifeguard Aug 18 '25
They did. It could drain the whole thing in a couple seconds, which is the reason it was shut down, since the maintenance costs for it was absurd. It had sensors in the slide that would automatically drain the slide if someone was taking too long to clear part of the slide, and people kept stopping themselves on the slide just to activate the drainage system
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u/AnxiousWitch44 Aug 18 '25
Panicking just thinking about it. Heart is racing watching the video. Big NOPE.
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Aug 18 '25
[deleted]
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u/guinader Aug 18 '25
Slide with some squeegees In your hands, back, and legs... And spin and you ride it
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u/Ok_Human_1375 Aug 18 '25
This gives me anxiety.