Note: The video in the player above is from the original report in 2022.
A giant slide in Detroit that garnered nationwide attention for its size and visibly bumpy ride has reopened, though it won't be the same experience.
The slide at Belle Isle state park made headlines, landed on late night TV and even inspired a song after viral videos in 2022 showed riders flying and bouncing down the bumpy ramp.
Two years later, the six-lane slide is open again, this time with some changes. The Department of Natural Resources added padding to the slide, acquired new sacks for riders and skipped the wax.
“It was awesome, even though it was kinda scary,” Eliseah Griffin, 11, told The Detroit News.
But some riders said the thrill was gone without the wax.
"It didn’t do anything,” Lorraine Edwards, 66, said. “It was no fun at all.”
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In 2022, video of high-flying riders earned a mention on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” Detroit rapper Gerald Allen, who performs as Gmac Cash, wrote a song.
“It’s like jumping off a roof,” he sang at the time. “Man, you can lose a tooth.”
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Meagan Elliott, president of the Belle Isle Conservancy, a group that supports park operations, said people had repeatedly asked when the slide would reopen.
“It was such a joy," said Elliott, who took a ride Friday.
