The world’s first Storm Racer Waterslide at Aqualand Frejus in France. Storm Racer incorporates a variety of key features that set it apart from every previously designed waterslide in the industry.
Those features include: unique geometry, high capacity, a pioneering ride configuration and an exclusive, interactive “Watersplash” feature that ensures intense competition and blasts of adrenaline.
Storm Racer perfectly exemplifies Polin Waterparks’ expertise in engineering, R&D and technology integration into its signature rides.
Polin Waterparks and Aqualand Frejus have partnered in ground-breaking achievements over many years in the amusement park sector. Significantly, Aqualand Frejus was the first park in France to install Polin’s King Cobra waterslide. To date, that attraction has been honored seven times as Europe’s Best Waterslide. And, just like King Cobra, Storm Racer is changing the industry’s – and its guests’ – perspective on what a waterslide experience is supposed to be thanks primarily to its innovative integration of cutting-edge technological elements. In addition, due to its unique design, Storm Racer was honored as a winner in the Sports, Entertainment and Recreation Equipment division of the A’Design Award & Competition in 2017.
Wilfrid Lenandeis, Director of Operations, Aspro Group, says that the addition of a Storm Racer to Aqualand Frejus is important in ensuring the park maintains its guests’ expectations of always delivering the best entertainment. “We know how quickly people’s interests can change, and we want to make sure we are always top of mind when they are considering how to spend their entertainment dollars,” he says. “We focus on delivering an incredible experience for the value so guests will come back and are never disappointed.”
Exceptional Advantages
A variety of distinctive factors set Storm Racer apart from other waterslides. Specifically, guests benefit from:
- A Unique Rider Experience. The slide’s streamlined, geometric path is unlike any previously designed attraction. The result is an expertly engineered waterslide that takes guests by surprise from the start of the ride when they launch from an exceptional height: 24 meters (79 feet), nearly eight stories high. The ride extends along a slide path of 87 meters (285 feet) at a speed of 11 meters (36 feet/second), nearly 40 kilometers (25 miles/hour). The tunnel start of the slide features Polin’s patented Natural Light Effects technology, and Polin’s Slide ‘n Roll feature is also available. Upon entering the slide, guests shoot through a closed tube that curves downward in a wide arc. They then are plunged into an open-bowl configuration where they experience the strength of centrifugal force as they are propelled up a wide, sweeping, curved, vertical slope. Rafts rush toward the top of the slope and – just before they seem to be ready to shoot over the edge – gravity safely pulls them backward in a reverse ride. The energy gained in this journey provides the force to propel them down and out of the bowl where their high-adrenaline journey is extended through another closed tube before ending in a splash pool or run-out. The engineering accomplishment of this slide – with its curved rather than classical slope on the uphill portion of the slide – is a major accomplishment within waterslide designs. And it is a concrete example of Polin’s customer-oriented, flexible and efficient design and engineering understanding.
- Attractively Interactive. As rafts shoot to the top of the slope, Polin Waterparks’ exclusive Watersplash sensors detect the exact high point reached by the raft. The sensors are connected to a lighting system that displays results on a score board to create a competitive adrenaline rush for the riders. At each level, the lighting system showcases another color and, if the raft makes it to the top, the Watersplash feature activates, and water splashes over the riders creating great fun and memories. Winners can be determined based on each hour of the day, day of the week or the entire season to ensure months of competition between teams.
- A Competitive Family Experience. In the past, waterslide designers have created attractions that have allowed one individual to race against another individual or multiple individuals. The Storm Racer, however, allow families – or teams – to race one another together. The inducement to test different rider impacts on the raft’s agility and speed will push competition to new extremes.
- Central Tower. The Storm Racer employs a giant central tower from which the slide launches. The use of this type of tower provides multiple benefits. First, it promises unique spectator appeal with its tower looming above guests and becoming a central point around which a park can be designed. Second, it gives facilities options, because the tower can accommodate both a single slide or two symmetrical slides.
- High Capacity. Because the Storm Racer slide uses multiple family rafts running simultaneously, the number of guests it can accommodate is 8 x 120 riders per hour. This enables multiple guests to share the excitement on the riders’ side. On the operator’s side, parks gain the advantage of easier queue management.
Specialized Product Features
- Central start tower with a compact design (between the two raft-entry points)
- High capacity (120 x 8 riders per hour)
- A shared slide experience with others in the queue
- Family-raft waterslide
- Streamlined and iconic design
- Watersplash feature (with interactive lights)
- Both single or racer options available
- Indefinite theming possibilities
- L-RTM-manufactured components (please see below for further information)
- SPE, NLE and Slide ‘n Roll options available.
More on Aspro Parks
Aspro Parks is one of the largest European operator of leisure parks and centres: 60 parks and centres in Spain, UK, France, Finland, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Founded in October 1991, Aspro Parks has since enjoyed strong and ongoing growth, reaching it’s position of leadership in the leisure industry. In 2015, the Group employed an average of 2,000 staff, and over 5,000 during the high season. For more info, visit www.asproparks.com
Polin was founded in Istanbul in 1976 and has since grown into a leading company in the waterparks industry. Today Polin is a world leader in the design, production and installation of waterparks, waterslides and water-play attractions. Polin has completed 3,000 waterpark projects in 105 countries around the world and is the biggest waterslide supplier in Eurasia. Working with a wide variety of clients has helped Polin reach several milestones including installing the first waterparks in many countries and many other award-winning rides at parks with world-renowned reputations. For more info, visit www.polin.com.tr
