DETROIT (WWJ) – After getting national and even international attention over the past week, large crowds are expected at the Giant Slide on Belle Isle when it reopens late Friday morning.
As have most people, those who run Belle Isle say they’ve been getting a kick out of the social media memes and videos spawned from last week’s mishaps.
They've been doing test runs early Friday, before the reopening ceremony set to begin at 11 a.m.
"The head of the DNR is here. He's got a checklist of safety measures, which is always a good thing," WWJ's Charlie Langton reported from the island. "There's a national TV crew out here — I can say the Today Show on the air, I guess I can. It's gotten international press coverage from...all over the word."
The giant slide reopened on Friday, Aug. 19, after it had been closed for several years due to the pandemic. The reopening didn’t quite go as planned, as riders went speeding down the 40-foot-tall slide a little too quickly.
Videos showed riders popping up in the air and slamming their way down the slide, scenes that eventually made their way to national media like CNN and Jimmy Kimmel. The Hindu Times had a story about it Friday morning.
Ron Olson with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which runs the park and oversees the slide, says he's heard the songs and seen the images of t-shirts that popped up after the viral videos. And he loves it.
“That just shows you these kinds of things are iconic and they have a legacy to them. It shows that people have passion and they care about it,” he told WWJ Newsradio 950.
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Olson says workers have washed and waxed the slide to make it a little slower and safer for riders. He says while many people seek adventure, they need to make sure the slide is safe.
Media members, including Langton, got to give the slide a little test run before it reopens. And it appears, at least for Charlie, it’s still a little quick.
DNR officials over the weekend posted a video showing the public how to properly ride down the slide, which includes holding on tight to the sack and leaning forward.
The slide is open from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the next two weeks. It costs $1 to ride.