DETROIT (WWJ) -- The Belle Isle Giant Slide is, once again, back in the headlines.
After a brief hiatus last year, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources has announced that the slide will be back in action this weekend.
As many undoubtedly remember, the Giant Slide went viral back in 2022 when riders went flying — literally — down the massive ride, which appeared to be a bit too well-greased.
The incident spawned countless videos on social media and even inspired a song by Detroit rapper GMAC Cash, who eventually went on to perform “Giant Slide” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
And as the Detroit Historical Society pointed out in 2022, GMAC poses an interesting question in his song.
“Is that the same giant slide we got on as children?” he asks.
As it turns out, the answer could depend on your age.
Indeed, the behemoth Belle Isle attraction we know and love today is not, in fact, the original “Giant Slide.”
That slide was constructed in the 1960s, and was intended to be part of a privately-run amusement park called Funland.
“While the current slide has been in place for several years, it is not the original that Detroiters of a certain age remember riding. That original slide was opened on July 4th, 1968. It was manufactured by a California-based outfit called Sky-Slide International. It had a distinctive yellow fiberglass surface and was about 45 feet high. Riders would climb the stairs along the slide’s right side to a platform from which they’d speed down atop a burlap potato sack over the slide’s dips and humps.”
So the basis for the ride remains true to its original conception, but after serving Detroiters with several years of scream-inducing fun, the original slide was in need of some TLC.
It was eventually replaced with the current slide, which is even taller and wider than the original, though there are some conflicting reports regarding when exactly the switch took place.
But what ever happened to the Funland amusement park on Belle Isle?
According to DetroitHistoric.org, Funland was supposed to feature rides such as a tilt-a-whirl, Ferris wheel, small-scale railroad, and the aforementioned Giant Slide, all of which was slated to cost around $400,000.
The Giant Slide was built, but then a state-wide construction worker strike in the 1960s halted plans from progressing any further.
While construction was on hold, some started to argue that Belle Isle shouldn’t be commercialized with large mechanical rides, while others said charging children 25 cents a ride would be unfair to those who didn’t have the funds.
Eventually, the idea of Funland was apparently scrapped entirely, sans the already-built slide, which was regulated to 15 cents a ride.
These days, rides on the 6-lane, 40-foot Giant Slide typically cost park-goers $1.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced back in May that new safety improvements were being implemented for this slide this year, including a landing pad that promises to soften the sometimes bouncy re-entry for riders.
The Belle Isle Giant Slide is set to kick off the season Friday, July 19.
It will be open with special hours, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, with other games and activities on-site, sponsored by the Belle Isle Conservancy and the Outdoor Adventure Center, according to a report from The Detroit News.
Rides will be free only on Friday. The rest of the summer, rides will cost $1 and the slide will be open 12:30 -5:30 p.m. on Fridays and 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.