A 6-Year-Old Helped Design This Massive Spinning Water Slide

When their imaginations are allowed to wander freely, kids come up with some pretty far-out ideas. Take the structure in the video below: With tangled loops and impossible turns, it would fit right in if it were scribbled on the pages of an elementary-schooler’s notebook. But unlike some other physics-defying inventions dreamt up by kids, this concept is being built in the real world.

According to Attractions Magazine, the "SlideWheel" is a water slide in the form of a spinning bundle of tubes. It’s being constructed by wiegand.maelzer GmbH, and the German company credits the idea to a 6-year-old boy from Switzerland. The team's managing director and co-founder Rainer Maelzer told Attractions that the child described his vision for a "rotating waterslide" in 2012. Wiegand.maelzer GmbH patented the design and has spent the last four years making it a reality.

The tubes of the SlideWheel stretch 460 feet and can hold 12 riders spread out over three groups at once. A full rotation lasts 30 seconds, adding up to 90 seconds per ride of feeling like you're trapped inside a giant washing machine. The company writes on its website: "Because of the dynamic and unique motion within this slide, the rider gets the impression that the ride is more than twice as long."

While a prototype has been built, thrill-seekers won’t find the SlideWheel at water parks just yet. Wiegand.maelzer GmbH has just started closing deals with parks and continues to receive interest from sites across the world every day. The first version of the attraction that will be accessible to the public is coming to the IAAPA expo in Orlando, Florida, in late November. Get a taste of what the first riders can expect in the 360° virtual reality video below.

[h/t Attractions Magazine]