VIPs were on hand for an announcement at the Schlitterbahn Waterpark in Kansas City today. The park’s waterslide, the Verrückt has been the subject of much speculation since videos and photographs leaked online last year.
Today an official with Guinness World Records confirms that Verrückt is the tallest waterslide in the world, a whopping 168 feet 7 inches, or 17 stories.
Kansas Governor Sam Brownback and Kansas City, Kansas Mayor Mark Holland, along with other Kansas City VIPs, were present to celebrate Kansas City’s latest claim to fame. Ride innovator and Verrückt builder Jeff Henry was joined by Schlitterbahn Waterpark fellow founding family members, Gary Henry, and Jana Faber at the height unveiling.
The build of Verrückt is featured in Travel Channel’s one-hour season premiere of its popular original series “Xtreme Waterparks,” which airs on Sunday, June 29 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT.
Verrückt’s height has been the subject of much speculation. Taller than Niagara Falls (167 feet tall) and the world’s second tallest waterslide, Kilimanjaro (164 feet tall), Verrückt is not a body slide – it’s a raft slide and features a nearly 17-story drop and a five story uphill section. The combined drops are over 200 feet. Fittingly, Verrückt is the German word for “insane.”