Throwback Thursday: Tampa Typhoon Water Slide
Man, this brings back SO many memories from my teen years going to Adventure Island! I remember this was the pinnacle water slide—the unthinkable. A Tampa staple! The one, all your friends, dared you to ride for clout. The one you would want to ride in front of the girl you were trying to get the attention of to “look tough, fearless, and cool.”
The Tampa Typhoon water slide at Adventure Island was in service from 1990-2005. It, unfortunately, closed due to multiple injuries over those years. Some being severe. But I remember this always being the talk of Tampa at one point among us teenagers. This was the pinnacle summer ride! The summer goal!
What made this nuts was that long, scary walk to the top…battling the wasps, gaining courage with every step to the top. Trying not to chicken out. This thing looked insane from the bottom. But when you finally got to the top… it felt like you were on top of the Empire State Building!
The insane part was at the bottom… there was no pool to slow you down. Just a long stretch of the slide to slow you down. The scariest part that would mess with your head when you were about to embark on the journey of a lifetime was seeing there was a large cushion at the end of the slide… ya know, in case you didn’t slow down enough and needed that extra padding to slam into. And as a ‘not so skinny dude’… that cushion became more and more scary and real. You tend to focus on that sizeable blue cushion. But instead of feeling like that was an added security blanket, you can’t help but feel THAT was going to be your saving grace. But do you want to slam super hard into a 8″ cushion after an insane drop like that? I mean… is that cushion enough? That can’t possibly feel good to slam into that!
Which is why… I chickened out at the last minute. “Nope, not doing that!” And I was super confident about my decision. HAHA!
And now, as an adult… I’m glad I didn’t embark on that scary journey! I remember hearing about severe injuries because of that slide AND the cushion at the end! I still love going on all sorts of water slides at Adventure Island. But looking back on this Throwback Thursday, I’m glad the slide has since closed, and I don’t have to battle my inner child anymore! LOL
10 Reasons To Give Your Child Water Safety Lessons Now
3 Confidence In The Water
Confidence in the water: Water safety lessons can help children develop confidence in the water, which can lead to a lifelong love of swimming and other water activities.
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6 Social skills
Social skills: Participating in water safety lessons can also provide children with an opportunity to interact with others in a fun and safe environment.
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9 Lifelong skill
Lifelong skill: Learning water safety is a lifelong skill that can benefit children throughout their lives, whether they live near bodies of water or not.
10 Reasons To Give Your Child Water Safety Lessons
