Schlitterbahn

Schlitterbahn is a family-owned and operated company based in New Braunfels, Texas. Schlitterbahn began its first park, Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, in 1979. Since then, Schlitterbahn has developed three waterparks located in Texas and one in Kansas City, Kansas.

Schlitterbahn Waterparks are summer seasonal water parks. They typically operate from late April to mid-September. Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark, which opened in 2006, has one indoor section that has limited operation during fall and winter.

Current Parks

New Braunfels, TX

The first of the parks was in New Braunfels, TX and opened in 1979. The park was named "slippery road" in German because of the local area's German heritage. It originally consisted of four waterslides. As of 2014, the park had won Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Award for 15 years straight. The park currently employs 2000 seasonal workers.

South Padre Island, TX

The park in South Padre opened in 2001. An indoor section opened in 2012.

Galveston, TX

FamilyFun

FamilyFun is a family magazine published 10 times annually by Meredith Corporation.

History and profile

Launched in 1991 by Jake Winebaum,FamilyFun is written for parents with children aged 3 to 12, and focuses on family cooking, vacations, parties, holidays, crafts, and learning. The magazine was purchased by Disney Publishing Worldwide in 1992 and Meredith acquired FamilyFun from Disney in 2012.Disney Interactive relaunched its FamilyFun.go.com site as Spoonful.com in 2012. FamilyFun is now part of the Parents.com network.

The headquarters of the magazine was in Des Moines, Iowa, until late May 2015 when it moved to New York City. In August 2015 Elizabeth Anne Shaw became the editor-in-chief of FamilyFun.

References

External links

Kansas City metropolitan area

The Kansas City metropolitan area is a 14-county metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri that straddles the border between the U.S. states of Missouri and Kansas. With a population of 2,393,623, it ranks as the second largest metropolitan area with its core in Missouri (after Greater St. Louis) and has a population in Kansas larger than the Wichita metropolitan area. Alongside Kansas City, the area includes a number of other cities and suburbs, the largest being Overland Park, Kansas; Kansas City, Kansas; and Independence, Missouri; all over 100,000 in population.The Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) serves as the Council of Governments and the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the area.

Geographic overview

The larger Kansas City Metropolitan Area as seen on a map can be visualized roughly as four quadrants:

The northeast quadrant of the map is locally referred to as "north of the river" or "the Northland". It includes parts of Clay County, Missouri including North Kansas City, Missouri. North Kansas City is bounded by a bend in the Missouri River that defines a border between Wyandotte County, Kansas and Clay County, Missouri running approximately North-South and a border between North Kansas City, Missouri and Kansas City, Missouri running approximately East-West. The sharpest part of the river bend forms a peninsula containing the Kansas City Downtown Airport.

Water slide

A water slide (also referred to as flumes, water chutes, or hydroslides) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to sit directly on the slide, or on a raft or tube designed to be used with the slide.

A typical water slide uses a pump system to pump water to the top which is then allowed to freely flow down its surface. The water reduces friction so sliders travel down the slide very quickly. Water slides run into a swimming pool (often called a plunge pool) or a long run-out chute. A lifeguard is usually stationed at the top and the bottom of the slide, so that if a rider gets hurt they will be treated immediately.

Traditional water slides

Body slides

As the name suggests, body slides feature no mat and require the person to sit directly on the surface of the slide. There are a variety of types of body slides including simple flumes, speed slides, bowls and AquaLoops - the latter three are explained below.

Schlitterbahn Kansas City

Schlitterbahn Kansas City, also known as Schlitterbahn Vacation Village, is a resort complex that opened in summer 2009 in Kansas City, Kansas. It was announced in September 2005 by Schlitterbahn Waterparks. The 370-acre (1.5 km²), $750 million development will include a nearly 40-acre (160,000 m²) waterpark, which will be Schlitterbahn's fourth waterpark and its first outside Texas.

Groundbreaking took place September 18, 2007 on the land currently occupied by the Wyandotte County Fairgrounds and the Unified Government courthouse annex, across Interstate 435 from the Kansas Speedway and Village West.

History

Phase 1 included 12 water attractions, 3 restaurants and 2 shops that were part of phase 1. For the 2011 season, phase 2 opened on April 30, 2011 with six new attractions.

Verrückt

In November 2012, Schlitterbahn, Kansas City, announced plans for the world's tallest and fastest water slide, Verrückt. Designed by Schlitterbahn co-owner, Jeff Henry, Verrückt is a three-person raft slide with an uphill section. The initial drop is a 17-story plunge with a five story uphill section (also the tallest uphill water coaster section in the world). At 168 foot 7 inch, the starting point is taller than Niagara Falls and should reach a maximum speed of 65 mph. It opened on July 10, 2014, after multiple delays.