It’s been over twenty five years, but I remember it like it was yesterday. Standing barefoot in the damp grass with the sun beating down on my back, I waited patiently. When it was finally my turn, I sprinted and dove onto the wet plastic. Refreshingly cool water sprayed on me seemingly from every direction for the few seconds it took me to travel the short distance to the pool of water at the end of the slip n slide.
On Saturday I closed my eyes and remembered those days from my childhood and smiled. When I opened my eyes I found myself again standing barefoot in the grass, the sun beating down on my back and waiting patiently behind a group of kids the same age as my friends are in my memory. Except I’m a bit older now, and instead of a short, narrow, multicolor plastic slide, I was looking at a 130 foot slide made out of black contractor’s plastic snaking it’s way down the hill into the park behind my house.
I sprinted and launched myself head first down the slide being kept wet by 4 different sprinklers. I did barrel rolls all the way down, and slid off the end of the plastic skidding to a stop so suddenly that the grass almost pulled my swim trunks off my waist.
It. Was. Awesome.
The mega slide is something our neighbor has done the last few summers when they have their annual neighborhood pool party. I’ve written about this before on a different website, but it’s been a few years and that website is no longer around so I thought I would introduce the mega slide to the EOD Nation.
If you enjoy water slides, and are looking for a great way to cool down AND have a great neighborhood event, let me tell you what we’ve learned about building a successful mega slide.
Materials:
- 8ft x 100ft roll of contractor’s plastic. You may need two of these, depending upon how big of a hill you have. The clear piece we had at the end (shown in the picture) was about 30 feet long and we were sliding off the end.
- Garden hoses
- Sprinklers (find the kind that you can connect in a series)
- Tent stakes
Note: Get as thick of plastic as you can. I believe my neighbor got either 6 or 8 mil weight plastic. The thicker the plastic, the better the tent stakes will hold, and the more likely your plastic will be reusable.
Plenty of Water:
Roll your plastic down a hill (do NOT stake down yet), and connect up your sprinklers in a series, spraying water onto the plastic. In our case we used water from my neighbor’s house, as well as from my house to get maximum coverage on the slide.
The wetter the slide, the better.
The Right Path:
You will likely have to adjust the path of your plastic, which is why you didn’t want to stake down your plastic yet. Now that you have it unrolled and wet, send down some test sliders to see where they go. The angles of the hill will cause the water, and sliders to take a specific course down the hill. Adjust the path of your plastic accordingly. Once you have it such that the sliders follow the plastic all the way down, secure the plastic using the tent stakes.
Be Ready For Repairs:
You will have stakes come out, requiring some repairs along the way. However, the better you adjust your plastic to the true course of the sliders, the less repairs you will have to make.
Cost:
All the hoses, tent stakes, and sprinklers were donated by members of the neighborhood for the day. The only thing that had to be purchased was the contractor’s plastic, which can be picked up for about $50. Considering the length, the potential for reuse, and the amount of fun generated, I’d say the purchase was well worth it. Even if we all pitched in and bought a second roll of plastic, this is a great activity for the entire neighborhood to enjoy together, and form friendships that will last a lifetime.
What do you think, would you try to make a similar mega slide?
Ok, that’s taking the Slip N Slide and putting it on some major steroids. I think our kids would absolutely love it!
I bet they would too, John! I just checked, and you can get the original 16 foot slip n slide for about $10. this one is 5 times the price…but 5 times the length (and WAY more fun)! If you do it, you’ll have to let me know how it goes for you! Thanks for reading!
Wow, that looks like a lot of fun! I don’t have any friends or family with a big enough yard for this but I want to try it some day!
It’s a RIOT, Kasey…….we are fortunate enough that both my backyard as well as my neighbor’s run into a large park with a hill – perfect for just such an activity!
We set up a similar experience in the corridor of our college dorm! Fun until one guy broke his arm slamming into the closed door at the end of the hall. 🙁
Oh boy…..that will put a damper on the fun, won’t it???
This looks like so much fun!
Best outdoor activity of the summer – we used the slide for HOURS….the kids (of all ages) were completely pooped by the end of the party! Thanks for stopping by Michelle!
Travis, my cousin and I made this type of slide when we were young, and it’s still one of my favorite memories. I actually wrote about it, since that 8 mil, 8×100′ piece of plastic brought more joy to me than most other things I’ve ever purchased.
http://fijourney.com/where-are-you-on-the-fulfillment-curve/
That’s great, FI Pilgirm! I’m soooo happy to meet another mega slip n slide maker! I hope my kids (as well as all the kids in the neighborhood) remember the neighborhood parties were we did the mega slide for the rest of their lives -truly great fun – thanks for sharing!
They have had this event in my town for the past few years
http://www.saturdayslipnslide.com/
That looks freakin’ AWESOME Ryan! 8 feet is pretty wide and allows us to do some rolls and spins, but I can’t even imagine how much fun it would be to go down slides that wide…..I’d LOVE to try out those slides – thanks for the link!
That is the coolest slide I have ever seen! I want one!
For about $50 one can be yours, Michael! LOL. Give it a shot – you won’t be disappointed!!! Thanks for your comment!
Looks SUPER fun, Travis, and the view out your back door is GORGEOUS! We’ll definitely have to look into making one of these for our kids. 🙂
It’s a flippin’ blast, Laurie! This is actually the view from my neighbor’s back yard….but looking down the slide, my house is directly to the right. My view is actually better because I see a treeline on a bluff off in the distance. 🙂
I don’t have the yard for something like this but it sure does look like fun. You do have a nice piece of property Travis. It looks like the entire field beind you has been mowed.
It’s actually a city park, Zimmy. It’s very hilly, so they can’t do much with the portion that you see (so it just stays empty, and yes, mowed!), but out of view to the left is playground equipment. It gives us a great spot for the kids to run around in and do activities like this….AND we know that it will never be developed into anything else because of the hill!
I want to go to there!
Now!
Come on over next year and take a few runs, No Waste!!