Thunder Falls gives thrill and chill

Passengers shout while riding the Thunder Falls, a new attraction at Everland, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, which was launched on Aug. 3, replacing its Flume Ride predecessor. / Courtesy of Everland

By Chung Ah-young

As a heat wave continues to grip the nation, people are looking for a summer shelter to cool themselves off.

To chill out, Everland, the nation’s largest theme park, has launched the Thunder Falls, a super flume water ride.

Thunder Falls has replaced its predecessor Flume Ride, which was one of the park’s most popular attractions, at a cost of 14 billion won over nine months.

The older one had drawn more than 33 million people since it opened in 1981.

The largest among the nation’s water slides, the new ride built on 6,600 square meters of land gives bigger thrills and amusement.

The drop height has been increased from the previous 11 meters to 20 meters and the drop angle has become steeper from 35 degrees to 45 degrees.

The entire waterway is 485 meters in length, up from the previous 443 meters.

The riding time is also 6 minutes and 20 seconds, 80 seconds longer than the older one. The boat size has been also expanded for eight passengers, up from the previous four.

“One of the most breathtaking thrills in this new ride is the Back-Drop corner, where a boat suddenly drops backward through a waterway at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour, along with water splashes,” an Everland official said.

The park said that it guarantees not only excitement but also safety as it went through safety tests more than 1,500 times before launching and obtained safety certificates from the Korea Testing Certification (KTC) and TUV, a German organization that validates the safety of products.

A child of 100 to 110 centimeters tall should be accompanied by an adult.

Everland is located in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. It attracted more than 7.3 million visitors last year.