World’s longest water coaster to open next year

The intriguingly named US town of Santa Claus will have something apart from its name to be famous for next May – the world’s longest water coaster.

The $US9 million Mammoth will open in Splashin’ Safari water park, says park president Dan Koch.

We added a Wildebeest water coaster last year and it was a runaway hit,” he says. “So we asked our designers for something even bigger. It’s so huge, we’re calling it the Mammoth.”

The Mammoth will begin with a conveyor ride up the water coaster’s lift-hill. Following the five-storey drop at a 45-degree angle, linear induction motors (LIMs) will propel the six-person round boats up additional hills, into dark enclosed sections and through twists and turns. Mammoth will cover 1.2 hecares, increasing the water park’s size to 12 hectares.

Mammoth’s tallest elevation is 21 metres higher than its lowest drop. The conveyor-style lifthill replaces any slide-tower stairs, making the water coaster accessible to riders who might have difficulty walking up stairs.