World's biggest waterslide set to open, at 1,140 metres long

Attraction to open this summer

The world’s longest waterslide, at more than 1km in length, is due to open in Malaysia this summer.

It will take visitors a full four minutes to whizz down the 1,140m-long attraction, which winds its way across a 70m slope covered in natural forest and tree canopies on the island of Penang.

The feature, set to open at the end of July, will be part of the island’s Escape theme park, which also offers obstacle courses and zipwires.

It beats the current record-holder, Action Park in New Jersey, by more than 500m.

Currently halfway through the project, Escape has so far constructed 705m worth of slide, already besting the 601m New Jersey contender.

While the Action Park slide is inflatable, Escape’s will be a permanent structure made from fibre-reinforced polymer.

Guests won’t have to slog their way up to the top of the slide either – it will be accessible via cable car.

The slide will take four minutes to slide down (Sim Leisure Group)

“Breaking the world record was never our intention,” Sim Choo Kheng, CEO Sim Leisure Group which runs the Escape park, said in a statement.

“I’m always baffled by how rides are made so short and quick. I wanted to build rides that last a good few minutes with non-stop smiles and giggles as visitors fly through the rainforest.”

Two other new attractions will open alongside the slide: Hill Rider and Tubby Racer.

The Sim Leisure Group said that its commitment to preserving the environment has resulted in no heavy machinery being used to create the new rides, with most of the work being done manually.

Penang’s Escape, off the west coast of Malaysia, is already rated the number one theme park in the country and the top attraction on the island by TripAdvisor.

It attracted 185,000 visitors in 2018 and expects numbers to grow further this year.