Here are the rules and info with the slide at SAB. The slide is 230 ft. in length with 110ft long tunnel at the top. You can see the end of the tunnel at the top of the slide. There is a rushing current at the bottom of the slide which empties into a 4ft deep section of the pool. Guests are informed that they do need to stay behind the rope (for reasons I will explain later in the post).
With regards to the little booger eaters, it is part of the lifeguard's duty to ensure that guests that are going down the slide are able to do so without any problems. With the little ones this means that they will often be sent back down the stairs and asked to take a swim test at the little slide. Tell the lifeguard there that you want to do so and they will instruct your child to go down the smaller slide and swim to them without touching the bottom of the pool. If they are able to do that then they are able to go down the big slide.
Lifejackets are not allowed down the slide. Reasons for this is b/c if a child were to go down the slide with a lifevest on then when they get at the bottom of the slide they will tend to float around the bottom of the slide. This isn't very good b/c they could flip upside down on that way to the bottom and can't right themselves and end up having their heads underwater, thus calling us lifeguards into action. They also tend to float at the base of the slide, which is also a no-no b/c there is no telling who the next person is that is coming down. More than likely it is a big fellow that is going 9234857 MPH and will hit the breathing buoy with arms and will once again call upon us lifeguards into action.
Other objects that is not allowed down the slide are snorkel masks and water shoes. Water shoes are easy to spot why they are not allowed as they can easily slow down the guest when using the slide. They can also damage the slide by catching on to objects and whatnot. Snorkel masks are not so easy to spot why they are not allowed. There are actually two reasons. One of which is called a dry drowning. This occurs if you do not intake water but are unable to gain any air, think of it like not being able to open your mouth or nose to get any air in. Well, this can occur if someone goes down the slide with a snorkel mask on and they hit the water at the bottom. The snorkel mask is pressed against the nose and is not able to come off. The second reason is because the materials that a snorkel mask is made of can shatter if hit hard enough against the slide. This is bad news for everyone because with the shattered parts in the pool, the pool must not only be closed but also drained and cleaned until all the shards are removed a.k.a. happy guests turn into grumpy guests.
Now onto the really fun stuff. Melisazack, you mention that you insisted your child to go to the left when they reached the bottom of the slide. What the lifeguard told you is what they really should have done and here's why. There are a lot of times that kids think its fun to stay at the bottom of the slide when they are done riding it. What happens is that the lifeguards that are guarding that area have no clue as to who is next to come down and when they are going to come down. So here is a child that decides to play at the bottom of the slide and WHAM, they get hit by another big fellow that is going 203942934 mph. In comes multiple lifeguards this time with backboards and trauma bags to perform CPR along with summoning the EMTs for the child an possibly for the big fella.
If children were to also go directly to the left, they sometimes feel trapped and don't know where to go. Even if there is a parent that is on the way to get them they too also sometimes have difficulty grabbing hold of their child before the next person comes down. I don't need to replay what could happen in this situation.
Like I said earlier, the lifeguards at the bottom of the slide have no clue to who is coming down next. This is the single biggest reason to why those not dispatching from the slide need to stay behind the rope. There are a lot of parents that think that they can go down the slide first and then catch their child at the bottom. There are also a lot of times that children (no matter what age they are) decide they are too scared to go down the slide. So here is this parent that thinks their child is next coming down and once again that big guy going 234234908 mph speeds right into the waiting parent. I can't tell you how many parents decide to ignore the lifeguards when they tell them they want to catch their child and almost get slammed into when it isn't their child.
As a lifeguard @ SAB I am well trained to utilize my skills when i need to (luckily have only needed to do so once), but in all honesty, i really don't want to. Its just like having a condom and not need it than to not a have a condom and need it. This information that i just gave you, while it might seem like a novel's worth, its really just the tip of the iceburg of the kind of training that I go through to keep guests @ SAB safe. So please, do not disregard what the lifeguards tell you while you are there, it is really for your own safety. Wouldn't you rather be inconvenienced for a brief moment and be safe or be allowed to do what you want and end up on a stretcher on the way to the hospital?
. I used to go to Noah's Ark years and years ago. We wanted to do the Dells over Spring Break, but the Dells pricing made WDW look cheap! Which resorts in the Dells do you recommend for warm and cold weather? I was thinking about the Wilderness Resort since it doesn't allow walk-ins.
) and the swimsuits with the built-in foam blocks hadn't been invented yet, so I'm not sure if we would have allowed those or not. There certainly isn't a "popping" factor with those like there is with the floaties, so maybe they're okay?
