Slide the City got off to a slow start this morning, but Calgarians still happily zipped down the giant slip and slide set up on 10 Street NW.
The event was supposed to start at 9 a.m., but those who showed up for their allotted time were disappointed.
Amy Gessel, a spokeswoman for Slide the City, said that the truck bringing the slip and slide didn’t arrive as expected and they had to hire a new trucking company.
The early sliders got an email around 8:15 a.m. telling them the start would be delayed. They didn’t end up getting on the slide until around 11:30 a.m.
Gerald Andres had been planning his Slide the City day since February and had bought passes for three slides down the slip and slide, but he and his group only went down once after waiting for almost three hours in line that morning.
“We went down once and you got about halfway down and you stopped just because like they didn’t have enough water on it,” Andres said.
“And you have to push yourself all the way to the end.”
Andres said three of their seven tubes included in their package kept going flat and the group decided to head out.
“By that time things were so backed up too, because the next allotment of people … they’re all backed up in line too, expecting that they could have gone at their allotted time,” he said.
“To get our slides in, we’re going to have to be here for three hours. And it became apparent after the first time it wasn’t worth it.”
He is seeking a refund from Slide the City and said that he heard other people asking for their money back too.
Calgarians speed down the slip and slide at Slide the City on 10th Street in Calgary on August 1, 2015. (Christina Ryan/Calgary Herald)
Coeur Riley and her daughter also waited out the delay of their 9 a.m. start time for their one-trip slide ticket, but said that it was worth it.
“They were scrambling, very much scrambling to get things together,” she said.
“The slide finally opened around 11:30 and from there things went really well. I think they were trying to really get people down the hill quickly … it was kind of like they would spray you and say go. So off we went!”
Riley said the experience was “a neat thing to try.”
The Slide the City Calgary event ran into some hiccups even before today’s delay. When ticket sales opened in February, there were no specific ride times attached. An unlimited ride option allowed VIP ticket holders to ride the slide before and after regular hours and at any time during the day. A few weeks ago, ticket holders were emailed to inform them that they had a specific “wave time” assigned and unlimited ticket holders had to come between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturday and between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Sunday.
Some people were unhappy with the changes, saying it was unfair for the company to limit the unlimited tickets after purchase.
Gessel said the company was contacted by Service Alberta over the complaints, but that wave times were to allow everyone a chance to slide.
“We implemented wave times just so the sliders could have the best possible experience,” she said.
Slide the City has held over 30 events since they opened up ticket sales to Calgary in February.
“Obviously we’ve learned a lot in that time and realized that to reduce wait time and make sure that everyone gets down the slide fast or quickly and safely the best way to kind of regulate that was wave times.”
Now, Slide the City has customers select a wave time when they buy a ticket.
Calgarians enjoy Slide the City on 10th Street in Calgary on August 1, 2015. (Christina Ryan/Calgary Herald)
By early afternoon Saturday, the mood at the event was positive. A man sat on his balcony playing the drums, getting cheered on by sliders down below. Volunteers were standing along the slide to push anyone along if they got stuck and people were laughing as they plunged down the approximately 300-metre slide.
“I got stopped but my sister and another guy hit me and I kept going,” reported Timothy Waldeck, 7. His sister, Jada, 10, said the slide was “really awesome.” The pair and their parents, Jody and Tom, only went down the slide once, but said it was definitely worth it.
Although plenty of smaller kids lost momentum at the bottom of the slide, causing occassional pileups, some bigger sliders had the opposite problem.
“I thought I was going to crash into her the whole time,” said Rick Canova about his wild ride behind his friend Brittany Pelzer.
Amber Romaniuk was sliding with her friend, Kassandra Douglas.
“It’s so much fun,” Romaniuk said.
“Anyone who’s not here right now is missing out.”
Slide the City starts on Sunday as scheduled.
Twitter: @_ErinSylvester
