Brazil’s Beach Park launches Arrepius
Beach Park in Brazil recently announced the debut of Arrepius, a new collection of water slides that features the first and only Skybox in Brazil with five different descents in an area occupying approximately 7,000 square meters. The highlight of Arrepius is the Skybox, a transparent capsule situated 25 meters above the park, whose descent begins when the floor of the capsule drops open with the press of a button. Arrepius is the latest addition to the Beach Park complex, one of Brazil’s top water parks; its construction completes a series of investments by Beach Park to expand its offerings for the nearly one million visitors who travel to Beach Park annually.
“We have invested $95 million Brazilian reais (US $42 million) to create Arrepius, and we expect that this will result in a twenty percent visitor increase to Beach Park in the coming year,” said Beach Park General Manager Murilo Pascoal. “In a study from Delta Consultoria e Pesquisa, seven out of every ten tourists said that Beach Park was the biggest influencer in their decision to visit the state, so we are very pleased that our investment will help increase the number of visitors to Ceará, as well.”
The vision for Arrepius was conceived by the Canadian company, ProSlide, a leader in the market segment and supplier of Disney’s water park attractions. The vision and execution for Arrepius was lead by Beach Park’s Engenheiros Sonhadores (Dream Engineers), the team responsible for designing Beach Park’s other popular attractions.
Arrepius offers a variety of descents with the ability to accommodate up to nine people simultaneously—three on body slides and up to six on the inline tube slides.
Two of the three body slides are Super Loops, which begin with an eighty degree descent curving right, then left. The waterslides feature a Skybox where the descent begins, but unlike other slides, this slide does not let the rider initiate his or her own fall; instead, the ride operator presses a button to open the capsule floor, which starts the rider on his or her radical descent, raising the anticipation and excitement in the moments before the fall.
The third body slide will provide the adventurous visitor with different levels of excitement:
Freefall: A single, twenty-five-meter, high speed, emotion-packed descent.
Tantrum Alley: An inline tube slide that features two funnels leading to a pool below. A float that holds groups of four people starts its descent in a closed, curved tunnel. Upon reaching the open-air funnel, the float begins to swing from side to side. As the float loses speed, it gives the sensation that the adventure is almost over, but at the funnel’s bottom, the float enters another closed tunnel and the descent continues. Before arriving in the pool, riders face new twists and turns and a second funnel.
Cannon Bowl: An inline tube slide that features a “bowl” in the middle of its course. The float seats up to two people, and riders enjoy a combination of twists and turns, accelerations and decelerations, and changes between pitch-dark and light.
Arrepius uses more than 108,000 gallons of water, with a central pool serving as the finish for the inline tube slides. Between ride operators and lifeguards, a total of ten employees maintain safety and security on Arrepius. The area around the ride also offers lounge chairs and wooden decks and floors for visitors’ comfort. The space offers a green area with palm trees and ornamental plants for a lush and tropical atmosphere. For more information, visit beachpark.com.br.
