Even Scentsy Directors need some playtime. Working from home, my husband took the day off work and we had a daytime date to the Olympic Park this morning and we were among the very first (maybe 4th or 5th!?) to go down the slide on the Arcelor Mittal Orbital. I've been looking forward to this for weeks, but nothing prepared me for how massive the structure really is when I was standing at the bottom looking up. According to the helpful chart in the elevator, it's taller than the Statue of Liberty!
So let me back up. We got there at 10:20 and the slide opened at 10:30. It was easy enough to park in Westfield and then about a 10-15 minute walk over. it was very quiet this morning. It was also the morning after the EU referendum vote, maybe everyone was staying inside to argue about it on facebook?
You can't bring anything loose with you, and there are lockers at the bottom where you can stick your bag. Bring a £ to put in the slot! We got an email the previous evening telling us to wear long sleeves, but we were given elbow pads, so ditch your jacket if you get a locker.
You are elevated to the 1st platform. There is a 2nd platform that's at the very top for viewing and with your ticket you can take the lift back up after your journey down the chute. Picture taken through the grate on the upper viewing platform.
On the platform they kit you in the fetching elbow pads and helmet. I think it suits me.
They asked us to sign release forms to use our images for advertising. I agreed because I was feeling generous, though I should've given them my Scentsy website! (https://wicklesskaren.scentsy.co.uk in case you forgot!)
Very quickly, they got us into these mats. You put your feet in the bottom and lay down on the slide, then you pull yourself forward on a railing and they count down for you to push off. You can see here the first drop is very steep and exhilarating! You know straight away this is going to be something wild.
Though the entire slide is enclosed, some parts of it are plexiglass so you can see light nd some are completely dark. I thought the dark parts where the scariest because it was such a lights on/lights off moment.
After the first drop, there's a sharp bend and I banged my ankle and it's left it kinda sore. It was my good ankle too, boo! They tell you to go rigid, but you're going so fast I felt that keeping loose was a better plan. You know how when drunks fall they don't hurt themselves because they're so relaxed? I was going with that reasoning after ankle-bang.
The journey down is about 30-40 seconds long, which feels like a very long time. There are lots of surprising twists, but the sudden drops are what really makes this special. At the end, there is a very steep drop and I felt like there was no way I would stop when I left the slide, I was going so fast.
And just like that, it was over. I was laying on a slab of metal in the olympic park with a funny hat on and grinning like an idiot. I popped up and laughed, but I will admit my legs were a bit like jelly. And I really want to go do it again! I pretended to be super cool and then we got certificates with our names on.
It was a lot of thrill for £15 ticket. Would YOU go down the slide?
