Magic Mountain's new $200,000 Kamikaze will be open by summer

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The region's largest water park is missing its signature waterslide at the moment, but its return is certain.

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Greg Agnew/Times & Transcript

The signature slide at Magic Mountain is being replaced.

The nearly-vertical slide at Moncton's Magic Mountain, better known as the Kamikaze, has been dismantled to make way for a brand new version.

Magic Mountain general manager Mark Jelley says most waterslides are replaced every 20 to 25 years and the Kamikaze had been a mainstay for the past 21 seasons.

He says the 100-metre drop won't change and will be "just as exciting as ever."

The top six feet of the new slide will be enclosed by tubing, opening up after those first exhilarating seconds, and alternating blue and yellow pieces will create the illusion thrill seekers are going faster than ever before. Already, people travel the Kamikaze at a speed of nearly 60 km/h (37 mph).

Construction of the new $200,000 waterslide is starting from the base up and is expected to be complete before Magic Mountain opens for its summer season June 14.

Jelley says the Kamikaze is one of the park's most recognizable trademarks.

"There's certainly no slide (in the area) that would compare to the Kamikaze as far as sheer size, speed or drop," he says, adding it's the fastest waterslide in Atlantic Canada.