Rain delays ribbon cutting, but fun goes on at Cape Splash

Wet weather has been a factor at nearly every turn in Cape Splash's latest project, so it was fitting the new slide's opening day began with rain.

It caused the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department to delay a ribbon cutting scheduled Thursday morning, but the public opening continued as planned.

The sun made an appearance when guests began streaming through the gates at 11 a.m. to be among the first to take a trip down the slides. Stephanie Craft's daughters were in the first group to hit the three-lane mat racer.

"Did you love it?" she asked them as they came to a stop.

Her daughter Nora's answer was similar to many reactions from later racers.

"That was so scary. I loved it!" she said, her blue racing mat in tow.

The blue and green mat racer sits next to a yellow 265-foot free-fall slide and an orange 259-foot triple-drop slide. Riders must be 42 inches tall to ride the mat racer and 48 inches to ride the speed slides.

Not long after visitors had taken trips down nearly each slide, the conversations began about which slide was faster -- yellow, everyone agreed -- and whether racers had better luck in one lane versus the others.

Penny Williams, recreation division manager for the parks and recreation department, said the department is excited about the new attraction because it offers some interest to older children visiting the park.

"That's what we wanted, and we got some variety with it," she said.

Besides the eye-catching colors, each component has its own attraction. The yellow speed slide, for example, might appeal to the slightly more daring water park-goer. The slide entrance is covered, and the rider emerges from the darkness immediately into the free-fall plunge.

"... You're in there, and you're just waiting for the drop," Williams said. "The anticipation is what really gets you."

She speaks from experience, having gone down each speed slide when the department tested them in the days prior to the opening.

The journey to opening day lasted a little longer than the department anticipated. Initially, the plan was to open the slide at the same time or nearly the same time as the park's season opening in May. Continual rain caused delays in the work, done by KCI Construction Co. There's still some minor work, such as landscaping, to be completed.

Standing at the bottom of the slides and watching each wave of riders, Williams said she was happy to see opening day go so well.

"Hearing the laughs and screams when they come down, that's what makes it all worth it," she said.

Parent Melanie Watkins said the opening couldn't have come at a more perfect time. Her daughter was there Thursday morning for swimming lessons, but they stuck around to spend some time at the park.

"Today was the last day of swimming lessons, and we were so wishing and hoping it would open before classes were over," she said.

Craft agreed, noting how anxious her little ones were to come to the park Thursday.

"I don't think my girls slept last night, they were so excited," she said.

The slides are a $1.3 million project funded by the city's 1 percent restaurant tax.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

1625 N. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, Mo.