I have
A similarly bad history with death slides. There’s an outdoor adventure park in Devon somewhere called Woodlands, where they’ve got a number of these ‘death slides’. They’re pretty typical next to the one you described.

My bad memories are from one that was actually set outside, under a canopy of sorts. It was reasonably small but waved – so there was a level piece halfway down, before going ‘vertical’ again. The intended use being your child slid gracefully down the slide, lost some momentum on the level, and continued a safe journey down the next drop.

What happened to me is: I decided to get up at silly-o-clock to see what was open, as we were staying in a caravan onsite. I got there to find nothing open, so used this slide. Now it was a beautiful morning but not particularly warm, and the dew was fresh and, more importantly, present. So I went down this slide and on the first drop accelerated to roughly 400mph. I rocketed across the flat surface, my bumcheeks absorbing several pints of dew in a couple of seconds, and proceeded to leave the surface of the slide at the next drop, where I flew through the air to land my back perfectly on the wooden log at the bottom. Completely winded, I took a few seconds for the humiliation to set in (there was a rubbish picker nearby who had doubtless seen the whole thing) and ran back to the caravan for toast.
( Rookie You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel, Tue 26 Jan 2010, 15:43, 1 reply)

arf!
i feel we may be at cross purposes, due to my description. "death slide" was simply a nickname for the slide i went on, which was basically a normal metal slide, except for the height and verticality. what is these days called a death slide and, i believe, what you're referring to, is a zip-line affair with a button seat. i did go arse-over off one of those last year, whilst camping and pissed at 1 a.m. it was most amusing :)
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Tue 26 Jan 2010, 20:26, closed)