The look of amazement. Of awe.
Youngsters, and adults, too, shared a moment Thursday in the Orchards area of Vancouver.
They walked into a new business — an adventure park, a thrill center — and their eyes grew big.
Whoa.
“Creating activities and reasons for people to be together is a huge motivator for me. I think people being together matters,” said Jordan Wade, one of the franchise owners of Slick City Action Park.
“An activity like Slick City … it gets everyone playing together, and I think that’s a really good thing,” he said.
Slick City in Vancouver had its soft opening two weeks ago. On Thursday, the Greater Vancouver Chamber welcomed Slick City with a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the official grand opening.
The center features 14 slides — some that will launch one into the air before landing safely on an air bag. There are also “sport air” courts. One is for basketball designed for dunking on a low rim, and there is also a dodgeball court. Plus there is a junior jungle for younger thrill seekers. Wade said one of the big draws for Slick City is it is for everyone.
“A lot of family entertainment is usually just the kids participating,” Wade said, noting that there are some places where parents drop off their children, or maybe parents are there but sitting out, staring at their phones.
Slick City, though, encourages everyone to take a ride on a slide.
“It’s such an all-inclusive, fun activity,” Wade said. “We get so many adults participating that we actually do adults-only nights. Adults have so much fun doing it.”
This is the 51st Slick City to open in the country, but the first in the Pacific Northwest. Wade and his family moved here recently from Utah, but Wade used to work in Vancouver as part of the Sky Zone Trampoline Park. So he already knew the business climate and the region.
He helped convince others that this was the place to be — a great community with a bunch of families.
Oh yes, there is another benefit, too.
“The weather,” he said. “Half the year, at least, people are looking for great indoor options,” Wade said.
Organizers packed a bunch in this indoor space, located at 11505 NE Fourth Plain Blvd., in the Orchards Market Center.
Wade said it turned out even better than he could have imagined.
“We’re going to put as many slides in here as possible,” he said, referring to the planning stages. “In a building this size, in the old way, we probably would have only fit seven slides in here.”
Designers used a 3-D scan of the space, got up into the rafters, and they visualized more. Then they made it happen in more than 35,000-square feet of space.
“We have slides going over the top of other slides,” Wade said. “We have slides going under platforms and towers.”
Each slide has its own name and challenges.
There is Mega Launch. Riptide. Avalanche. Zig Zag. Super Fly. And more.
Ticket costs vary depending on how much time one wants to spend in the park. Slick City encourages memberships, though, so people will want to keep coming back. In fact, a membership is less expensive than a one-day ticket. Slick City also offers birthday parties and has a private room for events. For more information on costs, go to: https://slickcity.com/wa-vancouver/
“Having spent years in the family entertainment industry, we know families are looking for experiences that give them more reasons to come back,” Wade said. “That’s what stood out to us about Slick City. The variety of slides and attractions creates something for different ages, interests, and levels of adventure, so no two visits have to feel the same. We’re excited to bring that experience to Vancouver and create a place that becomes a go-to destination for families.”
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