The world’s largest inflatable waterslide is now set up between 1st and 2nd Avenues South in North Myrtle Beach. The addition was set up last Friday and is already making a “splash.”

Known as “The Hippo” by the manufacturing company FreeStyle Slides, this slide is 36 feet tall and 180 feet long.  The charge is $3 per ride or riders can purchase an all-day wristband for $20. Tickets are located at Ocean Park, which is located at 2nd Avenue South street end.

The Hippo is located close to a some of CondoLux’s North Myrtle Beach vacation rentals such as The Ashworth, The Verandas, and Ocean Bay Club.

Being a bit out of the ordinary, my wife and I decided to take a helicopter ride.  We saw the sign while passing the Myrtle Beach airport, and said “$20 for a helicoptor ride….. WHY NOT!?”    Well, we have good and bad news.

The good news is, we had fun! I can’t remember where were were headed, but we just finished looking at some Myrtle Beach condos along the Ocean Blvd when we drove by and decided to give it a try.  We actually had the ride back when tourism season wasn’t so bad, so we only had to wait 10 minutes to get on the “chopper”, which was alot smaller than we thought it would be.

We took a look at the map they had on the wall to plot which course we wanted. (You get alot of different choices, check em out here.) We went for the one right above the “cheap” one. I had been watching the “chopper” (sounds cooler than helicoptor) take off, and it seems like the $20 ride only lasted maybe 2 minutes, if that. They took off and landed VERY quickly.  SO, if you are going to do this, go for at least the Pavilion Tour if you can spare the cash. With that one, (the one we picked) you did have time to relax and soak up the scenery before you landed again.

Enough blabber. So we were up in the air, I was taking pictures with my camera phone and having a blast. You always see the guys in the movies with the huge ear-muff speakers on… well… you need em!  It is VERY loud up there. And of course, they have speakers and microphones so you can talk to each other and the pilot as well.  You got an EXCELLENT view of all the Myrtle Beach real estate out there. You fly right along the coast so you see all the condos, as well as all the land and some residential neighborhoods as well.  It does feel weird though, definitely not like flying in an airplane. It more or less resembles flying in a tin can.

So whats the bad news?  For value, I give it a 3 out of 5.  At $40 per person for a 10 minute ride, I can’t say I would recommend that unless you have extra money to spend. And if you have a full family, forget it. You might as well go to the new Freestyle Music Park and spend a few hours.     Do I recommend the experience? YES! Definitely put it on your list if you have the money for it.

Only in Myrtle Beach, SC!