Hippo slide gets a longer ride
Taylor Recreation of Ohio has been granted an extension on its special events permit for the giant, vinyl slide in the vacant lot near Times Square on Fort Myers Beach.
According to town manager Scott Janke, the Hippo Slide received its extension March 18 at a town council meeting allowing children of all ages to enjoy the ride until the end of May.
“The town council authorized, via a legal right, to issue a 60-day special event permit to stay at its location for April and May,” he said.
Taylor Recreation manager Bill Baden runs the slide at $2 a try or $20 for all-day use – a wrist band is provided for return trips – and his staff cleans up the deserted property regularly to keep up its appearance.
“A lot of parents or grandparents tell me ‘you made my babysitting job real easy,'” said Baden. “This has been long overdue. There’s nothing for young kids to do down here. You can only build so many sand castles.”
Baden called the community reaction to the slide “terrific” and hopes to return every year. On average, he says, tourists use the slide all week long while residents mostly show up during the weekends.
“Our biggest customers are in the age 3-14 bracket,” said Baden. “Families like it. Mom and dad can go out on the beach and lounge around or lay out at the end of the slide and watch.”
The Hippo Slide is not just for small kids though.
“We’re getting a lot of college softball teams now,” said Baden. “They’re not partiers like the other spring breakers. They lie on the beach, get warm, go down the slide and then go back out to the beach.”
Baden says he’s anticipating great business during the Easter holiday and the slide should see ample usage during high school spring break in April.
Even though owner Jay Taylor – Baden’s son-in-law – received the extension after applying for it Friday, Taylor Recreation will have to move its slide during the weekend of April 4-5. A beach soccer festival was granted a special event permit for that weekend.
The spirit of the family-owned business will not be deflated during the move. Baden says Taylor Recreation is here to help out the economy.
“In our three weeks here, we’ve put about $5,000 into the local economy,” he said. “I stay in a local RV park and spend money on meals everyday. So we put into the economy just as much as we take out. We also gave out free tickets for the slide to the kids during the Lions Club Shrimp Run.”
Taylor Recreation has been involved in the water parks and slide business for roughly 15 years at state parks on Lake Erie.