THE SLIDE AT THE ARCELOR MITTAL ORBIT: STAFF REVIEW

There is no better description to fit my experience at The Slide at The Arcelor Mittal Orbit than utterly hair raising. Just imagine a Helter Skelter on 20 espresso shots – this slide is quick! The Slide is easily accessible as it’s located at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, London. As well as hitting 15mph on the world’s LONGEST slide, you’ll also get panoramic views of London’s iconic skyline from the Orbit’s viewing platforms at the top. Here’s how our day went…

After hopping off the tube at Stratford Station and taking the short walk to the Orbit through Westfield Shopping Mall – narrowly avoiding the brand new Missguided store which has opened up there – we arrived at the park. With our camera poised, Leoni and I managed to grab some great shots as we ventured towards the orbit. Stupidly, we both thought the staircase was The Slide and both said “God, not nearly as bad we both thought!” – then we saw the ‘Bettfeder’. This tight corkscrew just before the 50m sprint to the end was in fact the slide – safe to say our hearts really started pumping. We were greeted at the ticket office by Andrea, Trade Sales Manager for The Slide.

We grabbed a delicious coffee at the on-site cafe and sat on the roof terrace, chatting with Andrea about The Slide. One of our first questions had to be asking whether he’d had a go. Of course he couldn’t have missed out on a chance. You can complete The Slide in a cool (but still hair-raising) 35 seconds. We certainly thought it was fast!

There are onsite lockers to put everything you don’t need for the Slide, before you take the lift up to the first floor viewing platform to get ready. The venue provides all the safety equipment you’ll need; helmets, knee pads and elbow pads. You’ll end up looking like you’re wearing a full ninja suit. You then grab one of the specially designed mats and get yourself in position. Once the green light pings, you’re off! You’ll whizz through dark patches, the ‘Bettfender’, clear patches which will disorientate you before hitting the home straight. You’ll just end up wishing you could go down again!

We choose to take our ride on The Slide first, then grabbed our stuff from the lockers and headed back to the viewing platforms. With 360 views across London, you can see the Shard, the Gherkin, Walkie Talkie and many more of the iconic skyline. You can use the interactive boards to zoom onto landmarks and learn about their history. There’s also some funky concave mirrors that’ll entertain the kids and flip London on it’s head. Once you’ve taken in all the sights, you can either use the staircase to climb down and hear typical London sounds or take the lift down.

Thank you SO much to Andrea for letting us come and experience The Slide and see these awesome panoramic views of London.