Slick City Action Park, which opened earlier this month in North Aurora, aims to provide a water slide-like experience without the need of a bathing suit, warm weather or even a long wait in line before the lifeguard lets you go.
The facility, at 1830 Towne Center, is the first Slick City in Illinois with six other locations of the business operating in other parts of the United States.
Kevin Dugal, 33, who serves as vice president of operations for Slick City, said the newly-opened North Aurora facility represents a sort of homecoming for him. He said the North Aurora location was chosen “as I have a lot of friends in the area that now have kids and feedback from them was there wasn’t a lot to do for kids in this particular area.”
“I live in Naperville and I went to Waubonsie Valley High School and I’m super-excited about this being located close to where I’m from,” Dugal said during a recent telephone interview.
Described as “the world’s first and only indoor waterless slide park,” Dugal said the amusement facility features “an unparalleled dry-slide acceleration technology in our modular slide designs.”
“We are really trying to get the same feeling as going down a water slide but indoors in a climate-controlled facility that’s year-round,” he said. “On top of the slides, we have also sports air courts that are full-sized basketball courts where you can shoot and dunk hoops on a giant air court as well as playing dodgeball on the courts too.”
Dugal said that “one of our most popular attractions is our Launch Slide where you go down on a mat and it actually launches you in mid-air and you land safely on a giant air bag.”
“Other slides you are racing friends. Our race slide is four lanes so you can see who is the fastest to the bottom and you land on a soft air track,” he said. “We have Avalanche slides which have a lot of awesome twists and turns and our Big Wave slide is a half scoop slide similar to what you see at a water park.”
The company itself has been around just over two years and the North Aurora facility is the seventh of what Dugal said currently includes “45 more franchise or lease agreements signed with a target goal of 500 locations in the U.S.”
“We hope to have 50 locations in the next two years,” he said. “We feel this is catching on because of our giant slides but it also encompasses all age groups.
“We are actually seeing about 20% of our guests that are 18 and older,” he said. “A lot more parents are getting in on the action versus a typical family entertainment facility. We also do a lot of group outings and company outings.”
For those 3 years old and younger, there is a dedicated junior soft play area as well.
North Aurora Village President Mark Gaffino said the process of getting the business in town began about “six to eight months ago.”
“I mean, why wouldn’t we? What a great idea to repurpose the building there and it was really a team effort,” Gaffino said. “The village staff responded quickly and we’re proud that they are in town. We hope this will help bring foot traffic to an area there that’s somewhat struggling. We hope this is a way to bring new people into our community. I expect a lot of fun things there.”
General manager of the facility Jill Rempert of Batavia admits her new job is all about connecting with similar work she has done before.
“This appealed to me as I have worked at trampoline parks in the past and this is a new and exciting place to be. The slides are new and this is the only one in Illinois and I wanted to be a part of the first one,” she said. “When people ask us about this, it’s a water park without water. Some call it ‘The Unwater Park,’ but it’s definitely fun.”
Employee Julian Guereca, 20, of Aurora, said the new action park is something that will continue to draw guests.
“I think this will work because this is very different from a trampoline park or an arcade park. It’s something very new in the area. We have a lot of those other things but we don’t have a place like this that has a bunch of slides,” Guereca said. “I also like it because it has different types of slides you don’t see at water parks. I wish I had something like this when I was 5, but you can do this at any age.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
