Georgia’s first “waterslide roller coaster” will open on haunted Lake Lanier, infamous for hundreds of bizarre drownings and electrocution deaths.
The famous artificial lake, which was built over cemeteries in the 1950s, has seen more than 70 fatalities in boating incidents between 1994 and 2022, and 140 drowning deaths have been recorded.
Now, a water park atop the lake is about to introduce “Georgia’s first adrenaline-fueled water slide roller coaster that will redefine water thrills,” according to Margaritaville in the Lake Lanier Islands.
Fins Up Water Park, scheduled to open May 4, will feature 15 attractions, 15 restaurants and concessions, according to the resort’s website.
“This monumental investment marks the most significant expansion of Margaritaville Lanier Islands in decades, adding Georgia’s largest waterslide complex to the water park, with a total of 15 slides by 2024,” park officials wrote.
Georgia’s first ‘waterslide roller coaster’ opens on haunted Lake Lanier, infamous for hundreds of bizarre drownings and electrocution deaths
The famous man-made lake, which was built over cemeteries in the 1950s, has seen more than 70 fatalities in boating incidents between 1994 and 2022, and 140 drowning deaths have been recorded.
Now, a water park atop the lake is about to introduce “Georgia’s first adrenaline-fueled water slide roller coaster that will redefine the water thrills,” according to Margaritaville on Lake Lanier Islands.
The resort held a ceremony on Wednesday this week to announce the news, which included the construction of Apocalypso and three additional slides.
According to park officials, the water slide roller coaster will send riders downhill at an average speed of 30 miles per hour.
“This blockbuster tower of water slides, featuring Georgia’s first waterslide roller coaster, will be an epic addition to Margaritaville, Lanier Islands,” said Bucky Perry, vice president of Margaritaville, Lanier Islands.
“For those looking for an escape and a non-stop day of high-speed excitement and family fun, Margaritaville in the Lanier Islands is the place to be.”
However, the celebration of the multi-million dollar renewal is met with intense reactions from outraged social media users.
“For those who don’t remember, more than 200 bodies have been recovered from Georgia’s Lake Lanier since 1994. Lake Lanier was built on top of black communities in the early 20th century,” one Instagram user wrote.
According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division, 216 people died at the lake between 1994 and 2022.
Last September, three people died in just one week in Lake Lanier, pushing the death toll even higher, which doesn’t even include suicides or medical emergencies.
Built in 1956 by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the lake has more than 38,000 acres of water and welcomes several million visitors annually.
“For those who don’t remember, more than 200 bodies have been recovered from Georgia’s Lake Lanier since 1994. Lake Lanier was built on top of black communities in the early 20th century,” one Instagram user wrote.
Melissa Renee McMahan, whose body was found in Lake Lanier after a charity boat event on the lake
Last September, three people were killed in Lake Lanier in just one week, adding to the death toll that doesn’t even include suicides or medical emergencies. Pictured: Leonardo Martine (left) and Thomas Milner (right), who died in September last year
According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Division, 216 people died at the lake between 1994 and 2022. Pictured: Cristofer Acosta-Farias (left) died in 2020 and Kile Glover (right) died in 2012
The lake is about an hour’s drive from Atlanta and covers 60 square miles with a depth of up to 50 meters.
The lake provides drinking water for about 5 million people, according to the conservation group Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.
Buford Dam on the south side of the lake generates hydroelectric power for the Atlanta metro area.
Before the 1950s, the lake’s current location was home to a small black community in the town of Oscarville, infamous for being the site of a lynching in 1912.
To build the lake, the city was emptied and in 1947 most of the inhabitants were expelled. The remains of the city, including graves in the city’s cemeteries, were subsequently flooded during construction in 1950.
One explanation for Lake Lenier’s shocking death toll could be its treacherous underwater falls, according to a 2023 Washington Post article.
“When the lake was built, they didn’t remove every structure from the area before it flooded,” said Dee Gillespie, professor of American history at the University of North Georgia.
“That means if you’re swimming, you’re more likely to get tangled in something.”
Beneath the lake are “roofs, home foundations, cemeteries and the Gainesville Speedway,” because city officials deemed it too expensive to demolish the infrastructure.
“When Lake Lanier was formed in the 1950s, it washed over Oscarville, turning it into an underwater ghost town,” reads a 2021 OxfordAmerican article.
One explanation for Lake Lanier’s shocking death toll could be its treacherous underwater falls, according to a 2023 Washington Post article
Last year, Lake Lanier made national headlines when Usher’s ex-wife Tameka Foster, 52, collected more than 2,500 signatures on a petition asking officials to drain the lake.
It comes after her 11-year-old son Kile Glover was struck and killed on the lake 12 years ago by Jeffrey Hubbard, a close friend of Kile’s father Ryan Glover, while operating a jet ski in a “reckless” manner without any permission. hands.
Foster said, “Draining, cleaning and restoring Lake Lanier is not only necessary, but an opportunity to honor the memory of those who lost their lives and prevent further tragedies.”
Patrick Cloud, a TikTok influencer, expressed confusion as to why the plan to build a water park was approved in the first place.
“It has a haunted history because it used to be a thriving black community. And they said, what if we flood it and make it a lake instead,” he said in a video, referring to the lake as a mass grave.
‘That’s what they did. And now hundreds of people have died there. And now they say: you know what would be dope here? A water slide!’
He continued, “If you’re planning on coming here, you’re probably insane, completely stupid, or very racist, or all three.”