That original yellow slide was intended to be but one part of a grandiose $400,000 privately run amusement park on the island called Funland, that would have also included mechanical rides like a Ferris wheel, a tilt-a-whirl, and a scale railroad. However, after the slide went up, the rest of the project was initially stalled by a state-wide construction worker strike. Soon after the slide and the wider Funland plan started to attract controversy.  

Some people argued against the commercialization of the island and were completely opposed to the slide and the rest of the proposed amusement park. Others felt that the slide was great, but its 25-cent ticket price left a lot of the city’s children unable to share in the fun and would lead to the haves enjoying Funland and the have-nots relegated to swings and other basic playground equipment. Meanwhile a prospective rival slide operator unsuccessfully tried to get in on action by proposing to open a similar slide at the neighboring Belle Isle Children’s Zoo where they would charge half the price. While the Common Council originally unanimously approved the Funland plan, within a year, they resolved to scale back the amusement park project to just the slide and to cut the price of a ride to 15 cents.