From
wave pools and lazy rivers to thrill rides and high-tech attractions,
there’s something for everyone in our roundup of top water parks from
coast to coast.
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| Volcano Bay at Universal Orlando |
Orlando’s Theme Park Water Parks
SeaWorld
Aquatica features
Commerson’s dolphin encounters while riders zoom through an underwater
tube and the new Ihu’s Breakaway Falls—Orlando’s tallest, steepest
multi-drop tower. This tropical paradise also has adjacent wave pools
with varying surf heights (the only ones in the U.S.) and a Sunny Day
Guarantee in case rides are closed due to a change in the weather. There
are parks in San Antonio and San Diego too.
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Walt Disney World
The most magical place on earth offers two options for cooling off (separate admission for each). At the center of Blizzard Beach
is Mt. Gushmore, with slalom courses, toboggan runs and the
120-foot-high Summit Plummet, plunging riders at 55 mph from the top of a
“ski jump” tower. Typhoon Lagoon recently debuted the white-water rafting Miss Adventure Falls.
Universal Orlando
The biggest blast of the season is Volcano Bay,
billed as Universal Orlando’s third theme park. The star attraction is
Krakatau Aqua Coaster, which whisks families through a 200-foot-tall
volcano that gushes water by day and fiery “lava” on the nights it’s
open. TapuTapu wearables, one of the coolest innovations, allow visitors
to explore the island while waiting in line virtually.
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| Walt Disney World's Typhoon Lagoon |
Keep Riding the Wave Across the USA
Adventure Island, Tampa, FL
Adventure Island’s thirty acres of water-drenched fun in the sun are
located across the street from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and offer a
rousing combination of high-speed thrills and tranquil surroundings.
adventureisland.com
Cedar Point Shores, Sandusky, OH
One highlight of the redesigned Cedar Point Shores is Point Plummet, a six-story water slide. cedarpoint.com/cpshores.
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| Dollywood's Splash Country |
Dollywood’s Splash Country, Pigeon Forge, TN
Revving up its engines this year is TailSpin Racer, a six-lane
mat-style slide. It joins Splash Country’s other attractions including
RiverRush, the only water coaster in Tennessee, and Fire Tower Falls,
the state’s tallest twin speed slides. dollywood.com/waterpark
H2OBX, Powells Point, NC
Opening in the Outer Banks is the state-of-art H2OBX, with 30
different water slides, wave pools and attractions like the inflatable
obstacle courses of the Deep Six Adventure Lagoon. h2obxwaterpark.com
Raging Waters, San Dimas, CA
Raging Waters sports Southern California’s only water coaster: the 1,000-foot Aqua Rocket and its three lighting-fast drops. ragingwaters.com
Roaring Springs Waterpark, Meridian, ID
The 360-degree looping Corkscrew Cavern and Cliffhanger’s six-story
vertical-drop water slides are among the highlights of Roaring Springs,
near Boise. roaringsprings.com
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| Six Flags White Water |
Six Flags White Water, Austell, GA
Wahoo Racer is one of the tallest mat-racing slides anywhere—60 feet
tall with six side-by-side lanes. But Six Flags White Water’s tallest
slide is Dive Bomber, boasting a 10-story drop. sixflags.com/whitewater
Splash Lagoon Water Park, Bowling Green, KY
Residing within family-owned Beech Bend Park, Splash Lagoon recently
added Cyclone Saucers, the first-ever Flying Saucer water slide in North
America. beechbend.com
Splashin’ Safari, Santa Claus, IN
Holiday World’s Splashin’ Safari has the two longest water coasters
in the world. Guinness certified the 1,763-foot Mammoth as number one
and, at 1,710 feet, the Wildebeest is just a smidge shorter. holidayworld.com
Water Country USA, Williamsburg, VA
Virginia’s largest family water park, Water Country USA, features
state-of-the-art rides and attractions with a retro surf theme. Colossal
Curl is the park’s latest thrill. watercountryusa.com
Wet ’n’ Wild, Las Vegas, NV
The 20-plus-acre Wet ’n’ Wild is no gamble when it comes to drenching
fun: There are more than 25 rides, including the Hoover Half Pipe,
which whooshes riders into a giant half pipe, and the Colorado Cooler, a
super-long lazy river. wetnwildlasvegas.com
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| Water Country USA |
Water, Water Everywhere
Pennsylvania
About 90 miles northwest of NYC, a cluster of water parks surged in the Pocono Mountains. The latest: Kalahari, America’s largest indoor water park. The first in the area was an offshoot of the Great Wolf Lodge chain. Next was an expansion of the local all-season Camelback Resort,
with its two-year-old Aquatopia indoor water park—7 pools and 13 water
slides—on-site winter skiing and tubing, and nearby adventure course and
outdoor water park.
Texas
The Lone Star State is dominated by Schlitterbahn,
with locations in Corpus Christi, Galveston Island, New Braunfels and
South Padre Island (there’s one in Kansas City, KS, too). Galveston
Island’s MASSIV was declared the World’s Tallest Water Coaster by
Guinness World Records, and Padre’s Plunge is a new flume ride in Corpus
Christi.
Wisconsin
The small town of Wisconsin Dells launched the indoor water park
concept in 1989 with the Polynesian Water Park Resort. Nearly 30 years
later the area is flooded with chains and one-offs for watery pursuits,
including the outdoor Noah’s Ark and the indoor-outdoor Wilderness Resort.
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| Great Wolf Lodge |
Leader of the Pack
Great Wolf Lodge is the
alpha predator, with the largest collection of indoor water park resorts
in North America. Stretching from Canada to California, including a new
woodsy-themed property in Colorado Springs (and one opening in
LaGrange, GA, in 2018), Great Wolf Lodge can claim more tipping buckets,
lazy rivers and water slides than any other brand in the country.
Ride du Jour: Slideboarding
Water ride meets gaming technology in this innovative attraction that’s currently in only eight parks across the U.S., including
- Great Wolf Lodge, Pocono Mountains, PA, and Williamsburg, VA
- Wet ‘n’ Wild, Las Vegas, NV
- Wilderness Resort, Wisconsin Dells, WI
- Typhoon Texas, Katy, Texas
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