The Best Water Park Attractions in the U.S.

Six Flags White Water, Marietta, Georgia
Leave it to Six Flags to one-up Splish Splash. Like Cliff Diver, the Cliffhanger is a high-rise free-fall, but at nine stories tall, it’s one of the highest water rides in the world and not for the weak of heart (or bladder).

<i> Photo Source: Fort Jackson </i>

Splish Splash Long Island, Calverton, New York
Cliff Diver is one of the rawest, most basic scream-conjuring water attractions in the country; riders drop eight stories in three seconds down a (practically) vertical slide.

<i>Photo Source: Picasa User Mooner</i>

Aquatica, SeaWorld, Orlando, Florida
Dolphin Plunge sends visitors down an enclosed slide which dips through a pool full of dolphins. While the idea is original, most visitors never see see any dolphins because of the high speed.

<i>Photo Source: Russell Meyer, Theme Park Insider</i>

Raging Water, San Dimas, California
Flow Rider mimics a surfing experience when only perfect waves are present. Riders can slice back and forth on individual boards as 36,000 gallons of water flow below them.

<i>Photo Source: Tangle</i>

Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort, New Braunfels, Texas
Riders plunge three stories down, then three stories back up, then into a twisty tunnel that sends them spiraling around Schlitterbahn’s central tower.

<i>Photo Source: WATERBOYsh </i>

Disney World’s Blizzard Beach, Orlando, Florida
Summit Plummet is the world’s fastest and highest free-fall ride.

<i>Photo Source: Paladin27 </i>

Noah’s Ark Water Park, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
The Stingray is an unusual water ride; shaped somewhat like a giant half pipe, this ride allows two people at a time to spin back and forth in its trough.

<i>Photo Source: Noah’s Ark Water Park </i>

Six Flags White Water, Marietta, Georgia
The Tornado, hurls four-person, raft-borne riders into a sixty-foot diameter funnel and finally through a waterfall. The ride cycles 5,000 gallons of water per minute.

<i>Photo Source: Wordpress User Goldgirl</i>

Water World, Denver, Colorado
For a thrill of prehistoric proportions, check out the Voyage to the Center of the Earth. Visitors ride inner tubes through a pitch-black slide representing an untouched cavern, the darkness of which is interrupted only by automated dinosaurs.

<i>Photo Source: www.sallycorp.com </i>

Water Park of America, Bloomington, Minnesota
This ride sums up the true Midwestern experience, combining literal familial closeness (crammed into a raft) with an exciting ride over Minneapolis’ Interstate 494.

<i> Photo Source: SmugMug </i>