The Best Water Park Attractions in the U.S.
The Cliffhanger [1]
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).
Photo Source: Fort Jackson [2]
Cliff Diver [3]
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.
Photo Source: “Picasa User Mooner”:http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LWuZIvA21wHnAWW2DtyZgA
Dolphin Plunge [4]
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.
Photo Source: Russell Meyer, “Theme Park Insider”:http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/200804/680/
Flow Rider [5]
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.
Photo Source: “Tangle”:http://www.tangle.com/view_video.php?viewkey=32e41782063edd82b5d9
Master Blaster [6]
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.
Photo Source: WATERBOYsh [7]
Summit Plummet [8]
Disney World’s Blizzard Beach, Orlando, Florida
Summit Plummet is the world’s fastest and highest free-fall ride.
Photo Source: Paladin27 [9]
The Stingray [10]
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.
Photo Source: Noah’s Ark Water Park [11]
The Tornado [12]
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.
Photo Source: “Wordpress User Goldgirl”:http://goldgirl.wordpress.com/2007/08/page/2/
Voyage to the Center of the Earth [13]
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.
Photo Source: www.sallycorp.com [14]
White Water Family Raft Ride [15]
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.
Photo Source: SmugMug [16]