A water slide (also referred to as a flume, water chute, or hydroslide) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at swimming pools or water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to sit directly on the slide, or on a raft or tube designed to be used with the slide.
A typical water slide uses a pump system to pump water to the top which is then allowed to freely flow down its surface. The water reduces friction so sliders travel down the slide very quickly. Water slides run into a swimming pool (often called a plunge pool) or a long run-out chute.
Body slides feature no mat or tube, instead having riders sit or lie directly on the surface of the slide. The simplest resemble wet playground slides.
There are a variety of types of body slides including flumes, speed slides, bowls and AquaLoops; the latter three are explained below.
Some slides are designed to be ridden with a tube which typically seats either 2 or 3 riders inline. Similar to a traditional body slide, these slides include many twists and turns and come in a variety of types including bowls, funnels and half-pipes.
The world's longest water slide was a temporary installation in Waimauku, New Zealand, in February 2013. Constructed with a length of 650 metres (2,130 ft), [1] of which 550 metres (1,800 ft) functioned properly. [2] Its creators claimed the previous record holder had a length of ~350 metres (1,150 ft). [2] The slide is being moved to Action Park in Vernon, New Jersey. [3] [ when? ]
The "Waterslide" at Buena Vista Lodge in Costa Rica is a 400 metres (1,300 ft) long water slide where the rider sits directly on the slide, with an inner-tube around their upper body for safety. [4]
The longest multi-person water-coaster (see below) is the 1,763 foot (537 m) long Mammoth at Holiday World in Santa Claus, Indiana. [5]
The current longest water slide, "The Longest", is a permanent single-passenger tube waterslide located in Penang, Malaysia at the ESCAPE family theme park. Visitors access the attraction via a cable car system and ride down the slide for approximately 4 minutes whilst navigating through 1,111 metres (3,645 ft) of scenic jungle. [6]
The first known existence of a looping water slide was at Action Park in Vernon Township, New Jersey in the mid-1980s, named Cannonball Loop. This slide featured a vertical loop but was repeatedly closed due to safety concerns. [7] [8] [9] In the late 2000s, Austrian manufacturer Aquarena developed the world's first safe looping water slide, known as the AquaLoop. The company engineered a slide with an inclined loop rather than a standard vertical one. [10] The slide is currently licensed and distributed by Canadian water slide manufacturer WhiteWater West . [11] There are nearly 20 AquaLoop installations around the world. [12] The first installation was in Slovenia in 2008. [13] The largest collections are located at Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast and Raging Waters Sydney in Australia, which both house 4 AquaLoops that opened in 2010 and 2013, respectively. Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast was also the first to install more than one AquaLoop at a single location. [14] [15] [16] The AquaLoop uses a trap-door to release riders down a 17-metre (56 ft) near-vertical descent at a speed of up to 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). Riders experience 2.5 Gs in less than 2 seconds. [17] The whole ride is over within 7 seconds. [18]
A bowl is a type of water slide where riders descend a steep drop into a round bowl. Under the effects of centrifugal force, the riders circle the outer area of the bowl before exiting down through the middle, often into a pool underneath but sometimes into an additional slide section. [19] [20] [21] This style of water slide comes in various styles and is manufactured by ProSlide, [22] [23] [24] [25] WhiteWater West [26] [27] and Waterfun Products. [28] The different variations can be ridden on a 4-person cloverleaf tube, [22] 2 person inline tube, [23] [26] single person tube [24] or as a body slide. [25] [27] [28]
Family rafting water slides have the largest capacity of all the different types of tubing water slides averaging between 4 and 6 riders per dispatch. Riders hop in a circular raft and travel down long, twisted 4.5-metre (15 ft) channels to the ground. [29] This type of water slide is manufactured by Australian Waterslides and Leisure, [30] ProSlide, [31] [32] Waterfun Products [33] and WhiteWater West. [34] All of these companies manufacture open-air slides while ProSlide also manufactures an enclosed version. [32]
A funnel water slide requires riders to sit in a 2 or 4 seater round tube. Riders drop from inside a tunnel out into the ride's main element shaped like a funnel on its side. Riders oscillate from one side to the other until they exit through the back of the funnel and into a splash pool. The most common type of funnel is the ProSlide Tornado which is installed at almost 60 locations around the world dating back to 2003. [35] In 2010, WhiteWater West began developing a competing product known as the Abyss, utilizing a raft that holds up to six riders. [36]
Similar to a funnel, a half-pipe features a slide in which riders oscillate back and forth. However, this style of ride doesn't feature any enclosed sections. On a Waterfun Product Sidewinder or Sidewinder Mini, riders oscillate several times before coming to a rest at the base of the slide. Riders then need to walk off the slide returning their tube to the next riders. [37] [38]
A variation of the half-pipe called a boomerang slide typically has a steep enclosed section that exits to a wider upward-rising section that the rider then slides back down the other direction to the end of the slide. [39] [40]
A multi-lane racer is a ride where between 4 and 8 riders dive head-first onto a mat and down a slide with several dips. As an additional component of this ride, some offer an additional enclosed helix at the top of the ride. ProSlide offer ProRacers, [41] Octopus Racers, [42] Kraken Racers [43] and Rally Racers, [44] while WhiteWater West have designed the Mat Racers [45] and Whizzards. [46] In 2016, WhiteWater West introduced the Mat Blaster, which combines the Whizzard model with elements of their MasterBlaster water coaster. [47] Australian Waterslides and Leisure have also manufactured a standard multi-lane racer. [30]
A speed slide is a type of body slide where riders are sent down steep, free-fall plunges to the ground. Almost all water slide manufacturers offer a variation of this type of slide. ProSlide & WhiteWater West both offer a speed slide with a trap door, the same trap door found on the AquaLoop. [30] [48] [49]
A water coaster is a water slide that emulates a roller coaster by providing not only descents, but also ascents. There are three different ways water coasters operate: water jets, [50] conveyor belts, [51] and linear induction motors. [52] High-powered water jets power the first type of water coaster, generically known as “Master Blasters”. Originally manufactured by New Braunfels General Store (NBGS), the rights were sold in December 2006 to WhiteWater West of Canada. [53] The first installations of this type of ride were Dragon Blaster and Family Blaster, installed in 1994, at Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas. The following month, a third Master Blaster opened at Adventure Bay in Houston, Texas. [54] This type of ride features over 70 installations worldwide. [50] The largest collection of Master Blasters is at Wild Wadi Water Park in Dubai, where 9 of the park's 16 water slides utilize this technology, propelling riders to the top of a mountain. [55] In 2021, WhiteWater West opened their tallest Master Blaster, and tallest water coaster in the world, Tsunami Surge at Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Chicago. [56]
The first conveyor belt was installed at Kalahari Resort in Sandusky, Ohio. Known as the Zip Coaster, the ride carries guests quickly uphill and over steep slides using high-speed conveyor belts. [57] The third incarnation of the water coaster utilizes linear induction motors (LIM technology) and specially-designed rafts. [58] The first installation to use LIM technology was Deluge, opening in 2006 at what was (at the time) Splash Kingdom at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. [59]
The longest water coaster utilizing this magnetic system is Mammoth, at Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. [60] This technology has been adapted to other ProSlide products, and is collectively known as the ProSlide HydroMAGNETIC. [61] In 2010, ProSlide announced that they would be combining the family rafting and water coaster technologies to create a Hydromagnetic Mammoth. [62] The first installation of this variation is aptly titled Mammoth, which premiered in 2012 at Splashin' Safari in Indiana. It replaced the park's Wildebeest as the longest water coaster in the world.
A drop-launch capsule is a device that is placed at the start of a body slide. Riders step into a capsule, usually with a clear front. Once the capsule is closed, a hatch opens underneath the riders dropping them into a near-vertical portion of the slide. The feature is known by different names from various manufacturers. ProSlide calls it a SkyBox, WhiteWater West refers to it as an AquaDrop. [63] [64]
A river slide, also commonly referred to as "crazy river", [65] [66] resembles a brook (small stream), and may feature buffer pools throughout the way down. Its mass sliding ability, meaning multiple people can safely slide simultaneously, clears its queue area at a faster rate. [67] [68]
Inflatable water slides are typically made of a thick strong PVC or vinyl and nylon, and are inflated using a blower. The water slide is attached to a water hose in order to generate the supply of water. There are small-sized inflatable water slides for private house uses or larger inflatable water slides for school, picnic, corporate, or carnival style use.
Raging Waters is a chain of two water theme parks in San Dimas, California, and Sydney, Australia. The parks are operated by Palace Entertainment and owned by its parent company Parques Reunidos, but they each contain different attractions. The parks are generally closed during the winter months.
Noah's Ark Family Park Inc. is the largest outdoor water park in the United States. It features 51 water slides and dozens of various attractions. The park is located in the village of Lake Delton, Wisconsin.
Adventure Island is a water park located northeast of Tampa, Florida, across the street from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The park features 30 acres (12 ha) of water rides, dining, and other attractions. The park opened on June 7, 1980, and is part of United Parks & Resorts.
Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast is a water park situated in Oxenford, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, owned and operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks. In 2019, the park received 1,120,000 visitors making it the most visited water park in Australia and the 19th most visited water park in the world. Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast is located adjacent to Warner Bros. Movie World, a movie-related park also owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks. The park remains open all year with some seasonal ride closures and maintenance periods in winter. It is one of several water parks operating under the Wet'n'Wild brand globally.
Adventure World is a theme park in Bibra Lake, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The park opened on 11 November 1982 as "Adventureworld at Bibra Lakes", and is open annually from spring through autumn, for seven months, undergoing a winter closure each year. Adventure World is just a 15-minute drive from Fremantle, and roughly 25 minutes from Perth city centre, located roughly 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the city’s main central business district. Being just 14.16 hectares in size, park management has enacted a self-imposed maximum capacity for daily visitors, varying slightly each season, though usually between 4,000 and 5,000 guests. When capacity is reached, the park’s gates will potentially close for safety and security reasons.
Splish Splash is a 96-acre (390,000 m2) water park located in Calverton, New York. It has 30 rides and is open for visitors from May to September. Travel Channel ranked Splish Splash as the third-best water park in the United States in the year 2009.
Splash Works is a 20-acre (8.1 ha) water park located within the park boundaries of Canada's Wonderland in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Entry is free with park admission. Splash Works is home to "Whitewater Bay", the largest outdoor wave pool in Canada, and is today home to 16 waterslides. Splash Works operates during the summer months of May through September.
WhiteWater World is a seasonal water park situated in the suburb of Coomera on the Gold Coast, Australia. It is owned and operated by Coast Entertainment and is the sister park to Dreamworld.
ProSlide Technology, Inc. is a Canadian designer and manufacturer of water rides and water park resorts. They design and manufacture both traditional slides and innovative rides such as water coasters, funnel-shaped Tornado slides, and Bowl slides. ProSlide has received attention for being the first water slide manufacturer to build a water slide using linear induction motors and for designing the Mammoth watercoaster which was named the world's longest watercoaster by Guinness World Records in 2016. Since 1986, ProSlide has developed and designed water rides for water parks in over 40 countries around the world.
Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort is a large water resort in Lake Delton, Wisconsin. It is one of the largest indoor waterpark complexes in the world with a combined size of 240,000 square feet (22,000 m2). It is part of a chain of two resorts, the newer and smaller one being Wilderness at the Smokies in Tennessee. The chain also includes four small outdoor waterparks.
Siam Park is a water park in Costa Adeje, a coastal suburb in Tenerife, Canary Islands. Siam Park features a Siamese (Thai) theme. The park was opened by the Princess of Thailand Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. The principal owner is Loro Parque, operated by Wolfgang Kiessling and his son Christoph. A second park is planned for the neighbouring island of Gran Canaria.
Calypso Theme Waterpark is a waterpark located in Limoges, Ontario, Canada, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) east of Ottawa. The park opened to the public on June 7, 2010.
Waterworld is a water park located in Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The park attracts 400,000 visitors per year. The park first opened in 1989 and is generally open year-round, but is closed for a few days of the week during term time.
Raging Waters Sydney, formerly Wet'n'Wild Sydney, is a water park in the greater western Sydney suburb of Prospect, New South Wales, Australia, that opened on 12 December 2013. The park was announced on 11 September 2010 and was the third Wet'n'Wild water park operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks, after locations on the Gold Coast and Las Vegas. On 2 July 2018, it was announced that the park had been acquired by Parques Reunidos who renamed the park Raging Waters Sydney for the 2019 season. It is the only attraction outside the United States owned by Palace Entertainment.
An AquaLoop is a type of body water slide where single riders are dropped down a near vertical slide and into an inclined loop. They are usually located in water parks.
WhiteWater is a manufacturing company based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1980 and manufactures a variety of products for water parks including water slides and water play areas. The company also owns FlowRider, which produces a line of surf simulators.
Cowabunga Canyon Waterpark is a water park in Spring Valley, Nevada. The park was part of Village Roadshow Theme Parks' Wet'n'Wild chain of water parks located across the world, until it was purchased by Pyek Group in March 2022. Pyek Group also owns Cowabunga Bay and together these 2 water parks makeup the Cowabunga Vegas brand. The park is located at 7055 S. Fort Apache Road, southwest of the I-215 and Sunset Road interchange.
Aquatica is a chain of water parks owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts. Aquatica parks are operating in Orlando, Florida and San Antonio, Texas.
Ramayana Water Park is a water park in Pattaya, which is a 2-hour drive from Bangkok and 15 kilometers south of Pattaya City. It is one of the biggest water theme parks in Southeast Asia.
Wilderness at the Smokies is a resort located on Wilderness Territories property in Sevierville, Tennessee. It opened in 2008 as part of the new Bridgemont development, which, along with the resort itself, now includes shopping, dining, and conference facilities.