With so many water parks around the globe one might think that they are a dime a dozen. In reality, some water parks truly stand head and shoulders above the rest. Below is a list of some of the 9 best water parks in the world. These parks have the biggest, fastest, latest, greatest and most high-tech water attractions that exist.
Beach Park – Foraleza, Brazil
Insano water slide
This park in Brazil has consistently been rated the best water park in the country and is often regarded as the best of its kind in all of Latin America. Beach Park is part of a tourist complex that includes a large resort right on the Atlantic Ocean. Nearly 700,000 people come to the park area every year. The key featured ride at the park is the world’s tallest water slide called Insano. Standing at over 134 feet tall, riders plummet down the steep drop and hit speeds of up to 65 mph.
Noah’s Ark – Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, USA
America’s largest water park is located in Wisconsin, of all places. Right in the heart of the tourist haven that is Wisconsin Dells, Noah’s Ark offers some of the best rides on the planet. The park features plenty of rides and play areas for little kids as well as tons of thrills. Some of the most notable rides at the park include the Black Anaconda, a combination of a waterslide and a roller coaster, or “water coaster.” The Time Warp is the world’s largest bowl ride. Finally, perhaps the most intense ride at the park is the Scorpion’s Tail. This ride features a floor that drops out leaving riders in a near vertical free fall only to then send them through a intensely angled loop.
Siam Park – Canary Islands, Spain
Opened in 2008, this Siamese themed place is Europe’s largest water park. Although the park is relatively new, it has quickly gained popularity. Within Siam Park one can find kid’s areas, a wave pool with the highest waves in the world (nearly 10 feet), the world’s longest lazy river and many exciting thrill rides. One of the highlights at the park is The Dragon water slide. Riders travel through tunnels in a raft with up to 4 people and are then dropped into a giant funnel that takes riders side to side as they are pulled through the funnel.
Happy Magic Water Cube – Beijing, China
Originally built as the National Aquatics Center for the 2008 Summer Olympics, this park came into existence after the games were over and the center was converted into a wet and wild fun zone. This indoor water park is said to be Beijing’s second most popular tourist attraction after the Great Wall. This location has a lazy river, kids area, wave pool, speed slides and much more. Happy Magic Water Cube also has a water slide with a similar design to that of Scorpion’s Tail at Noah’s Ark.
Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort – New Braunfels, Texas, USA
Schlitterbahn Waterpark Resort has won Amusement Today’s “Golden Ticket Award” for Best Water Park every year since 1998. In German, Schlitterbahn translates loosely to “slippery road” and indeed there is a lot of slippery fun to be had at this park. This park is known for being ahead of the curve in water ride technology. They were the first park to open an uphill capable water coaster and have been selling the technology to other water parks ever since. The park’s top ride is the water coaster named Master Blaster which has been considered one of the best water rides in the world for many years.
Splashin’ Safari (Holiday World) – Santa Claus, Indiana, USA
This friendly safari-themed water park is part of the Holiday World amusement park in quaint Santa Claus, Indiana. There are attractions for people of all ages ranging from two wave pools, a lazy river, raft slides and body slides. The highlights at this park are two water coasters named Mammoth and Wildebeest which rank as the first and second longest of their kind in the world, respectively. New for 2013 are four in-the-dark water slides that are called Hyena Falls.
Disney World’s Typhoon Lagoon – Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA
This heavily themed Disney water park is set up to look like a lagoon after a massive storm. There are wrecked ships, fishing gear, surfboards and more strewn around the park. This location is also home to the world’s largest outdoor wave pool. There are tons of play areas for younger kids as well as many speed and body slides for those looking for even more excitement. The focal point of the park is a shrimp boat that is stuck on top of a mountain. Every thirty minutes the mountain erupts with a 50 foot stream of water.
Raging Waters – San Dimas, California, USA
Raging Waters in San Dimas is the largest water park on the West Coast and consistently ranks high on the Travel Channel’s list of top water parks. The park has attractions that cater to everyone’s tastes. There are plenty of rides and play areas for children and there are certainly a lot of more intense rides for thrill seekers. One of the most exciting rides is Drop Out, a 7 story tall body slide that has riders reaching speeds of nearly 40 mph.
Yas Waterworld – United Arab Emirates
The newest park on our list, Yas Waterworld opened up in January of 2013 with an astounding 43 attractions. The park labels its rides with four categories of intensity: Young Fun, Moving and Grooving, Exciting Adventure and Adrenaline Rush. One featured ride at the park is Bubble Barrel, which is the world’s largest surf-able wave-making ride. A 1,250 horsepower maching pushes 7,000 liters of water per second out creating a sheet wave upon which guests can surf.