One of the biggest water parks in America is conveniently located next to the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, so tourists can pop into a pool after they have shopped until they dropped. Water Park of America (waterparkofamerica.com) is 70,000 square feet, and it is available for group reservations and birthday parties. Among the highlights at this humongous indoor water park is a 10-story tall tower water slide. This ride allows raft riders to descend down curves so loopy that the riders will actually make a loop outside of the building. A surf simulator delivers waves up to 30 miles per hour.
An African themed indoor water park, Kalahari Resort (kalahariresorts.com) in Sandusky, Ohio, is home to the largest water park in the U.S. under a single roof. This park is not for the faint of heart. Many of the water rides double as thrill rides, including the Zip Coaster. This water coaster takes its riders on a 30-second blur through its confines before launching them through free-fall drops, splitting turns and monstrous tunnels. Kalahari Resorts also have locations in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, and Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Fredericksburg location is part of a $260 million Celebrate Virginia tourism project, and plans for a grand opening for the indoor water resort are being scheduled for March 2012.
For more than 30 years, Noah's Ark Waterpark (noahsarkwaterpark.com) has been offering many thrilling water slides and coaster rides. The outdoor water park has built a reputation as one that likes to break records, and it holds more than one under its belt. Located in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, Noah's Ark is home to the nation's longest water coaster, Black Anaconda, and the world's largest bowl ride, Time Warp. The Scorpion's Tail attraction has been hailed as America's first near-vertical looping water slide. Other attractions include the Tadpole Bay Kiddie Kingdom Water Playground for the younger swimmers and a 4-D Dive-in Theater.
The Schlitterbahn Waterpark (schlitterbahn.com) in New Braunfels, Texas, is 65 acres of water park fun with attractions both indoors and outdoors. From body slides and lazy rivers to tube chutes and raft rides, pool enthusiasts are sure to find something wet and slippery to occupy their time. The park invented the uphill water coaster, named the Master Blaster, which is six stories tall and more than 1,000 feet long. Other attractions include the Lagoon Hot Tub, Tadpool Kiddie Pool, Boogie Bahn surfing ride and the wave pool at Blastenhoff Beach. Though the park is outdoors, the season at Schlitterbahn does not end with summer. During the winter, the park is morphed into a winter wonderland with a million twinkling lights, ice skating and other cooler weather forms of entertainment. Schlitterbahn also has resorts in Galveston Island and South Padre Island in Texas and in Kansas City, Kansas.
