George Millay, creator of Sea World, opened Wet and Wild, the first established water park, in 1977. The park boasts several water slides and various interactive water rides. Its most popular attraction is The Bomb Bay which sends riders spiraling down a 76-foot gully after they fall through a trap door.
A safari-themed water park nestled on numerous acres in Santa Claus, Indiana, Splashin' Safari combines splash pools, water coasters and a 10-story water slide. Patrons get free unlimited soft drinks and free entrance to The Voyage, an affiliated traditional amusement park located next door.
Denver, Colorado has extremely cold winters, but in the summer Water World keeps locals and tourists entertained with a combination of traditional water rides and various raft excursions. The Bermuda Triangle drops riders into a six-story plunge and spins them around in a giant bowl at the bottom, while the more tame, Ragin' Colorado allows riders to glide on a tube raft through a water maze. Several of Water World's rides employ storylines, props and special effects.
Walt Disney World offers more than just adventure rides and entertainment shows, it also has two water parks. Typhoon Lagoon is the more family-friendly of the two parks and includes rides for the less adventurous rider, such as Teamboat Springs, a 1,200-foot-long raft ride for the family.
While Typhoon Lagoon appeal to laid back tourist and kid-toting families, Blizzard Beach, Walt Disney's second water park, caters to adventure-seeking risk takers. It challenges and thrills visitors with rides like Summit Plummet, a 120-foot-tall water chute that allows riders to descend at speeds of 60 miles per hour.
Located in Williamsburg, Virginia, Water Country is a 1950s-themed water park. It boasts Virginia's largest wading pool, various just-for-kids areas and a daily live show that includes high-divers. Its main attractions are a 1,500-foot river rafting ride and a water racing slide. Because of its combination of modern family-friendly attractions and an electronically monitored ride system that reduces line wait time, CNN Travel rated Water Country as one of the top ten U.S. water parks in 2006.
Kalahari Resort, in Wisconsin is an indoor water park and hotel with an African theme. Wisconsin has several indoor water parks, but Kalahari is the largest of them all at 125,000 square feet. It has a water roller coaster that splashes riders as they zip up and down its hills and is home to the longest indoor river in America which patrons can leisurely travel on in rafts.
California has several water parks including Wild Rivers, a family-oriented water park with family-oriented rides suitable for smaller children, as well as larger adventurous rides for adults, such as Bombay Blasters, which propels riders from a cannon into an eight-foot water tank. The park also passes out special tracking bands for families to wear which helps to locate any family member should they get lost anywhere in the park.
World Waterpark, located inside of the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta is one of Canada's largest water parks. Built in 1985, this indoor water park offers 20 water activities all within five acres. Its rides include Raging Rapids, an enclosed water slide which sends riders descending through water in complete darkness and Tropical Typhoon, a funnel slide that spins its riders in circles before dropping them into a pool.
Resting on 25 acres of land in Cyprus, Greece, Fasouri Watermania is a European attraction for water park enthusiasts. Fasouri offers 33 water attractions including Europe's largest wave pool, a six-lane racing slide and a pool just for adults. Biggest Splash, one of the park's most daring rides, shoots riders out of a cannon tube into a large splash pool.
