Best Water Parks in the USA | Top 10 Places with Water Slides
Image by Max Romulus from Pixabay
When temperatures soar, there’s no better place to cool off than a water amusement park. And not surprisingly, the USA is home to thousands of exciting water theme parks and resorts across its 50 states.
Today’s water adventure parks have a wide range of thrill-seeking attractions for all ages. These range from water slides that reach towering heights to artificial waves and relaxing lazy rivers.
With so many water parks to choose from, we thought we’d make it easier for you to decide where you’ll cool off on a hot day. So we’ve narrowed down the ten best waterparks in the USA and listed them here.
Top Ten Water Parks in the US
Stay cool on a hot day at these thrill-seeking indoor and outdoor water parks.
Image by Michelle Raponi from Pixabay
1. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park
Location: Buena Vista Drive, Orlando Florida.
This water park was opened in 1989 and is one of two water parks in Walt Disney World Resort. It is themed around a typhoon that wreaked havoc on what is believed to have been a tropical paradise.
This park has a wide variety of attractions including fast-paced water slides, a lazy river, and a 109,000-square-foot surfing lagoon. Visitors can also snorkel in the Shark Reef with real sharks!
This is considered one of the best water parks on the East Coast – and arguably the best water park in the USA, receiving over 2 million visitors a year.
2. Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park
Location: Orlando, Florida
This park is the sister park of Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park. This water amusement park is themed around a snowy, abandoned ski resort and centered around Mount Gushmore.
The water park has a range of attractions for the whole family including the Summit Plummet water slide, which drops riders 350 ft, a toddlers play area, and a whitewater raft ride.
3. Noah’s Ark
Image by Zsolt Oravecz from Pixabay
Location: Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
This park currently holds the title of “America’s Largest Waterpark” and is located in the Waterpark Capital of the World – Wisconsin Dells. It is ranked in the:
- Top Ten Water Parks in the US
- Top 25 Water Parks in the World
- and has also won the Travelers Choice Award twice
It has over 50 attractions including a Flash Flood flume ride and a 4D dive-in theater.
4. Aquatica, Orlando
Image by HarryTS from Unsplash
Location: Orlando, Florida
Aquatica is a South Pacific water amusement park, owned by SeaWorld. Boasting a size of 59 acres, it is one of the biggest water parks in the US. And thanks to its size and space, there are many ways for visitors to cool off while still having fun.
While whipping through the park on a water slide, be sure to notice the animal habitats that shelter a range of marine mammals. The park’s signature attraction is the two tube water slides that pass through a pool that contains a pod of dolphins.
Aquatica is also the first water park in the world that has been certified as an Autism Center to help children with Autism. Visitors can also reserve a private cabana between the wave pools for the day if they wish.
5. Dollywood’s Splash Country Water Park: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
Location: Pigeon Forge, Tennessee
This water park sits adjacent to the popular Dollywood theme park. It has been awarded the “Friendliest Theme Park” title across the theme park industry and has been named one of the USA’s best water parks by the Travel Channel.
The park is situated at the foot of the Great Smoky Mountains and hosts a variety of attractions from the water tower and falls. Including an 8 000 square-foot leisure pool, 25,000-square-foot wave pool, lazy river, and the RiverRush, the only water coaster in Tennessee.
6. Legoland Water Park
Location: Carlsbad, California
This park is located just 30 minutes north of San Diego and 1 hour south of Anaheim.
Lego lovers will go nuts in this lego themed water amusement park. This park allows children to customize their own rafts for the lazy river by using soft Lego bricks.
The park has over 60 rides, shows, and interactive activities for all ages. Why not stay over at the Legoland Hotel and make it an overnight vacation?
7. Darien Lake Splashtown
Location: Darien Center, New York
This 10-acre water park is located 45 miles southeast of Niagara Falls. It is part of the Darien Lake amusement park which offers seven water slides. Including the 70-foot Brain Drain and the 700-foot-long Big Kahuna.
Families can also enjoy the heated lazy river pirate-themed water playground, and 600 000 gallon wave pool. The complex also has various accommodation options including a hotel, campsite, and cabins.
8. Kalahari Indoor Water Park
Location: Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin
This 125,000-square-foot water park is the biggest indoor water park in Wisconsin. The African-themed water park is one of three major Kalahari Resorts water parks and also features an outdoor water park.
Some of the attractions include an indoor and outdoor spa, indoor private whirlpool cabana, indoor waterpark cabana, indoor sundeck cabana, lazy river, swim-up bar, and thrill-seeking water slides.
9. Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park Resort
Location: Erie, Pennsylvania
One of the best water parks on the east coast, Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park offers weatherproof fun all year round. And it is just a short drive from Buffalo, Pittsburgh, and Cleveland.
It has the largest indoor wave pool on the East Coast, seven water slides, a lazy river, a treehouse, family whirlpools, and a massive arcade. Families can stay over at one of the resort’s three connected hotels and dine at the Laguna Grill in the resort.
10. Aquatica San Antonio
Image by Manuel Selbach form Pixabay
Location : San Antonio, Texas.
Aquatica San Antonio is the sister park of Aquatica, Orlando, and is situated next to Seaworld in the heart of Texas.
This water amusement park draws inspiration from white sand beaches and features a wide variety of attractions, such as a wave pool, animal encounters, and the biggest drop slide in Texas, The Ihu’s Breakaway Falls.
Final thoughts on Best Water Parks in the USA
Whether you’re looking to relax on a lazy river, lounge in a cabana, or get your adrenaline pumping with thrill-seeking water rides, these water parks have got something for everyone.
So be sure to stay cool on a hot summer’s day in the best indoor and outdoor water parks in the USA!
Last updated on October 13th, 2023 at 03:07 pm
