A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

that features water play areas such as

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming and associated activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built abo ...

water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, water chute, or hydroslide) is a type of Playground slide, slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at swimming pools or water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and ...

splash pad A splash pad or spray pool is a recreation area, often in a public park, for water play that has little or no standing water. This is said to eliminate the need for lifeguards or other supervision, as there is little risk of drowning. Typically ...

s, water playgrounds, and

lazy river "(Up A) Lazy River" is a popular tune and song by Hoagy Carmichael and Sidney Arodin, published in 1930. The melody is by Arodin, arranged and with words modified by Carmichael. It is considered a jazz standard and pop standard, and has ...

s, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other barefoot environments. Modern water parks may also be equipped with some type of artificial

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

bodyboarding Bodyboarding is a water sports, water sport in which the surfing, surfer rides a bodyboard on the crest, face, and curl of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore. Bodyboarding is also referred to as ''Boogieboarding'' due to the in ...

environment, such as a

wave pool A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, large waves, similar to those of the ocean. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks, both indoors and outdoors, as well as some leisure centres. History Th ...

or flowrider.

History

Water parks have grown in popularity since their roots of public swimming pools in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

has the largest and most concentrated water park market, with over 1,000 water parks and dozens of new parks opening each year. Major organizations are the

IAAPA The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in ...

(International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions) and WWA (

World Waterpark Association The World Waterpark Association (WWA), which was started in 1982, is an international not-for-profit member-based trade association that serves waterparks, aquatic venues and spray parks. The WWA is focused on providing its 1200 members with the ...

), which is the industry trade association. Water parks which emerge from spas tend to more closely resemble mountain resorts, as they become year-round destinations. For example, Splash Universe Water Park Resort is themed to match the community in which it is located. The theme is intended to enhance the community's destination appeal. Therefore, the amusement and leisure-time industry is becoming more concentrated, as winter sports are becoming common themes in summertime water recreation. A process of concentration can be observed in the hybrid versions of theme-, amusement-, and water parks. Some water parks are more spa-oriented. For example,

SchwabenQuellen Schwaben Quellen (in English, "Swabian Springs") is a large spa/ waterpark complex located in Stuttgart, Germany. The Schwaben Quellen is associated with the SI-Centrum (Stuttgart International Centrum), an entertainment complex in Stuttgart. I ...

has no water slides; it has instead many

sauna A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...

steam room A steam bath is a steam-filled room or steam-filled cabinet designed for the purpose of relaxation and holistic treatment. Steam baths have been formally recognized since ancient Greek and Roman Empire, Roman times, yet variations can be found t ...

s, "adventure showers", and relaxation-oriented water play areas. In the 2000s, an effort was made to reduce long waiting lines by introducing

conveyor belts A conveyor belt is the carrying medium of a belt conveyor system (often shortened to a belt conveyor). A belt conveyor system consists of two or more pulleys (sometimes referred to as drums), with a closed loop of carrying medium—the conveyor b ...

to lift passengers or use water jets. An unusual feature at a water park is

ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...

Deep River Water Park Deep River Waterpark is a seasonal summer outdoor water park that operates from Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day, and winter ice skating rink operated by the Lake County Parks and Recreation Department in Crown Point, Indiana. Deep River Wa ...

in northwestern

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

features ice skating, made possible by cooling pipes installed under their massive plaza.

Indoor water parks

Some of the first indoor water parks are at

Duinrell Duinrell is an amusement park situated in the town of Wassenaar, Netherlands on the estate of the counts Van Zuylen van Nijevelt Van Zuylen van Nijevelt () is a noble family from the region of Rotterdam, town and region where several members ...

(The Netherlands, 1984), Nautiland located at

Haguenau Haguenau (; or ; ; historical ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bas-Rhin Département in France, department of France, of which it is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture. It is second in size in the Bas-Rhin only to Strasbourg ...

(France, 1984), the Aqua Mundo at Center Parc De Eemhof located at

Zeewolde Zeewolde () is a Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality and a town in the Flevoland province in the central Netherlands. It has a population of approximately 24,000 (2024). It is situated in the polder of Flevoland with the small lake ca ...

(The Netherlands, 1980) and (Switzerland, 1977). In 1986 World Waterpark was open in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, Alberta, Canada at the

West Edmonton Mall West Edmonton Mall (WEM) is a large shopping mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that is owned, managed, and operated by Triple Five Group. It is the second most visited mall in Canada, after the Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, followed by Met ...

. It is in 2016 the largest indoor water park in North America.

Tropical Islands Resort Tropical Islands Resort is a tropical-themed indoor water park located in the former Brand-Briesen Airfield in Halbe, a municipality in the district of Dahme-Spreewald in Brandenburg, Germany, from the southern boundary of Berlin. It is th ...

(

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

), with an area of , is in 2016 the largest indoor water park in the world. With five indoor water parks,

Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin Wisconsin Dells is a city in Columbia, Sauk, Adams and Juneau counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The city takes its name from the Dells of the Wisconsin River, a scenic gorge that features sandstone formations along the banks of the W ...

has been dubbed the "Water Park Capital of the World". It showcases several of America's largest indoor and outdoor water parks, such as

Noah's Ark Water Park 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. History In 1979, the Waterman fam ...

. Wisconsin Dells is also home to the first indoor water park in the United States, which was debuted in 1994 by the Polynesian Resort Hotel. Success in extending the tourist season and turning water park resorts into vacation destinations has resulted in tremendous industry growth. Usually, resort hotels featuring massive indoor water parks have been reserved for overnight guests. Companies like

Great Wolf Resorts Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (formerly known as Great Wolf Lodge) is a chain of resort hotels and indoor water parks. The company owns and operates its family resorts under the Great Wolf Lodge brand. In addition to a water park, each resort featur ...

/Great Wolf Lodge and

Kalahari Resort Kalahari Resorts and Conventions is a water park resort chain with four locations, in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas. Named for the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa, occupying eastern Namibia, western Botswana and northwestern South ...

s have branched out from their origin in Wisconsin Dells to open new locations around the country. Mt. Olympus Theme and Water Park (formerly Family Land) is another huge water park in the Dells. The largest indoor water park in the UK is Sandcastle Water Park in

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

, England, which opened in 1986. There are many water parks in southern Europe where the climate suits a long season. For example, in

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Algarve The Algarve (, , ) is the southernmost NUTS statistical regions of Portugal, NUTS II region of continental Portugal. It has an area of with 467,495 permanent inhabitants and incorporates 16 municipalities (concelho, ''concelhos'' or ''município ...

, there are three main parks: Aqualand, Aquashow, and Slide and Splash.

Water play areas

Water play areas are similar to water parks and include

urban beach An urban beach (also city beach and sometimes beach club) is an artificially-created environment in an urban setting which simulates a public beachfront, through the use of sand, beach umbrellas, and seating elements. There are many variation ...

es,

s, and smaller collections of

s in many hotels and public

s. For example, the

Chelsea Hotel The Hotel Chelsea (also known as the Chelsea Hotel and the Chelsea) is a hotel at 222 West 23rd Street (Manhattan), 23rd Street in the Chelsea, Manhattan, Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. Built between 1883 and 1884, the hot ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

features a four-story water slide called the Corkscrew.

Safety

According to estimates from the

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (USCPSC, CPSC, or commission) is an independent agency of the United States government. The CPSC seeks to promote the safety of consumer products by addressing "unreasonable risks" of injury ...

, more than 4,200 people annually are sent to emergency rooms from suffering injuries on public waterslides. In July 2015, one drowning and at least three near-drownings were reported at water parks in the United States. On August 7, 2016, Caleb Schwab, the 10-year-old son of American politician

Scott Schwab Scott Joseph Schwab (born July 9, 1972) is an American politician serving as the 32nd Secretary of State of Kansas. He served as a member of the Kansas House of Representatives, representing the 49th district, from 2009 to 2019. He also served a ...

, was

decapitated Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common ...

on the

Verrückt Verrückt ( German meaning "crazy" or "insane", ) was a custom water coaster water slide located at the Schlitterbahn Kansas City water park in Kansas City, Kansas, United States. At the height of , Verrückt became the world's tallest wate ...

water ride at the

Schlitterbahn Schlitterbahn is an American brand of water parks and resorts owned by Six Flags, Six Flags Entertainment Corporation. It was previously a company family owned and operated by the Henry family that was based in New Braunfels, Texas. Schlitterbah ...

water park in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, Kansas. Following the fatal incident, Verrückt permanently closed.

Gallery

File:Wrocławski Park Wodny - Baseny Rekreacyjne 2.jpg,

Aquapark Wrocław Aquapark Wrocław is a Water park in Huby, Wrocław, in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship of Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Car ...

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

, Poland File:Meymadion.jpg, Meymadion in near

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

, Israel File:Espoo, Finland - panoramio - Андрей Бобровский.jpg,

Serena Waterpark Serena Waterpark () is a water park located along to the Vihdintie road in the Lahnus district of Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximate ...

Lahnus Lahnus is a district in the city of Espoo and administratively belongs to the Northern Espoo area. It is located near the municipality of Nurmijärvi and its largest village, Klaukkala. The most famous places in Lahnus are the Serena Waterpark ...

Espoo Espoo (, ; ) is a city in Finland. It is located to the west of the capital, Helsinki, in southern Uusimaa. The population is approximately . It is the most populous Municipalities of Finland, municipality in Finland. Espoo is part of the Helsi ...

, Finland File:Swimming-pool.jpg, A water park with a wave pool File:Sunway Lagoon2013 1.jpg, Aerial view of the Sunway Lagoon in

Bandar Sunway Sunway City ( Malay: ''Bandar Sunway'', Chinese: ) is an 800-acre integrated township in Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. This township is named after its developer, Sunway Group, which had also got its name from Sungai Way, a suburb in Selan ...

, Malaysia File:Kuwait - Aqua Park.jpg, Aqua Park, water-theme park in

Kuwait City Kuwait City (; ) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economic center of the emirate, containing Kuwait's Seif Pal ...

, Kuwait File:Fasouri Watermania Water Park Limassol.jpg, Fasouri Watermania Water Park in

Limassol Limassol, also known as Lemesos, is a city on the southern coast of Cyprus and capital of the Limassol district. Limassol is the second-largest urban area in Cyprus after Nicosia, with an urban population of 195,139 and a district population o ...

, Cyprus File:Hershey Park - The Boardwalk.JPG,

Hersheypark Hersheypark (known as Hershey Park until 1970) is a family theme park in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about east of Harrisburg, and west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the ...

's boardwalk File:Cedar Point splash area.jpg, A splash area at

Cedar Point Cedar Point is a amusement park located on a Lake Erie peninsula in Sandusky, Ohio, United States, owned and operated by Six Flags. It opened in 1870 and is considered the second-oldest operating amusement park in the US behind Lake Compounc ...

File:Super Tubes Hydrocoaster and The Green Room at WhiteWater World.jpg,

WhiteWater World WhiteWater World is a seasonal water park situated in the suburb of Coomera, Queensland, Coomera on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast, Australia. It is owned and operated by Coast Entertainment and is the sister park to Dreamworld (Austral ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia File:Innenansicht im Tropical Islands.jpg,

in Krausnick, Germany File:The World Waterpark - Edmonton.jpg, alt=World Waterpark in Edmonton, Alberta, North America's largest indoor water park, World Waterpark in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

, North America's second largest indoor water park File:Breakwater Beach.jpg, Breakwater Beach water park in

Seaside Heights, New Jersey Seaside Heights is a borough situated on the Jersey Shore, within Ocean County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 2,440, a decrease of 447 (−15.5%) from the 2010 census count ...

File:Dinosauria water slides.jpg, Dinosauria Water Slides at

Visulahti Visulahti () is a dinosaur themed amusement park and tourist center opened in 1980 in Mikkeli, Finland, along the Lake Saimaa and the Kuopio Highway. It is similar to Tervakoski's Puuhamaa as there are no traditional amusement park equipment. It ...

Mikkeli Mikkeli (; ; ; ) is a List of cities and towns in Finland, city in, and the regional capital of, South Savo, Finland, located in the Finnish Lakeland. The population is approximately , while the Mikkeli sub-region of Southern Savonia has a populat ...

, Finland File:Raging Waters Wildwood.jpg, Raging Waters water park at

Morey's Piers Morey's Piers & Beachfront Waterparks is a seaside amusement park located on The Wildwoods' boardwalk in Wildwood and North Wildwood, New Jersey. The park has been family owned and operated since 1969 and was run by second generation Morey Br ...

Wildwood, New Jersey Wildwood is a city in Cape May County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The city, and all of Cape May County, is part of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, and is part of the Philadelphia- Wilmington- Camden, PA-NJ- DE- MD combined ...

(taken from the Ferris wheel) File:Waterpark - panoramio (1).jpg, A small waterpark File:Cultus Lake Waterpark panorama.jpg, A panoramic view of

Cultus Lake Waterpark Cultus Lake Waterpark is one of the three amusement parks operated by Destination Cultus in Cultus Lake, British Columbia, with the others being Cultus Lake Adventure Park and Splashdown Vernon. It claims to be the largest water park in the pro ...

Cultus Lake, British Columbia Cultus Lake is a lake, associated community and provincial park in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. It is the source of the Sweltzer River. Cultus Lake is located south of the Chilliwack River, near the city of Chilliwack ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

File:Fun Mountain Waterpark, Winnipeg (390386) (9441812903).jpg, Fun Mountain Waterpark,

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

History

Indoor water parks

Water play areas

Safety

Gallery

See also

References

Further reading