While the winter season may have many water park go'ers (and even some amusement park junkies) in the moody blues, there are always alternatives to satisfy the needs of many like visiting an indoor water park, going south to a park in Florida where the weather is still roughly 80 degrees outside, or you can be like me and find an alternative from the amusement park industry to keep you busy; like visiting ski resorts.
Hopefully to warm all of you still waiting for the next season to kick in, there had been lots of news out of the entire amusement park and water park industry with new rides and attractions coming out and new ones presented.
The first to mention is something that has finally caught the attention of many people by now and is the plan for Schlitterbahn Kansas City's newest water slide, Verruckt; German for insane. This 4-person inline raft water coaster is confirmed to beat the current height record for the tallest freestanding water slide in the world, Beach Park water park's Insano at 135 feet height. It is not yet confirmed, though, whether it beats the higher drop height of Aquas Quentes Country Club's Kilimanjaro speed slide at 164 feet.
Photograph courtesy of Schlitterbahn Waterparks and Resorts
With more photos and info of the slide still making their way on to the internet as construction on the slide progresses, it has already made a mark as something that should put even the bravest of thrill seekers to shivers (myself included). Official ride website: www.theverruckt.com.
Still on the line with height records, the United States is soon to see another height record-breaker with Deep Water Dive. Planned to open along with the newly renovated Kentucky Kingdom, an amusement park that had been closed for several years after Six Flags previously operated it, this slide is planned to be the tallest free fall body slide in the United States at 121 feet, beating Disney Blizzard Beach's Summit Plummet free fall body slide by one foot! Along with Deep Water Dive, the park has planned to open many other ProSlide model slides including Waikiki Wipeout inner-tube bowl slide, Kilauea topsy-turvy inner-tube slide, two family raft slides and a multi-bump speed slide.
Considering Kentucky Kingdom is my home park, I can personally say that I am very excited for its opening and will try my best to be there on opening day to cover it!
Not too long ago at the 2013 IAAPA show and convention held in Orlando, Florida, WhiteWater West had unveiled a new set of technology for the water park industry with Slideboarding. This type of slide utilizes interactive belly mat, the same kinds used on mat racer slides but with buttons added to it that match those of a Play Station controller. Riders are to descend down the flume through LED lit tunnels and press the correct buttons to score points along the way, and see who wins. There are also alternatives for this system for pre-built slides as well, which is explained in more detail in this video posted by Coaster Crew on YouTube:
Lastly, Water Country USA unveiled their newest slide to join the family of water slides with Colossal Curl, a ProSlide combo family cloverleaf raft slide with a Tantrum funnel and Wave quarter-pipe elements implemented to make it a unique one-of-a-kind slide.
These and many other smaller projects, from possible future water park openings to up and coming water park companies, are what's in store for next year and the upcoming future. Keep on the lookout for next big things coming out from within the water park industry, you never know what might pop up next!
