Water slides come in many different shapes and sizes.
You have tube slides.
You have body slides.
You have speed slides.
You have family raft slides.
And you have water coasters, just to name a few.
I previously ranked my top 25 favorite water rides at amusement parks.
Today I am going to rank my top 25 favorite water slides that I have personally ridden.
Before starting this list, I want to note that my favorite type of water slide by far
is a water coaster.
So spoiler alert, this list will be dominated by those types of rides at the top.
These slides over more thrills and a longer experience than other water slides in my opinion.
25) Shark Attack at Atlantis Aquaventure in Dubai- This attraction starts as an above
average tube slide.
It’s in total darkness and there are two solid drops.
You finish in a lazy river and this is why this attraction makes the list.
You slowly float through a massive, crystal clear shark tunnel.
It’s one of the most impressive visuals of any ride.
24) Body Bowl Slides- These slides always feature a fast plunge at the start and then
you rocket around the bowl.
It’s always a mystery how many spins you’ll get and how you’ll fall into the water.
For me, I usually am flushed out awkwardly which makes it all the more fun.
The one downside with these slides is that you can sometimes feel the joints on the older
ones and then the one at the DreamWorks Water Park has a nasty jolt into the bowl the others
don’t feature.
23) Tsunami Surge at Hurricane Habor Chicago- If you remember my review for this slide,
I mention it was an average water coaster.
That still makes it a very good water slide.
This is the tallest water coaster out there.
The ride has some sizable drops, including a fun triple down at the end, but only 3 give
little pops of airtime and the ride has an extreme lack of speed outside of the drops.
22) Stealth at Aquaboggan- This halfpipe slide is special for me because of how it’s run.
The operators allow single tubes to ride backwards, which makes the initial plunge incredible.
You build up a little speed on the runway and then fling down the steep drop, getting
a freefalling sensation.
The rest of the ride is pretty mellow by comparison.
21) Flood River Flyer at Wild Wadi- This water coaster is very long- clocking in near 4 minutes.
The single tubes spin on several uphill segments.
This one isn’t very intense, but the ride is a long, scenic journey and it culminates
in a decent tube slide at the end.
20) Turbo Twisters at Myrtle Waves- This giant 10 story trio of body slides have the most
positive Gs I’ve ever experienced on a water slide.
It’s shocking to get forces like that on a water slide.
The entire slide is super fast and in total darkness too.
19) Thrillagascar and Jungle Jammer at DreamWorks Water Park- These are the tallest water slides
in North America.
Standing 142 feet or 43 meters tall, they extend into a special section of the roof
and you drop like a rock.
There no longer is a countdown, so the moment when the trapdoor opens is extremely shocking.
The start of the super steep drop gives a brief weightlessness sensation and then you
get nice visuals on the way down as you plunge through the airplane cockpit.
Very similar slides with slightly worse visuals also include Ko’okiri Body Plunge at Volcano
Bay and Deep Water Dive at Kentucky Kingdom’s Hurricane Bay.
18) Leap of Faith at Atlantis Aquaventure in Dubai- This iconic body slide is built
on the side of a temple.
You will feel yourself momentarily lift off the slide when you push yourself over the
edge and then plunge down a 90 foot or 27.5 meter plunge.
The runoff features a fast shot through a shark tank and then you end in a relatively
rare splashdown pool for a ride like this, so it catches you off-guard.
17) Summit Plummet at Blizzard Beach- This speed slide is a taller version of Leap of
Faith.
The ride looks amazing with the fake ski jump on the snow-covered mountain.
The drop is an absolute rush between its height and speed.
And you will feel yourself lift off the start of the descent as well.
16) Twin Twisters at Laguna Splash (DelGrosso’s)- This mat racing slide starts slow with some
small dips and turns, but the ride culminates in a large and fast double down.
You can get some great airtime for a water slide and it feels completely out-of-control.
15) Sidewinders at Ocean Oasis (Morey’s Piers)- This slide is very similar to Twin
Twisters, except the double down at the end is steeper and faster.
I got sustained airtime on this water slide.
It was pretty freaky going airborne like this on a slide.
14) WhiteWater West AquaLoop- These trap door slides have a great initial rush as the floor
falls out and you get a freefall sensation on the super steep drop.
You then coast up a large overbank.
You slow down at the top, but you then build up a fast burst of speed for the final descent.
Some of the older ones are a little uncomfortable on your back, but the newer ones are very
smooth.
13) ProSlide SuperLoop- These are a little better than the AquaLoops.
The initial drop is similarly steep and thrilling.
After the freefall, you whip around a fast and low turn.
These turns have superior speed and forces.
And I find they tend to be smoother as a whole than the White Water West ones.
12) Banzai Pipeline at Whale’s Tale- This halfpipe slide has very good airtime for a
tube slide.
The initial drop gives a pop of airtime.
You then traverse the freaky wall.
You get some weightlessness and there’s no edge barrier, so it feels like you’ll
fly off the edge.
You then navigate a speed hill, getting a surprise pop of airtime.
11) White Water Wadi at Wild Wadi- This is Flood River Flyer on steroids.
This slide is nearly 10 minutes- yes 10 minutes- long.
The single tubes again spin on the water powered ascents.
And there are some rapid transitions on the windy course.
You won’t get any airtime though.
The slide sections are broken up by a series of splash pools and the finale is another
tube slide.
10) Crush ‘n’ Gusher at Typhoon Lagoon- This is a shorter water coaster and I haven’t
ridden it in 14 years, but I remember it giving good pops of airtime on the drops.
And you have 3 different sides to choose from.
9) Deluge at Hurricane Bay (Kentucky Kingdom)- This ProSlide water coaster has suffered a
ton of downtime in recent years, but my rides in 2016 were great.
The drops delivered good airtime and the magnetic uphill sections kept the pace up better than
the aforementioned water coasters on this list.
8) Storm at Atlantis Aquaventure in Dubai- This is a weird water coaster.
Most are formulaic, consisting of drop, uphill, turn, repeat.
But Storm begins with 4 consecutive drops and water propelled ascents.
The sequence is chaotic as the single tubes spin like a top and you also get little pops
of airtime.
You then splash down atop the Tower of Neptune slide tower, float through a lazy river, and
head down an ok tube slide to return to the ground.
7) RiverRush at Dollywood’s Splash Country- This is a shorter but powerful water coaster
also from ProSlide.
The hydromagnetic uphill segments and turns are fine, but it’s the drops that standout.
Three of the four drops really pop you out of your seat.
6) Wildebeest at Splashin’ Safari (Holiday World)- This is yet another magnetic ProSlide
water coaster.
The two shed drops will have you completely levitating out of your seat and then the long
layout has a few other drops with quick pops of airtime in the back and the front gets
quick pops on the ascents.
I talk about this one more as well in a separate review.
5) Falcons Falaj at Yas Waterworld- Satisfying the weight requirement for this ProSlide creation
is tricky, but the slide has a cool layout around the mountain.
There are 3 excellent drops with nice airtime.
And then you get smaller pops on two ascents.
And the spinning rafts add a new dynamic you rarely get on a water coaster.
4) Mammoth at Splashin’ Safari (Holiday World)- Also featuring the spinning rafts
from ProSlide, Mammoth is a riot.
The sustained airtime on the two descents that immediately follow the ascents is great.
Then you get some smaller pops coming off a few of the turns.
And then you also get comically doused with water on a few of the turns and I talk about
it more in a separate review.
3) Toothless’ Trickling Torpedo at DreamWorks Water Park- This ProSlide creation has a unique
layout, as it is built around the perimeter of the water park.
The hydromagnetic uphill sections allow this one to hold its speed well and there are countless
hills.
The two drops at the end are the best.
The big one gives a good pop of air and the final one gives a little more sustained airtime.
Then the smaller dips at the start give a few pops as well, but others do not.
I have a separate review on this slide going into more detail.
2) Black Anaconda at Noah’s Ark- This water coaster shot up my list bigtime in 2021.
The conveyor belt uphill propulsion isn’t my favorite, but the is a long water coaster.
And every single drop gives some sort of airtime.
Most give small pops, but the second and third drops give really good pops.
1) Krakatau Aqua Coaster at Volcano Bay- These ProSlide water coasters usually feature 2-3
really strong drops mixed among weaker ones.
Krakatau has 7 drops, 6 of which are great.
Drops 4-7 continuously increase in power before you get some shockingly sustained airtime
for a water slide on that final drop.
Krakatau also mixes in some nice visuals as you travel through the volcano and dip under
supports.
I have a separate review going into more detail, but this is the king of water slides is miles
ahead of the others.
So those are the top 25 water slides I have ever ridden.
What are your thoughts on this list or any of the slides I mentioned?
Let me know if you think I missed any in the comments.
It’s possible I just hadn’t ridden them yet since this list only includes ones I have
been on.
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