Water rides are arguably the most popular amusement rides on hot days.
They’re refreshing while still offering some mild thrills.
But the best water rides are worth experiencing in any weather.
These ones tend to have dark ride elements or better thrill features.
So in this video, I will rank the top 25 best water rides I have personally experienced.
This list will not include any water slides.
I will have a separate countdown for those.
This list will include water roller coasters, log flumes, river rapids rides, and some dark
rides.
The latter qualified for this list if they had an aquatic ride system and also featured
a drop.
25) Daredevil Falls at Dollywood- I love this Hopkins super flume.
The final drop is one of the best of any flume, standing 66 feet or 20 meters tall and featuring
a 60 degree angle.
You get a tiny pop of airtime and I love how its placed on a well-landscaped hill.
The overall aesthetics of this ride are top notch since you have a long tunnel at the
start, a scenic course, and the occasional bit of theming.
24) Excalibur at Movie Park Germany- This Intamin river rapids ride is pretty poor as
a rapids ride since there are barely any rapids or soaking elements.
You just have some mild sprayers.
However, the familiar ride system to create an engaging dark ride.
You have these giant and grand sets.
The scale of them is astounding and those visuals are what make this ride special.
23) Badewannen Jungbrunnen at Erlebnispark Tripsdrill- This Mack log flume has one of
the most bizarre themes of any ride.
Themed to bathing, you ride in bathtubs and pass naked women bathing.
That’s something you’d never see in America.
The ride also has 3 drops, including a sweet backwards one and a giant final one with an
itty bitty pop of airtime. 22) Legend of the Labyrinth at Lagunasia-
Unfortunately, I have no video footage of this log flume.
But it featured an extended indoor bit with dragons, temples, and star tunnels.
Then the ride also had a surprise backwards drop plus a decent outdoor one to round out
the ride.
21) Timber Mountain Log Ride at Knott’s Berry Farm- This Arrow creation takes place
in and around a mountain, so you have all sorts of visuals.
There are animatronics both indoors and outdoors, but the indoor scenes in particular are the
highlight.
There’s a surprise drop that is the ride’s best thrill element and then you have just
an ok final plunge.
20) Vliegende Hollander at Efteling- This hybrid flume and roller coaster has an incredible
atmosphere.
The queue is detailed and the soundtrack is perfect.
The dark ride section is super dark and misty to capture the feel of being lost at sea.
There’s a zippy indoor drop and while the outdoor drops are just ok, they do provide
more thrills than your average flume. 19) Fluch des Pharao at Belantis- This Hafema
creation is a quirkly amalgamation of ride types.
You have rapids like a river rapids ride.
You ride in dingy boats like a water slide that bob and flex with the water.
You have a short dark ride segment inside this giant pyramid.
You have a course reminiscent of a log flume, complete with a thrilling final plunge with
a pop of airtime.
And then you have a spiral whirpool with laterals for good measure.
The ride’s only weakness is the lack of theming on the indoor bit, but the ride system
makes this ride special and I talk about it more in a separate review.
18) Journey to Atlantis at SeaWorld Orlando- This Mack water coaster starts with a wonderfully
themed dark ride bit.
While the story is incoherent, the physical sets and music are beautiful.
Then you have a thrilling 60 foot or 18 meter drop with a pop of airtime.
You then head back indoors for the final drop, which is a twisting coaster plunge.
Just watch out for the front row if you hate water because that seat will drench you on
this evil little dip halfway through the ride.
17) Pirates of the Caribbean at the Disney Parks- This boat ride features at least one
ok drop along the course, but this one is more about the visuals.
You pass these highly detailed and busy sets loaded with pirate animatronics performing
all sorts of hijinks.
It’s impossible to capture all the detail on one ride and this is a classic for a reason.
16) Flintstones Bedrock River Adventure at Warner Bros. World Abu Dhabi- This is basically
Pirates of the Caribbean with the Flintstones.
You have large, detailed sets with animatronics and statues.
And the ride culminates in a decent final plunge and splashdown.
15) Frozen Ever After at Epcot- The refresh of Maelstrom is a lovely dark ride.
The animatronics are stunning.
The way Olaf and the princesses move are stunning.
Frozen has one of the best soundtracks of any film and the music is perfectly translated
to this ride.
And then you have two drops- one backwards and one forwards.
The drops aren’t thrilling but they appropriately move the story along and are paired with great
visuals. 14) Piraten in Batavia at Europa Park- This
is a quote on quote Pirates of the Caribbean ripoff, but I prefer it to the original.
You have an ok small drop at the start, but you then get similarly expansive and detailed
sets, but the effects are more modern and flashy on this one since it was recently rebuilt.
13) Infinity Falls at SeaWorld Orlando- This Intamin river rapids ride is a soaker, but
it’s a ton of fun.
It’s a long ride with tons of powerful rapids.
And then you have the iconic drop at thee end that builds up good speed for a rapids.
Along with the strong course, you have wonderful landscaping and music to accentuate the experience.
12) Zoom Phloom at Morey’s Piers- Somehow Hopkins crammed this super long flume onto
a boardwalk.
The route goes above rides and under the boardwalk, so you get some neat visuals.
And then you have two sizable drops with some nice zip.
11) Splash U.F.O.
at Yomiuriland- This is a funky indoor Hafema rapids ride themed to a noodle factory.
You have some animatronics and screens, but what stands out were the thrills.
You had a perilously steep indoor plunge and a whirlpool.
Both are fast and soaking.
10) Nagashimasuka at Fuji-Q Highland- This is another that I don’t have video footage
of, but it’s another wild Hafema rapids ride.
You have a terrifying steep plunge off the lift, a water slide like section, a double
down, and a whirlpool.
All four of theses elements feel out-of-control and produce massive, soaking splashes.
9) River Quest at Phantasialand- This Hafema rapids ride has barely any rapids.
Instead, this one has three crazy drops.
The first pinballs you down the side of the drop.
The second is a fast whirlpool followed by a sudden plunge that can give airtime.
The third is another super steep plunge.
All three are absolute soakers and the drops feel completely untamed.
8) Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls at Islands of Adventure- Universal’s log flume has
a lot of similarities to Splash Mountain.
You have some smaller indoor drops with good zip.
And you have a little theming sprinkled throughout.
I’m not a big fan of the artistic style of the figures, but they do add to the experience.
The highlight is the incredible final plunge that gives a pop of airtime going down and
even more airtime on the speed hill before the splashdown.
And just know you will come off this ride comically soaked.
7) Rio Bravo at Parque Warner Madrid- This Intamin log flume has some mild western theming
along the outdoor section, but the highlight are the two drops.
The 66 foot or 20 meter tall plunge gives a tiny pop of airtime, but the crazy drop
occurs earlier in the ride.
You have a zippy backwards plunge followed by a shocking bunny hill.
And you get a legitimate pop of ejector airtime, which is downright terrifying since you have
zero restraints.
It took my breath away.
6) Popeye & Bluto’s Bilge-Rat Barges at Islands of Adventure- This may be the wettest
ride in the world.
The route has a devilish mix of giant rapids, drenching waterfalls, and thematic sprayers.
Along with the water elements, you also have some cartoony theming.
And the extended downhill slope after the lift builds up considerable speed and it feels
like you’ll capsize from how wild it is.
5) Valhalla at Blackpool Pleasure Beach- This indoor Intamin flume is a spectacle.
You have these impressive atmospheric and fire effects.
The story is near impossible to follow, but the large visuals are so strong that I don’t
care.
And the ride has two great drops.
The first is tall with a pop of air while the second is a fun double down.
And know you will come off this ride absolutely soaked.
4) Jurassic River Adventure at Universal Parks- I really like both Jurassic World and Jurassic
Park River Adventure and can’t decide which is better.
Jurassic World has an astounding final sequence with the massive indominous rex and T-rex
fighting each other.
But I like the outdoor segment better on the original Jurassic Park ride with the music
and large dinosaur animatronics.
Then both versions feature the large, gut-wrenching plunge in the dark.
It’s one of the best drops on any water ride.
3) Chiapas at Phantasialand- This Intamin log flume is ornately decorated and themed
as you wind your way around and through caves.
And you also have a party-like dark ride section too.
Then this one also has some great drops going both forwards and backwards- with the highlight
being the 66 foot or 20 meter plunge that gives a little pop of airtime.
Then you get positive Gs in the pullout and shoot over a speed hill with some airtime.
2) Log Chute at Nickelodeon Universe- I can’t believe a log flume like this exists in a
mall.
It has all the elements of Knott’s Timber Mountain.
You have a great soundtrack and some huge animatronics plus the odd visuals of the mall.
Then the Hopkins ride system features two very good drops.
I go into more detail in a separate review, but this ride is the complete package.
1) Splash Mountain at the Disney Parks- This is not only the best water ride, but it’s
one of the best rides in the entire world.
The ride has a wonderful story told through a catchy soundtrack and an unbelievable amount
of high quality animatronics.
And then you have several drops.
The smaller ones have a little zip to them and the ride culminates in an exciting final
plunge.
You have that famous visual of plunging into the foggy briar patch and the drop has some
punch.
I like Tokyo and Florida’s best for their ride system, but Disneyland’s is a ton of
fun too- it’s just way more soaking if you ride up front.
I go into more detail on all these versions in a separate review, but I love this ride
so much.
So those are my top 25 favorite water rides in the world.
What is your favorite water ride?
Let me know if you think I missed any rides down in the comments.
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