Take a cool dip in a water park this summer, and you’ll be part of the hottest entertainment trend in the United States.

The nation’s first water park—Wet ‘n Wild—opened in Orlando, Fla., in 1977. Today there are more than 1,000 parks operating in the United States—everything from the gargantuan indoor Kalahari water parks in Sandusky, Ohio, and Wisconsin Dells, Wis., to the water slides and spray pool in your community, says the World Waterpark Association (WWA). Another 78 indoor hotel water parks are under construction or in the planning stages, and countless more communities are turning their old-fashioned concrete pool into water meccas.

Water Park Trends

Intricate slides

Water parks are so prevalent that it’s no longer enough to build the fastest slide or biggest wave pool. The newest trend is to create intricate slides that are themed and Disney-esque, like that at Schlitterbahn Water Park Resort in New Braunfels, Texas, about 30 miles north of San Antonio.

• Guests of Kalahari Resorts who would like a little more space can consider a Village Suite which includes two bedrooms, a fireplace, full kitchen, living room, dining room and patio.
• Courtesy of Kalahari Resorts

Its new Dragon’s Revenge, opening this summer, sends riders through eight uphill blasts, six creepy caverns and a two-story free fall as they try to escape an angry dragon. The entire ride is filled with special effects—fog machines, a spinning tunnel, theatrical lighting, fiber optics and faux fire.

“There’s a lot of stuff going on in water parks, but it’s mostly off-the-shelf products,” says Tim Baldwin, editorial staff writer for the industry publication, Amusement Today. “This is something that has not been done before.”

Schlitterbahn—named the best water park in the United States by Amusement Today voters for 10 years running and the No. 1 regional park in terms of attendance—also is home to the longest ride: a 30-plus minute float along a lazy river that includes a spill over a waterfall.

Hotel parks

• Blastenhoff Beach is a great place for the entire family to spend time together at Schlitterbahn since it has a regular wave pool, a kiddie pool and the Black Knight Tunnel Slides.
• Wendi Poole

Hotel water parks are the fastest growing commercial side of the indoor water park business, says Aleatha Ezra, director of membership for the WWA. “They are a really good way for either an existing property to build daily business or for a new property to bring people in,” she says.

Even budget chains are getting into the act, with mini water parks, such as the one under construction at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel in Anaheim, near Disneyland, schedule to open later this month.

The undisputed king of indoor parks, however, remains the Wisconsin Dells, where there are no fewer than 17 hotel water parks. (Check out this week’s Travel Deals column for a special offer from Kalahari.) This small resort community 50 miles north of Madison, Wis., is home to the world’s largest outdoor park, Noah’s Ark Water Park and 20 indoor water parks. They range from the giant Kalahari, best for older kids, to smaller indoor pools with tamer slides and features more appropriate for younger children.