Trip Ideas Attractions The 26 Most Extreme Waterslides Around the World From body slides in Brazil to a Mayan temple in the Bahamas, consider this your summer to-do list. By Cailey Rizzo Cailey Rizzo Instagram Twitter Website Cailey Rizzo is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. She specializes in reporting on travel, culture, and the arts. She is currently based in Brooklyn. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines Updated on April 29, 2023 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Joris Croese / Alamy Stock Photo Nothing screams summer quite like screaming down a rushing water slide. Thrill seekers flock to water parks for a refreshing splash and an adrenaline rush, and slides keep getting bigger and better to accommodate. No matter what kind of ride you’re looking for (be it body slides, speed slides, drop slides, or raft slides) you'll find steep drops and elaborate setups at parks all over the world. Brazil has the tallest body slide in existence (where you’ll plummet down a near vertical drop over 160 feet) and in Canada there’s a looping double helix that sends you through with 2 Gs of force. Some slides couple charm with speed and fun themes like the iconic Mayan temple slide at Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas or a slide shooting out of an old Boeing 747 in Oregon. Whether it’s a watercube in Beijing or a human cannonball apparatus in Austria, here are some of the wildest, most extreme waterslides around the world. 13 Best Indoor Water Parks in the U.S. 01 of 26 Summit Plummet — Blizzard Beach at Disney World, Florida Courtesy of Disney World The most magical place on earth has some pretty terrifying thrills. The 120-foot, near-vertical drop on Summit Plummet puts gravity to the test. Riders slide down 12 stories (while a clock records their top speeds), fly through a darkened tunnel, and then splash into whitewater at the end of their 360-foot-long ride. 02 of 26 Leap of Faith — Atlantis Paradise Island, Bahamas Carrie Garcia / Alamy Stock Photo This iconic slide at Atlantis Paradise Island sends riders down a thrilling 60-foot, near-vertical drop. But the best part is the clear acrylic tunnel where riders shoot through a lagoon filled with live sharks. 03 of 26 Boeing 747 — Evergreen Wings and Waves Waterpark, Oregon Getty Images This Oregon waterpark (linked with the Oregon Aviation Museum) has a real Boeing 747 with four waterslides coming out of it. Guests can choose their own adventure out of the aircraft, including the Sonic Boom slide which gives riders the feeling that they’re shooting through the cockpit of a plane. 04 of 26 Bullet Bowl — Watercube, China Getty Images Waste not, want not. After the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China decided to reuse and recycle its “watercube” aquatic structure, and today the space is home to Asia’s largest waterpark. But the star attraction of the location is the Bullet Bowl, which whips riders around a whirlpool before sending them down a dark, steep drop. 05 of 26 Insano — Fortaleza, Brazil Fortaleza via Facebook Sometimes you just have to hear the name to know what you're in for. The Insano at Fortaleza starts 14 stories high and sends riders down an extreme freefall. For those who can handle the plummet, top speeds on the ride are about 65 miles per hour. 06 of 26 Scorpion’s Tail — Noah’s Ark, Wisconsin Courtesy of Noah's Ark Take a looping roller coaster and just add water for a taste of this terrifying ride. Riders drop 55 feet from a trap door to pick up enough speed (about 30 miles per hour) to go completely upside down and through a loop. Vertigo is more fun when wet. 07 of 26 Cannonball — Area 47, Austria Area 47 via Facebook For those who still get a thrill out of yelling “Cannonball!” and then running at top speeds towards a pool, this ride has a similar vibe. It basically turns bodies into human cannonballs and sends them flying in a powerful spray of water until they drop into a deep pool. The park warns that the sensation is habit-forming, so those who try it should prepare for multiple rides. 08 of 26 The Cyclone — World Waterpark, Canada Rosanne Tackaberry / Alamy Stock Photo From start to finish, there are 361 feet of tubing in The Cyclone. Within that distance, riders will experience the floor dropping out from under them, gathering speeds up to 40 miles per hour, catapulting through a near-vertical loop, and then emerging from the tunnel with a triumphant splash. 09 of 26 Jumeirah Sceirah — Wild Wadi Waterpark, United Arab Emirates Kumar Sriskandan / Alamy Stock Photo Challenge a friend to the Jumeirah Sceirah. Two tandem slides start at about 105 feet in the air and whoosh riders to the bottom in just a few seconds. See who comes out first into the pool, but don’t feel bad if you were the slowest rider. You still probably reached about 50 miles per hour. 10 of 26 Tornado — Chimelong Water Park, China Joris Croese / Alamy Stock Photo For those who wish their theme park experience was just a bit more mother nature inspired, this funnel-shaped slide is the perfect attraction. Riders sit on four-seater floats as they take off from a six-story high platform. Then they are dropped into a funnel and pulled out “as though being sucked into a tornado,” according to the the park. Afterwards, guests can visit the neighboring Tornado Massage Pool to calm down after the thrilling ride. 11 of 26 Twister and Speedy— Sonnentherme Lutzmannsburg Thermal Spa, Austria imageBROKER / Alamy Stock Photo These two Austrian slides let riders choose their own adventure. They both wrap around the spa’s tall watch tower several times, sending riders for a spin. Speedy is the faster slide but Twister is one of the longest in Europe, clocking in at over 660 feet in length. 12 of 26 Toboggan — Città del Mare, Italy Citta del Mare via Facebook Nature makes the best waterslides — with a little help from man. The three side-by-side slides at the Citta del Mare Resort in Sicily escort guests down a scenic cliff, into three pools, and finally drop them into the Mediterranean Sea. 13 of 26 Tantrum Alley — Wild Wadi, United Arab Emirates philipus / Alamy Stock Photo It’s been said that fear brings people together. This raft ride will bond four people together forever as they experience three funnel drops together, tumbling in all different directions through the slide's tornadoes of water. 14 of 26 Wildebeest — Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari, Indiana Courtesy of Holiday World Splashin' Safari The Wildebeest is the second longest water ride in the world. It measures one-third of a mile long and takes guests on a wild two-and-a-half minute ride. Throughout the course, riders will go up a conveyor belt, down a four-story drop, through two underground tunnels, and around a helix. But the coolest part of this ride is that, because of its conveyor-belt lift, it’s accessible to guests that would otherwise have difficulties going up stairs. 15 of 26 Aqualoops — Calypso Park, Canada Courtesy of Calypso Park In less than two seconds, riders on the Aqualoops will experience 2.5 Gs of force. From a trap door, riders drop down a 55-foot, near-vertical descent and through a complete loop. Although the whole thing is over in about seven seconds, there are two separate slides. Riders can challenge friends to see who’s the first to emerge from the vertigo-inducing loop. 16 of 26 Reef Plunge — Aquatica Orlando, Florida Courtesy of SeaWorld Nothing can make an experience better quite like dolphins. Although this waterslide through a 330-foot clear tube is already a fast thrill, the experience of sliding through a tank with a pod of white Commerson's dolphins and leopard sharks takes the whole thing to the next level. Keep your eyes open throughout the slide — the dolphins are known to race alongside riders as they zoom through the tank. 17 of 26 Big Thunder — Rapids Water Park, Florida ZUMA Press Inc / Alamy Stock Photo This epic waterslide provides a momentary glimpse of what it’s like to be an astronaut. After emerging from a dark tunnel, riders drop 45 degrees into a funnel that shoots them back and forth until they reach extreme heights and even a brief moment of zero gravity. 18 of 26 Poseidon’s Revenge — Aquaventure Water Park at Atlantis the Palm, United Arab Emirates Iain Masterton / Alamy Stock Photo Add the thrill of competition to this looping body slide. Riders are enclosed in capsules that accelerate to 37 miles per hour on the dueling ride with two slides. Each side is equipped with a timer so at the end when riders step out, they can see who made it out the fastest. 19 of 26 Wild Vortex — Wilderness at the Smokies: Lake Wilderness, Tennessee Courtesy of Wilderness at the Smokies After riders assume their starting position on the Wild Vortex, they wait for the countdown until the trap door beneath them is released and they fall 39 feet straight down. Riders can reach up to 40 miles per hour and experience 2.5 G-force as they woosh down the slide and through a loop before landing in a pool on the opposite end. 20 of 26 Divertical — Mirabilandia, Italy Courtesy of Mirabilandia The Divertical combines the best of waterslides and roller coasters. Riders are enclosed in cars that look like speed boats and speed around the track. But before the ride begins, an elevator system lifts the boat cars up 197 feet to the top of a hill. From there, the cars speed down almost 70 miles per hour and make a giant splash in the pool below. 21 of 26 Corkscrew Cavern — Roaring Springs Waterpark, Idaho Roaring Springs Waterpark via Facebook This action-packed waterslide is not for people who have claustrophobia. Riders only have a narrow 32 inches in the tunnels that blast them 38 feet per second through a loop (the first 360-degree looping waterslide in the entire Northwest) until they reach the end of the ride. 22 of 26 Shaka — Wet ‘n’ Wild, Hawaii Wet-n-Wild via Facebook Variety is the spice of life. This combination wet/dry ride shoots riders backwards, forwards, and even (practically) straight down. During top speeds and heights, riders feel like they’ve reached zero gravity. But what makes the ride most fun is that it can be done in a tandem raft where riders face each other while switching directions. 23 of 26 Point Plummet — Cedar Point Shores, Ohio Cedar Point via Facebook The star attraction of Cedar Point is undoubtedly Point Plummet. The four-person slide drops all riders at the exact same time down six stories when the floor falls out underneath them. Whoever reaches the end of the 400-foot-long slide (filled with twists, curves, and turns) first is the winner. 24 of 26 Kilimanjaro — Aldeia das Aguas, Brazil Aldeia das Aguas via Facebook After climbing 234 steps up, it’s estimated that one in 20 riders chicken out from the slide at the top. It’s the tallest body slide in the world (over 160 feet), clocking in even higher than the Statue of Liberty (not including its pedestal). Those who brave the ride soar down a near-vertical drop before falling into the pool at the bottom. 25 of 26 Honu of the Honu ika Moana — Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay, Florida Couurtesy of Volcano Bay This slide at Universal Studios waterpark is based off of the Waturi mythological creature, Honu, which says the Hawaiian people created the friendly sea turtle character by drawing marks upon a rock near the water. This slide takes the spirit of the myth and sends riders up two walls, through “ocean mists,” and down into two pools full of sparkling water. 26 of 26 Black Hole — Bad 1, Germany Courtesy of Bad 1 If that unnerving boat scene from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory came to life, it would probably look a lot like this slide. Riders start off in darkness and then go through a tunnel with an ever-changing and dizzying array of colorful LED lights. The trippiest part is a steady rainbow ring that then turns into Tron-like bursts of blue and green light until riders see the (literal) light at the end of the tunnel. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit