Best Water Parks In Or Near Orlando
For many years families across the USA have been drawn to Orlando. It has developed into the nation’s water park capital. If you look past the main theme parks, you can discover several fantastic water parks. The following list highlights some of the best.
Universal’s Volcano Bay is a Mecca for those who like to stay in the water and splash around all day. There are 21 attractions, all of which have a volcanic or island theme; you get the impression that you have arrived in Hawaii’s mountains. Volcano Bay has something for everyone with rides, including the Ko’okiri Body Plunge, Kala and Ta Nui Serpentine Body Slides, Panga Racers, and Krakatau Aqua Coasters.
You can have Discovery Cove to yourself most of the time as it gives entry to only 1300 people at one time. This place is not about thrilling adventure rides but unique experiences like swimming with bottleneck dolphins and snorkeling with tropical fish. It also includes learning about the different creatures and hand-feeding the exotic birds in the Explorer’s Aviary in the Grand Reef.
With over 50 shows, rides, and other attractions to enjoy, Legoland is a magnet for families. The water park, spread across 5 acres, has a fantastic selection of slides, flumes, and rides for people of every age. They can enjoy the Joker Soaker, the 375-foot-long Twin Chasers raft slide, or Splash Outside. In the Lego Wave Pool, you can catch gentle waves or relax on the Build-A-Raft lazy river on a floating tube.
4. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water park
Typhoon Lagoon is Orlando’s favorite family water park, with something for everyone. You can start the trip by getting on Miss Adventure Falls, a family ride taking everyone through artificial caves and waterfalls. Next is Humunga Kowabunga, a three-body slide that hurls through twists in a rainforest and drops five stories in seconds at a speed of 39 mph. It is followed by Crush ‘n’ Gusher, a 400-foot water coaster. Apart from this, you can relax at the Surf pool or any other beach on the Typhoon Lagoon.
5. Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water park
Blizzard Beach Water Park pays homage to the ski resort that melted into a water park and is second of the two most beloved Disney water parks. It has fake icicles hanging from every surface with a functioning chairlift up to the mountain. One of its highlights is Summit Plummet, which is 120 feet tall and has one of the tallest water slides. It sends the riders down the slide at over 60 mph. There is also the Slush Gusher, a high-speed and highly thrilling ride featuring two dips and a 90-foot drop descending Mount Gusmore at 35 mph.
Aquatica is situated on the grounds of Sea World and is home to 42 slides, rivers, and lagoons. It is spread no less than 59 acres and is probably one of the largest water parks in Florida. It opened in 2008, themed to the South Pacific. It has a combination of body and raft slides, including single and multi-person, lazy rivers, waves pools, and splash zones. Other rides include Loggerhead Lane lazy river, HooRoo Run, Stingray Falls, and Walhalla Wave. One can also grab a book and lounge around on the 80,000 square feet of artificial beaches.
7. Island H2O Live! Water park
H2O Live is the first of its kind to have a cutting-edge theme, where the riders can customize their wristbands and experience their favorite music, lighting, and colors. Live Stream Body slide is a max-level thrill ride with a 326-foot-long trap door; another is boomerang-style Hash tag Heights that can leave your hearts racing. If the thrill is still not enough, Follow Me Falls is there to your rescue, a two-person tube ride. There are also calm rides like the six-lane Reply Racers and Chat Creek lazy river for those who want to take it easy.
Nona Adventure Park is a local favorite, often overlooked because of the larger water parks nearby, and is a little off the beaten track. It features over 1000 feet of obstacles like swings, slides, slanted stair runs, balance beams, tire hops, and monkey bars floating on the water in its outdoor course. There is also a learning cable system for beginners, which is 320 feet long and allows you to get a feel of the sport without too much speed or height. After mastering that, you can progress to a 2,509-foot long course for a real adrenaline rush of speed up to 19 mph.
Treasure Cove, situated on Turkey Lake Road, is gaining a reputation for family fun and is a firm favorite of tourists, thanks to it being close to so many hotels and other attractions. It is a pirate-themed water park that opened in 2021 as one of the multi-million dollar Westgate Resorts. You can enjoy the 258-foot Buccaneer Bay Wave pool, Dolphin Drop, or Pirate’s Plunge Slides, which are 30 feet high. They show you the views of incredible Big Sand Lake and the park beyond that. Then to cool down, the Castaway Creek Lazy River is a favorite.
10. Orlando Watersports Complex
Watersports complex is a go-to place in Central Florida for jet skiing, water skiing, kneeboarding, water skiing tubing, and many other sports. It has been a delight for tourists and locals since the beginning of the 21st century. On the sports side, the riders can participate in wakeboarding lessons, floating on the top of the lake. It comprises a series of interconnected trampolines, rock climbing walls, slides, walkways, and monkey bars, and it ends up in the pyramid from where you can jump into the water.
11. Coco Key Hotel and Water Resort
This hotel and water park is one of the more affordable water parks in Orlando, which should be on your list. It is spread across 54,000 square feet with 14 slides and rides designed for youngsters. If you want adrenaline, any of the three main slides are for you; they have 4-story-high Shark Slams, 350 feet long Barracuda Blast, or the 300-foot-long Pelican Plunge. The Dip-In wading pool is the best for kids, with only a one-foot depth.
12. Buccaneer Bay
Buccaneer Bay, Florida’s only Spring-fed water park, is situated in the Weeki Wachee Springs State Park. It provides the most beautiful setting to enjoy a hot summer day. Apart from that, it is the best for snorkeling, featuring slides like the Cannonball and Pirate’s Revenge flumes, sandy beaches, and a natural river flowing around the swimming area.
13. Adventure Island Tampa Bay
Adventure Island is among Orlando’s best water parks for wild water slides. Adventure Island is situated less than a 2-hour drive in Tampa Bay across the street from Busch Gardens. There is no shortage of thrills as the free-falling Vanish Point slide, tail-spinning Solar Vortex, and the corkscrewing Colossal Curl are intense and tropical-themed. There are also places for relaxing with the kids in splash areas, a wave pool, and a lazy river.
14. Shipwreck Island Water park
This water park features multi-level water ground in a giant pirate ship as the centerpiece in the middle of the upper level. You can explore the ship and find water fountains and slippery slides in the ultimate Black Bear Pirate Ship. It also has a lazy river encircling the upper level, which offers mysterious caves, splash zones, and other places to stop and play. It is a closed tube drop slide; water slides a splash zone that creates the best adventure water park for the entire family.
Orlando has no scarcity of water parks. The best part is that Florida has warm weather all year round, so these places are fun to visit all year for any age group. It doesn’t matter what you’re looking for, be it relaxing, a place to take the Florida sun, high-intensity thrill rides, or just a swim with the marine life, water parks in Orlando have everything for everyone.
While you are in the Orlando area, be sure to check us out here at The Escape Hatch and book an escape room. See you soon!
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