Top 5 Things You Didn't Know About Water Parks
Wet, wild, and sometimes... a little dangerous. From the sketchy regulations, to the dangers, to their origins, here are some facts you might want to keep in mind next time you're looking to cool off. WatchMojo counts down the Top 5 Facts About Water Parks.
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Top 5 Facts About Water Parks
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Wet, wild, and sometimes... a little dangerous. Welcome to WatchMojo’s Top 5 Facts. In today’s installment we’re counting down the Top 5 Facts About Water Parks.
#5: There's a Lot of Science That Goes into the Slides
At first glance, water slides seem rather simplistic in design. It’s just plastic tubing and water! While these slides don’t have nearly as many moving parts as say, roller coasters, one shouldn’t underestimate them - they are feats of engineering. The physics calculations that go into ensuring that they function smoothly are seriously complicated. Think about it, any given slide needs to not only entertain, but also be able to carry a wide range of body types and weights safely, often without the harnesses that one finds on most other ride types. As we build ever more extreme slides, the pressure put on getting the numbers right increases, because when miscalculations occur… the results can prove fatal.
#4: They're Often Dangerous
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Unfortunately, accidents are far too common. There are simply too many outside variables, including human behavior, that designers can’t plan for. We’re not talking about people intentionally messing around, but rather people moving a leg or shifting their weight in an odd fashion that puts them in conflict with the natural flow of the ride. With nothing keeping you attached to the slide other than inertia and gravity, it’s always a gamble. For example, in 2017, a young boy was sent skidding across the ground at the bottom of a water slide in Dublin, California on opening day. Another park in Indiana was forcibly closed after 14 reported injuries, including chemical burn and broken collarbones.
#3: Regulations? What Regulations?
For most industries, there’s a regulatory body that’s responsible for representing the interests of the consumer and upholding standards in general. Regardless of whether they do a good job of it or not, it’s reassuring just to know that they exist. And doesn’t the waterpark industry seem like one that would OBVIOUSLY, you know... have standards? You’d think so, but there are no regulatory government bodies inspecting these parks. A few states have implemented their own systems, but nationally speaking, it’s pretty much a free-for-all. Parks do their own inspections based on their own timeline.
#2: They're Filthy Breeding Grounds for Waterborne Illnesses
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You might take a romantic soak with your significant other, but otherwise... a bath is a solo endeavor. Why? Well, stewing in someone else’s filth isn’t super appealing. Now let’s think about waterparks. Consider how many people get into a wave pool. How many bodies has the water on that slide carried already that day? When do you think each guest last showered? Filtration systems and chlorine can only do so much. Crypto is a parasite that’s known to be chlorine resistant, prevalent in water parks and cause diarrhea. A few people have even been exposed to brain-eating amoebae from natural water parks in Arkansas and North Carolina, sometimes with fatal results.
#1: Action Park: The Most Dangerous Water Park in America's History
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Though, as we’ve discussed, a visit to any waterpark comes with inherent risks, in the history of the industry, no destination has made a stronger case for steering clear of waterparks than the notorious Action Park. Referred to by some as “Class Action Park” or “Accident Park,” this park in New Jersey quickly earned itself a nasty reputation of sending you to the hospital after your visit. With loose safety standards, a staff made up of teens, and many a risky attraction, it claimed the lives of 6 people in the 1980s and injured countless others.
