World Waterpark
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World Waterpark is North America's largest indoor waterpark with a size of over 2 hectares (5 acres). It is located in the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, which is one of the world's largest shopping malls. The park is known for its high-speed waterslide called the Skyscreamer, which is often mistaken as the park's tallest slide at 78 ft. The highest slide in the park is the Twister, which is 83 feet high.
Contents |
[edit] Beginner slides/attractions
| Attraction | Description |
|---|---|
| Caribbean Cruiser | A little beginner slide designed for small children that drops into a 1' splashdown pool. This slide is ideal for small children, as it is fast enough to be fun, but slow enough not to be scary. It also has a small platform at the bottom which slows riders down and lets them plop into the pool gently and slowly, instead of dropping in hard and fast. |
| Dolphin Kiddie Pool | A small, dolphin-themed play park for children. This area is ideal for toddlers, small children, and infants. There are plenty of water toys, a water screw, and a very low triple chute, playground-type slide that is covered over with dolphin scenery. |
| The Little Caribbean | Another play area with three small slides and a bumper boats area, a step up from Dolphin Kiddie Pool. Contains a water playground with adjustable fountains, a tire swing and mini inflatable boats. |
| Sun Runner | A yellow slide designed for rafts that can support three people. This slide is a perfect in-between choice for children that want to take a step up from Caribbean Cruiser, and also a good family ride. It is the only slide in the park that does not have a splashdown pool (it has a padded trough instead). The Sun Runner's name is from the Edmonton Sun, a local newspaper that currently holds the naming rights. Sun Runner is the only slide that has a sponsor's name on it. |
| Tap Works | Another kids play park, this time revolving around taps and pipes. It contains lots of adjusting wheels for kids to change the flow of water, as well as several high-powered water guns. |
[edit] Intermediate slides
| Slide | Description |
|---|---|
| Blue Bullet | A blue slide, partially enclosed. Very fast, drops into a 3' splashdown pool. It is a double rider slide, which allows two people to go down at one time. The only people that are allowed to go down together are a parent and young child, due to safety regulations. |
| Corkscrew | A completely enclosed slide in the dark that twirls and twists into a 4' pool of water, thus its name, Corkscrew. It is one of the several slides that has retained its original form. |
| Raging Rapids | A tube slide/swimming area that suddenly accelerates and goes through two tunnels. This was originally a lazy river ride with several drops instead of just the two, which both go into two dark tunnels. The one tunnel simply contains a fountain that sprays down on riders. The other tunnel contains several flashing lights. |
[edit] Advanced slides
| Slide | Description |
|---|---|
| Howler | A dark slide that is around 3/4 enclosed, which drops into a 4' splashdown pool. Howler offers a lot of thrill, as it throws riders around in the dark without warning. |
| Thunderbolt | This unique slide is centred on sleds. Riders go down a fast slide, which is essentially a baby version of Skyscreamer, on a special sled. The sleds fly into a long pool of water that gradually gets shallower. Most riders skip along the water to the end but there is a chance of a harmless wipeout. In recent years, a padded barrier was added to the middle of the pool to prevent the risk of sliders crashing into each other. Be sure to try and stay clear of the barrier as much as you can; a little run-in can cause a wipeout! |
| Twister | The highest slide in the pool, partially enclosed, lots of twists and turns. Drops into a 4' splashdown pool. Despite being the tallest slide, Twister is much slower and calmer. This makes it more of a leisure slide than a thrill one. |
[edit] Extreme slides
| Slide | Description |
|---|---|
| Nessie's Revenge | A fast purple slide with a few bumps and no curves, similar in design to an amusement park slide. Along with the slide next to it (Sky Screamer), Nessie's Revenge used to be the light brownish-tan colour of Howler and Twister. However, during the park's large makeover in the early 2000's, Nessie's Revenge was painted purple. |
| Sky Screamer | The second highest slide in the pool. It drops straight down and lasts for 5 seconds at max. Like Nessie's Revenge, it used to be coloured tan—however, it was eventually painted bright red. |
| Tropical Typhoon | A low, quick slide. Similar to a charity wishing well for coins. It's also known as the Toilet Bowl. It is safe to say that Tropical Typhoon, along with Raging Rapids, can take the title of the slide whose design has been changed the most. Originally called Cannonball, it used to be coloured a bright olive green with a twirly chute that dropped straight down into the pool. Its design was probably changed for safety reasons. |
[edit] Other Attractions
Blue Thunder Wavepool
A wavepool that has 5 wave panels with 500 horsepower generating waves of approximately 5-6 feet.
The Waterpark is also the host to two bars: Pina Colada and Beachview Bar, which sell alcoholic beverages. There is also Coconut Grove, which sells different kinds of food such as hamburgers, hot dogs, and mozza sticks.
[edit] Staff
The lifeguards at the World Waterpark are highly renowned as highly trained due to the large number of patrons that sometimes need to be watched at any given time. The process to become a lifeguard at the World Waterpark is very competitive consisting of physical and mental challenges.[citation needed]
Approximately twice a year, the waterpark holds lifeguard competitions for a chance to move up into the lifeguard team given the fact that the individuals trying out are completely certified to become a lifeguard, including NLS (National Lifesaving Service), AEC (Aquatic Emergency Care), Bronze Cross, CPR-C and Oxygen Administration awards. Usually at a competition, over 20 candidates tryout, but only 4-5 are taken given the number of current lifeguards already employed.[citation needed]
