Orlando:Water Parks

Blizzard Beach rates high with teens for its “ski resort” theme, including its Summit Plummet speed slide down Mount Gushmore, and its many toboggan-, rapids- and flume rides. Wet ’n Wild - Orlando is another winner with multiple thrill rides and slides, including Black Hole. New in 2005 is Disco H2O, a retro raft adventure. Typhoon Lagoon’s Surf Pool makes some of the best waves in town and surfing lessons can be r eserved certain days before the park opens. Water Mania provides more wet fun, with body boarding on the wave pool and tube-, speed- and free-fall-slides.

Adventure Island Tampa
with 30 acres (12 hectares), features 24 unique water rides including Wahoo Run, an exhilarating river raft encounter that sends adventurous riders down six stories and more than 600 feet (182 meters) of unforeseen drenching twists, drops, back-to-back curves and turns. Open year-round. Ph.813-987-5600

Disney’s Blizzard Beach
water park features one of the world’s tallest, fastest free-fall speed slides smack in the middle of sunny Florida. It is the largest of Disney’s water parks, with 22 water slides and “icy” bobsled runs that stay comfortably warm and thrillingly fast. Open year-round. Ph.407-939-4636

Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon
water park offers guests twisting tides, roaring rapids and relaxing rivers. Whether navigating the nine water slides, swimming with sharks and tropical fish or conquering waves in the United States’ largest wave pool, this is the one exotic paradise that promises to be the most wet water adventure known to man…or fish. Open year-round. Crush ‘n’ Gusher, a “water coaster” thrill ride, opened March 2005. Ph. 407-939-4636

Water Mania
features 36 acres (14.4 hectares) of zoomin', splashin' fun with thrill slides, wave pool volleyball and basketball courts, wooded picnic area, surf simulator and three children’s areas – Squirt Pond, Rain Train and Rain Forest. Open March to October. Ph.800-527-3092/407-396-2626

Wet 'n Wild - Orlando
offers a variety of multi-passenger thrill rides. The Blast propels riders down a 390-foot (118-meter) stream with jets and gusts of water. The Storm washes riders down a towering chute, swirls them around a bowl at high speeds and tumbles them into a splash landing. Disco H2O, a retro raft ride, opens spring 2005. Open year-round with heated pools in the cooler months. Ph.407-351-1800