Lazy River

An Ark Full of Slides

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Noah’s Ark Waterpark

In the afternoon, I headed to Noah’s Ark Waterpark in Wisconsin Dells. With its enormous selection of water slides, Noah’s Ark is one of the best-known water parks in the United States, so I was quite curious to see what the park had to offer.

I started my visit at the upper end of the park, where one of the large parking lots is located. Parking at Noah’s Ark is anything but cheap, which was ultimately one of the reasons why I only drove to the water park once during my stay in Wisconsin Dells. From here, I gradually made my way through the long, narrow park towards the main road.

Black Thunder

The first slides on my way were the Black Thunder Slides. These different black hole slides run completely in the dark and offer slightly different layouts depending on which one you choose. I particularly enjoyed the middle slides, which basically consist of one large drop. Racing down such a big drop completely in the dark is great fun.

Monkey Rapids and Big Kahuna

Next up were Monkey Rapids, several classic tube slides that wind their way down the hillside before eventually ending directly in the Adventure River. Their location on the hillside is quite nice, although the slides themselves are nothing particularly special.

Right next door is Big Kahuna, one of the large wave pools at Noah’s Ark. I spent a little time here before continuing with the next slides.

Chameleon

Things get a little more interesting with Chameleon. This family raft slide runs mostly in the dark and features various lighting effects along the way. The large raft swings nicely from side to side during the ride, while the effects add a little extra atmosphere. Chameleon was quite fun overall, although it wasn’t one of the stronger slides in the park for me.

Congo Bongo Rapids and Bermuda Triangle

Congo Bongo Rapids is another family raft slide that has been nicely integrated into the hillside. This time, the entire course is open and runs through several turns on its way down. A few small jumps along the way add some movement to the raft. Overall, it’s quite a fun ride.

Right next door, Bermuda Triangle offers several classic old-school tube slides. The courses feature numerous changes of direction, causing the tube to swing back and forth along the way. The ride never gets particularly spectacular, though, and overall Bermuda Triangle was rather so-so for me.

Time Warp

Time Warp is a much more unusual slide. It is a ProSlide Mammoth Bowl where you first travel through an enclosed tube in a large raft before entering the huge bowl. Various lighting effects add a little extra to the experience.

Before I could try the slide, however, I first had to find a suitable group. There is a weight restriction for the rafts, which meant that as a single rider I couldn’t simply join any group. It therefore took me a while before I could finally give it a go.

The ride itself was quite nice, although I had expected a little more from the huge bowl. Rather than completing several laps, the raft loses height relatively quickly and soon slides down the slope in the middle towards the exit. With such a large bowl, I would have liked to spend a little more time in the main element.

Flamingo Falls, Toucan Twisters and Parrots Plunge

Flamingo Falls, Toucan Twisters and Parrots Plunge are a collection of old-school body slides of all kinds. The different courses wind their way down the hillside through numerous turns and reach surprisingly high speeds along the way.

The wild swinging from side to side through the turns is particularly good fun. There are also several small jumps where you can briefly lift off the surface of the slide. I really enjoyed this slightly unpredictable ride experience, making these older slides one of the most entertaining areas of Noah’s Ark.

Endless River

Things get a little more relaxing on the Endless River. The lazy river winds its way through this part of the water park and even passes directly underneath some of the surrounding slides. That alone makes a lap on the Endless River pretty cool and offers a nice change of pace between the slides.

Paradise Lagoon

Paradise Lagoon is a slightly more unusual area of Noah’s Ark. Alongside the rope swings, there are several short slides that all end a few meters above the surface of the water. Instead of a conventional runout, you simply drop straight into the pool at the end.

The rope swings work in much the same way: at some point, you have to let go and drop several meters into the water. This combination makes Paradise Lagoon great fun and a little test of courage at the same time.

Tadpole Bay and The Wave

Tadpole Bay is a large water playground aimed at younger visitors. Alongside several smaller slides, there are numerous water play features and, of course, the obligatory giant tipping bucket that regularly empties itself over everyone below. I moved on fairly quickly.

Right next door is The Wave, another large wave pool at Noah’s Ark. Once the waves start, there is plenty of movement in the water and it’s a good place to cool off for a while before continuing through the park.

Surfing Safari and Raja

On my way to Raja, I first passed Surfing Safari. I skipped the water park’s FlowRider, however, and headed straight for Raja, which at the time was the world’s largest King Cobra water slide.

The large snake-themed tube slide features two lanes that initially run parallel through two large helices. This is followed by a surprisingly large drop into the halfpipe element, where you swing far up the opposite side. You then continue swinging back and forth between the two sides until the tube eventually comes to a stop. It’s certainly an unusual ride, and I quite enjoyed it.

Flash Flood

Flash Flood is a classic Hopkins Shoot-the-Chute, which was already enough to win me over. After the lift, there is a large drop straight into the water, with the boat producing an enormous wave. Getting completely soaked is obviously guaranteed – but in a water park, where you’re already wearing swimwear, that hardly matters.

It’s actually a shame that you don’t find rides like this in water parks more often. For me, a proper spillwater ride simply belongs in a water park.

Stingray

Stingray is a rather unusual tube slide that basically consists of one enormous halfpipe element. From the start, you head straight down a very steep drop before swinging far up the opposite side.

You then swing back and forth between both sides several times, gradually losing height until the tube eventually comes to a stop. The enormous drop and the height you reach on the opposite side make Stingray a really great and surprisingly wild slide.

Kowabunga

Kowabunga is a family raft slide that looks fairly unassuming at first due to its completely straight layout. Instead of large turns, you race down a long series of waves at considerable speed. The large raft repeatedly lifts off over the crests, providing a surprising amount of airtime.

As the rafts require a minimum number of riders, being a single rider actually worked to my advantage here. I was quickly added to another group and therefore didn’t have to wait very long. The ride itself really impressed me: fast, full of airtime and considerably wilder than its simple layout might suggest.

Quadzilla

Quadzilla is a mat racer featuring four different lanes. The upper section is particularly interesting, as the slides are initially intertwined rather than simply running parallel to one another. Riding headfirst on the mat, you race through the first turns at a decent speed before the four lanes eventually come together again and continue side by side over several waves towards the splashdown. I really enjoyed Quadzilla.

Scorpion’s Tail

Scorpion’s Tail is one of the first looping water slides to feature a drop-floor start. Stepping into the capsule is already a little test of courage: cross your arms and legs, wait, and at some point the floor suddenly disappears beneath your feet. You immediately pick up plenty of speed before racing through the tube and into the loop.

The ride certainly isn’t particularly smooth. Some of the transitions are rather rough and it feels like you can sense almost every single seam in the slide. This makes Scorpion’s Tail feel even wilder than the layout already suggests. To finish things off, there is another sizeable drop into the splash pool. It’s a pretty intense experience and one of those slides you don’t necessarily volunteer to ride a second time after surviving the first.

Point of No Return

Right next door is Point of No Return, a classic kamikaze slide. From the top of the tall slide tower, you can look almost straight down the steep drop before racing towards the splash pool at considerable speed. It’s a straightforward slide, but still a proper test of courage.

Black Anaconda

Black Anaconda was one of the most unusual slides waiting for me towards the end of my visit. As the slide is ridden by several people in a raft, it took me a little while to find a suitable group to join. The wait, however, was well worth it.

Black Anaconda is an early water coaster and an absolutely crazy ride. The unusually long course features one large drop after another, alternating with fast uphill sections. The technology is particularly interesting: instead of the water jets commonly used on modern water coasters, the rafts are pulled up the uphill sections by fast-moving conveyor belts before immediately plunging down the next drop.

With all those ups and downs, the ride lasts surprisingly long, and the larger drops are great fun. Black Anaconda was the best water coaster I had ridden up to that point.

Pictures Noah’s Ark Waterpark

Conclusion Noah’s Ark Waterpark

What impressed me most about Noah’s Ark was the enormous variety of slides. Some parts of the park certainly feel a little dated, and compared with nearby Mt. Olympus there are surprisingly few truly modern slides. On the other hand, Noah’s Ark has plenty of unusual and wonderfully wild old-school slides that give the water park a character of its own.

I really enjoyed this variety and could easily have spent even more time here. Overall, Noah’s Ark is a really good water park, and for me it is especially the older and more unusual attractions that make it such an interesting place to visit.

 

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Noah's Ark Waterpark / The great Mid-Western Road Trip Day 6 - 7

Soaking Up the Thrills

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Soak City

After spending some time at Valleyfair, I headed straight into the neighboring Soak City water park. The entrance is located quite centrally within the park, directly across from the Mad Mouse roller coaster, making it very easy to switch between the amusement park and the water park.

The water park itself has a surprisingly long history. Valleyfair opened its first water slides back in 1983, eventually developing into Whitewater Country and later the Soak City water park.

Breakers Pipeline & Plunge and Breakers Bay

Right next to Breakers Bay stands the large Breakers Pipeline & Plunge slide tower. Breakers Pipeline features four different drop-floor slides. After stepping into the launch capsule, it is arms and legs crossed as you wait for the floor to suddenly disappear beneath your feet. Two of the slides take a fairly direct route down, while the other two feature a more winding layout. The drop-floor start adds a nice dose of suspense to all four slides.

A few meters higher up are the two slides of Breakers Plunge. There are no capsules or drop floors here. Instead, you are looking straight down two classic kamikaze slides towards the runouts some 27 meters below. Despite their much simpler layout, Breakers Plunge feels even more extreme and certainly takes a little courage. I really enjoyed both attractions.

Right next door is Breakers Bay, the large wave pool at Soak City. Once the waves start, there is plenty of movement in the water. For me, a good wave pool is simply part of a good water park.

Panic Falls

Hidden away in the back corner of Soak City was Panic Falls, a truly old-school slide tower. The three body slides dated all the way back to 1983 and were among the first water slides ever built at Valleyfair.

And you could certainly feel their age – in a good way. You race through the numerous turns at surprisingly high speed, hitting several small jumps along the way. At times you even lift slightly off the slide, while the increasing speed causes you to bounce around more and more as the ride progresses. This slightly unpredictable behavior made Panic Falls great fun and one of the highlights of Soak City for me.

A few years younger were the two Panic Falls Speed Slides, which were added in 1988. Their layouts are much simpler: from the roughly 18-meter-high tower, two open slides head almost straight down towards the runout. The speed is accordingly high, and their old-school construction gives these slides a character of their own.

Ripple Rapids

After the rather wild slides of Panic Falls, things became much more relaxed on Ripple Rapids. The classic lazy river winds its way through part of Soak City and was perfect for a short break. Simply lying back in a tube and floating around the water park for a while was exactly the right change of pace after the wild slides before it.

Hurricane Falls

The big highlight at Soak City, however, was Hurricane Falls. The roughly 21-meter-high family raft slide didn’t look all that unusual at first, but turned out to be a surprisingly wild ride.

A large raft takes you down a wide channel featuring several steep and highly banked turns. The raft quickly picks up speed and starts swinging higher and higher through the curves. At times, it climbs surprisingly far up the side walls before swinging back down into the channel and almost immediately entering the next turn. This extreme swinging motion makes the ride incredibly dynamic, especially as you can enter the next section backwards or sideways depending on where you are sitting in the raft.

The ride was much wilder than I had expected from a typical family raft slide, and I really enjoyed it. Hurricane Falls was without question my favorite slide at Soak City.

Pictures Soak City

Conclusion Soak City

I really enjoyed Soak City during my short visit. The water park isn’t particularly large, but it offers a nice mix of modern attractions and some wonderfully wild old-school slides.

Hurricane Falls was the clear highlight for me. I certainly wasn’t expecting a family raft slide to be this wild, and the extreme swinging of the raft alone made my detour into the water park worthwhile.

 

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Superior Shores / The great Mid-Western Road Trip Day 4 - 5

An Ocean of Fun

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Oceans of Fun

After spending the morning at Worlds of Fun, I headed over to the neighboring Oceans of Fun water park around noon. The weather was expected to get worse later in the afternoon, so I decided to move my visit to the water park forward a little.

The entrance to Oceans of Fun is located right next to the Fury of the Nile rapids ride. This is also where the large Monsoon spillwater ride once stood, and I still walked past the now abandoned ride during my visit. What made Monsoon particularly interesting was the way it was integrated into both parks: the ride could be accessed from Worlds of Fun as well as Oceans of Fun, essentially making it part of both parks. Quite a clever idea – it’s just a shame that the ride hasn’t operated since 2022.

My first stop inside the water park was Castaway Cove, where I set up camp for the next few hours. The adults-only pool is a nice little oasis within Oceans of Fun and I liked it right away. The swim-up bar built directly into the pool is also a great feature and fits the area perfectly.

Aruba Tuba, Coconut Cove and Typhoon

From Castaway Cove, I eventually made my way to the first slides. I started with Aruba Tuba, a classic tube slide featuring two separate enclosed courses winding their way down the hillside. The ride itself isn’t particularly spectacular, but the numerous turns make it a fun way to start exploring the water park.

Right next to the slide’s runout is Coconut Cove. The large pool area features several water play elements and is mainly aimed at families and younger visitors. After a quick look around, I continued straight on to Typhoon.

Typhoon is a classic kamikaze slide and definitely takes a little courage. The slide runs down the hillside over several large humps, gradually building up speed along the way. You can even get a little airtime over the crests, which makes the ride surprisingly wild. Add in the age of the slide and the whole thing somehow feels just that little bit more daring. I really enjoyed Typhoon.

Riptide Raceway

Riptide Raceway is a much more modern addition. The large mat racer has been cleverly built into the natural hillside of Oceans of Fun and features four different courses. Rather than simply running parallel to each other all the way down, the individual lanes wind their way through numerous turns before eventually meeting again for the final race to the finish.

You ride headfirst on a mat, picking up plenty of speed as you race through the turns. With four different courses to choose from, there is also a good reason to ride Riptide Raceway more than once. The different layouts in particular make it one of the more interesting mat racers.

Caribbean Cooler and Hurricane Falls

After the first few slides, it was time to slow things down a little on Caribbean Cooler. The classic lazy river runs through a larger section of the water park and is a good place to simply lie back in a tube and float around for a while. The course itself isn’t particularly spectacular to look at, but after several slides, the relaxing lap came at just the right time.

Next up was Hurricane Falls, a classic family raft slide where, of all places, I encountered the longest queue of the entire day. Luckily, I had received a Fast Pass for Worlds of Fun when I bought my Cedar Fair season pass. At the time, I wasn’t even sure whether it could be used inside the water park. There was no harm in trying, though – and sure enough, it was accepted, cutting my wait considerably.

Hurricane Falls sends riders down the wide channel in large rafting boats. The raft rocks back and forth through the turns, making the experience slightly different depending on where you are sitting. All that swinging around makes for a really fun ride.

Surf City Wave Pool

I also spent some time in the Surf City Wave Pool, which has been part of Oceans of Fun since the water park first opened in 1982. The generously sized wave pool is therefore one of the park’s oldest surviving attractions. Once the waves start, there is plenty of movement in the water. I enjoyed the Surf City Wave Pool – for me, a good wave pool is simply part of a good water park.

Predators’ Plunge

The next slide tower is home to Predators’ Plunge, a classic speed slide with a drop-floor start. After climbing roughly 20 meters to the top of the tower, you step into the launch capsule. Door closed, arms and legs crossed, and then all you can do is wait for the floor to suddenly disappear beneath your feet.

You immediately pick up plenty of speed and shoot down through the enclosed tube. And it isn’t simply a straight drop: several fast turns keep the pace high all the way to the runout.

I really enjoyed Predators’ Plunge. The drop-floor start provides just the right amount of suspense and makes it one of the better slides at Oceans of Fun.

Shark’s Revenge

Shark’s Revenge is a tube slide on the same tower that starts off rather innocently. Several turns take you down through the enclosed tube, gradually building up speed along the way. The real highlight, however, is waiting right at the end.

Suddenly, the tube opens up and a surprisingly large drop appears directly in front of you, leading down towards the runout. It’s quite a breathtaking moment and makes for a great finale. That unexpected final drop makes Shark’s Revenge one of my favorite slides in the park.

Constrictor

Constrictor is another tube slide, but what makes this one particularly interesting is its unusual series of turns. The individual curves are extremely tight and sometimes follow each other almost immediately. As a result, the tube repeatedly climbs high up the walls before being thrown straight into the next turn.

It makes for a pretty wild ride, with plenty of swinging from side to side. This unusual layout makes Constrictor much more interesting than your average tube slide and certainly made it one of the more memorable rides of my visit.

Pictures Oceans of Fun

Conclusion Oceans of Fun

Overall, Oceans of Fun was a pleasant surprise. The water park first opened in 1982 and certainly shows its age in a few places, but some of those older slides are also among the most fun. I particularly enjoyed Typhoon and its slightly daring ride over the large humps. At the same time, newer additions such as Riptide Raceway ensure that the slide lineup doesn’t feel outdated.

There is also plenty to do away from the slides. Castaway Cove and its swim-up bar made a nice place to retreat to for a while, while Caribbean Cooler and the Surf City Wave Pool offered a chance to relax between rides.

In the end, I had much more fun at Oceans of Fun than I had expected before my visit. In fact, I almost spent too much time in the water park and eventually had to hurry back to neighboring Worlds of Fun to keep up with my roller coaster schedule. Considering that I had originally planned Oceans of Fun as little more than a short detour into the water park, that says a lot about the quality of the place.

 

What is your opinion about the water park Oceans of Fun?  Just write it in the comment field below the report!

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Oceans of Fun / The great Mid-Western Road Trip Day 3