Preface
When I planned my Something with Portugal tour I knew from the start that it would not be dominated by theme parks or even roller coasters. A little bit of culture and the one or other water park was allowed. As so often in Portugal, the number of such destinations is manageable, but a look at Parkscout helped to find out at least the names of these parks. A little research later the water park Slide & Splash near Lagoa turned out to be especially interesting to start the day there.
Slide & Splash
Banzai
Shortly after the opening I went into the park, changed my clothes and together with some English people I searched for an already opened waterslide. Whilst the other slides were being prepared, I grabbed a mat and climbed up the rather impressive hill for the first time, only to slide down the rather steep section of the Banzai slide on my belly and then hop over the water surface of the landing pool.
Rio Rapido
Right next to the mat slide Banzai is the relatively inconspicuous tube slide Rio Rapido. On this slide you race down the mountain in a straight line. But Rio Rapido wouldn’t be Rio Rapido if the slide wouldn’t have a hill on which – thanks to the pronounced airtime – you are almost thrown out of your tube. Shortly afterwards and after a small jump you reach the landing pool of the slide.
Escorregas Grandes
The Escorregas Grandes start from the highest point of the Slide & Splash water park, seven slides, each with creative names, all of which are characterised by a multitude of curves and jumps. Unfortunately, these body slides are all a bit older, so you can unfortunately feel the joints a bit. Furthermore, the speed of the slides is not high enough to take off during the jumps. Nevertheless, the Escorregas Grandes offer an extremely solid sliding pleasure for the whole family.
Rio Turbulento
The Rio Turbulento is another tube slide that starts at a similar altitude. The beginning of the slide is a credit to its name. Unfortunately, before the final and quite steep shot, there is no speed at all, so that one struggles a little through the channel.
Kamikaze and Tornado
The starting point for the kamikaze slide and the Tornado funnel slide are located on an annex. While Kamikaze precisely reflects what is to be expected, the Tornado turns out to be a rather boring slide. The speed is just enough to make one lap in the funnel and let yourself drift in the direction of the exit by the water jets.
Black Hole
At the back of the mountain, next to the show arena, where a parrot, reptile and bird of prey show takes place, there are also the black hole slides, which I could not test. Two persons are required to ride in the mandatory double rings. Too bad that nobody ever gets around this part of the Slide & Splash water park. In addition, the park was generally very empty.
Pistas Brandas
Next to a spacious restaurant, you will find the small and large wide slide Pistas Brandas. As I have already ridden a similar ride in the Danish Djurs Sommerland, I was very curious to see how quickly one loses one’s footing here and was surprised to find the wettest slide in the park due to the spray coming up during the slide.
Saltos
Nearby are the small Saltos slides, which you should not underestimate. The speed here is relatively high, the jumps accordingly pronounced and at the end the fall into the cool water is waiting. With the right technique, a rollover is possible at least on the left slide, which initiates the fall during a turn.
Pictures Slide & Splash
Conclusion Slide & Splash
Slide & Splash is a really good water park, which is not only nicely designed, but also has a lot of good slides. Due to the emptiness of the park I could slide everything interesting several times, so that the slightly higher entrance fee was definitely worth it. On the way to the next destination of the day, the zoo and amusement park Zoomarine, I also passed Aqualand Algarve, but I skipped this one because of budget and time reasons.
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