WhiteWater puts a fresh spin on old favorites at the 2022 IAAPA Expo 

WhiteWater shared some exciting new slides and water features at the 2022 IAAPA Expo along with updates on projects already in progress. The WhiteWater outlook for 2022 sees the company building on their most popular elements in order to deliver rider thrills in unique new ways.

slildewheel rotating water slide
Photos courtesy of WhiteWater

By Rebecca Davis

Already in Progress

Work continues on the Meryal Park in Qatar, where WhiteWater partnered with Qetaifan Projects. Thirty-six water slides spread throughout a 160,000-square-meter water park that includes the world’s tallest water slide at 85 meters (278 ft) tall. 

The record-breaking slide will be found in the park’s Icon Tower, which houses an astonishing 12 different slides blending 23 different features. Icon tower has two slides at each of its six platforms and two pedestrian elevators to help guests conquer the height. 


Construction progress - Qetaifan Island North اخر التطورات بموقع الإتشاءات بجزيرة قطيفان الشمالية

The team at WhiteWater also gave us a closer look at the Slidewheel Water Slide, the first of which will debut at the Chimelong Water Park in Guangzhou, China. This innovative attraction combines water slide and Ferris wheel, using a constantly-rotating flume to create momentum for riders.

slidewheel water slide

New Attractions 

We also took a look at some of the newly designed water features that will be available from WhiteWater attractions in the future. We saw a new family raft ride, new water play structure, and upgrades to the FlowRider system. WhiteWater’s popular Boomerango feature, a near-vertical wall, has been a staple of their most thrilling attractions since its inception. Now, the Boomerango can be built as a dueling slide and new technology allows for the Booomerango feature to be placed earlier in the slide.

boomerango water slide

The Boomerango Squeeze is described as an innovative take on a classic. This six-person family raft ride design also allows for the near-vertical wall to be placed earlier in the ride, allowing for a design where the biggest thrill isn’t saved for the very last. 

The Blasterango Battle blends the side-by-side dueling element with multiple sensations for riders. Compete head-to-head with the rider next to you as you go through uphill blasts, thrilling turns, and drops, culminating with a near-vertical Boomerango wall feature. 


Blasterango Battle Dueling Water Slide by WhiteWater

The new Walhalla boasts that it’s the best six-person raft ride in the world. This unobtrusive slide boasts high climbs, speeds, and thrills for riders without ramping up risks and costs for operators. There’s a near weightless feeling at the top of the 48-foot (14.6 meter) mega drop, followed by a flat wall for a zero-g feeling, which smoothly transitions into a straightaway for the speediest ride on a six-person raft possible.

WhiteWater also showed us the Aqua Fortress water play structure, which boasts larger decks, body and innertube slides, and, of course, more water toys and interactive play features than ever before. The structure is ADA accessible, with ground-level water play features. 

flow rider presentation

Finally, the Flow Surf system takes simulated surfing to a new level. WhiteWater’s Flow Rider system uses a thin sheet of water on an incline to allow guests to simulate surfing on a flowrider board. The new Flow Surf system is a deep flow stationary wave machine. Guests use a real surfboard to carve out waves in this man-made river-style wave. Flow Surf may not be real “surfing” but it’s a system designed by surfers in order to practice the most fun parts of surfing while leaving out the paddling, wave selection, and trying-to-stand-up aspects. The waves can be adjusted to fit beginners up to advanced Flow Surfers. 

The water park industry has a lot of exciting new developments on the horizon and WhiteWater continues to be an industry leader on an international level. For more information on WhiteWater attractions, visit Whitewaterwest.com.

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