Inside the 'waterpark capital of the world' with 28 resorts and more than 200 rides | The Sun
A CITY has been dubbed the "waterpark capital of the world" due to having so many resorts – and it's set to open a brand new waterslide.
Not only does it have a whopping 28 waterparks, but there are also more than 200 waterslides across them all.
Wisconsin Dells in the US, welcomed tourists as far back as the 1870s, according to local media, with riverboat tours.
However, the first waterslide didn't open until 100 years later.
And the first waterpark, the Polynesian Water Park Resort, opened on top of it in 1989, becoming the first indoor waterpark.
Rhonda Parchem, Director of Marketing and Communications at the Wisconsin Dells Visitor and Convention Bureau, told local media: "The fact that we could offer an option to swim, splash, slide down waterslides all year long in Wisconsin was a real game changer.
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"As more and more waterparks were developed, that really gave us a point of differentiation to other Midwest destinations."
Since then, more water resorts have opened, many of which are record-breaking in the US.
This includes Noah's Ark, the largest outdoor waterpark in the US with70 acres of pools and rides.
And Wilderness Resort is the largest indoor-outdoor combination waterpark in the country as well.
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7Other parks include Chula Vista Resort and Kalahari Resort.
New this year was Land of Natura, a floating waterpark set across 150 acres.
Rhonda added: " We still have more waterparks here of every size per capita than anywhere else on the planet."
Not only that, but Wisconsin had a "record-breaking" year for tourism, generating £23.7billion last year – up from £22.2billion pre-Covid.
A new waterslide is even opening next year.
The Rise of Icarus is set to open at Mt.Olympus Water and Theme Park Resort.
With a height of 14ft, it will be the tallest in the US.
It's just one of five new slides opening next year, along with a new kid-friendly area as part of an $8million expansion.
The Facebook website says: "As the Greek myth goes, Icarus soared too close to the sun on wings fastened to his body with wax, with the heat of the sun melting the wax and Icarus falling to the sea.
"Here at Mt. Olympus you'll experience a much happier ending at the bottom of the slides."
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Closer to home is the largest waterpark in the world, which is found in Germany.
And we've rounded up the biggest UK waterparks too, one of which includes the world's longest indoor rollercoaster at 250 metres.
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