July 20, 2021
Newest Martin Aquatic-Engineered Ride Opens at Aquatica Orlando, Named Best Waterpark in the U.S.
Riptide Race, the world’s tallest dueling waterslide, opened this summer at Aquatica Orlando, which was recently voted the Best Outdoor Waterpark by the USA Today 10Best Reader's poll.
Aquatica Orlando boasts a thrilling attraction mix of 48 slides, rivers and lagoons, and its newest waterslide, Riptide Race, is another record-breaking achievement that helped clinch the park’s top spot in USA Today’s 10Best Reader's poll for the second time in recent years. Standing at 68 feet tall, Riptide Race is Florida’s only dueling waterslide created by ProSlide Technologies, with engineering by Martin Aquatic Design & Engineering.
Riptide Race debuted just at the start of summer, as parks and attractions started opening their gates to more visitors following the lifting of many capacity limitations due to the global Covid-19 pandemic. The addition of the dueling waterslide generated even more excitement as guests were welcomed back to Aquatica.
Riptide Race offers visitors a family-friendly ride experience with twists and turns through dark tunnels, interspersed by open-air sections where the two rafts sync up in a side-by-side race to crank up the competition. The thrilling raft ride ends in a runout, where one group of riders can claim victory at the finish line.
Aquatica’s parent company, SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, places the same emphasis on innovative park improvements at all of its brands, with the most recent attraction opening in 2020 at Adventure Island® Tampa. Last spring, the waterpark introduced Solar Vortex, America’s first dual-tailspin waterslide manufactured by WhiteWater West and also engineered by Martin Aquatic under the project leadership of LandDesign. As well, Martin Aquatic had the privilege of providing engineering services for SeaWorld Orlando’s river raft ride, Infinity Falls, which opened in 2018 and features the World’s Tallest Drop.
To see the full list of winners in the USA Today poll, visit www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-outdoor-water-park-2021.