Waterworld, Stoke-on-Trent

Waterworld is a water park located in Festival Park, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The park attracts around 400,000 visitors per year.^[1] The park first opened in 1989 and is generally open year-round, but is closed for a few days of the week during term time.

In 1999, Mo Chaudry's family trust bought Water World from Rank Leisure for £1,500,000. At the time, the park was operating at a loss. Originally, the main rides were raised up in an “treehouse” fashion, with five water slides: Super Flume, Python, Black Hole, Space Bowl and Twister.

Early in the 21st century, WaterWorld began turning profits. At some point in the early 2010s, a glass wall was removed and turned into a curved version stretching out into the car park. This provided more seats in this area for the cafe.

In the summer of 2019, four new rides came to Waterworld as part of their 30th anniversary. Stormchaser and Hurricane opened on 21 August, while the other two, Thunderbolt and Cyclone, opened a few days later on 24 August. The tallest rides in Tornado Alley overtook the Twister and became the tallest rides in the park and also in England.

The park's rides and attractions include: Thunderbolt, Cyclone, Hurricane, Stormchaser, Black Hole, The Nucleus, Space Bowl, Super Flume, Twister, Python, Rapids, Toddler Slides, Bubble Pools, Outdoor Pool (seasonal), Interactive Jungle House, The Lily pads, Racing Slides, and the Wave Pool.

The Nucleus is a watercoaster which transports the slider through 300 ft of ups and downs in a rubber ring. The minimum height is 1.1 metres. After the rider climbs the stairs and collects a rubber ring, a lifeguard pushes them off. A water jet boosts them into a tunnel, after which there is a drop to a second water jet and tunnel, and finally a drop to a runout which slows the rider down with a splash, and, if there's a queue, the ring is handed off to another person.The raft you use on the waterslide can be used on any Tornado Alley waterslide.^[2]

The Space Bowl is UFO themed, going into a bowl leading to a drop into a 2-meter pool of water. It is limited to riders who are strong swimmers because of the deep water. It is possible to drop out of the bowl head first.

The Rapids is a tiny lazy river in a circle shape. It also has sudden, fast undercurrents, which it is named after.

The Twister was the tallest slide at Waterworld until 2019 when four new rides (Stormchaser, Hurricane, Cyclone and Thunderbolt) were built for Waterworld's 30th anniversary. After climbing to a high platform, the rider slides down a tube and around a wide corner at 25 mph. Like the Nucleus, you create a large splash at the runout. At the end, a sign asks the rider to hurry to the exit in order to speed up operating times. A skull at the entrance was removed in 2017.

The 3 slides are the Super Flume, Python, and Black Hole. They are next to each other and they end up in the same pool. The pool depth is 1.2 metres.

Tornado Alley opened in 2019 (the park's 30th anniversary) and consisted of four new rides: Stormchaser, Hurricane, Cyclone and Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt is the tallest waterslide in the UK, at a height of 18 m (55 ft) tall. It is also the fastest, at 120 km/h (60 mph).

Cyclone begins in a dark tube with light effects, and into a funnel. The rider rocks from side-to-side until reaching a fast tunnel, leading into a bowl. The raft makes a circle around, then soon falls into the middle. leading to the end of the waterslide.

Stormchaser and Hurricane are simpler. Stormchaser has a raft and Hurricane does not.