Top 14 new water slides for 2014

At first I thought it was too early to look ahead at the new water slides coming in 2014 to water parks around the world, but then I realized a number of big attractions have already been announced and many more are already in the planning stages.

Photos: Best new water slides for 2014 | Best new water parks for 2014

It already seems like 2014 is shaping up as a good year for water park fans. Big industry players have announced major projects and several smaller parks are planning to roll out significant additions.

Since it is still early, I’ll update my Top 14 over the coming months as new projects are announced. Until then, here’s my list of the most anticipated water slides for 2014:

1) Wet ‘n’ Wild Sydney (Australia) -- The outback outpost of the international water park chain will add two new towers bristling with a total of 20 slides from WhiteWater West.

The first tower complex will feature four dueling AquaLoop inverted looping slides along with an eight-lane mat racer.

The second and more impressive tower will boast four MasterBlaster water coasters along with four additional slides from the Canadian slide manufacturer, including the coiling Rattler and a zero-gravity Boomerango.

2) Lotte World (South Korea) -- The new water park will feature dueling Master Blaster water coasters and an AquaLoop inverted looping slide along with a host of other attractions from WhiteWater West.

3) Schlitterbahn Kansas City (Kansas) -- The Midwest water park chain is remaining mum about the exact height of the new Verruckt speed slide in hopes of preventing rivals from snatching the title of world’s tallest water slide before the new attraction opens in 2014.

For now, Schlitterbahn is only saying the new record-holder will be at least 10% taller than the 135-foot-tall Insano at Beach Park in Brazil.

Unlike most high-speed slides, Verruckt riders will board inflatable rafts and encounter a velocity-suppressing airtime hill after the descent.

4) SeaWorld Orlando’s Aquatica (Florida) -- The 105-foot-tall Ihu’s Breakaway Falls free-fall thrill slide is being billed as the tallest and steepest ride of its kind in Orlando.

5) Legoland California -- The Carlsbad kiddie park will expand its existing water park with eight new attractions themed to the World of Chima, a fantasy realm where animal tribes battle for possession of a mystical energy source known as chi.

So far, Legoland has announced that new jungle-themed area will include a wave pool and a crocodile slide.

6) Anapa Aquapark (Russia) -- Located in a subtropical resort town on the Black Sea, the coastal water park will introduce four ProSlide Technology slides on a single tower complex, including a BowlingAlley featuring a series of bowls and funnels, a TornadoWave with a zero-gravity wall and a KrakenRacer mat racer.

7) Roaring Springs (Idaho) -- The Superloop inverted looping slide with a door-in-the-floor launch will drop riders from six stories up on a four-second freefall at speeds reaching 40 mph.

8) Frankston Regional Aquatic Centre (Australia) -- The civic swimming facility in suburban Melbourne will get the world’s first AquaSphere raft slide from WhiteWater West.

The 600-foot-long slide will feature a series of ball-shaped 90-degree corners where rafts will oscillate amid a sound and light show before continuing along a serpentine course.

9) Cowabunga Bay Las Vegas (Nevada) -- Turkish-based Polin plans to install the first Surf Safari water slide featuring a parabolic-shaped bowl with a waterfall cascading from the lip of a curling wave at the Henderson water park.

10) Dorney Park (Pennsylvania) -- The 65-foot-tall Snake Pit tower complex at the amusement park’s Wildwater Kingdom will include a trio of trap door slides plus serpentine tube slides.

11) Six Flags Magic Mountain (California) and Six Flags Fiesta Texas -- The sister amusement parks will unveil similar trap-door launch slide complexes with different names: Bonzai Pipeline at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Bahama Blasters at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

12) Carowinds (North Carolina) -- The 45-foot-tall tower complex at the amusement park’s Boomerang Bay will feature two slides: the 263-foot-long Surfer’s Swell with a zero gravity wall and the 351-foot-long Dorsal Fin Drop with a bowl finale.

13) Aquatica San Diego (California) -- The six-lane Taumata Racer high-speed racing water slide will send riders through a 180-degree swooping turn and down an undulating side-by-side track toward a finish line.

14) Silver Dollar City (Missouri) -- The twin KaPau Plummet drop-floor water slides will launch riders into a 70-degree plunge followed by a spiraling loop. The theme park’s White Water will replace the 1998 Bermuda Triangle water slide with a $1.7-million attraction billed as the water park’s “biggest thrill yet.”

Related theme park stories and photo galleries

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Six Flags Magic Mountain: Full Throttle

Knott’s Berry Farm: Timber Mountain | Coast Rider

SeaWorld San Diego: Aquatica

U.S. parks: Top 13 for 2013 | Disney World | Cedar Point | Top 10 water coasters

International parks: Top 13 for 2013 | Shanghai Disneyland | Disneyland Paris | Top 20 water parks

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