AquaLoop

An AquaLoop is a type of body water slide where single riders are dropped down a near vertical slide and into an inclined loop. They are usually located in water parks.

AquaLoop
AquaLoop at Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast
General statistics
Type	Water slide
Designer	WhiteWater West, AQUARENA
Height	17 m (56 ft)
Drop	16 m (52 ft)
Length	88.4 m (290 ft)
Speed	60 km/h (37 mph)
Duration	7 seconds
G-force	2.5
Installations	20+
Restrictions	Riders must be at least 120 cm (3 ft 11 in) in height and weigh between 45 kg (99 lb) and 130 kg (290 lb) to ride.[1]

History

Austrian manufacturer Aquarena developed the world's first mass-produced fully inverted looping water slide, known as the AquaLoop.[2] The slide is currently licensed and distributed by Canadian water slide manufacturer WhiteWater West.[3] There are nearly 20 AquaLoop installations around the world.[4] The first installation was at Terme 3000 water park, Slovenia in 2008.[5] Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast was the first to install more than one AquaLoop at a single location.[6][7][8] The AquaLoop uses a trap-door to release riders down a 17-metre (56 ft) near-vertical descent at a speed of up to 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). Riders experience 2.5 Gs in less than 2 seconds.[9] The whole ride is over within 7 seconds.[10]

Ride

An AquaLoop is launched from a 17-metre (56 ft) platform. A single rider is loaded into a launch chamber where they stand with their hands across their chest. After a countdown, a trapdoor opens and the rider immediately drops 16 metres (52 ft) inside a near vertical slide. The rider accelerates to 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph) in just 2 seconds before entering the loop element. This element is a variation of the traditional vertical loop because it lies on an angle of approximately 45°. This variation of a loop is called an inclined loop. The 165-metre (541 ft) slide is over within 7 seconds.[10][11]

Installations

2 AquaLoop slides aboard Norwegian Breakaway.

Name	Water park	Location	Number of slides	Opened
360Rush	Wet'n'Wild Sydney	Prospect, Australia	4 slides	12 December 2013	[12]
Climax	Waterbom Park	Bali, Indonesia	1 slide	2010
AquaLoop	Paradise Island Water Park	Chengdu, China	1 slide	28 June 2013
Loopy whoopy	Aqua magica	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India	1 slide
AquaLoop	Beijing Watercube Water Park	Beijing, China	1 slide	8 August 2010	[13][14]
Mambo	Blue Bayou and Dixie Landin'	Baton Rouge, United States	4 slides	2012	[15]
Aqualoop	Calypso Park	Ottawa, Canada	2 slides	24 June 2011	[16]
AquaLoop	Caribbean Bay	Yongin, South Korea	4 slides	17 June 2011	[17]
AquaLoop	El Rollo	Tlaquiltenango, Mexico	1 slide	2014	[18]
El abismo	Parque Acuático Ixtapan	Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico	1 slide	2010	[19]
La Chute	Jay Peak Resort	Jay, United States	1 slide	25 November 2011	[4]
Aqualoop	Jolly Roger Amusement Park	Ocean City, United States	1 slide	2012	[20]
Aqualoop	Terme 3000	Moravske Toplice, Slovenia	1 slide	May 2008	[21]
AquaLoop	Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast	Gold Coast, Australia	4 slides	18 September 2010	[22]
AquaLoop	Camping Le Pommier	Villeneuve-de-Berg, France	1 slide	June 2013	[23]
AquaLooping	Aqua Magis	Plettenberg, Germany	1 slide	19 September 2008	[24]
Climax	Waterbom Park	Kuta, Bali, Indonesia	1 slide	2011
Cyclone	World Waterpark	Edmonton, Canada	1 slide	12 August 2011
Goop Loop	Cartoon Network Amazone Waterpark	Pattaya, Thailand	1 slide	3 October 2014	[25]
L2	Wave	Wörgl, Austria	1 slide with double loop	March 2010	[26][27]
Liwa Loop	Yas Waterworld	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	1 slide	2014
Looping-Rutsche	Aqualand	Köln, Germany	1 slide	11 April 2009	[28]
Lunar Loop	Wilderness Territory	Wisconsin Dells, United States	1 slide	June 2012
Scorpion's Tail	Noah's Ark Water Park	Wisconsin Dells, United States	1 slide	29 May 2010	[4]
Booster Loop	Aquaparc	Le Bouveret, Switzerland	1 slide	8 May 2010	[29]
Unknown	Therme Amadé	Altenmarkt, Austria	1 slide	August 2011	[30]
Pegasus II	Kristall Palm Beach	Stein, Germany	1 slide with double loop	12 December 2012	[31]
Hurricane Loop	Miramar	Weinheim, Germany	1 slide with double loop	July 2012	[32]
Skyron Rocket	Odissea 2000	Corigliano-Rossano, Italy	1 slide	June 2014	[33]
AquaLoop	RamaYana Water Park	Pattaya, Thailand	1 slide	May 2016	[34]
AquaLoop	Wild River Country	Little Rock, United States	1 slide	May 2015	[35]
The Bullchute	Typhoon Texas	Katy, United States	1 slide	May 2016	[36]
Lassoloop	Epic Waters	Grand Prairie, United States	1 slide	January 2018
AquaLoop	Water Park Tychy	Tychy, Poland	1 slide	30 April 2018
Posseidons Revenge	Atlantis Aquaventure	Dubai, United Arab Emirates	2 slides	May 2013
Free Fall	Norwegian Breakaway (Cruise Ship)	Nassau, Bahamas	2 slides	30 April 2013	[37]
Free Fall	Norwegian Getaway (Cruise Ship)	Nassau, Bahamas	2 slides	2 November 2013	[38]
Free Fall	Norwegian Escape (Cruise Ship)	Nassau, Bahamas	2 slides	15 August 2015	[39]
Ocean Loops	Norwegian Bliss (Cruise Ship)	Nassau, Bahamas	1 slide with double loop	15 March 2018	[40]
Ocean Loops	Norwegian Joy (Cruise Ship)	Nassau, Bahamas	1 slide with double loop	4 March 2017	[41]
Ocean Loops	Norwegian Encore (Cruise Ship)	Nassau, Bahamas	1 slide with double loop	30 October 2019	[42]

Similar water slides

The first known existence of a looping water slide was at Action Park in Vernon, USA, in the mid-1980s. Their water slide featured a vertical loop but was repeatedly closed due to safety concerns.[43][44][45]

More recently, ProSlide developed the SuperLOOP which features a fast, downward spiralling helix after a trapdoor release.[46] The first installation was The Wedgie at nearby WhiteWater World.[47] It was marketed as a looping water slide despite riders never actually experiencing an inversion.[48]

References

1. "AquaLoop – Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast". MyFun. Archived from the original on 12 November 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
2. "AquaLOOP". Aquarena. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
3. "AquaLoop". WhiteWater West. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
4. MacDonald, Brady (22 November 2009). "Water parks vie to open first U.S. looping water slide". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
5. "Aqualoop". Aquarena. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
6. "WhiteWater launches Dueling AquaLoops". WhiteWater West. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
7. "Fun the theme for school holidays". Gold Coast Bulletin. 16 September 2010. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
8. Ardern, Lucy; Westthorp, Tanya (30 December 2009). "Gold Coast theme parks in ride war". Gold Coast Bulletin. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
9. "New attractions for Coast theme parks". Gold Coast Bulletin. 14 July 2010. Archived from the original on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
10. Stojceska, Milena (17 September 2010). "Wet'n'Wild's new AquaLoop set to thrill". Gold Coast Bulletin. Archived from the original on 19 September 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
11. WhiteWater West (12 January 2010). "AquaLoop". Retrieved 29 January 2011 – via YouTube.
12. "360Rush (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
13. Farrar, Lara. "Beijing's Water Cube now has slides, rides, a wave pool and spa". CNNGO. Archived from the original on 19 August 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
14. "Attractions – AquaLoop". Beijing Watercube Waterpark. Archived from the original on 19 November 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
15. "Weltweit erste Aqualoop Loopingrutsche". Archived from the original on 9 February 2012.
16. Levine, Arthur. "Calypso Waterpark". About.com. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
17. "아쿠아 루프 오픈기념 1,000명에게 쏜다!". Samsung Everland. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
18. "El Rollo Aqualoop". Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
19. "El abismo". Archived from the original on 3 August 2014.
20. "Aqualoop | Water Park Ocean City MD". Jolly Roger Splash Mountain Water Park Ocean City MD. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
21. "Weltweit erste Aqualoop Loopingrutsche" (PDF). Retrieved 29 February 2012.
22. "AquaLoop (Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast)". Parkz. Retrieved 10 December 2010.
23. "Aqua Park – Aqua Breeze". Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
24. "AquaMagis Plettenberg – Rutschen & Action – AquaLooping". AquaMagis. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
25. "Goop In This Gravity-defying Water Rollercoaster Thailand". Retrieved 21 January 2017.
26. "L2 – die Doppel-Looping Rutsche". Archived from the original on 27 February 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
27. ""L2" – The World's First Double-Loop Water Slide" (PDF). Retrieved 29 February 2012.
28. "Aqualand in Köln mit Loopingrutsche". Archived from the original on 5 January 2013. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
29. "L'Aquaparc du Bouveret inaugure le Booster Loop le 8 mai 2010". Archived from the original on 15 May 2010. Retrieved 1 October 2012.
30. "THERME AMADÉ – Water Slides". Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
31. "Kristall Palm Beach in Stein – Doppel-Looping Rutsche". Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
32. "Rutschvergnügen – Miramar".
33. "Acqua Park Odissea 2000 – Skyron Rocket". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016.
34. "RamaYana Water Park – Rides".
35. "Wild River Country – Attractions".
36. "Typhoon Texas Waterpark Houston – Rides and Attractions".
37. TODAY, Gene Sloan, USA. "5 things you'll love about the new Norwegian Breakaway". USA Today. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
38. "11 Things to Know About the Norwegian Getaway Cruise Ship". Cruise Hive. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
39. "Cruise ship tours: Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Escape". USA Today. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
40. Meltzer, Matt. "The World's Newest Cruise Ship Also Has the Sickest Rides Onboard". Thrillist. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
41. "The Most Exciting Things to Try on Norwegian Joy |". Cruise Addicts. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
42. "Look inside Norwegian Encore, cruising to New England in 2020 | Boston.com". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
43. Austin, op. cit., 21.
44. Fergus, Tom; May 2006; "Another Action Park Employee Spills His Guts", in "The Reaction to Traction at Action Park"; Weird NJ, 29.
45. Braybrook, Steve; May 2006; "A Survivor from Action Park Writes In", in "The Reaction to Traction at Action Park"; Weird NJ, 29.
46. "SuperLOOP". ProSlide. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
47. "SuperLOOP – Installations". ProSlide. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
48. WhiteWater World (7 April 2010). "THE WEDGIE WATER SLIDE". Commercial. Retrieved 30 December 2010 – via YouTube.

External links

• Official website