About

Xobi's Water Slides Encyclopedia started as a seven-year-old's question: why isn't there an encyclopedia of water slides? There wasn't, so we built one. The goal is simple and slightly mad: document every water slide in the world, explain how each one works with a playable animation, put them all on a map, and report the news as it happens.

How we check facts

Every number has a source. Heights are the slide's vertical drop (what Guinness measures), not the tower, and where a park advertises the tower we say so. When reputable sources disagree, the page shows a yellow "Sources differ" note rather than silently picking one. Manufacturer and park claims that Guinness has not verified are labelled as claims.

Principal sources

• Guinness World Records
• TEA/AECOM Global Experience Index (visitor numbers)
• Manufacturers: WhiteWater West, ProSlide Technology, Polin, wiegand.waterrides, Aquarena, Splashtacular, Vortex, FlowRider
• Industry press: Blooloop, Park World, InPark Magazine, Amusement Today (Golden Ticket Awards), IAAPA, WWA
• Coasterpedia and Wikipedia ride and park articles
• Standards: ASTM F2376, EN 1069; TÜV SÜD; The Regulatory Review
• National Geographic "The Science of Water Slides"; KCUR and Insurance Journal (Verrückt case)

Why drawings, not photos?

Photographs of slides belong to the parks and photographers who took them. Rather than borrow them, every illustration here is an original drawing generated from the slide's own profile, which also lets us animate it. Parks and manufacturers who would like to contribute licensed photographs are very welcome: get in touch.

Two reading levels

The 🧒 Kids / 🤓 Enthusiast switch in the header changes every page between a simple, friendly version and a detailed one. Both are written by hand; neither is a summary of the other.

Open data

Everything in the database is available as JSON at /api/, free to use with a link back.