On the last day of my Dubai visit, I decided to check out Wild Wadi water park. Wild Wadi was built by Jumeirah Group (famous for creating the Burj Al Arab - which is located across the street from Wild Wadi). Wild Wadi goes toe-to-toe with the best water parks in the world (I’m not a connoisseur by any means, but I’ve visited a few in my years).

I was like a kid in a candy store when I walked through the gates. With nine major rides, I didn’t expect to be able to experience them all. The good news: there were no lines, due to the first day of Ramadan. The bad news, three of the best rides were closed for maintenance. Interestingly, the park was scheduled to shut down for a month the day after we visited for major renovation & repairs.

I went big for my first ride: Jumeirah Sceirah, which is the tallest and fastest free-fall slide outside of North America (go USA!). The 108 foot slide drops rapidly, generating a top speed of 50 mph. The only problem with that math is the slowing down part: you skip across a trough of water, creating an epic wedgie.

Next up, my wife and I tested out the family ride, which involved a large raft and jets that actually move you uphill over a series of rises. While fun, it was a little slow due to the size of the raft. To experience faster speeds, we tested out the Master Blaster, which utilized 1 and 2 person tubes. Similar to the Family ride, the Master Blaster moves you uphill and through a series of optional slides (creating a wide variety of options to get down to the bottom).

Last but not least, I tested my boogie-boarding skills on the Flowrider. While my ride was short, I did manage to get up on my knees before getting washed out like hair down a drain.

[tags]Wild Wadi, Dubai, water park, Jumeirah[/tags]