The best waterslides in Melbourne

Family favourite Funfields has three, count ‘em three, world-record holding waterslides. For the competitive water slider there’s the Kraken Racer where you can speed down the track at a staggering 60kms an hour. Next up is the Typhoon, the world’s longest cannonball waterslide. Hold on tight as you and a friend are plunged down 137 metres while you spin around the bowl before arriving at the 19-metre drop. Finally, there’s the big one. The Gravity Wave is extreme just to look at, let alone ride. This 186-metre long monster is the longest, tallest and biggest of its kind in the world. As you hit the near vertical wall you’ll achieve total weightlessness. It’s the closest you’ll get into going into space.

Amongst the family-friendly aquatic attractions at this Geelong institution lies the Tornado, the biggest and longest slide of its kind in Victoria. Climb the 24-metre tower and launch headfirst into a seven-storey drop through the massive funnel. You’ll gain some serious speed as you fly through 360-degree bends and turns, and even achieve moments of weightlessness. 

You don’t have to head too far out of the CBD to find one of the most popular waterslides in the state. As well as a diving board, Olympic sized pool and just about every aquatic addition you could dream of, MSAC is also home to one ripsnorter of a water slide. This fully- enclosed favourite is perfect for all ages. It offers enough thrills for even the most experienced of water slide veterans, but is still accessible enough for younger adrenaline junkies.

The first thing you’ll see when you arrive at this Greensborough favourite are the two snaking slides sticking out the side of the building. Start off with Pipeline, as it twists and turns you in and out of the building and down to the pool below. Once you’re feeling brave, then jump in line for Tantrum Alley, one of the biggest slides in the state. Halfway down this beast the lights go out, meaning you’re racing through total darkness along bends and turns towards the bottom. Just watch out for the big curve in the middle!

Down at Casey RACE are two very different water slide experiences. The main attraction here is the Space Bowl. A cross between a water slide and a washing machine, this whirling and swirling wonder has to be seen to be believed. Dive down the slide only to get shot out into the bowl itself, before spinning around and around as you get closer to the funnel hole in the centre that dumps you back into the pool. It's kind of like a toilet bowl you can ride. For your more traditional thrills and spills, there’s the Raft ride that you can tackle alone, or with a friend if you’re not feeling too brave.

PARC Frankston is home to the Python and Constrictor waterslides. State of the art technology fills the funnel with an array of lights and sounds, so the Python isn’t just a slide, it’s an experience. You can also squeeze through the 114-metre long Constrictor with its distinctive snake-skin design. You and a friend will race down the tunnel as it slowly gets smaller and smaller, bending you through high-speed zigs and zags.

This Werribee aquatic gem is home to two slides; Pipeline and World Alley. Those daring few can take on Pipeline alone, braving the snaking funnel and it slides you back and forth before shooting you out into the pool. Alternatively you can gather up three friends and face World Alley together. Tossing and turning, this slide is sure to make you weak at the knees. But we assure you, all you’ll want to do at the bottom is go again.

There’s no shortage of great playgrounds around Melbourne, which offer everything from classic swingsets to trampolines and wave slides.