several of America's largest indoor and outdoor water parks, such as Noah's Ark Water Park. Wisconsin Dells is also home to the first indoor water park in the United States, which was debuted in 1994 by the Polynesian Resort Hotel. Success in extending the tourist season and turning water park resorts into vacation destinations has resulted in tremendous industry growth. Usually, resort hotels featuring massive indoor water parks have been reserved for overnight guests. Companies like Great Wolf Resorts/Great Wolf Lodge and Kalahari Resorts have branched out from their origin in Wisconsin Dells to open new locations around the country. Mt. Olympus Theme and Water Park (formerly Family Land) is another huge water park in the Dells. The largest indoor water park in the UK is Sandcastle Water Park in Blackpool, England, which opened in 1986. There are many water parks in southern Europe where the climate suits a long season. For example, in Portugal's Algarve, there are three main parks: Aqualand, Aquashow, and Slide n' Splash. Water play areas Water play areas are similar to water parks and include urban beaches, splash pads, and smaller collections of water slides in many hotels and public swimming pools. For example, the Chelsea Hotel in Toronto features a four-story water slide called the Corkscrew. Safety According to estimates from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, more than 4,200 people annually are sent to emergency rooms from suffering injuries on public watersides. In July 2015, one drowning and at least three near-drownings were reported at water parks in the United States. On August 7, 2016, Caleb Schwab, the 10-year-old son of American politician Scott Schwab, was decapitated on the Verrückt water ride at the Schlitterbahn water park in Kansas City, Kansas. Following the fatal incident, Verrückt permanently closed. Gallery See also Indoor water park List of water parks References Further reading