Theme park fans who enjoy getting wet n’ wild are celebrating this week as Holiday World in Indiana unveiled plans to open the world’s longest water slide.

The £6m ‘Mammoth’ is due to open in May 2012 and will be 1,700 feet long, 69 feet tall and will cover an area of over three acres.

In the meantime, thrill-seekers have plenty of other options before tackling Mammoth next year, as international travel search site Skyscanner discovered on an adrenalin-fuelled trip round the world’s best theme park rides.

Kingda Ka, New Jersey
The undisputed tallest roller coaster in the world, 456-foot high monster Kingda Ka in Jackson, New Jersey goes from 0 to 128mph in 3.5 seconds, also making it the world’s second fastest roller coaster. Hold on to your hats.

Formula Rossa, Abu Dhabi
Stealing Kingda Ka’s crown as the world’s fastest roller coaster is the 150-mph Formula Rossa at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. The red-hot ride is the centrepiece of the new Ferrari theme park and goes so fast that participants sitting at the front of the ride are made to wear special protective glasses normally used for skydiving.

Collusus, Surrey
For something a little different, why not try the world’s first 10 looping roller coaster at Thorpe Park. The ride spins passengers through the inversions at incredible speeds, before thrusting through a quadruple corkscrew to finish. This one is not recommended after a big meal.

Space Mountain, Orlando
In many ways the classic white-knuckle theme park ride, Space Mountain at Walt Disney resort in Orlando has been thrilling people of all ages for over 30 years. A refurbished version of the ride opened in 2009, and boasts incredible space-themed visuals alongside terrifying drops into pitch black zones.

X2, California
The world’s first 4-D roller coaster ride, the X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain features 360-degree rotating seats and jaw-dropping face first drops. Riders can enjoy an unexpected series of twists and turns along the 3,600 foot steel structure.

l would like to thank a freind of mine Gordon Clinton-Lindop for allowing me to use these photographs of American adventure.

They were taken during the 1990 season and I know from comments to the site and emails its a park allot of people have missed.

I only got to visit the park once during its operation and that was the year before it closed.

The Vekoma boomerang coaster featured on the left  hand side was once classed as Britains best coaster after it opened in 1989.

For anyone that have never been to American Adventure theme park, it was built on the site of an old open cast coal mine and centered around a huge lake in the middle of the park. Some people believe the demise of the park came in 2005 when they re-themed the park as a family park and got rid of the white knuckle rides  including the Vekoma Boomerang coaster they named “the missile’.

Bottom of the first hill, beginning the slow pull back.

Buffalo ride.

I’m guessing this photograph was taken from the wheel. In the distance the log ride and balloons (far left)

Helter Skelter.

A view across the huge lake.

Thanks again to Gordon Clinton-Lindop for the use of the photographs.

To see my previous trip report from American Adventure click here.

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Thanks for reading.