WhiteWater, a leading waterpark manufacturer, has been honoured with an IAAPA Brass Ring Award 2025 for Best New Product for Wall Runner.
This distinctive attraction marked the first-ever lateral drifting experience in a water slide.
Wall Runner debuted this summer at Soaky Mountain Waterpark in Sevierville, Tennessee, where its eye-catching arcs can be seen from across the park.
The six-person raft ride, named “Rafter’s Rage", has already attracted much attention on social media and enthusiastic reviews from visitors. It combines speed, drops, and high-banking turns in a new ride experience.
Maintaining a high speed of up to 20 mph (33 km/h) throughout the ride, the raft rises over each arc and swings to the next, gaining speed sideways. Wall Runner maximises oscillations while maintaining forward momentum.
Vibrant, adaptable, and efficient
Wall Runner offers both visual impact and versatility. The curved element can be incorporated into many different slide paths. It only requires a curved drop in the opposite direction before and after.
Additionally, the parts are split in a way that allows for fun, colourful designs, and allows each water park to customise the arcs with different gradients, patterns, or themes according to its brand or storyline.
Optional fibreglass effects can be added to elevate the ride experience and excitement.
Wall Runner’s adaptability is also illustrated through its ability to vary the ride experience for different demographics.
The attraction can feel daring, while at the same time, family-friendly. For example, a group of six young adults’ combined weight would make the raft travel faster than one with two adults and two children.
Furthermore, for a ride that creates such a striking visual impact, its effect on water and energy consumption is unexpectedly minimal.
To maximise the wall climb and minimise energy loss between a Wall Runner pair, water is removed before the feature and reinjected afterwards. This process repeats for each Wall Runner pair and is facilitated by gravity-fed water management.
Rather than using several large water pumps, Wall Runner only needs a big pump to start and a small one for sprayers. This design improves efficiency and reduces power consumption.
Onno Meeter, president, Water Parks, says: "Wall Runner is an innovation that demonstrates WhiteWater’s approach to designing exciting rides.
"It not only offers unique ride sensations for guests, it is also eye-catching for a park’s marketing and operationally efficient for a park’s bottom line. Huge thanks to everyone who worked hard to make this ride such a hit—and award-worthy."
Last week, WhiteWater hosted a press conference at IAAPA Expo 2025 that highlighted the company's momentum, with details of ambitious new projects, innovative attractions, and corporate announcements.
