EVEN though it's winter, there's an indoor water park in the UK families are raving about with some comparing their visit to a foreign holiday.
Located in Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire, Waterworld bills itself as the "UK's number one tropical theme park".
The Midlands water park reportedly has more than 30 rides and attractions, with a £250,000 immersive play village opening on-site last year.
Waterworld also keeps its temperature at a minimum of 31C - even in the winter.
There are a wide variety of rides to suit a range of visitors like thrill-seekers and younger park-goers.
One of the water park's most favoured rides is Space Bowl, with visitors being swirled around a giant UFO before tumbling out into a splash pool beneath.
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Nucleus is another popular ride at the water park, with the water rollercoaster blasting riders along a 375ft slide.
Other adrenaline-inducing rides include Thunderbolt, Stormchaser and Cyclone.
The outdoor pool is closed in the winter but there are several indoor pools open like a wave pool, the rapids and bubble pools.
For younger visitors, there's also an interactive jungle pool house with water cannons, a rope bridge and nursery flumes.
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There's also an on-site restaurant and cafe and a Sweets and Treats Dessert Bar.
Waterworld has thousands of five star reviews on TripAdvisor and Google.
It currently sits as the third-best waterpark in the UK behind Sandcastle Waterpark and Alton Towers Waterpark.
Visitors routinely praise the Midlands water park with some even comparing it to abroad.
One person wrote: "Another fantastic day out at Waterworld today! We've been coming here for years and it's still my 17-year-old's favourite choice.
"The slides are amazing, the best in the country and they rival a lot of water parks abroad".
Another person added: "We felt like we were abroad on holiday, the kids had a great day.
"It was reasonably quiet and they ended up spending five-and-a-half hours in the pool area".
A third person wrote: "Waterworld is a favourite fun indoor activity to enjoy on a rainy day in autumn".
We felt like we were abroad on holiday
Entry tickets cost £24 for a full-paying adult and £20 for kids under 1.1m tall.
Waterworld is closed every Tuesday and Wednesday but is open from 10am until 3pm every Monday, Thursday and Friday.
The waterpark is open until 5pm on weekends.
The park is now hoping to ensure it remains popular with visitors with its latest expansion, which sees a £13m outlay on an energy project to help it save costs in the long run.
Unused roof space across will be used to house thousands of solar panels, to help meet the facility’s energy needs.
Waterworld Group chief operating officer Wayne Goodall told the : “Swimming pools, water parks and health clubs use a lot of energy, day in, and day out, and it’s our priority to make energy supplies as cost-effective as possible.
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Five new water attractions opening in the UK
- Therme Manchester will have 25 swimming pools, 25 water slides and an indoor beach.
- Modern Surf Manchester will be a surfing lagoon offering lessons to both beginners and experts.
- Chessington World of Adventures Waterpark is set to have wave, infinity and spa pools as well as waterslides and cabanas.
- The Cove Resort, Southport is likely to have a water lagoon and a thermal spa with steam rooms and saunas.
- The Seahive, Deal plans to be the "surfing wellness resort" in the UK.
Meanwhile, this waterpark is opening in Europe in spring, with first-of-their-kind slides and wave pools.
And this £14m waterpark is hoping to reopen in the UK.