Experience a WORLD'S FIRST only at Zoombezi Bay!
OPENING SUMMER 2025
- Experience THREE groundbreaking attractions you can’t find together at any other water park on Earth!
- Each slide offers thrilling fun for the whole family, bringing even more adventure for Zoombezi Bay’s guests!
Why Conservation Tower? At Zoombezi Bay, every splash supports a mission. Conservation Tower celebrates Zoombezi Bay’s dedication to conservation through our partnership with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, fueling their mission to Empower People. Save Wildlife. Each slide name is inspired by the Zoo’s impactful local conservation efforts, giving you a thrilling way to join the cause while you play!
The Hive
What’s with all the buzz? Because The Hive is the first waterslide of its kind in the entire world! Experience extreme positive G-forces as you fly through 720 degree helixes in two massive beehives, complete with translucent effects and a hollow spiral enclosure that is open to the sky.
- Two-person tube
- Height requirement: 42" with supervising companion, 48" to ride alone
The Connection to Conservation
The Hive highlights the Zoo’s on-grounds efforts to support pollinator gardens and native prairie growth. Since 2021, the Zoo has partnered with the Bee and Butterfly Habitat Fund and the USFWS- Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program to add more than 11 acres of prairie to the Zoo property. These sites are filled with up to 40 different grass and wildflower varieties native to Ohio and surrounding states, including milkweeds and goldenrod.
Mussel Mayhem
Mussel Mayhem is the first waterslide of its kind in the Midwest! One of the longest waterslides at Zoombezi Bay, guests will experience two halfpipe cutbacks and two funnel elements for one of the most disorienting and exciting rides you’ll ever experience. And to top it off, guests ride in unique rafts facing one another!
- Two-person tube
- Height Requirement: 42" with a supervising companion, 48" to ride alone
The Connection to Conservation
Did you know that freshwater mussels play a vital role in maintaining healthy river ecosystems, yet approximately 20% of North America’s threatened and endangered species are freshwater mussels?
The Watters Aquatic Conservation Center, located across the Scioto River from the Columbus Zoo and Zoombezi Bay, is a facility dedicated to the study and preservation of freshwater mussels and other aquatic organisms. Since 2002, this unique facility has been part of a multi-organization partnership, including the Zoo, The Ohio State University, and the Ohio Division of Wildlife, that strives to deepen our understanding of imperiled mussels and their ecosystems and mitigate population decline.
Captina Falls
Experience the only waterslide of its kind in the world at Zoombezi Bay! Starting 51 feet in the air, Captina Falls lets two guests race one another head-first to the bottom, through enclosed tubes, rally points, and high speed turns on the only RallyRACER with FlyingSAUCER 8'S in the entire world! There’s even a racing timer – compete for the best times and see who wins!
- Ride Captina Falls on a mat
- Height Requirement: 42"
The Connection to Conservation
Captina Creek is a small waterway in eastern Ohio that has a big impact on conservation. The largest amphibian in North America, the Eastern hellbender is classified as endangered, due primarily to habitat loss and pollution. Both the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium and The Wilds are members of the Ohio Hellbender Partnership, a group dedicated to reverse the dramatic decline of hellbenders in the wild. Hellbender eggs are collected in their native ranges. After hatching, hellbenders are hand-reared by expert teams at the Zoo and The Wilds and re-released into their native ranges, including Captina Creek.
In 2025, the Zoo, The Wilds and Zoombezi Bay will all be paying homage to our amazing conservation work with the Eastern hellbender. The Zoo will be opening the new Ohio Center for Wildlife Conservation, located within the brand-new North America Trek region, which will feature the Eastern hellbender and its conservation story. The Wilds will be opening its brand-new Hellbender RV Campground, further expanding accommodations at this amazing conservation facility. And Zoombezi Bay will introduce the first and only waterslide of its kind in the world, Captina Falls.