Captain Spacemaker at Caribe Bay in Jesolo, Italy, is one of Europe’s great water slide landmarks: a 42-metre (137.8 ft) tower slide that held the title of world’s tallest water slide for a decade and a half, from its 1999 debut until 2014.
It remains the tallest water slide in Europe — a title the park still advertises — and it delivers its height the old-fashioned way: a 60-degree maximum slope that pushes rafts to speeds up to 100 km/h (62 mph).
Key Stats
| Height | 42 m (137.8 ft) |
| Opened | 1999 |
| Type | Raft speed slide (3–4 riders per raft) |
| Park | Caribe Bay, Jesolo (Venice), Italy |
Fifteen Years on Top of the World
When Captain Spacemaker opened in 1999, nothing on Earth stood taller. It kept the world record until 2014, when the 168-foot Verrückt opened in Kansas City — a slide that has since been demolished, while Spacemaker keeps running every summer. Unusually for a slide this tall, it is ridden in shared rafts of three to four people rather than solo, which makes the 137.8-foot drop a group experience: the park caps each raft at 320 kg combined weight, with a 120 cm minimum rider height.
Riding It
From the top of the tower the Adriatic coastline spreads out below before the floor of the world tilts to 60 degrees. The park rates it “extreme,” its highest difficulty level, and the run out at the bottom uses a dedicated landing lane with just 60 cm of water. It is the signature ride among more than two dozen attractions, most of which — Spacemaker included — are ridden on rafts or aquaspeed sleds.
Caribe Bay
The park opened in 1989 as Aqualandia and rebranded to Caribe Bay in summer 2019, on its thirtieth anniversary. Fully themed as a Caribbean island — complete with a coral-sand beach, a Spanish galleon and Europe’s tallest bungee-jumping tower at 60 metres — it has been voted Italy’s best water park by Parksmania fifteen times. Spacemaker still ranks among the tallest water slides in the world more than a quarter-century after opening.
FAQ
How tall is Captain Spacemaker?
42 metres — 137.8 feet — with a 60-degree maximum slope and speeds up to 100 km/h. It is the tallest water slide in Europe.
Was Captain Spacemaker ever the world’s tallest water slide?
Yes. From 1999 until 2014 it was the tallest water slide in the world, a record it lost to Kansas City’s Verrückt — which was later demolished, while Spacemaker still operates.
Where is Captain Spacemaker?
At Caribe Bay (formerly Aqualandia) in Jesolo, on the Adriatic coast near Venice, Italy. The Caribbean-themed park has operated since 1989.
Photo: Hasehirn-Baden via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)