Back in the 1980s, this water park in Oakbrook Terrace (with a very interesting name) was one of THE places to visit in Illinois, and today only ruins of it lie around, still visible today.

Illinois' water park with the most unusual name

Today I came across an article by Only in your state about an abandoned water park in Illinois that was named (are you ready for this?): Ebenezer Floppen Sloppers wonderful water slides.

LOL! Is this real?!? How did the owners come up with this name? What was the inspiration for it? Well, I couldn't find an answer to the why behind the water park's unusual name, but I did find some information that is quite fascinating and also a little bit spooky.

Where were Ebenezer Floppen Slopper's wonderful water slides?

Ebenezer Floppen Sloppers wonderful water slides is/was lLocated on a large hill at Roosevelt Road and Route 83 in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois. It opened in 1980, attracted huge crowds, and was continually expanded with more slides and attractions until it suddenly closed in 1989.

I did a little searching on Google Earth to see if this abandoned water park still exists but the pictures don't show much…maybe because it's so overgrown? From what I've read, here is the area where I believe the ruins of the water park are…

If you zoom in, you can see a graffiti-covered billboard, pathways (which I believe are the remains of the old water slides), and even what look like large spotlights scattered throughout the thicket.

Wikipedia states that this property is currently owned by the Robinette family, who own a demolition company nearby, and that they have installed numerous security features to keep gawkers away. The Wikipedia entry also states:

In July 2009, numerous cracks and crevices were visible in the two large concrete slides, from which saplings ranging from 1.8 to 2.4 metres in height had grown. By this time, the foam lining had come off the slide walls and was lying in disarray in the slides, the slide walls were covered in graffiti, and the slides were also filled with branches and dirt, particularly about 45 metres above the diving pool where a retaining wall had recently collapsed, filling one of the slides to the brim with dirt and weeds.

Sounds pretty awful, right? In reality, it's even worse. Check out this YouTube video from 2010:

Disgusting. I can only imagine what the site looks like today.

Please remember, this deserted land is Private property and trespassers will be prosecuted. If you want to learn more about Ebenezer Floppen Sloppers Wonderful Water Slides, do what everyone else does… google it.