Now, take what I say with a grain of salt, as I have no validity to my vision for the park, but having this updated water park is definitely a plus for the future of Valleyfair. People can say what they want about Enchanted's takeover, but from listening to the Coaster101 podcast recently, and seeing what Enchanted has been posting on their social media accounts, I don't see Valleyfair heading in a bad direction.
As for the waterpark in its current state this year, having a quality tube slide complex has always been a need with VF's waterpark, and I think the one that they went with is on par with what the Dells offer in terms of capacity and layout. The kiddie lagoon and slides are an interesting choice (I would have picked more advanced kid slides like a mini tornado or boomerang wall slide), but there's no doubt that it will be a nice addition. The placement of what appears to be an adult swim pool with a bar attached over where the old kiddie splash pad was is another interesting choice. I would have placed it as an attachment to the stage and the beach bites quick service location. That way, you can listen to performers while enjoying a dip in a pool reserved for adults. But hey, I don't plan theme parks.
As for the expansion plans themselves, I think the updated pump house where the walking taco stand used to rest could help support a future dual slide/ raft complex where the current one resides. In my opinion, you level that entire elevated field, and build something vertical that has a few raft slides on the top and some body slides below. Maybe, if lucky, you could also fit a Matt Racer ride where the old entrance was (confirmed in a recent drive by that the new entrance will be over by Mad Mouse). As for the original Barefoot Beach, I think it should eventually be replaced with a large-scale kiddie slide tower with the large bucket on top. Theme it to the Lake Superior lighthouses you can find on the north shore, and have the light at the top spin every time the bucket is scheduled to tip.
Does anyone else have thoughts on the matter tho? I know we need a new coaster, but the significant change in the waterpark this year is at least a step in the right direction. All we can do now is continue showing up for Enchanted to prove VF's place in the chain, and explain in any surveys that they send out that we need a new decent-sized coaster (in a perfect world, it would also be in the front and act as a Gatekeeper-style ride).