cfc Posted May 9, 2008 Posted May 9, 2008 Rock ‘n’ Roll Island (RnR) is a new attraction at Water Country USA in Williamsburg, Va., and Busch threw a nice party to kick it off. Media Day for RnR, the park’s first new attraction since 2003 (when the Hubba Hubba Highway lazy river debuted) was held on Thursday, May 5. RnR is essentially a reworking of the park’s original Adventure Isle section, which was a play area with lily pads, a lazy river, and two body slides: the Peppermint Twist (or as one of my friends dubbed it, the “Atomic Wedgie”) and the Lemon Drop. Busch kept the lazy river and expanded the swimming area of the pool (more than half of RnR is reserved for swimming and relaxing), but they replaced the old slides with a new tower—Jammin’ Juke Box. Riders can plunge into the pool 33 feet below on three different slides named for old dance crazes: the “Twist” (pink slide), the “Funky Chicken” (the blue slide), and the “Hully Gully” (the green slide). These slides remind me quite a bit of the old Peppermint Twist, only without the wedgie at the end. Each is a fully enclosed, yet translucent tube, and they’re good rides. The “Funky Chicken” is the steepest and craziest of the three, I think. Each ride lasts about 15 seconds—a little longer if you’re wearing a business suit, or a life jacket with a camera strapped to your chest (I’ll explain later). There's also a new slide for kids--the "Little Bopper." Many water parks are putting in more-intense attractions, such as “tornado” or “half-pipe” slides, but Water Country’s philosophy is a bit different, or so Mark Pauls, vice president, park operations, Busch Gardens said. Families that visit the Historic Triangle of Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, and Jamestown are the park’s primary audience, and an attraction like RnR appeals to all age groups. Water Country has been around since 1984, but Busch purchased the park in 1992, giving it a 1950s/1960s rock-and-roll theme. Other attractions include Aquazoid (a big family raft slide with lighting and sound effects), Malibu Pipeline (an enclosed slide in ptich darkness), and the Jet Scream (which was the park's original set of body slides, but Busch converted them to tube slides in the 1990s). The park put on a nice little show (and provided free food, of course), with plenty of old-school rock-and-roll and dancing bobby-soxers and hepcats (or whatever they used to call the cool kids back in the 1950s). Here are the pictures from Water Country’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Island Media Day, along with a video of my slide down the Hully Gully. Water Country is currently open on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about the park, go to http://www.watercountryusa.com. "Uh, would you two like to be alone?" More to come. "Er, pay no attention to that guy in the pool!" . . . and get really funky (like Vin Diesel here). Yeah, let's all get down . . . . . . everybody Twist! Soon, Busch will strap a camera to my chest and I'll do the Hully Gully, but first . . . The old "lily pads" have been replaced with guitars and keyboards. Or maybe you'd rather be a "Little Bopper." If you're ready to Twist, Hully Gully, or Funky Chicken, the Jammin' Juke Box has you covered. But keep going past Surfer's Bay--then you'll find Rock 'n' Roll Island. . . . or the ghost of Buddy Holly. . . . or the shadows of the Beatles . . . . . . or some of the park's "beach party" themeing . . . Perhaps you'll see a big doofus trying to eat a giant plastic hamburger . . . Here's another change for the park. They had to move the entrance to accomodate a new shopping center next door. And what will you see as you enter the park? hullygully_cfc.zip hullygully_cfc.wmv Here's an on-slide video of the Hully Gully. You actually go quite a bit faster without a 10-pound camera strapped to your chest.
cfc Posted May 9, 2008 Author Posted May 9, 2008 After the twistin' comes the talkin' and the slidin'. Yep--there he is. More to come. I think this is Bryan from BGE Escape. Now, I'm pretty certain this is me. The camera rig is rather heavy. . . . the Hully Gully. Those feet could be mine, for all I know. Well, there's time to grab a hotdog before my ride on . . . Here's Kimberly, who showed us around during Media Day. Thanks for everything, Kim--you're awesome! Mark is a little soggy, but still happy to answer any questions about the park. Well done, Mr. Reilly! You're a man among men! And here's Mark! (At least I think it's Mark--kind of hard to tell with that bathing cap and all.) Then Suzy Cheely (director, design and engineering, Busch Gardens) joins John and Mark for the inaugural slide--in their business suits! (I think those are John's stockinged feet behind Suzy.) The pool crowd watches and listens in rapt attention. . . . and Mark Pauls, vice president, park operations, Busch Gardens. And we hear a few words from John Reilly, executive vice president and general manager of Busch Gardens and Water Country USA . . . A DJ sets the mood.
cfc Posted May 9, 2008 Author Posted May 9, 2008 Some more dancin' 'n' slidin'. The King and I would like to thank you--thank you verra much--for reading this TR. One last look at the Jammin Juke Box as I head out (and the rain begins to fall). After some hard slidin', you can chill out in the lazy river, like these two dudes. This is where the video magic is supposed to happen. I guess those chest cameras can be picked up on that satellite dish. And here's the back of the lucky winner--oh well. They raffled off a weekend at the Kingsmill Resort and Spa. Shamu, you are totally going down! Yeah, how cool was that? "OK, I look cool. Chicks dig guys who can wipeout and still look cool!" Oh, the humanity! "Oh my freakin' God, what am I doin'?" You've done the "Twist." Time for a few wipeouts and splashdowns. Feet first, please. Here's some of the crew responsible for the slide videos. Is it just me, or does the DJ look a lot like "Terry the Toad" from "American Graffiti"? Maybe a little Paul Giamatti-esque? Time for a little funky chicken action. (Sorry--I missed the hully gully.)
robbalvey Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 Wow! I really love the look of this park. BTW, Chuck, the video is AMAZING! Thanks for posting! --Robb
SharkTums Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 Great report! I love waterparks and would really like to get to this one some day! How cold was the water out of curiosity?
Erik Johnson Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 I think its really cool that Busch seems to supply visitors for media day onride video of them riding the rides. They did this with both Griffon and the Floorless SheiKra media events as well. Awesome report Chuck!
cfc Posted May 10, 2008 Author Posted May 10, 2008 ^^As I recall, Water Country heats the pools up to 82 degrees if the outside temperature drops below 78 (I think this is posted on a sign at the main gate). The pool was quite comfortable on Media Day, but it was a bit chilly on top of the slide tower. ^There were quite a few people there, some of whom won some sort of "contest." The parking lot attendants were doing double duty, because Kingsmill was also using the Water Country lot for their big LPGA tournament.
TheRapidsNerd Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 This is great stuff! Thanks for the coverage on this!
Mr Stratosphere Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 Thanks for posting this!! I think its really classy having the managers slide down in their suits! John
Rafcoaster Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 woo, this looks really cool! i love waterslides very much! that video (first post) is really cool! good job
pkdcoaster Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 Cool report Chuck but I am still disappointed that they got rid of Lemon drop and the peppermint twist. That pool is big enough where they could have added more slides in addition to those. JEFF
Swimace Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 I can't believe they got rid of the old slides! One of those things was insane! That makes me kind of sad that they got replaced with these tamer looking slides. Oh well, it's still a really fun water park. The last time I was there was right after they opened "Hubba Hubba Highway", I can't believe they haven't had an addition since then.
cfc Posted May 10, 2008 Author Posted May 10, 2008 Actually, the Jammin' Juke Box slides are much like the Peppermint Twist, just not quite as intense (and without the forced enema and wedgie the old Twist used to give riders). They removed the Atomic Breakers, too, because they were the park's lowest-rated attraction. (Guests had to haul their tubes back up the hill after riding, which I suspect may have had something to do with the Breakers' low popularity. Then again, you have to do the same for the Wild Thang, which uses the same splash pool.) I was always indifferent toward the Lemon Drop slides--usually didn't bother with them. Here are pictures of the slides that used to be part of Adventure Isle, in case anyone's curious. Peppermint Twist Lemon Drop
coasterking2981 Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 Great pictures and awesome onride! While we are on the topic of waterparks, anyone know if SF Hurricane Harbor is getting some new new attractions?
anthony b+m lover Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 wow, what a great addition, to this 50's themed waterpark. it fits perfect also the pov was great
Carnage Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 That was a mildly disturbing video. Nice report Chuck!
coastercrazed49 Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 Nice Video Chuck. That Peppermint Twist slide looks really cool and original. I haven't seen many of those around. This is a great idea for a water park, and I hope to visit it someday.
robbalvey Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 ^ Did you even READ this thread??? The peppermint slides were the ones that were REMOVED. --Robb "Kids these days...." Alvey
cfc Posted May 10, 2008 Author Posted May 10, 2008 ^^Well, I think the new slides do use the same tower, at least.
Ccron10 Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 The Peppermint Twist slides did seem cool, but too bad they had to be removed. I haven't been down to Water Country since 1995 when I was only 3 years old! I REALLY gotta get down there; I don't even remember my last trip.
Chadley Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 I haven't been down there since '03 when they opened Hubba Hubba Highway, (which I still love more than any other lazy river!), and had wondered what had been going on down there recently. Now I know, thanks Chuck...awesome video!
Kennyweird Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 ^^ I was at Water Country back in 2003, and I don't remember a bit of it either. However, I do remember seeing those peppermint twist slides and thinking, "Wow, those look scary! I'm never riding those." I do like the look of the new theming and slides, though. It should be popular with the kids.
orangecats2 Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 LOL to the Vin Diesel refrence! And Paul Giamatti??? The video? Awesome! Thanks, hope you had fun.
coastercrazed49 Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 ^ Did you even READ this thread??? The peppermint slides were the ones that were REMOVED. --Robb "Kids these days...." Alvey Wow I can't believed I missed that. I don't know much about this water park. Sorry for the post.
Yankee cannonball Posted May 10, 2008 Posted May 10, 2008 It sucks that the peppermint twists were removed. they look damn scary! If they didn't tear peoples butts off, I'd spend all day on them.
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