Waterparks, anyone?

[Imagineer100]

I personally love water parks. I've been to a few of them but my two favorites would have to be

 

Dollywood's Splash Country

Water County USA

[BeemerBoy]

BTW does anyone else not like this latest trend with amusement parks adding water parks? I mean personally I just don't like the two connected. I am not going to move between the two and despite signs I have to deal with wet seats because they let someone on a ride in their swimsuit... issed:

 

I personally like them even though I don't think it's good for a business stand-point. People like to say that waterparks are really packed, but are they really? How many people can they get compared to a roller coaster, or a flat ride? Or how about even a theater?

 

Water rides are really low capacity when you are talking about the slides. The wavepool has a high capacity, but yet how much electricity are you spending when you have these huge waves. It must cost a fortune to run that thing a lot.

 

I like waterparks when they add them to the parks, but I don't think they help business that much for the money they are spending on them. I don't really care if a seat was wet or not. Big deal.

 

If they're "bad for business," then why do you think so many places are investing in them? Bottom line....water parks = $$.

[ginzo]

If they're "bad for business," then why do you think so many places are investing in them? Bottom line....water parks = $$.

 

Water slides cost a fraction of what big coasters cost. And water parks are frequently slammed with guests. Even bad water parks often get a TON of guests. It doesn't take a Harvard MBA to figure out that this situation = profit.

[Footballteen58]

I've visited:

WetnWild Emerald Pointe many times

Water Country USA

Ocean Breeze

Typhoon Lagoon

Waterworks at KD

Boomerang Bay at Carowinds

Wild Water in Myrtle Beach

Soak City at CP

Hurricane Harbor at SFA

White Water Bay at SFFT

[olly4coastersUK]

I like disney water parks they have the best theming, but i'm not big on the hole taking off my shirt and reveling the monster of a belly underneath.

 

I have more rolls than a bakery and more chins than a phone book in china!

[ginzo]

I like disney water parks they have the best theming, but i'm not big on the hole taking off my shirt and reveling the monster of a belly underneath.

 

You can usually wear t-shirts to water parks. I often do to prevent myself from getting sunburned.

[socalMAN123]

Bombay Blasters is just insane!

Agreed, one of the best waterslides in Socal IMO. I've been to:

Wild Rivers

Raging Waters (San Dimas)

Hurricane Harbor (CA)

Soak City Orange County

Typhoon Lagoon

Blizzard Beach

 

I like Blizzard Beach the best, it has the most rides and it has Summit Plummet.

---Brent

[olly4coastersUK]

I like disney water parks they have the best theming, but i'm not big on the hole taking off my shirt and reveling the monster of a belly underneath.

 

You can usually wear t-shirts to water parks. I often do to prevent myself from getting sunburned.

 

Yer thats normaly what i do, but id rather not, it feels all wet and weird

[bozzboy]

I absolutely love water parks, and think they're quite under-rated really. I've visited Wet n' Wild in Florida a few times and LOVE it, the Bombay Drop (or something similiar) is far scarier than any roller coaster I've ever been on.

 

In Europe there are many decent water parks in popular holiday destinations going by the 'Aqualand' name, and are extremely popular in the summer.

[Flya Pelican]

Here is a map of Splish Splash in Long Island, NY. It's amazing, when I go with my camp on Friday to Splish Splash I'm going to try to go on each ride. Not counting 'Lazy River' & the 'Wave Pool'. Those aren't even rides, just wastes of time. I might even try the Cliff Diver as long as the staff promises I won't have a heart attack!

[TheRapidsNerd]

Big water park fan. More goodies to ride and enjoy. Yay for water slides!

 

Last big water park I went to was Water Country USA. Loved the Lemon Drop and Peppermint Twist (the ones taken out this year). One of those used to be called Sonic Whip I think.

 

Hoping to catch a bowlslide credit this summer.

 

Kalahari and Great Wolf Lodge are the most appealing to me. Something cool about the whole indoor thing.

[andyuk200523]

So here's a question for you all...do you guys like waterparks, and if so, which ones?

 

It always seems as though many coaster enthusaists aren't really into waterparks. Elissa and I *LOVE* them. In fact, every year we try to have a meet up at Hurricane Harbor. While that's not the best water park in the world, we always manage to have fun there.

 

I'd say my favorite water parks are Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, Dorney's Waterpark, Schlitterbahn.

 

--Robb

 

Next time your in Europe you want to be checking out

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TGmBrYpZag

 

Link in case embedded does not work - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TGmBrYpZag

 

Worlds first looping waterslide that doesn't injure people

 

Andrew "Don't know if i would ride that, swimming trunks might disappear somewhere!" Shakespeare

[darklingscribe]

I read about that slide when it was under construction. It's nice to see it working well. I would ride it in a heartbeat.

[sam06pr]

I have only been to water parks...

Aquatica

Blizzard Beach

Las Cascadas de aguadilla- Puerto Rico

Adventure Island

 

I also just walked around water works at KD but did not do anything.

 

I am planning to go to typhoon lagoon and BB sometimes next month.

 

My Fav water park so far is Las Cascadas de Aguadilla. I LOVE THE SLIDES THERE!!! lol.. and have a lot of memories....I wish I could go back

[Goliath513]

I have had my share of water parks. My dad got me into water parks after he talked me into riding the big tube slides at my home park Windsor Waterworks in nor Cal when I was 5 years old. That place closed down in 2004 after some kid drowned there during his school's end of the year field trip. It was nothing special of a park. Just 3 big tube slides, a small generic swimming pool, and a kiddie section. The only thing I miss about it was they let you bring food into the park and had a barbeque area for picnic lunches. There was also volleyball courts, an arcade, and a group area near the back of the park. This was part of a KOA campground located on the other side of the hill where the slides were. If I can find pictures, I will scan them in and post them. I remember my dad always saying our family should do a trip down to Manteca Waterslides which he said was "a bigger and better Windsor Waterworks" that he visited in the 70's. Sadly, because of the 2 hour drive to Manteca, we never got around to going there and it closed the same year as Windsor Waterworks.

 

Other parks I have been to include Waterworld (Concord, and Sacramento before it became Raging Waters). Both were pretty generic parks with no character to them at all. Though the Sacramento park is located in the State Fair at the Cal Expo center. Elitch's water park is basically a smaller version of Concord's Waterworld with colors other than white for the slides. Nothing special about that park. GCA's Boomerang Bay is nothing special either.

 

 

 

But my favorite water park of all, hands down, is Denver's WaterWorld. The park is huge. Much of it is situated on a hill and the slides have terrain layouts, so there are no large ugly free standing structures like at chain parks. They also have three downhill family inter-tube slides in the main section carved into the hillside, so it has more of a feel of a river than a slide. "Ragin Colorado" has an underground section. There are also several larger, themed version of these family innertube slides on the other side of the park. The most famous of them being "Voyage to the Center of the Earth" (themed to the book which the movie is based on). Another is a giant enclosed dark tube with strobe lights and sound effects inside called "Storm" The last of them is Lost River of the Pharaohs which looks like one of the three main ones, but has a large Disney-quality underground Egyptian themed section!

 

 

Guys, bring your girlfriends on these rafting slides! I know I will once I'm living out in Colorado in a few months just 45 minutes from this park!

 

They also have 2 wave pools. The larger of which has waves of epic proportions.

 

Of course, the park has some standard water rides like bowls, drop downs, and a halfpipe. For the most part, these are all located at the bottom of the hill. There are also some small generic tube and body slides near the themed rafting rides. One of the bowl body slides dubbed Space Bowl has a cover on top and disco lights mounted on the ceiling. There is also a kid's play area down there too. My favorite is the Flat Lide drop down body slide, an 80 foot high, 70 degree drop speed slide.

 

 

Other attractions at the park which I almost forgot to list are the Screamin Mimi. You get a sled, take it to the top of the hill and ride it down the track like a roller coaster and glide across the splashdown pool at the bottom. I'll be there are those out there who would count it as a credit. (*coughjeffjohnsoncough*) I love this ride. They also have an innertube rapids ride which is basically a bunch of pools carved out of the hillside connected by "rivers" New for this year is the 8 lane turbo racer slide.

 

 

The park has so much I would never be able to explain it all.

 

 

 

Here is my photo TR from last month at the park.

http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=603494#603494

 

 

One more unique little park, hidden away on the eastern border of Minnesota, is Wild Mountain. They have a few fun slides. Although the place is old and looks run down, this ghetto park is quite fun. My favorite slide there is the Black Hole - an enclosed body slide where you drop down a long steep drop into a sharp right turn underground at the bottom and into the splashdown strip.

 

There's a chance I might go to Wild Mountain next week when I'm visiting family out there.

 

Here are some pictures.

http://www.wildmountain.com/waterpark/waterpark_photoContest-wp.html

[Calvin]

Just hit up our local water park here, Wild Water Adventures, yesterday. It's a pretty good park, defenitely better than the alternative, The Island, which is a hot little chunk of cement with a bunch of out-of-the-box slides. They've got a new bowl slide, "Ghostslider", but everyone referred to it as "Ghostrider" by a mix of muddled advertising and the fact that it's easier to say.

 

Honestly, I wish I'd ridden one of these earlier. Probably the most fun I've had on a water slide, simply because it's so different. I kind of expected the transition to the bowl to hurt, but it was actually really smooth. I can see why they're so popular. Actually, I prefer it to the larger versions, although I've never done the halfpipe kind.

 

It's a great little park, and after I get my photos developed I'll put the pictures I got up.