NEWS: Lake Winnie announces 5-acre water park expansion

[Aceattack52]

It's nice to see Lake Winnie expanding. There hasn't been much in terms of expansion therefor a while. Certainly not comparable to something like a Six Flags or Cedar Fair park. But of course, it's a small park that's not part of a chain. Keeping small parks like that around is important.

[warlord]

Ok, so the new expansion is set to open tomorrow @ 1pm and supposed to be 100% ready. From the last update video they had it did not look like they were ready to open. I know you can do a lot in half a month but it just doesn't look ready to go. Can anyone disprove my theory?

[BeemerBoy]

Lake Winnie's brand new 5-acre water park, "SOAKya," opened today.....and TPR was there to cover it for ya!

 

The multi-million dollar expansion features:

 

* Adventure River with Beach Lagoon

* 7 body and tube slides

* Three distinct swimming pool areas, including a kids pool

* Retail and concessions

* Changing area with l.ockers

 

Ticket Price:

 

Included in park-admission - two great parks at one low price! $26/10 for children under 10 and seniors when SoakYa in not open.

$31.95/15.95 during SoakYa's season (Memorial Day thru Labor Day)

 

Okay, first impressions. This expansion was very much needed, not only for the park, but the region as a whole. Most people being interviewed today agreed that a two hour drive north or south (Dollywood or Six Flags Whitewater) becomes frustrating after a while. Therefore, families in the area are gonna love this place during the summer!

 

Make no mistake, seasoned water park fans won't be blown away by anything at SoakYa, but for a small family owned park like Lake Winnie, it's the absolute perfect step in the right direction. While no details were divulged concerning the years to come, this is considered "Phase 1," in what can only be surmised as an optimistic future outlook for the park as a whole.

 

In my humble opinion, I'd expect record numbers this summer, followed by a very positive future for Lake Winnie! Great thanks to all of Lake Winnie's staff for their wonderful hospitality on an excellent Opening Day! On to the pics....

The parking lot in the upper right is where SoakYa is now located.

A look at the entrance from within the rides side of the park.

There were plenty of tables, chairs, and umbrellas around.

The train route now has a stop right at the entrance to SoakYa.

And it's officially open!!

FOOD!!!

Food and drink prices.

Showers/restrooms/changing areas/and l.ockers off to the right.

It's great to float by the Cannonball now!

The lazy river was pretty good in design. In fact, don't be surprised if it's dialed back a bit or cranked up a notch, with everyone given a life jacket, a la Aquatica's "speed" river.

Two body slides and two tube slides. Again, nothing groundbreaking, but remember, this is just "Phase 1."

Kiddie area.

Plenty of shades areas to lounge.

Walking across Coke product bottle caps = win!

At the furthest part of the park you can see plenty of room for future expansion.

"Zero entry" portion of the lazy river.

Gift shop.

Cannonball is still a really fun out and back woodie!

Thanks again to Lake Winnie for a great day! SoakYa is a perfect addition, and the future of the park looks really good!

[cfc]

It's a good idea having the train stop there. This looks like a very nice addition to Lake Winnie.

[Meteornotes]

Cool addition for this park. I really liked this park when I was there a few years ago, and it's nice to see this sort of expansion, which I'm sure will be VERY popular!

 

dt

[_koppen]

I wonder who did the slides here, it doesn't look like it's one of the big ones.

[BeemerBoy]

^ You're correct, it's not one of the big manufacturers. Don't quote me on this, but I *think* it's AquaBlue.

[Solid Gold]

Can't wait for 7-8 years from now when the park's attendance has doubled and something REALLY awesome comes in.

 

Major props to whoever got the train to stop at the waterpark entrance. I have always wanted to jump off the ride at that exact point, and with the big expansion, it is very good foresight to see that people will want to use the train as transportation. Go Lake Winnie!

[PKI Jizzman]

Wow I remember taking pictures in that area on the way home from Deep South the other year; it was just a grassy field. Very impressive! Great addition, it looks nice.

[palmerleeberry]

Six years ago, I visited Lake Winnie as stop#1 during my Pigeon Forge/Gatlinsburg/Cherokee trip. I got $10 off because I came during mid August and they were running a "Back-to-School" special. The park was small, but it was big on thrills.

 

Now with the "Soakya" expansion, I can see more and more visitors coming with each passing season. The train will definately be more popular because it's status has changed from being an attraction you rode once around the park to an attraction that will transport guests, that don't want to walk all the way, to and from Soakya.

 

In one picture, it showed sites for possible expansions. Maybe Lake Winnie will finally get a giant steel coaster or get their very own water coaster? Who knows?

 

"I'm not perfect; I just love to ride"

[disneymoc]

I'll be headed there on Friday for my wife's company picnic. My 5-year-old daughter is looking forward to this. As mentioned, this is a HUGE deal for local families as a couple of plans for a water park a few miles from Lake Winnie fell through. It always made sense to me for Lake Winnie to be the ones to actually pull it off.