Lost Island Waterpark planning Theme Park

[AmyUD06]

I haven't seen plagiarism so bad since the "Vortex" sign at Fun Spot Kissimmee,  Like they didn't even change it to Intamin track!

[KBrylczyk]

 

[LegendLover]

3 hours ago, KBrylczyk said:

I hope the park has the bankroll to survive their godawful opening strategy, truly I do, but I'm in Des Moines and have no interest in visiting until Mutagani (at least) is open.  I can't imagine anyone is looking to travel to this place as it is now the most remote, inaccessible park in the country.  They took the crown from Lagoon.

Understandable on why you would like to wait. However, I’d hardly call it remote since it took us just an hour and a half to get to Adventureland afterwards. Plus it’s within a day’s drive of multiple other midwestern parks. But we definitely want to go again this summer after Matugani opens and next year when Yuta Falls opens. I mean I feel lucky that we are only five hours away from Lost Island. It was definitely worth the drive.

[swfan1988]

Changing the eyes must be what's keeping Cedar Fair from suing them...

What does Matugani have to do with snakes anyway?

[AmyUD06]

2 minutes ago, swfan1988 said:

Changing the eyes must be what's keeping Cedar Fair from suing them...

What does Matugani have to do with snakes anyway?

It's the name of a mythical evil snake in their mythical ethos they've developed to theme the park around.

[teacherkim]

Went to an ACE event here last Sat. To echo what everyone said, yes it is amazingly themed and well laid out. We were laughing that we finally got to ride Matugani because we were actually at Liseberg when it was Kanonen but my son was only 9 then and too short to ride. It's a fun whippy little thing and the launch right out of the station is for sure a crowd pleaser. The dark ride is great and we got a bts lights on walk through. No way was I gonna beat myself up on the SLC and all my son said was, "well it's purple all right", lol. The wacky worm actually valleyed, it trimmed so hard that it couldn't make the turn 

The park bent over backwards to cater to us and show us a good time. Their characters and the lore they have created, including a whole language is pretty amazing. There are lots of interactive elements around the park; things you can touch and spin to make other things happen and then if more than one person works as a team even better things happen. The food is fairly good with a few unique items and very reasonably priced for a theme park. In a few years the landscaping will look amazing. Will they make it? I just don't know. I mean if the 88 acers hadn't been there, there maybe would have been about a hundred or so cars in the parking lot; on a Saturday. Is it a destination park, no. Is it worth a stop if you are driving from point A to point B, yes. Is it worth a day trip if close enough, yes. There is a casino across the street for any non park going adult family members. Spoke to a few locals who stated that people just don't know about it, as there is almost no advertising going on. As in literally people who have gone to the water park just down the road, did not know about the park when it opened. I'm not sure how that is possible but he swore that to be the truth. 

I feel like the next couple years will be a tipping point for them. Either the word will get out, more people will start to come and they will be able to keep investing or they won't be able to maintain salaries and basic payments and will fold.

[teacherkim]

Awaiting rescue on a Wacky Worm, lol

[ryder]

I visited earlier this summer and was super impressed.  Yeah, it's small, but it's so amazingly well themed, there was still a lot to do.  You can interact with the park via the app, earning badges by visiting as many locations as possible, which will reveal additional stories.  They partnered with a local bakery to create a flight of cupcakes that represent each land (some of the flavors are blue berry, blood orange, and hazelnut).  There's a specially made children's book in the gift shop that has one of the characters going through the park.  And they even sell a dictionary that translates the language they created.  It was really impressive, and the staff was super nice.

I do really hope this park makes it, though.  There were maybe only about 35 cars in the parking lot the whole day.  They seem to be under the umbrella of the waterpark and casino... not really sure why there isn't a shuttle going between those areas to increase more visits.

Another problem is location... unless you're local to the area, it's a huge headache to get there.  The closest major town with an airport is Des Moines, but it's a regional airport, so flights can be expensive, and it would still be about another 1.5 hour drive.  Next closest would be either Omaha or Minneapolis, both at about a 3.5 hour drive.  And Chicago is about a 4.5 hour drive.

[teacherkim]

 Hmmmm, they gave us the dictionary and suggested we do a treasure hunt on the app but there just wasn't a lot of instruction on how it all works and frankly I cannot see enough people spending that much time trying to learn all the attributes of the app to actually do that. I mean I was there for a special event and had no idea about the cupcakes.  I think they may be assuming people will figure all this out and therefore not explaining how it works well enough. It's a cool concept and I want to like it but I also don't want to spend half the day squinting at an app and trying to figure it out. The app just didn't seem that user friendly to me and I know several people that were started out trying to do the treasure hunt just gave up because using the app was confusing and cumbersome.

Agree 100% that there should be a shuttle between the water park and theme park.

[ryder]

To be fair, I found the app confusing at first, but it becomes more intuitive if you leave on the location tracking.  Basically, the games in the app are a treasure hunt, and it tracks you as you move through the park and rewards you the more of the park you see.  When the location tracking is left off, you'll get automatic notices to your phone when you've found stuff, and it'll start to make a bit more sense.  I think it's something that would add repeat value to the park, because it's clearly a small park, but on subsequent visits, you could devote more time to the games in the app and still be entertained.

And the cupcakes are amazing.  It's a flight, so they are NOT full sized, but bite sized.  But they're high quality, as you can see.  Pricey, but worth it IMO.

I'll add that while the cupcakes are sold in both main eating locations (at room temperature), they are also sold in refrigerated form in the gift shop at the front of the park.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Good afternoon all! - I'm thinking of visiting this park this weekend (Saturday) Not very familar with the park, or crowd levels. Any tips, or advice for a first time visitor?? - We will also be visiting Adventureland on Sunday (So cross posted this in both threads for advice on each park.) Again, another new park for us. Excited for this trip! We love getting new experiences! 

[teacherkim]

15 hours ago, ryder said:

To be fair, I found the app confusing at first, but it becomes more intuitive if you leave on the location tracking.  Basically, the games in the app are a treasure hunt, and it tracks you as you move through the park and rewards you the more of the park you see.  When the location tracking is left off, you'll get automatic notices to your phone when you've found stuff, and it'll start to make a bit more sense.  I think it's something that would add repeat value to the park, because it's clearly a small park, but on subsequent visits, you could devote more time to the games in the app and still be entertained.

And the cupcakes are amazing.  It's a flight, so they are NOT full sized, but bite sized.  But they're high quality, as you can see.  Pricey, but worth it IMO.

I'll add that while the cupcakes are sold in both main eating l:30 ocations (at room temperature), they are also sold in refrigerated form in the gift shop at the front of the park.

Dang. I wish I would have known some of this BEFORE I went. Seems that both the park and the event planners fell down a bit on the job by not explaining all this in a little more detail. I totally would have bought the cupcakes. 

 

2 hours ago, DoinItForTheFame said:

Good afternoon all! - I'm thinking of visiting this park this weekend (Saturday) Not very familar with the park, or crowd levels. Any tips, or advice for a first time visitor?? - We will also be visiting Adventureland on Sunday (So cross posted this in both threads for advice on each park.) Again, another new park for us. Excited for this trip! We love getting new experiences! 

There is no plan needed as far as crowd levels, lol. According to the locals I talked to they seldom have more than 300-500 people in the park at any one time. Which at least makes it one of the most spontaneous park visits you can have.  Since they are open until 9:30 on Saturday I would definitely try to be there after dark, they have amazing lighting packages.

[DoinItForTheFame]

2 hours ago, teacherkim said:

There is no plan needed as far as crowd levels, lol. According to the locals I talked to they seldom have more than 300-500 people in the park at any one time. Which at least makes it one of the most spontaneous park visits you can have.  Since they are open until 9:30 on Saturday I would definitely try to be there after dark, they have amazing lighting packages.

Good to know! Thanks. I wasn't sure what to expect, and there doesn't seem to be a ton of information out there about the park yet. Defiantly looking forward to the visit, and I'll make sure we are there after dark to see the lights!