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The Park at OWA has three new additions for 2019

Mystic Mansion - indoor and air conditioned shooting dark ride

Paula Deen restaurant: same concept as Branson and Pigeon Forge

Legends in Concert that can hold 400 people. This live tribute show already exists throughout the US, some my have seen it in Atlantic City, Vegas or Branson

 

https://www.al.com/news/mobile/2019/03/paula-deen-restaurant-new-ride-coming-to-owa-for-2019.html

 

Paula Deen restaurant, new ride coming to OWA for 2019

Posted Mar 12, 2:24 PM

By Lawrence Specker | lspecker@al.com

 

A new Paula Deen restaurant, a “Legends in Concert” tribute show and a haunted house theme park ride are among the top new attractions coming to the OWA amusement park in Foley this summer.

 

A lot of work remains to be done: For example, the imposingly large building that will house Paula Deen's Family Kitchen still has earth-moving equipment and piles of dirt inside it. However, OWA officials made clear during a media tour that they're pushing forward with Phase II development of the destination development that opened in 2017.

 

OWA, developed by the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, has two main components: The retail and entertainment space of Downtown OWA, and the 14-acre Park at OWA, an amusement park featuring the massive Rollin’ Thunder roller coaster and an array of rides. (The overall 520-acre OWA tract also includes the city of Foley’s Sports Tourism Complex and events center.)

 

New features are in place or in the works for both Downtown OWA and the amusement park. Highlights:

 

Paul Deen's Family Kitchen: The latest addition to OWA's dining options will include restaurant and retail space and is on track for an opening in mid to late summer, said Kristin Hellmich, director of marketing and public relations for OWA. The restaurant chain already has stores in Branson, Mo., and Pigeon Forge Tenn., among its other locations. It promises "endless portions of Southern-Style entrees and side dishes" from the "Queen of Southern Cooking."

 

Legends in Concert: A new 400-seat theater is being build for this live celebrity tribute show, already a fixture in Branson, Atlantic City, Las Vegas and other locations. Hellmich said the show schedule and ticket prices haven't yet been set, nor has the exact roster of celebrity tribute artists. But she said it's likely shows will be presented six nights a week.

 

Mystic Mansion: Partly in requests from patrons for an indoor amusement ride this "dark" ride will be fully indoors and air-conditioned. It'll also be interactive, Hellmich said, allowing patrons to blast away at ghosts as they make their way through.

 

Non-Rider Passes: Park officials said they got a lot of requests to accommodate people who wanted to go into the amusement park but not ride the rides -- for example, grandparents who wanted to accompany family groups. It's now possible to request a non-rider pass, which allows free access to the Park but not to the rides. Paying customers get wristbands that grant ride access.

 

Level Up: Another new facility coming to the park is an eSports center complete with PC video gaming equipment and game consoles. Hellmich said it'll be tailored to family groups but likely also will be used as a tournament space.

 

Sweet Tooth: Downtown OWA's new-for-2019 retail outlets will include this candy store.

 

"We're really trying to create an environment where there's something for everyone," said Hellmich.

 

OWA general manager Steve Honeycutt said the park has enjoyed strong seasonal business. “We’re where we need to be in the summer,” he said. The next challenge for the park’s owners is to strengthen business in the so-called “shoulder seasons” before and after the summer months, he said.

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Non-Rider Passes: Park officials said they got a lot of requests to accommodate people who wanted to go into the amusement park but not ride the rides -- for example, grandparents who wanted to accompany family groups. It's now possible to request a non-rider pass, which allows free access to the Park but not to the rides. Paying customers get wristbands that grant ride access.

 

Non-Rider Pass To The Park

 

This is the most exciting part of that announcement for me. We're going in June for the first time and my partner had no plans to ride anything. It will save us half. This is good since I'm just going for a quick stop to get the credits on the way to TX.

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  • 3 weeks later...

More expansion at the Park at OWA includes an RV Park (for 2019), hotel and indoor waterpark (for 2019).

 

 

https://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article228728959.html

 

Gulf Coast’s first indoor waterpark hotel is on the way with $100M expansion

By Mary Perez

April 02, 2019

 

Two years after The Park at OWA opened in Foley, Alabama, the amusement park is about to grow by $100 million.

 

Construction of Phase II will begin this summer and will add a 100,000-square-foot indoor waterpark that will have water attractions open all year and in all types of weather.

 

Also part of the expansion are a 200-room resort hotel with conference space plus a luxury family RV park.

 

The RV park tentatively is scheduled to open at the end of 2019 and the hotel and indoor waterpark in early 2021.

 

While indoor hotel waterparks are popular in the Northeast and now in the Atlanta area, the only other indoor waterpark the owners could find on the Gulf Coast is The Kroc Center, operated by The Salvation Army in Biloxi.

 

“We chose to start the next phase with a large indoor waterpark because it allows our guests a year-round opportunity to play in the water,” said Kristin Hellmich, OWA’s director of marketing and public relations. “Whether it’s cooling off their summer sun burns or escaping cold temperatures, this exciting new amenity will provide never-ending thrills.”

 

It hasn’t been decided yet whether the waterpark will be for hotel guests only or if it will be open to the public, she said.

 

OWA (pronounced oh-wah) opened in July 2017 and now has 22 attractions, one of which is a splash pad. It is operated by Creek Indian Enterprises Development Authority, the economic development arm of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which also owns a casino site in D’Iberville.

 

Adjacent to the park is Downtown, a shopping and dining attraction that is open with no admission fee. A Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen, a Southern-style restaurant and gifts, will open there soon.

 

With this expansion of OWA, total investment at the park will exceed $350 million.

 

“Being a substantial economic driver for the State of Alabama, we have continually invested into OWA’s diverse entertainment offerings in an effort to provide visitors and residents with a one-of-a-kind resort experience,” said Cody Williamson, president/CEO of CIEDA.

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More expansion at the Park at OWA includes an RV Park (for 2019), hotel and indoor waterpark (for 2019).

 

 

https://www.sunherald.com/news/business/article228728959.html

 

Gulf Coast’s first indoor waterpark hotel is on the way with $100M expansion

By Mary Perez

April 02, 2019

 

Two years after The Park at OWA opened in Foley, Alabama, the amusement park is about to grow by $100 million.

 

Construction of Phase II will begin this summer and will add a 100,000-square-foot indoor waterpark that will have water attractions open all year and in all types of weather.

 

Also part of the expansion are a 200-room resort hotel with conference space plus a luxury family RV park.

 

The RV park tentatively is scheduled to open at the end of 2019 and the hotel and indoor waterpark in early 2021.

 

While indoor hotel waterparks are popular in the Northeast and now in the Atlanta area, the only other indoor waterpark the owners could find on the Gulf Coast is The Kroc Center, operated by The Salvation Army in Biloxi.

 

“We chose to start the next phase with a large indoor waterpark because it allows our guests a year-round opportunity to play in the water,” said Kristin Hellmich, OWA’s director of marketing and public relations. “Whether it’s cooling off their summer sun burns or escaping cold temperatures, this exciting new amenity will provide never-ending thrills.”

 

It hasn’t been decided yet whether the waterpark will be for hotel guests only or if it will be open to the public, she said.

 

OWA (pronounced oh-wah) opened in July 2017 and now has 22 attractions, one of which is a splash pad. It is operated by Creek Indian Enterprises Development Authority, the economic development arm of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians, which also owns a casino site in D’Iberville.

 

Adjacent to the park is Downtown, a shopping and dining attraction that is open with no admission fee. A Paula Deen’s Family Kitchen, a Southern-style restaurant and gifts, will open there soon.

 

With this expansion of OWA, total investment at the park will exceed $350 million.

 

“Being a substantial economic driver for the State of Alabama, we have continually invested into OWA’s diverse entertainment offerings in an effort to provide visitors and residents with a one-of-a-kind resort experience,” said Cody Williamson, president/CEO of CIEDA.

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Very exciting to see this park and area grow and continue to find success.

 

Between OWA and ASA's continue growth I might find myself planning a quick weekend trip to Alabama in the next few seasons.

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  • 1 year later...

This is a bit of old news right now, but Owa released concept images for the new waterpark.  Not going to lie, this is a great-looking indoor waterpark with a nice collection of slides. This expansion may use most of the expansion directly next to the amusement park, but I think this is a smart move. Waterparks tend to have a high return on investment with a minimal amount of expansion required to keep drawing in decent crowds. It will probably end up being a bigger draw for Owa than the amusement park. Hopefully, this will attract enough people to Owa to get larger crowds in the amusement park so that the amusement park can receive some more expansion someday.  I went to Owa in the summer of 2019, and the park felt rather empty on a Thursday afternoon during the summer and I think that only half of the spaces in the downtown section were occupied, and none of them by major retailers. I think that this new expansion will do wonders for Owa, especially with the ability to be open year-round as opposed to Waterville USA down the street which operates from Memorial Day to Labor Day. 

Park at Owa Waterpark 4.jpg

Park at Owa Waterpark 3.jpg

Park at Owa Waterpark 2.jpg

Park at Owa Waterpark.jpg

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  • 1 month later...

Air service is rapidly expanding in this area. Destin got Allegiant several years ago and has been growing since. Now Southwest has entered Destin. Next up is Gulf Shores, they are building a terminal and will surely land a LCC "Allegiant" type carrier. 

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