Ahead of the 2023 summer season, WhiteWater announced project openings all over the world, with numerous new developments across its water park, water ride, and surf divisions.
“We’re proud to have over 60 new projects that have either already opened or are expected to open this year,” said Onno Meeter, President, Water Parks. “From pushing the boundaries with record breakers and bringing world-class attractions to new markets to supplying to some of the most trusted brands in leisure, WhiteWater’s expertise is helping parks to succeed in different environments.”
Building Anticipation in EMEA
Continuing collaboration with established brands, 2023 openings in the European market include water parks on the new cruise ships, Carnival Jubilee and MSC Euribia. On land, Center Parcs Le Bois aux Daims in Morton, France is making a slide addition, while Aqualand Moravia in Pasohlávky, Czechia is unveiling a new indoor play area with AquaForms 400.
“WhiteWater’s European office is having a very busy 2023 working on several large projects set to open next year, including the highly anticipated water park at Liseberg,” said Rainer Maelzer, President, WhiteWater ERA GmbH. “We are especially looking forward to testing waves later this year in Munich at Europe’s first Endless Surf pool at SURFTOWN® MUC.”
In the Middle East, high-profile projects are in the works for WhiteWater, including in Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia, all slated to open in the next few years. In a region known for being at the forefront of innovative location-based entertainment, these projects are expected to impress with feats of engineering, design, and construction.
Bringing World-Class Attractions to Growing Markets in APAC
In Asia Pacific, Studio City in Macau is making headlines with its new indoor water park as part of the entertainment complex’s phase 2 expansion, which boasts architecture in a modern interpretation of Art Deco. WhiteWater provided water slides with custom metallic finishes and fiberglass veils to elegantly match the building style and the water park’s space travel theme. One of the most exciting attractions here is a first-ever next generation Master Blaster with a continuous loop path.
Elsewhere in APAC, bringing world-class attractions to growing markets, Mana Bay is opening the biggest water park in Bangladesh. As well, Wahoo Waterworld opened the biggest water park in West Java. Also in Indonesia, Waterbom Bali is getting ready for an exciting expansion: first, a tower with four water slides and then an AquaFortress, the world’s largest AquaForms modular aquatic play structure.
In Singapore, HomeTeamNS Bedok Reservoir is opening a new water park with Singapore’s longest indoor water slide. Further south, WhiteWater is also active in Australia and New Zealand, with project openings in the parks and recreation segment.
Supplying Top Entertainment and Hospitality Brands in the USA
In the USA, Island Waterpark at Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey will open as the world’s largest indoor beachfront water park. Among its attractions are 11 water slides, two AquaForms aquatic play structures, and a FlowRider® Double, as it seeks to draw new audiences to the city. Also adding a water park is Hattiesburg Zoo in Mississippi. Called Serengeti Springs, its inaugural season will feature a FusionFortress 10, a giant animal-themed multi-level aquatic play structure with nine slides and two tipping buckets.
Continuing with nature themes, Kalahari Resorts & Conventions Round Rock in Texas is expanding its outdoor water park with a new kids’ area, the highlight of which is cute fiberglass veil designs on the water slides to immerse guests in “Bugs Burrow.” Another special advance in fiberglass will be demonstrated at Wilderness at the Smokies in Tennessee. Its new Master Blaster will be the first slide in the world with Reverse AquaLucent patterns.
More big brands in entertainment and hospitality are also opening new projects with WhiteWater. This year, Six Flags America’s Hurricane Harbor Maryland will unveil the tallest Master Blaster in the Mid-Atlantic. Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey will have a new RainFortress 5, and Six Flags White Water in Georgia will open a custom AquaPlay 750. Meanwhile, an AquaPlay 1050 will open at Merlin Entertainments’ LEGOLAND® New York. And earlier this year, JW Marriott Grande Lakes opened a new slide tower, giving guests reasons to stay on site longer.
Providing OEM-Quality Refurbishment Services
Beyond opening new attractions, WhiteWater offers parts, service, and maintenance support with the care and product knowledge of the OEM through its Performance Services Team. Major water park refurbishment and modernization projects this year include those for LEGOLAND®, Wild Wadi, and Yas Waterworld.
Celebrating New Water Rides and Upgrading Existing Attractions
WhiteWater’s Water Rides division began 2023 celebrating the River Raft Ride and Super Flume that opened at VinWonders Phu Quoc at the end of last year. The biggest theme park in Vietnam aimed to appeal to both domestic and international visitors with world-class attractions and successfully incorporated these two water rides to tell stories of faraway lands.
In addition to brand-new attractions, the Water Rides Team services existing rides as well as manufacture replacement boats. For example, Emerald Park in Ireland recently upgraded its “Viking Voyage” ride with a fleet of new Super Flume boats, which significantly increases capacity and improves operations. Other parks that will be receiving new vehicles include River Raft Ride boats for Lake Compounce in Connecticut, Shoot the Chute boats for Michigan’s Adventures, and Log Flume boats for Castle Park in California. All these vehicles have been re-engineered for easier maintenance, improved durability, and enhanced guest comfort.
Delivering Iconic Attractions as Industry Resumes Investment
“We’re very happy to see investments in leisure picking back up to pre-pandemic levels,” said Doug Smith, Global Head of Sales. “These new project openings not only demonstrate the resilience of the attractions industry, they are also a preview of the innovations to come in the next few years as well as the high standards clients expect to work with.”