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WATER PARKS
---- THE LATEST WATER PARK NEWS ----
(11/20/2024) Zoombezi Bay Getting The First ProSlide HIVE
(11/17/2024) Soaky Mountain Waterpark Brings The BOOM for 2025 New Addition
(9/6/2024) Wet 'n' Wild Hawaii To Add Something New For 2025
(9/2/2024) Kalahari Sanduski Adding A New Slide To Replace the Zip Coaster
(7/14/2024) Slide Retirement Confirmed For Zoombezi Bay Ahead of 2025 Announcement
(6/3/2024) Former Raging Waters San Jose To Reopen This Month as CaliBunga
Calypso Park (Ottawa, Canada)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time, also nothing added for 2019 - 2023 seasons.
 CaliBunga (San Jose, CA)
2024 - (6/3/2024) The former Raging Waters waterpark in San Jose is now set to reopen this summer under an all new name, CaliBunga. When the former waterpark was closed after the end of the 2023 season when Palace Entertainment opted to exit their lease agreement with the city to run it any longer. Previously Palace had run the park since 2002, but the city was able to sign a deal with California Dreamin’ Entertainment to take over the park starting this year.
The exact date to reopen the park has not yet been set, but keep an eye on the new parks social media for upcoming details.
(2/16/2024) For those in San Jose who have been mourning the loss of the Raging Waters waterpark, your summer plans may have just gotten a lot more exciting. The city will soon vote on a proposal to consider approving “California Dreamin’ Entertainment” as an operator for the closed waterpark for the 2024 season, picking up the pieces of the terminated lease from Palace Entertainment.
The Mayor is in support of this plan, as it would keep the park open and maintained for the 2024 season, as opposed to letting it sit closed for the year and having things fall into disrepair. The short-term lease for the 2024 season would also allow the city time it needs to find another long-term company to operate the park.
California Dreamin’ Entertainment is actually the same company who signed a long-term lease to keep the former Raging Waters sister park in Sacramento open as well.
Camelback Waterpark & Lodge / CamelBeach - (PA)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time, also nothing added for 2019 - 2023 seasons.
 Cowabunga Bay (Utah)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2023 either
Cowabunga Bay (Las Vegas, NV)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2023 either
Cowabunga Canyon (Las Vegas, NV)
- Formerly Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2023 either
Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark (Grand Prairie, TX)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time, also nothing added for 2019 - 2023 seasons.
Glacier Beach (Colorado)
2024/2025 - New Park Planned - (2/20/22) A new waterpark called Glacier Beach has been proposed for the Denver, Colorado area, with a proposed 2024 opening timeline. According to the park’s facebook page, they mention it having 9 innovate and thrilling attraction, each one able to hold between 2 to 6 guests at a time. No carrying your tube up the stairs, every slide will have an automated tube lift system. There are a couple of very interesting statements as well, one claiming an approval pending “Guiness World Record Breaking Longest & Darknest Water Slide in the World” and the other ponders the question, “What if we had a circular 360 wave pool?!?”
Whaaaaa?! Count me in for the dark slide, but a 360 wave pool would be very interested indeed. I’ve seen a prototype system built to do just that in Australia, but it was massive and involved the use of a giant “plunger” style device in the center to create the waves. You can see this prototype in action here.
Grand Country Resort / Splash Country Indoor Waterpark (Branson, MO)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2023 either.
Great Wold Lodge Resorts News - (3/12/2023) I missed this earlier in the year, but apparently Great Wolf Lodge has an eye on building a new indoor waterpark resort in Canada. To be more specific, they are looking into plan to build a new $350 million location in Cornwall, Ontario. Currently, I believe the only current GWL location in Canada is located at Niagara Falls, with Cornwall located about a 5 and a half hour drive away, seated conveniently between Ottawa and Montreal.
Great Wolf Lodge Florida -
2024 - New Resort - (8/5/2023) Construction on the new Great Wolf Lodge indoor waterpark resort in Naples, FL has been moving right along it seems. According to the local news the vertical construction on the resort was completed this past week, and the company is now accepting early reservations for the resort starting with an Oct. 1st, 2024 date. Based on how the rest of construction goes between now and then, earlier dates may open up for future reservation seekers.
(7/14/22) Long time readers may remember a time when a Great Wolf Lodge was announced to be coming to Orlando, but alas, it was never to be. In the years that have followed we’ve seen Great Wolf Lodge build countless new indoor waterpark resorts all across the country, even in sunny Southern California. According to this article construction will begin this week to build a Great Wolf Lodge in Naples , FL.
The plan is to open it by 2024, which sounds about right, as the typical construction timeline to build a Great Wolf Lodge is 18 months. They say it will be located on City Gate Boulevard near the Paradise Coast Sports Complex of the Collier Blvd. exit off I-75.
I’m scratching my head at the choice of this location, as it seems about as far away as you can get from Florida’s major cities and the traditional high-traffic tourist areas. While I lived in Orlando from 2000 to 2006, I never had the chance to visit this part of the state, so I really don’t know much about what one might expect down here. Of course, I don’t recall anyone I knew at the time ever going here either for any reason... so there is that.
Great Wolf Lodge Houston -
Late 2024 - Under Construction - (5/1/2024) The new Great Wolf Lodge coming to the Houston, Texas area will be ready to open sooner than expected. According to the official website the new indoor waterpark resort is now taking reservations for dates starting on August 29, 2024, just in time for the Labor Day Weekend holiday.
(9/24/22) The news reports that an official groundbreaking ceremony has taken place for the new Great Wolf Lodge Resort coming to the Houston area. Construction time is expected to take around 24 months, so look for the new waterpark resort to be ready to open in late 2024.
(7/9/22) According to a local news report clearing has begun on the site for a proposed new Great Wolf Lodge resort just outside Houston in the City of Webster. The plan is still to open the new indoor waterpark resort sometime in 2024.
(1/29/22) Things are moving forward so far with the proposed new Great Wolf Lodge resort in Houston. According to the local news the Webster City Council approved a $2 million property sale agreement with the company in November to purchase the 29-acre site not far from a Top Golf location just south of the NASA Bypass. The contract requires Great Wolf Lodge to build the indoor waterpark resort ‘no less than 400,000 square feet” in size with an indoor waterpark at least 75,000 sqft, plus a 10,000 sqft convention center space.
While the contract requires construction to begin no later than April 30, 2025, the intention by Great Wolf Lodge is to hold a ground breaking sometime in Q1 2022.
(12/16/21) Documents obtained in this local news article confirm that a new Great Wolf Lodge is now expected to be coming to the city of Webster, TX. Webster sits just south-east of Houston, right in the existing tourist area for Houston’s NASA themed Space Center attractions, and just outside NASA’s Mission Control Center.
The land sale documents between the city and Great Wolf Resorts were approved back on Nov. 16, 2021 for a 35.36 acre tract of land in a deal for $2 million. So far Great Wolf Lodge isn’t talking, but traditionally the typical timetable to construct one of the GWL resorts is about 18-24 months, so if they can start the project by the end of 2022, then we are probably looking for it to open in the later half of 2024 at best.
Great Wolf Lodge Maryland
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
Great Wolf Lodge at Mashantucket / Foxwoods -
2025 - (1/22/2024) Some great pictures showing off the construction progress on the new Great Wolf Lodge at Foxwoods can be found on Facebook, posted to the Coaster Chit Chat page.
(2/5/2023) They’ve talked about building it for years and at last Great Wolf Lodge has broken ground on their newest waterpark resort that will open next to the Foxwoods casino in Connecticut in 2025. This will be a 549-room indoor waterpark resort and is being built in a partnership with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on a 13 acre site.
(3/20/22) I missed this story last month, but according to this article the famous Foxwoods Resort Casino says they are moving forward with plans to add a Great Wolf Lodge indoor waterpark resort to their property. The announcement comes as Foxwoods is celebrating their 30th Anniversary and announced a whole slew of renovations and big expansion plans.
The casino resort is now looking to embrace a “family friendly” plan for the future of the resort, and while gambling will obviously remain, the focus going forward will be more on their various entertainment offerings, and the planned opening of the new Great Wolf Lodge in 2024 is a huge part of that. To be built on a 15-acre site, the official name of the resort will be “Great Wolf Lodge at Mashantucket”.
Great Wolf Lodge Poconos
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
Great Wolf Lodge Tennessee
2024 - New Resort - (3/17/22) The land sale for the proposed Great Wolf Lodge resort in Tennessee has been approved by the city council and development board. This will see 258 acres handed over to an Industrial Development Board who will then sell 36-acres to Great Wolf Lodge for the new resort project. According to the article, Great Wolf Lodge would like to break ground on the new project sometime this Fall. Based on past project timelines, it usually takes at least 18 to 20 months to build a GWL Resort, so the earliest we might see it open would be Spring or Summer 2024.
(2/7/20) According to a local news report, Great Wolf Lodge is eyeballing a site in Jackson, Tennessee as a possible home to a new indoor waterpark resort. According to the local “Jackson Chamber and Visit Jackson” groups, the city is 99% of the way there on a deal for Great Wolf Lodge to build a $150 million new resort off I-40. Construction could start by Summer 2021 and it should be ready to open 18-20 months after that. Jackson is located about a 2 hour drive west of Nashville, or about 90 minutes east of Memphis, putting it fairly in the middle between west Tennessee’s two biggest cities.
H2OBX (Outer Banks, North Carolina)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
Kalahari Resort (Pocono Mountains, PA)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
Kalahari Resort (Sandusky, Ohio)
2024/2025 - Dawn Breaker - (9/2/2024) According to the official website, Kalahari Sanduski will be adding a new boomerango style waterslide to the park called Dawn Breaker. No timeline is posted however, so we don’t know if this is coming in late 2024 or early 2025. According to a post, this will replace the park’s former Zip Coaster slide that was removed in 2022.
Fun note… the removed Zip Coaster was one of the rare installations of a version of the concept used actual high speed conveyor belts to launch and boost the rafts throughout the ride, rather than water jets or the more modern hydro-magnetic style. You can take a look back at what this unique concept looked like when it was still open in the video below, and you can get a good idea of why the old Zip Coaster was removed. It sure looks like a wild and fun ride, but as a waterslide it looks to have a bare minimum amount of water in it, and likely had a lot of physical wear-and-tear issues on the belts and rafts, making it costly to maintain.
Kalahari Resort (Round Rock, TX)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... nothing added in 2023 either.
Kalahari Resort (Outside Fredericksburg, VA)
2026 - NEW RESORT - (1/27/2024) Construction is now proceeding on the new Kalahari location in Virginia, which you can see in a new preview video from Happily Ever Novak below.
(10/24/2023) A groundbreaking ceremony took place on Friday to begin work on the latest Kalahari waterpark resort complex located about 80 miles outside of Washington DC, in Virginia, about 13 miles south of Fredericksburg.
According to news articles the new resort will feature 907 rooms as well as a massive 175,000 sqft indoor waterpark, a 90,000 sqft “Tom Foolerys Adventure Park”, plus an assortment of other outdoor attractions. According to the official timeline, they expect it to be ready to open sometime in 2026.
If you are suffering from a bit of Deju Vu, then you aren’t alone, as back in 2007 Kalahari announced plans to spend around $200 million at the time to build a new waterpark resort in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area. Of course we all remember the big financial crash in 2008/2009 that scuttled a lot of projects, or in the case of others that did open (like Hard Rock Park) left them unable to secure more lines of credit to help them stay financially afloat through those troublesome years. In the case of the previous Kalahari plans, those were quietly shelved, but it is nice to see that the company has returned once again to the area.
Kalahari Resort (Wisconsin Dells)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time, also nothing added for 2019 - 2023 seasons.
Massanutten Resort & Waterpark - (Massanutten, VA)
Mid To Late 2024 - Mountain Mayhem - (4/22/2024) I don’t really know too many details, and I don’t see it mentioned on the official website, but apparently the Massanutten resort is building a single rail mountain coaster to be called the Mountain Mayhem. According to the promotional banner on site they are hoping to open it this Summer, but it looks like some early clearing of the trees in the pathway was started not long ago. The site has already received a few loads of the single rail track system which is a good thing, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see this pushed back to open in the later part of the year, depending on how the speed of construction goes.
At first I was assuming this single rail coaster was coming from Brandauer, the same company who built the Rail Runner at Anakeesta in Tennessee, but actually this ride is from Sunkid GmbH, who has built several across Europe and even Canada, but I believe this may be their first installation within the USA.
Late 2025 to Early 2026 - New Hotel and Indoor Waterpark Expansion - (4/14/2024) The Massanutten Resort has announced plans for a large water park expansion along with a new 144-room 5-story hotel. The new hotel will be connected to the existing Massanutten Indoor Waterpark. In addition to the atrium area that will connect the waterpark to the new hotel, the waterpark itself will be expanded with a new 22,000 sqft building. The exact list of what new attractions that will be included here as part of the expansion has yet to be finalized at this time, but they do say to expect a new wave pool, family raft slide, a mat racer, adult pool, a water play structure and more.
Construction is expected to begin this Spring and be ready to open sometime between Late 2025 and Early 2026.
Myrtle Waves (Myrtle Beach, SC)
2024 - Mat-Racer Slide - (1/5/2024) Myrtle Waves waterpark will be opening for the 2024 season on May 11th with a new, but yet to be named, four-lane mat-racer waterslide.
Nashville Shores (Tennessee)
Premier Parks
Resort News - (12/4/21) We’ve mentioned the Nashville Shores waterpark from time to time over the years, but the waterpark is actually just one piece of a larger resort. Industry design experts, PGAV, have announced that they are working with Premier Parks to create a new master plan for the entire resort project that includes not just the waterpark, but also a treetop adventure park, lodging and a marina.
The long-term plan will be focused on updating the resort's operations and overall visitor experience, increasing the number of lodging sites, adding new resort amenities and more. This will actually be the second master plan PGAV have created for Nashville Shores, after working with Premier Parks nearly a decade ago on their first master plan for the resort which saw a great deal of growth throughout the entire project.
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
Noah’s Ark (Wisconson Dells)
Palace Entertainment
Park News - (3/20/2024) Something odd is going on with the Noah’s Ark Waterpark. According to a local news report Palace Entertainment, the American chain who operates the North American attraction’s division of Parque Reunidos, has filed for a “temporary restraining order” against the Village of Lake Delton. This has been done for the purpose of preventing the local government from tearing down some abandoned motel buildings.
The buildings in question are part of the former “Flamingo Motel” which closed at the end of the 2019 season and never reopened.Strangely enough, Noah’s Ark management held a presentation with the city in early 2023 to propose demolishing the site. Since then a number of issues have come up with the abandoned property, which has become much more of a nuisance, leading the city to take action on their own to want it removed.
The village ordered a pair of buildings to come down earlier this year, and Palace sold the property under those two to a neighboring business. Now the orders have come down to remove the rest, and now Palace Entertainment is fighting those orders for the moment. If Palace doesn’t take them down, the village says that they will do it and then put a lien on the property to charge Palace for the expense of the demolition.
Palace seems to have to wait and do it later, so it’s all going to end up before a judge to decide before too long. The question many are asking about this however is why are they fighting this when they were proposing to do it themselves a year ago. The answer to this may lie in the kind of actions we’ve been seeing across the other parks and properties in the chain this year.
For the first few months of the year, park by park, stories were coming out about how each Palance Entertainment park seems to be either removing rides that had become too expensive to maintain any longer, or just cost cutting measures in general. In other words, Palace seems to be putting itself under a very tight budget for the 2024 season, and having to pay for an unscheduled demolition that was not part of the budget is something they are seeking to avoid doing at all costs, or at least doing this year.
2024 - Improvements and Upgrades - (4/10/2024) According to a release from Noah’s Ark, the Chameleon slide that premiered in 2023 will return in 2024 with even more upgrades. “For 2024 the ride will see even more upgrades with more music, new light shows and even brighter lights throughout“. They also mention that the Congo Bongo family raft slide will have a new look this season after receiving an all new paint job this spring.
NRH2O (Texas)
2024 - Nitro Blast - (8/21/2023) The NRH2O waterpark in the Dallas area is adding Nitro Blast to the park for the 2024 season. This new waterslide is described as the industry’s first true-dueling water coaster, and will feature RocketBLAST propulsion that will shoot riders uphill on jets of water.
Ocean Breeze (Virginia)
Premier Parks
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark (Oklahoma)
2025 - (2/26/2024) A reader went by the construction site for the Okana Resort & Indoor Waterpark and noticed pieces for a red watercoaster slide have now appeared in the storage lot.
(11/6/2023) The OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark is now under construction in Oklahoma City. One of our readers stopped by the construction site this weekend and sent back a number of photos of the resort steel going up, as well as a ton of waterslide pieces stacked up in a nearby staging area, awaiting installation.
Palm Spring Surf Club (Palm Springs, CA)
Owned by Pono Acquisition Partners I, LLC as of 2019
January 2024- New Name / Remodeled Park - Now Open
(4/17/21) Work is progressing at the Palm Springs Surf Club, which is shooting for an official opening in 2022. For now they are working on building and refining their surfable wave pool experience, testing it out with experienced surfer. You can check out the action in the video below that was actually posted in August 2020.
(10/27/19) A quick update can be found here as plans for the new Palm Springs Surf Club have been approved and they are moving ahead to transform the property into a new attraction. Based on the concept art being shown, it looks like almost all of the waterslides will be coming out in order to bring this new vision to life, creating an entirely new location to surf. The list of removed attractions includes the Pacific Spin (the funnel shaped Tornado slide), the red and yellow slides as well as a removal of the Flowrider stationary surf simulator. The tower for Pacific Spin will remain to be used as a life-guard observation tower.
This means the park won't be ready for the Summer 2020 season though, and Palm Spring Surf Club may be ready to open at the earliest at the end of 2020. Pricing has not been set, but they did say that they don’t plan to charge for parking.
(10/22/19) According to various news sources the former Wet ‘n’ Wild Palm Springs waterpark that was sold and sat closed for all of 2019 will reopen with a new name in 2020. They’re calling it the Palm Springs Surf Club and they are going through the process of planning and building a new state-of-the-art wave pool to be the centerpiece of the new park experience. Apparently the technology behind this new concept of wave pool design will be different from anything else seen at a waterpark before. Word is it may be similar to the technology used at the BSR Surf Resort wave pool in Waco, Texas, able to create stunning artificial wave shapes. (Click here to see a quick video of a wave at BSR Surf Park)
(6/15/19) Wet ‘n’ Wild Palm Springs did indeed get a new owner, as the park was sold to Pono Acquisition Partners I, LLC. The new owners are performing a massive renovation to the property, and it is staying closed for the entire 2019 season. Look for the park to reopen in 2020 as a “brand new experience”, which I assume will come along with a new name.
Raging Rivers (Grafton, IL)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... nothing added in 2023 either.
Raging Waters Sacramento (Formerly: Six Flags WaterWorld)
Park News - (10/18/2023) The former Raging Waters waterpark in Sacramento has been saved with the signing of a deal with… Chuck E. Cheese. Yes, the chain known for their Pizza and Video Game centers has signed a multi-year licensing deal with California Dreamin’ Entertainment to reimagine the property. The updated masterplan for the attraction will include new rides, food & beverage locations and entertainment offerings, with the property to be divided into two zones: Calibunga Water Park and Cal Soleil. While the first one will be the new waterpark side of things, Cal Soleil will actually be open year-round and feature a restaurant and wine bar.
So how will the Chuck E Cheese brand fit in to this? The Chuck E. Cheese IP will be used as theming for new water rides, slides and splash zones in the waterpark, as well as an arcade and retail shop along with an official Pasqually’s Pizzeria Restaurant on site as well. Chuck E. Cheese and all the assorted characters will make appearances at the park, which will also be cross promoted with all the regional area Check E Cheese centers.
While I’m not sure exactly when the park will be ready to reopen, their plans include building a new wave pool, surfing attraction, a variety of new water slides,, expanded lazy river and more. Look for more details about this project to be announced in the future.
2024 - Nothing is known at this time
Raging Waters San Dimas (San Dimas, CA)
Park News - (4/25/2024) Raging Waters will open for the 2024 season on May 18, and will feature a number of parkwide improvements for the season. This includes a ‘Renewed Entry Experience’ at the front gate, a refreshed offering of food stands throughout the park, including upgrades to Sharkey’s, 61 newly upgraded cabanas, and a newly upgraded park-wide WI-FI system that will allow making mobile food orders and H2GO rides easier than ever.
(11/17/2023) Raging Waters has announced that the famous SoCal waterpark will open for the 2024 season on Saturday, May 18, 2024. They are also offering a special Black Friday discount (up to $50 off) on 2024 season passes when purchased online. Visit the official website for all the details.
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
Raging Waves (Yorkville, Illinois)
2024- Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
Rapids Water Park (West Palm Beach, FL)
2024 - Mega Mayhem - (4/9/2024) You can enjoy a funny video featuring a local reporter freaking out while taking the new Mega Mayhem water coaster slide for a test spin at The Rapids waterpark.
(4/2/2024) Good news for the Rapids waterpark in Florida, after delaying their Mega Mayhem attraction from 2023 to 2024, the new pair of dueling water coasters soft opened to guests this week, ahead of the public grand opening set to take place on April 4th.
(11/22/2023) Rapids Waterpark has confirmed that their previous plans to replace Ole’ Yeller with the previously announced Mega Mayhem slide are now moving forward again, with the new slide now set to open in 2024. The delay was caused by a combination of supply chain issues and construction delays, but they now expect Mega Mayhem to be ready to open on March 9th, 2024, just in time for Spring Break.
(9/3/22) Rapids Water Park (near West Palm Beach, FL) has announced a new slide called Mega Mayhem is coming for the 2023 season. Mega Mayhem will replace the retired Old Yellar attraction and will be the first dueling water coaster in the state of Florida, featuring side-by-side flumes that will speed down twists, high-banked turns and plunge down five drops along the way.
Roaring Springs (Idaho)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time...
Sahara Sam’s (New Jersey)
2024 - Nothing is known at this time, nothing was known to be added from 2017 - 2023.
Sandcastle Waterpark (Pennsylvania)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2023 either
Schlitterbahn Waterparks - These parks have their own designated page. CLICK HERE.
 Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord
Operated By Six Flags for EPR Properties
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
 Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix
(Phoenix, AZ)
Formerly: Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix
Owned by EPR Properties
Managed by Six Flags Theme Parks
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
 Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Rockford
(Rockford, IL)
Formerly: Magic Waters
Managed by Six Flags Theme Parks
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
 Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown
(Houston, TX)
Formerly: Wet ‘n’ Wild SplashTown
Owned by EPR Properties
Managed by Six Flags Theme Parks
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
Splash Summit (Provo, Utah)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
Splish Splash (Long Island, NY)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2023 either
Surfworks Adventure Park (Myrtle Beach, SC)
???? - NEW PARK - (1/9/21) I missed this announcement earlier this year but a new unique $41 million surfing park is planned to come to Myrtle Beach and start construction sometime in 2021 following an approved 15-year lease on the property. The attraction will be called the Surfworks Adventure Park. The goal is to build a park with a surf lagoon able to create four different style of waves for different experience levels, as well as include other attractions like a skate park, climbing walls, some waterslides. They also plan on building amphitheater style seating around the lagoon so spectators can watch planned pro/am surfing contests. They are also planning on adding a concert stage overlooking a nearby grass field to host music concerts as well. The goal is to open the attraction sometime in 2022 and you can see concept art posted at the official website along with some initial plans for a second site under consideration for Fort Pierce, Florida.
 Typhoon Texas (Austin, TX)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
Typhoon Texas (Houston, TX)
2024 - Nothing is known at this time...
Water Country (New England) -
2024 - Nothing is known at this time...
Water World Colorado (Denver, Colorado)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... Nothing added in 2022 - 2023 either
Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe (Greensboro, NC)
2024 - Nothing is known at this time...
Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii (Oahu, Hawaii)
2025 - New Attraction - (9/6/2024) Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii is about to announce something new for the 2025 season, according to a teaser posted on their IG a bit ago. It definitely looks like some kind of orange and white colored waterslide poking out from beyond the giant red tarp, but so far no more clues have been released by the park.
Wet ‘n’ Wild Toronto (Toronto, Canada)
Formerly: Wild Water Kingdom
Owned by: Premier Parks LLC
2024 - Nothing is known at this time, nothing was known to be added from 2018 - 2023.
Wicked Waves Cape Cod (West Yarmouth, MA)
2024 - New Slides - (2/18/2024) Coaster Chit Chat has posted some construction updates from the Wicked Waves Cape Cod waterpark as steel is going up for their new slide attractions for the 2024 season.
Wild Rivers (Irvine, CA)
2024 - Nothing is known at this time...
Wilderness Resort (Wisconsin Dells)
2024 - Nothing is known at this time...
Wilderness at the Smokies / Soaky Mountain Waterpark (Sevierville, TN)
Check out the Screamscape review of the awesome Wilderness at the Smokies Hotel & Waterpark Resort.
Late 2023/Early 2024 - Waterpark Expansion & Cloud Coaster - (12/23/2023) Wilderness at the Smokies has opened their new waterpark expansion, including Kaleidoscope Kanyon (lazy river effects tunnel) and the Ridge Runner water coaster. You can catch footage of these two attractions in action in the video below.
(12/15/2023) According to the latest report, Wilderness at the Smokies will be ready to open their newly expanded offerings on December 21st. This includes the new Ridge Runner water coaster, the Kaleidoscope Kavern Lazy River and the renovated Snapping Turtle Play Lagoon.
Beyond this, the new Lookout Lagoon rooftop pool with a glass edge will open next, sometime around mid-March 2024 along with the accompanying Peak Rooftop Bar & Eatery.
(11/5/2023) A look at the new Rocky Top Glider (Cloud Coaster) in action at Wilderness at the Smokies was posted in a video from Extreme Engineering.
2025 - Rafter’s Rage - (11/17/2024) Soaky Mountain Waterpark is adding a major new attraction for the 2025 season called Rafter’s Rage from WhiteWater. The new attraction will feature 6-passenger rafts that will begin their run starting 825 feet in the air, reaching speeds up to 19mph on the way down. The attraction is said to be a first-of-its-kind attraction, different from most other waterslides, as it will feature ‘four artfully crafted arcs that rafts will laterally accelerate over sideways”, creating a thrilling ‘drifting’ style experience on a waterslide.
Rafter’s Rage will be build next to the park’s Avalaunch water coaster behind the Black Bear Rapids river, with the plan of opening it my May 2025. As such, the park began work this week with a huge BOOM… and I mean literally! The lined the hillside where Rafter’s Rage is going with explosive charges designed to break down the hillside to be cleared out. You can see the explosive results in the clip below.
Zoombezi Bay (Columbus, OH)
2024 - Nothing is known at this point in time... nothing added in 2022 - 2023
2025 - ProSlide HIVE - (11/20/2024) ProSlide has come up with a new waterslide design element they are calling the ProSlide HIVE. The concept is available in sizes able to accommodate both two-person raftts as well as larger 5-passenger rafts and features a high-G helix spiral that is able to accommodate a number of custom design and theming features. This includes adding themed elements to the center of the helix, opting for an open air or fully enclosed top, and a translucent slide spiral that can be designed to incorporate any number of themed features or designs, or simply open to provide a unique panoramic view of the outside world.
The first three will open in 2025 at Zoombezi Bay (Ohio), the Chimelong Water Park (China) and Radamis (Egypt). Check it out below!
(7/14/2024) Zoombezi Bay has announced on their FB page that this season will be the last one for the park’s Dolphin Dash slide, a six-lane mat racer. The last day to ride the Dolphin Dash will be Labor Day 2024.
In a related bit of news, the park also has confirmed that 2025 will see the “largest-ever capital investment” in Zoombezi Bay, which will add some kind of a major new attraction. Stay tuned for more information.
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