SDCFans - The Unofficial Fan Site For Silver Dollar City
Silver Dollar City & Celebration City Discussion => White Water Discussion => Topic started by: Tmboote on April 18, 2015, 08:12:36 PM
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We have a thread for attraction ideas at SDC, so I thought why not have this thread for White Water also. Also, we haven't done any White Water discussions since August 2014.
Post any ideas you have for rides or other developments that you would like to see happen at White Water. Also, you can post anything that you don't want to see happen at the park.
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I think the current land that White Water sits on is too small for everything that I want to see at the park. I think that what the park has currently is good, but not good enough to keep people coming for years and years. I haven't ridden Kapau Plummet because I wasn't at WW at all last season, I liked Bermuda Triangle though.
I think WW should change some of the things that they have. Ohana Falls is short compared to most family slides and I would love to see them make the slide longer. The waves in the wave pool are weak and I would like to see them make them higher. The Lazy River and their other slides (I don't have an opinion on Kapau Plummet) are fine.
As for new things, I would like a pool for just swimming and relaxing without the waves or current and maybe a kayaking/canoeing pool like Oceans of Fun has. (I understand they don't currently have enough room for these things.)
Things they shouldn't do: pools with swim-up bars like some parks have and going away from the theme of WW, even though it isn't as big of a deal as SDC's theming, it is still important.
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I agree the current WW land is not sufficient for growth. Rebuild entirely at the old CC site. Look at most of the world class parks going in and model after them. Blizzard beach's speed slides with the wave river concept from Schlit. They could also use some of the old CC site for winter ice skating and snow skiing venues.
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Of course, this is just me, but I would re-theme the whole thing. The tropical thing is so overdone. Disney has proven they can take the most challenging of stories and make a good theme out of it. How about mining with slides that plummet through mine shafts and watercoasters that explode upward? How about local fishing and outdoor theme with aquaria and terraria mixed throughout? How about a swimming hole theme? Surely we can come up with something better than a tropical beach. It needs to be one-of-a-kind if it wants to attract a crowd.
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The slogan for WW in 1980 was "all the fun of the old swimming hole." Initally WW had a rustic look, with most flume and pool surfaves painted brown, and buildings with board and batten siding and rusty tin rooflines. The mascot for WW that year was a beaver named Wally Whitewater. So they did an Ozark theme for the first few years they were open. The beach within reach theme came later.
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Personally, I don't think people go to a water park for the theme. I go for the slides and other things the park has like a wave pool and lazy river. But, since the sign says "Silver Dollar City's White Water,'" I think the theme is still important.
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It's just that theme makes it unique. The slides at all of these parks are virtually the same, with only a few stand-outs. If theme didn't matter, Disney would not have Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach. Aquatica uniquely intersperses aquaria, including dolphins, throughout its waterparks.
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I know everyone wants bigger and better but I personally like WW the way it is. I honestly think the ride rotation they have had over the last 10 years is the best approach to keeping costs low while offering variations of the newest products. The size of the park fits Branson and attracts the demographic that the company wants... When you get big you lose the safe feeling that the current location has. Personally I would like to see WW enclosed and turned into a year around attraction... Then it would not be affected by weather which is the main reason for the parks low attendance the past couple of years.
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^^ I think the theme would be lost if the park was enclosed because you can't really have an indoor beach. Also, I don't know if it would be worth the money it would take to build a building of that size, pay the heat/air bills for a building that size, and to pay workers for a full year instead of just 4 months.
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^^ I think the theme would be lost if the park was enclosed because you can't really have an indoor beach. Also, I don't know if it would be worth the money it would take to build a building of that size, pay the heat/air bills for a building that size, and to pay workers for a full year instead of just 4 months.
You seen the room rates for a great wolf around Christmas and Spring Break? Woof!
I have a family with two tweens. I've had season passes to,SDC 4 of the last five years. We've been to Whitewater once and none the past three years. In that time period they've been to two Schlitterbahns, two Great Wolfs, Crystal Springs/Magic Springs, the Six Flags waterpark in Arlington , Worlds of Fun and Typhoon Lagoon at Mouse World. I can say that my kids love water coasters and are fanatic with Schlitterbahns wave rivers. They love the rapid rivers at Schlitterbahns an as well. They show no interest in Whiterwater like they do SDC. We are less than two hours from Whitewater. It's the closest non muni park to us and it's an afterthought In our planning. Who said they have kept up with modern thrills. I'm going to pull out my Dark Knight Joker and ask not sure if serious? I ain't taking the time to go over what WW lacks.
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This is but an example of new parks out there that put lots of punch in a small space
(http://www.themeparkreview.com/forum/files/thumb_3_1280.jpg)
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^^ I think the theme would be lost if the park was enclosed because you can't really have an indoor beach. Also, I don't know if it would be worth the money it would take to build a building of that size, pay the heat/air bills for a building that size, and to pay workers for a full year instead of just 4 months.
You seen the room rates for a great wolf around Christmas and Spring Break? Woof!
I guess it would be a different story if they built a hotel/resort to go with it, but that's another expense and another thing that there wouldn't be room for. I feel all these problems could be solved by moving WW to unused land at SDC and adding a hotel there so people can avoid Branson if they want to, maybe move SBB to Indian Point while there at it too.
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When you look At WW from Google Earth, you see how much room has been underutilized, wasted, whatever you wanted to call with single slides and whatever instead of multislide complexes, the newest one is another perfect example of this, instead of two or three. They underwhelm at every turn.
That northern most area would hold this easy
(http://www.parkz.com.au/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach§ion=attach&attach_rel_module=post&attach_id=4577)
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I never noticed the empty space until you said that, Chittlins. In this image you see the red area is where Bermuda Triangle used to be. I am wondering if they really had to take that out to put Kapau Plummet in. It looks like they could've found a way to fit it in. Maybe they took out BT with plans to reuse the land for better things soon.
I don't get why Ohana Falls is so short when they have the whole blue area they could've used to build the slide. Ohana Falls is definitely a family slide.
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I never noticed the empty space until you said that, Chittlins. In this image you see the red area is where Bermuda Triangle used to be. I am wondering if they really had to take that out to put Kapau Plummet in. It looks like they could've found a way to fit it in. Maybe they took out BT with plans to reuse the land for better things soon.
I don't get why Ohana Falls is so short when they have the whole blue area they could've used to build the slide. Ohana Falls is definitely a family slide.
Yes, the blue area is a giant waste of space when it could have held more
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Yes, the blue area is a giant waste of space when it could have held more
That is a fairly big space but you need to consider the terrain. That is a steep hill. What appears to be a walkway there is a long flight of stairs. Although they could use this for something I think the pitch of the land is a challenge.
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If there is a hill - you flatten it and go on if need be
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If there is a hill - you flatten it and go on if need be
Pull into that lot and look at the situation. It could be done but it is not practical. Half that hill is necessary and heavily utilized.
The grade of the land was purposeful and built with fill for the old tube river slides. You can scoop away half the hill and invest in a retaining brick company but that may not be cost effective. There appears to be expansion room on level ground (+/-) on the right side of the wave pool and more space with a little shifting behind the ticket offices. Because this land is flat it may be easier to build on, reduce the amount of grading and reduce the project budget. But you never know with White Water. It seems to be the fair-haired stepchild of the company in Branson.
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I'll miss the Bermuda Triangle--it was our favorite--but dang it did take up some space didn't it.
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If there is a hill - you flatten it and go on if need be
Yep
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If there is a hill - you flatten it and go on if need be
Or they could just use the hill in the design when they decide to build a slide so they can get some speed.
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As I have mentioned before, Whitewater will get a bit more comp from the lower end side of things.
It looks like the taxpayer fund aquatic park in Ft. Smith will open on time on Memorial Day. Muni parks are springing up everywhere, this has the little wave pool which differentiates it from the Rogers park and the smaller parks in Alma and Clarksville. Gone are the days of just swimming pools.
http://www.parrotislandwaterpark.com/
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What do you guys think of the new taco stand at White Water?
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Why are they not fixing or turning on the Tiki Waterfalls, Water tower, Bamboo sprinklers, and Geysers that they mention on the WW website in the Lazy River? If these are not on, it is very boring, you almost go to sleep because it feels like you are in bed, and takes away from the experience that I should be having. Aren't they trying to exceed people's expectations and make memories worth repeating to get people to keep coming back? The Lazy River should be closed until they fix these, not open. There needs to be water hazards to get you wet and try to avoid so that it makes it fun. This is a water park, not a moving bed. SDC has great Maintenance guys that fix anything broken as soon as possible. Does WW have Maintenance guys too?
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We went 2 weeks ago and all of those were working. Not sure why they are down now.
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They were working? Maybe my complaining worked... :o
Thank you DianaGail for letting me know that. That makes me super happy! :D :D :D
Haven't been up there for a month now, but I plan on going this week. I think I was there twice this year, both times in June, 2 weeks apart. They weren't working either time. Glad to hear they are now! Now WW will be my favorite water park by far and their Lazy River will be the best I have been on so far.
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Drop slides and Kapau Plummet are the only body slides for adults and they are really really short. They should build more body slides and make them longer.
I wish they could expand the park too.
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Dollywood Water Park announced a new 6 Lane Mat Racer like other big water parks have, with a Full Slide to start, then the open racing slide. I wish WW could have something like that and with more lanes. The Mat Racer always has the longest line of any other ride in the park, plus we have to share part of the stairs with the Drop Sliders and there is no rail or white line dividing us. 4 lanes isn't enough, but I know they dont really have room for more at this point. I also wish they had a way to keep people from leaving the mats in line when they see what looks to them as "a long line". The line is not a mat station. The mat station is at the exit. When the mats are in line, people wait at the exit thinking they wont be in line.
Which brings me to next year. Kapau Plummet opened in 2014, so next year it will be 3 years since any kind of new ride. Is it time? I think so. I can see, by looking at the Satellite View, some room where they could put a slide, or they could take out 1 of the old slides and make a new one. The Wave Pool waves are small. I know they want it to be safe but I would like it to be on full. Lifeguards say it is on half power.
Kapau is a great slide but way too short. Wish it could be twice as long. Safari Joes H2O in Tulsa is getting a Yellow Anaconda Trap Door Body Slide, part of the 3 new Reptile Rush slides. Yellow slide will be at least twice as long as Kapau Plummet, but they are only getting 1. I expect a very long line every day during summer once it opens. It is the 1st Trap Door Body Slide in Oklahoma.
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If they wanted to, they could pack a ton into the space they have currently at White Water. They only spend as much as they need to. If there was another water park nearby, you'd see White Water double in size pretty quickly. The recent round of upgrades were just enough to keep things going awhile longer. Before too long I think they will either: 1) invest in another round of additions and upgrades to keep the status quo, 2) break the contract and build a new water park closer to SDC, or 3) suffer from competition finally moving in and end up in a building war at the current location.
There are already at least two indoor water parks in Branson in addition to White Water, but with the increased activity in new attraction investment in Branson, I would not be surprised if someone is sniffing around right now looking for an opportunity to build a water park that puts WW to shame.
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Branson could easily handle a few more mid to large sized indoor parks/resorts. I welcome it to help bring down the prices at the current places. I wouldn't be surprised if HFE has looked into building some type of resort themselves to serve both SDC and include maybe an indoor water park. Closed water centers with hotel guest access only is very appealing to families looking for quick fun vacation get aways.
I know WW isn't a big water park but it is still has millions of dollars of infrastructure and assets. I just have a hard time believing that HFE could afford to 'move' it or just close it if something else is build. There is some real estate around the park (probably not owned or leased by HFE)....maybe build that resort by WW?
On another note....anyone else feel guilty when at a water parks like me.....sometimes it hard for me not to think about how hard it is for large parts of the world to get clean water as I float down a lazy river :-\ #firstworldproblems
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There is some real estate around the park (probably not owned or leased by HFE)....maybe build that resort by WW?
Or just use the old Celebration City site
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There is some real estate around the park (probably not owned or leased by HFE)....maybe build that resort by WW?
Or just use the old Celebration City site
That is exactly what I have said for years. I do believe it belongs out by SDC just because of the traffic problems and roads cannot handle what they get now.
But, Put it at the old Celebration city site center it around a entertainment district and leave some of the old hills and have some bunny slope skiing inn the winter. The upper part of the old park where OzCat set could easily accommodate the water park and the old lawn area hill could do skiing.
As for infrastructure. Water parks are nothing more than pumps and chutes. Not a high dollar item at all.
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There is some real estate around the park (probably not owned or leased by HFE)....maybe build that resort by WW?
Or just use the old Celebration City site
That is exactly what I have said for years. I do believe it belongs out by SDC just because of the traffic problems and roads cannot handle what they get now.
But, Put it at the old Celebration city site center it around a entertainment district and leave some of the old hills and have some bunny slope skiing inn the winter. The upper part of the old park where OzCat set could easily accommodate the water park and the old lawn area hill could do skiing.
As for infrastructure. Water parks are nothing more than pumps and chutes. Not a high dollar item at all.
For 35 million, someone can build a killer water park.
If I was, and I've said this before, Mr. Bass Pro I'd be building an Outdoor adventure park near my resorts. Year round Snowflex slopes, made made recirculating waterway courses , mountain biking, and rocking climbing facilites.
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Shave, dont forget about the Branson Rec center too, even though it is outdoors.
HumphreyHawk, WW is big to me. They have filters to clean the water by filtering all the dirt out.
They might build something in the old CC site eventually. They could move WW over there sometime, but that would take who knows how many millions of dollars that HFE probably doesnt have to spend on something like that, and I just dont see that happening even though it would be nice.
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Well...I guess the saying is...."Never say never"....to the moving the whole park down the road :)
Ummmm.....I think an unfiltered water park is also called either "the lake, the creek, or the swimming hole"....lol Where I grew up we had old limestone quarries that where flooded by a diverted creek. I probably don't want to know what I same in....but I like to think of it as a great way to build up my immune system.
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Well...I guess the saying is...."Never say never"....to the moving the whole park down the road :)
Ummmm.....I think an unfiltered water park is also called either "the lake, the creek, or the swimming hole"....lol Where I grew up we had old limestone quarries that where flooded by a diverted creek. I probably don't want to know what I same in....but I like to think of it as a great way to build up my immune system.
I not clear on what you are talking about on unfiltered but this will better explain what I mean:
(http://www.rodgersbuilders.com/wp-content/uploads/Whitewater_Center_DSC_0936.jpg)
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I wish they had less cement everywhere. Also make the changing rooms bigger.