Wet'n'Wild Water World
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the American waterparks in Orlando, Florida and Greensboro, North Carolina, owned by Universal Studios, see Wet 'n Wild.
- For the upcoming Sunshine Coast waterpark also owned by Warner Village Theme Parks, see Aussie World#Wet'n'Wild Aussie World.
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| Location | Oxenford, Queensland, Australia  |
| Website | Official Webpage |
| Owner | Warner Village Theme Parks |
| Opened | October 1984 |
| Previous names | Cade's County, Cade's County Wet'n'Wild |
| Operating season | All year, heated in winter |
| No. of pools | 4 |
| No. of water slides | 15 attractions |
| Slogan | Biggest 'n' Best |
Wet'n'Wild Water World is a large water park situated in Oxenford, Gold Coast, owned by Warner Village Theme Parks. The park is Australia's largest waterpark and the third largest waterpark in the world. Wet'n'Wild Water World, or just Wet'n'Wild is located adjacent to Warner Bros. Movie World, a movie-related park also owned by Warner Village Theme Parks. While the park remains open all year, all pools and slides are heated during winter.
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[edit] History
The park opened in October 1984 as Cade's County. The Herringe group of companies developed the park at a cost of $20M, Colin Herringe subsequently named the theme park after his son Cade. The name was later changed to Cade's County Wet'n'Wild, then simply Wet'n'Wild in 1987 after a licensing agreement was reached with the Six Flags chain of water parks in the USA.[1]
In 2005, the Double Screamer waterslide was knocked down and removed. In its place now stands Buccaneer Bay, a large pirate-themed play area. The Mammoth Plunge slide was also removed, but not demolished. Intstead, it was moved to Sea World, where it now operates.
In 2006, the Extreme H20 Zone opened at the park. The new section of the park featured one new and two second-hand rides. The Blackhole and Mach 5 were bought from a Brazilian water park during its demolition. The Tornado was built at the park.
In 2007, the park introduced the SurfRider, an Intamin built half-pipe rollercoaster. 2007 also saw the demolishment of the WhiteWater Flumes slide complex, during a massive expansion to WhiteWater Mountain. The River Rapids replaced the Flumes.
In 2008, a half-pipe waterslide underwent construction at the park. The ride, titled Kamikaze, opened in September, 2008.
[edit] Attractions
[edit] Extreme H20 Zone
The Extreme H20 Zone first opened at the back of the park for the 2006 summer season. It features the latest cutting-edge attractions including a funnel slide, enclosed tube slide and a large body slide complex.
| Attraction | Description |
|---|---|
| Kamikaze | The Kamikaze is a unique wet and dry attraction and the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. The Kamikaze is two U-shaped half pipe slides which are wet through a water channel to reduce friction. Riders are seated in two-person clover leaf tubes and are launched down a steep slope before coming back up the other side, and so continue in a boomerang-like fashion until they run out of speed and momentum. The Kamikaze opened in late September, 2008. |
| Tornado | The Tornado is a four person clover-leaf funnel slide. The Tornado dips down and then goes into a turn before speeding down a steep drop into the funnel below, reaching speeds of up to 40km/h. The Tornado was designed and built by a Canadian waterslide manufacturer, ProSlide and opened at the park as one of the first three attractions at the Extreme H20 Zone in 2006. |
| Black Hole | The Black Hole is two enclosed tube slides twisting and turning around each other. Riders are immersed in complete darkness as they traverse down the slide reaching high speeds. The Black Hole was acquired second hand from a defunct waterpark in Brazil and opened at the park as one of the first three attractions at the Extreme H20 Zone in 2006. |
| Mach 5 | The Mach 5 is a large water slide complex. As the name suggests, the attraction is divided up amongst five different slides. The Sidewinders are two open flume slides which twist down to the bottom around the outside of the complex. The Jetstreams are three high speed body slides. The central slide is a freefall to the splashdown area below, similar to the Summit Plummet at Disney's Blizzard Beach. The outer two are similar, but traverse down the slope in a snake-like fashion. The Mach 5 was acquired second hand from a defunct waterpark in Brazil and opened at the park as one of the first three attractions at the Extreme H20 Zone in 2006. |
[edit] Rides
| Attraction | Description |
|---|---|
| Surfrider | The Surfrider is an Intamin designed "Half-Pipe" rollercoaster. The car is in the shape of a surfboard and is launched to either side of the half-pipe using an LIM-powered mechanism. Several water features are included to simulate riding a wave. The ride opened in September, 2007 and was the first addition to the Extreme H20 Zone since 2006. |
| Buccaneer Bay | A pirate themed children's play area. Features water sides and activities. Opened in 2004, after previous children's play area underwent massive refurbishment. |
| Mammoth Falls | The Mammoth Falls opened in 2000 and are two six person raft slides. There was originally only one Mammoth Falls slide; the attraction before this was the Mammoth Plunge slide which has been donated to Sea World. After the Mammoth Plunge slide was moved, the Mammoth Falls attraction was mirrored and is now two slides with the same layout. |
| Super 8 Aqua Racer | The Super 8 Aqua Racer, as the name suggests, is an eight lane timed mat racer slide. Riders reach speeds of up to 40 km/h as they race headfirst down an 86-metre long track. With the help of sensors at the finish line, each slider receives their placing to an accuracy of 1/1000th of a second. |
| Speedcoaster | The Speedcoaster sees guests plummeted down an enclosed snake-like drop before a steep freefall to the splashdown zone. Originally named 'Speed Slide' when the park first opened, the attraction has since been refurbished and modified. |
| Twister | The Twister is two tube body slides crossing each other in 360 degree spirals. |
| River Rapids | The River Rapids are four high speed slides which were renovated from the Whitewater Flumes in 2007 which had been the centrepiece of Whitewater Mountain since 1984 when the park opened. The River Rapids are two fully enclosed water slides and two open air flumes. |
| Giant Wave Pool | The Giant Wave Pool is a three million litre wavepool attraction with a consistent one-metre swell. The Giant Wave Pool is one of Wet'n'Wild Water World's first attractions and opened in 1984 along with the rest of the park. The Giant Wave Pool also featres 'Dive-in Movies' every Saturday night in November through to late April and every night in January, where guests can view movies on a tube dinghy. |
| Calypso Beach | Calypso Beach is a large lazy river attraction. Riders sit in one person tubes as the gentle current pulls them along the course. Calypso Beach was installed at the park in 1999. |
| Whirlpool Springs | Dual summer/winter attraction. During the summer it is a gentle one person per tube ride and during winter it has the upper level of water drained and covers removed to expose 10 x 20 person hot spas heated at 36 degrees Celsius. In the winter it is called "Whirlpool Hot Springs". |
[edit] Previous rides
| Attraction | Description |
|---|---|
| Double Screamer | Originally named Rampage, the Double Screamer was the first all fibreglass slide in the world. It was closed and removed in 2005 due to safety concerns on similar rides overseas where riders suffered serious injuries. Buccaneer Bay now stands in its place. |
| Mammoth Plunge | Built in 2000, the Mammoth Plunge Slide was donated to Sea World in 2005 where it now operates. It was replaced with a mirror of the adjacent Mammoth River slide. |
| Terror Canyon 1 & 2 | Closed down in late 2008 pending demolition and re-development. Currently still closed and un-used. |
| WhiteWater Flumes | 4 body flume slides opened with the park in 1984, refurbished in the 1990s, and removed in 2007. It featured the following rides:
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[edit] Food
There are several food outlets placed throughout the park, each one specialising in different styles of fast food.
- Bombora Burger Bar
- Kahuna's Chicken and Chips (Open during peak times between September and February)
- Snack Shack
- Oasis Ice Cream Parlour
- "Go Frozen" Frozen Coke Bar
- Wraps 'n' Rolls
- Natural Selections
- Clocktower Coffee
- Calypso Bar
- Domino's Pizza (Opened as a franchise on 12th of September, 2009)
[edit] Marketing
The park launches ad campaigns to popularise new instalments at the park.
Additionally, 'Wez n Will' are two fictional surfie teenagers who provide documentary-style videos on their experiences at the park.
[edit] References
- ^ Wet 'n' Wild Water World: Historical Features http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/article.php?aid=110
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Wet'n'Wild Water World is at 27°54′54″S 153°19′04″E / 27.9151076°S 153.3176744°ECoordinates: 27°54′54″S 153°19′04″E / 27.9151076°S 153.3176744°E
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wet'n'Wild Water World |
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