Indoor water park

History

Some of the first indoor water parks are at Duinrell (The Netherlands, 1984), Nautiland located at Haguenau (France, 1984), the Aqua Mundo at Center Parc De Eemhof located at Zeewolde (The Netherlands, 1980) and (Switzerland, 1977).

In 1985 an indoor water park was open in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada at the West Edmonton Mall. It is called the World Waterpark and is over 200000 sqft. It was a success for the mall and remains as one of the largest indoor water parks in the world. In 1985 opened in France. Another indoor water park in Europe was built in Blackpool in 1986. It is called the Sandcastle Water Park.

The first indoor water park in the United States known as the Polynesian Resort Hotel and Suites in the small tourist town of Wisconsin Dells, WI. The hotel opened in 1989 and the water park in 1994. It was built in an effort to make the Dells a year-round tourist destination, rather than just a summer one. Since then, the Great Wolf Lodge brand has expanded, with multiple locations in the U.S. and a single venue in Canada, at Niagara Falls. The DreamWorks Water Park, originally slated to open in late 2019, will be the United States' largest water park upon opening.

The indoor water park craze

Since the opening of the first park, the indoor water park business has become increasingly popular, especially for Edmonton in Canada, and Wisconsin Dells in the U.S., which proclaims itself as the "Water Park Capital of the World". The Dells has five water park resorts that have at least one water park bigger than 55000 sqft. This includes Great Wolf Lodge, Kalahari (Wisconsin's Largest Indoor Water Park), Chula Vista Resort (Lost Rios), Wilderness Territory (Wild West, Klondike Kavern, Wild WaterDome), and the Hotel Rome at Mt. Olympus. Wisconsin has the most indoor water parks in one state. Other states in the U.S., especially in the midwest, are building more indoor water parks separate or to existing hotels so they can become a year-round destination. More water parks are also being built in Canada, Europe and Asia.

Using a large hangar intended for Cargolifter Zeppelins, Tropical Islands Resort near Berlin, Germany, is since 2004 the largest indoor water park in the world with an area of 66,000 m² (710,000 sq feet). As the hangar is 107 m high, it is one of the largest buildings on Earth by volume at 5.5 million m³ (194 million ft³). File:Tropical Islands 5.jpg|Tropical Islands Resort - inside File:Tropical Islands Innenansicht.jpg|Tropical Islands Resort - inside, with the dome-shaped roof of the building visible File:Krausnicker Berge Aussichtsturm Blick auf Tropical Islands.JPG|Tropical Islands Resort - outside File:Great Wolf Lodge Mason, Ohio.jpg|Great Wolf Lodge at Mason, Ohio

Features

Most major indoor water parks have:

• Water slides
• Body slides
• Speed slides
• Children's Play Area with sprayers, tipping buckets, slides, and geysers. A typical example might be "Canada's Wonderland" "Pump House" attraction.
• Family rides (Ride that can occupy over 3 guests)
• Lazy rivers or torrent rivers
• Wave pool
• Water Coaster (Master Blaster)
• Other attractions (FlowRider, Mat Racing Slides, Tornado Vortex Ride, Pro Bowl/Behehmoth Bowl, etc.)

References

References

1. Rogier van der Zanden. (June 28, 2019). "Tikibad Duinrell breidt uit naar buiten en is daarna nog lang niet af". [[Omroep West]].
2. (1986). "Parcs de loisirs". Association professionnelle des ingénieurs des Ponts et Chaussées et Mines.
3. Tracey Davies. (August 15, 2012). "How Centre Parcs opened my eyes". [[The Independent]].
4. (August 4, 2008). ""Die Freude der Kinder ist die gleiche geblieben"". [[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]].
5. (May 3, 2018). "Throwback thursday: Brampton's Shoppers World was first in Canada to build indoor water slide". [[Brampton Guardian]].
6. (October 9, 2018). "Taking a deep dive into the history of WEM's waterpark". [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]].
7. (August 17, 2017). "Il n'y pas de projet de vente ou de destruction de l'Aqualud". [[La Voix du Nord (daily).
8. Pries, Allison. (2019-11-21). "DreamWorks Water Park at American Dream mall delays opening".
9. Richard L. Johnson. "2008 Waterpark Guide". Hotel-online.com.
10. Richard L. Johnson. "Indoor Waterpark Resorts Supply and Demand Mid-Year 2009 Update". Hotel-online.com.