Wet 'n Wild Orlando

History

Development and ownership

While developing SeaWorld, George Millay realized the need for a water park, later recalling "being in Florida, with all its heat and hot sun, you naturally think about cooling off in water". In the mid-1970s, he directed his time and money towards the project. The idea stemmed from the splash pad at Ontario Place in Canada and the wave pool at Point Mallard Park in Alabama. His desire was to combine these two elements and build upon it in order to achieve a good return on investment. Due to his prior success with SeaWorld, he was able to form a team of investors to fund the project.

The park opened in Orlando, Florida on March 13, 1977. Although it opened to rain and suffered a $600,000 loss in its first year of operation, Millay kept it open. He later claimed it "started making money the second year and never looked back".

In 1998, Millay sold off his interests in his parks. The Orlando location was purchased by Universal Studios Recreation Group, who continued to lease the land on which it is located. In mid-2013, Universal purchased the 50 acre of land for $30.9 million.

Expansion and later years

In 1998, the Hydra Fighter was added to the park. Riders were able to control their suspended gondola through the use of high-powered water guns.

In 2000, the park renovated their Kids Park children's area. The original aviation theme was converted into a sandcastle theme. The renovation saw three ProSlide Technology "Kidz" slides added as well as a castle with a tipping bucket which dumped 250 USgal of water every three-and-a-half minutes. With the exception of the three slides, it was manufactured entirely by Integrity Attractions.

In 2001, the park began a multi-year expansion plan with Canadian manufacturer ProSlide Technology. It added The Storm, a pair of ProBowls, in 2001; The Blast, an inline tube slide, in 2003; Disco H2O, an enclosed Behemoth Bowl, in 2005; and Brain Wash, an enclosed Tornado, in 2008.

In 2011, the Kids Park was demolished and was replaced by Blastaway Beach, a larger children's water play area that opened in 2012, also themed around sandcastles.

In 2014, the Bubba Tub was removed and replaced with the Aqua Drag Racer, a four-lane race slide.

On June 17, 2015, it was confirmed that the park would close on December 31, 2016, to be replaced by a new water park, Universal Volcano Bay, which opened across the site on May 25, 2017. The park permanently closed on January 1, 2017, and was demolished in early 2017.

The former site of Wet N' Wild is currently occupied by Universal's Endless Summer Resort which opened in June 2019.

Attendance

The park was the most-attended water park in the United States until 1999, when Walt Disney World Resort's Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach surpassed it. At the time, it was averaging around 1.3 million visitors per year for several years.

Attractions

Final attractions

Former attractions

In popular culture

The park was featured on Travel Channel's Extreme Waterparks and was also the setting for the music video for "Se a vida é", by the Pet Shop Boys.

The park was featured for Puerto Rican band Menudo for their video Nao Se Reprima in Portuguese.

References

References

1. "Wet n Wild, Americas First Water Park closing".
2. O'Brien, Tim. (November 16, 1998). "George Millay: From Sea World to Wet'n Wild, the father of the modern waterpark has definitely made a splash". Amusement Business.
3. Guier, Cindy Stooksbury. (November 16, 1998). "Wet'n Wild". Amusement Business.
4. O'Brien, Tim. (October 8, 2001). "Waterpark officials address variety of industry concerns". Amusement Business.
5. Zoltak, James. (October 12, 1998). "Universal dives into waterparks industry". Amusement Business.
6. Thomas, Rebecca. (April 10, 1998). "Hydra Fighter Makes Splash". Orlando Sentinel.
7. Mooradian, Don. (April 8, 2002). "M&S news". Amusement Business.
8. Zoltak, James. (April 2, 2001). "Parks & fairs: Tourism season bodes well". Amusement Business.
9. {{Parkz
10. Barbieri, Kelly. (January 2006). "Waterparks catch a nice wave". Amusement Business.
11. {{Parkz
12. {{Parkz
13. (June 17, 2015). "Thank You to All Our Fans for Decades of Wet 'N Wild Orlando". Universal Orlando Blog.
14. "Universal's Volcano Bay Water Theme Park – complete guide and history".
15. (June 17, 2015). "Universal closing Wet 'n Wild Orlando at the end of 2016". Orlando Sentinel.
16. (February 7, 2017). "Wet 'n Wild demolition will cost $3 million, what replaces it is anyone's guess". Orlando Weekly.
17. (March 16, 2017). "Universal Orlando starts demolition of shuttered Wet 'n Wild". Orlando Business Journal.
18. (October 14, 2019). "The Unofficial Guide to Universal Orlando's Endless Summer Resort". The Unofficial Guide.
19. O'Brien, Tim. (November 6, 2000). "Waterparks growth rate leads industry". Amusement Business.
20. "Rides on Every Continent". ProSlide Technology.
21. Swain Vadnie, Rebecca. (April 25, 2003). "Watery Fun At Full Blast". Orlando Sentinel.
22. {{Parkz
23. Thomas, Rebecca. (March 22, 1996). "Fuji Flyer: A Wild New Way To Get Wet". Orlando Sentinel.
24. Shrieves, Linda. (April 29, 1994). "Worth Wading For". Orlando Sentinel.
25. {{Parkz
26. (February 14, 1992). "The Bubba Tub". Orlando Sentinel.
27. (April 6, 1986). "A Wild New Era In Water Thrills". Orlando Sentinel.