Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast
- 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 Wet'n'Wild Aussie World.
| File:WetnWildLogo.jpg | |
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| Slogan | Biggest 'n' Best |
| Location | Oxenford, Queensland, Australia  |
| 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 |
| Pools | 4 pools |
| Water slides | 15 attractions water slides |
| Website | Official Webpage |
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.
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.
Attractions
Extreme H20 Zone
| Attraction | Description |
|---|---|
| Black Hole | Enclosed tube slides featuring twists and turns in complete darkness. Acquired second hand from a defunct waterpark in Brazil. |
| Mach 5 | A large waterslide complex. Also bought second hand from the same defunct water park. Features the following rides:
|
| Tornado | A 4 person clover-leaf funnel slide built by US manufacturer ProSlide. |
| Kamikaze | A wet/dry attraction and the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. Opened in late September, 2008. |
WhiteWater Mountain
| Attraction | Description |
|---|---|
| River Rapids | 4 high speed body slides (2 enclosed, 2 open air flumes). The four slides replaced the older Whitewater Flumes that had been the centerpiece of Whitewater Mountain since 1984 when the park opened. |
| Terror Canyon | A 2 person enclosed tube slide with fibre optic lighting effects. |
| Terror Canyon II | Converted from one of the WhiteWater Mountain slides to Terror Canyon II a few years after Terror Canyon opened. |
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.
Other rides
| Attraction | Description |
|---|---|
| Calypso Beach | A large lazy river attraction. |
| Giant Wave Pool | Original 1984 wavepool attraction featuring 'Dive-in Movies' every Saturday night in November through to late April and every night in January. |
| Mammoth Falls | 2 Multi rider raft style slides. Replaced the Mammoth Plunge slides which were donated to Sea World. |
| Speed Coaster | Originally named 'Speed Slide' when the park first opened, the attraction has since been refurbished and modified. |
| Super 8 Aqua Racer | An 8 lane timed mat racer slide. |
| Surfrider | 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 on September 23rd, 2007. |
| Twister | 2 body tube slides crossing each other in 360 degree spirals. |
| Whirlpool Hot 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". |
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. 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. |
| 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:
|
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
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.
References
- ^ Wet 'n' Wild Water World: Historical Features http://www.roller-coaster.com.au/article.php?aid=110
External links
