American water parks holding their own for the 2024 season

AT: Pam Sherborne

psherborne@amusemaenttoday.com

UNITED STATES — Officials at many of the country's water parks wrapped up their 2024 season, ending on good notes and floats.

Some parks splurged on new attractions, while others took a step back and focused on customer relations.

Here is a sampling of what some of the parks did this year.

Splish Splash

Water Park,

Calverton, New York

Splish Splash Water Park had a great season and added newness and fun throughout the summer for guests of all ages, said Danielle Trombetta, director of marketing.

"We continue to see a strong return in season pass guests year over year," she said. "Splish Splash enjoyed bringing new and enhanced events all season long."

The park kicked off the season with the popular Nature Nick Animal Show opening weekend and during the park’s enhanced Kids Fest weekends in June. The educational show included owls, hawks, snakes, a fox and more.

"We also brought back our annual Teacher Appreciation Week and Autism Awareness Day, where the park donated 700 tickets to the local chapter of Autism Society, in June," Trombetta said.

The month of July was jam-packed with events from the enhanced concert series called Bands and Brews. On the weekends in July, local bands and breweries would come together to provide entertainment.

Also in July, the park introduced an all-new event for families called Winter Wonderland. The week-long event featured limited-time food offerings, holiday music, meet and greets with holiday characters and giveaways. Guests enjoyed live performers and snow upon entering the park.

One of the highlights of our 2024 season was the appearance of the World’s Largest Rubber Duck. In honor of International Lifeguard Appreciation Day, the park kicked off a full weekend and hosted the beloved Mama Duck and baby duck, Timmy. Mama Duck stood more than 61 feet tall and made her way across the country to several cities, including Greensboro, North Carolina, at Splish Splash Water Park's sister park Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe, at sister park Raging Waters in Los Angeles, California.

Splish Splash ended August by honoring local heroes during Hero Appreciation Week.

Trombetta said Splish Splash is always looking to provide an improved guest experience, and in 2024 it implemented a new Season Passholder Perks program. Passholders throughout the season had special giveaways and bonus discounts.

"We saw several challenges this season as well," Trombetta said. "The weather continues to be a huge factor for us as Long Island saw several rainy weekends during the summer months. While this forced us to close the park for some operating days, we saw our guests return and ready to splash when the sun came back out."

The park introduced several new food and retail stands for the 2024 season.

Ben’s Soft Pretzels offered guests delicious, hot and fresh pretzels in original and cinnamon sugar. Another new food stand named Locos Tacos opened this season.

When guests wanted to take a break from sliding down some of the park’s most popular rides, they had the opportunity to visit the newly expanded retail store next to the wave pool called the Big Kahuna Bazaar.

New lounge genies were added to some of the park’s cabanas. These provided a secure spot for guests to place their belongings in a safe with a phone charger and a spot to keep their beverages cold.

Trombetta said no concrete plans for 2025 have been made; however, the park is always looking for ways to improve the guest experience and create new attractions and events every season.

Nashville Shores,

Nashville, Tennessee

Daniel Strobel, director of marketing, said 2024 went very well.

"We had a great year with a solid boost in ticket sales," Strobel said. "Despite the ups and downs in the economy, we rolled out some smart promotions, and our guests really responded. It shows that with the right approach, people are still excited to come out and have a good time with family and friends."

One of the year's big highlights at Nashville Shores was the success the park had with staffing.

"We really focused on hiring the right people and it paid off," Strobel said. "Our guests had a noticeably better experience, as reflected in the great reviews we received. We’re excited and proud of the progress we made in 2024."

In 2023, Nashville Shores unveiled its latest attraction, the Riptide Racer, a multi-million-dollar investment that quickly became a hit. Manufactured by Proslide Technology and towering over five stories high and stretching longer than a football field, the Riptide Racer lets guests race headfirst on mats against friends and family, speeding through twists and turns to the finish line.

"It was a huge success last year and the thousands of visitors this season got to enjoy it too," Strobel said.

For 2024, instead of debuting a new ride, park officials shifted focus to improving the overall guest experience throughout the park.

"We expanded one of our popular concession areas, added a new bar, introduced more soft drink stands and made other improvements throughout the park," he said. "While these updates may not have the same thrill factor as a new attraction, they're crucial for making sure our guests have a better, more enjoyable visit that keeps them coming back. And, it has proven successful."

For 2025, Strobel said the park doesn't have plans to install a new major attraction. But it does plan on doubling down on improving the overall guest experience.

"It’s all about keeping the hot food hot, the cold drinks cold and making sure every part of the park feels just right," he said. "We'll continue upgrading restrooms, adding more concession options, and expanding our special events to give guests even more reasons to visit.

"It may sound simple, but these improvements are key to making sure everyone has a great time and wants to come back again and again," he said.

Castaway Cove

Waterpark,

Wichita Falls, Texas

Castaway Cove Waterpark had a fantastic 2024, according to park officials.

"This summer marked our 20th anniversary, and we celebrated with a series of special events, including official anniversary celebrations, foam parties and lively Friday night beach parties," said Jimmy Holmes of H Two Management, which handles communications and marketing for the park. "We also took a trip down memory lane on social media, sharing cherished moments from the past 20 years while our guests shared their own family memories."

One of the standout highlights of 2024 was the overwhelming support from the park's community during the 20-year celebration.

"It was heartwarming to see how deeply connected people are to Castaway Cove, whether they visited as children, began their first job here or are now creating new memories with their own families," Holmes said.

The biggest 2024 challenge was the extreme heat. When temperatures soared to 105 degrees, it became too hot for some guests.

"We also made it a priority to ensure our staff stayed hydrated and didn’t overheat," he said.

This season, Castaway Cove introduced a new pizza destination called Paradise Slice. New cabanas were added, and the amenities were enhanced in some of the existing cabanas.

Next season, the Castaway Waterpark plans to unveil a new multi-lane mat racer, manufactured by WhiteWater West. Guests will race through enclosed tubes that twist and turn, culminating in a dash to a black-and-white checkered finish line. The attraction will feature a timing system, so guests can track their speed and compete for the fastest time.

Splashway Water Park, Sheridan, Texas

Splashway Water Park saw a solid 2024 season even though attendance took a slight dip from 2023, said Clorisa Hartensteiner, marketing director.

"It wasn't a huge dip, but it was a dip," Hartensteiner said.

She said she tried different things on the marketing front to boost attendance, but, in the end, they felt their potential guests were impacted by the economy.

"We just think it was a financially tight summer for many families," she said, even though she added there was a lot of rain in June and July.

Splashway has an adjacent campground. Added amenities to the campgrounds were done this year, but nothing new was added to the water park.

"There has been a lot of discussion happening for what we might do in 2025, but nothing we can really release right now," Hartensteiner said.

Myrtle Waves Water Park, Myrtle Beach,

South Carolina.

Myrtle Waves introduced a new slide called Wild Water Racers for the 2024 season.

Christina Watts, director of marketing and advertising for Lazarus Entertainment Group, said in a local news report that it is a mat slide, meaning people lay on a mat on their stomachs and slide down head first. Up to four people can go down the slide at the same time.

Although Myrtle Waves Water Park has more than 30 water slides and attractions, this was the first mat racer for the park.

This slide was moved from Wild Water and Wheels, a Surfside Beach, South Carolina, water park, which closed in 2022. The two water parks were owned by Lazarus Entertainment Group. A new company bought the old water park and is now redeveloping the land.