Park Preview
www.parkworld-online.com
New waterpark coming soon! Global Village
Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas will be managed by Village Roadshow Theme Parks, which entered the USA in 2008 with the acquisition of Hawaiian Waters, subsequently rebranded as Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii. This was followed a year later by the opening of Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix, Arizona.
In its native Australia, Village
Roadshow operates a number of venues on the Gold Coast including Warner Bros Movie World, Sea World and Wet ‘n’ Wild. Currently in development is a Wet ‘n’ Wild “super park” in Sydney, opening December 2013. Unrelated to Village
Roadshow’s interests are the American properties Wet ‘n Wild Orlando in Florida and Wet ‘n Wild Greensboro in North Carolina, operated respectively by Universal Studios Recreation and Palace Entertainment.
Like an oasis in the dessert, a new waterpark will soon appear amongst the sands of Las Vegas. The $50 million Wet ‘n’ Wild will open this coming May, featuring more than 25 slides and attractions
he project will revive some of the spirit of George Millay’s original Wet ‘n Wild (note the subtle difference in punctuation), which closed in 2004 after a 19-year run near the Sahara hotel and casino, latterly in the hands of Palace Entertainment. The operator this time will be the Australian entertainment conglomerate Village Roadshow, which already runs Wet ‘n’ Wild properties in Australia, Hawaii and Phoenix, Arizona. Additional backers include tennis stars Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, Roger and Scott Bulloch of SPB Capital Partners, and Dr Steven Thomas, Karen Thomas and Steve Miller from Las Vegas’ Thomas & Mack stadium. So why do Village Roadshow and its partners think they can succeed where the previous Wet ’n Wild eventually failed? “There hasn’t been a water park in Las Vegas for some time, and there is pent up demand for one,” Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas general manager (formerly of Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii) Takuya Ohki tells Park World. “In fact, there was even a ‘Bring Back Wet ’n Wild’ Facebook page!” “The decision to close that previous park was made entirely by its owner, Palace Entertainment, based on best use of the land,” continues Ohki. “We are excited to brong Wet ‘n’ Wild Las Vegas to Southern Nevada with almost 2 million residents and 39 million visitors each year. Our strategically positioned 41-acre site is
T 52
easily accessible by residents and visitors alike in southwest Las Vegas off of I-215. “The local government and business support we have received for this project has been unprecedented,” adds Tim Fisher, chief executive officer of Village Roadshow Theme Parks. “In particular, County Commission chair Susan Brager has offered her full support to this project, and we are confident this will be another hugely successful attraction for Las Vegas.” Set on 41 acres in southwest Las Vegas near the I-215 highway and Sunset Road, highlights will include Canyon Cliffs, which will send riders on a gut- wrenching 60ft freefall racing at speeds of up to 33ft per second, North America’s first Rattler slide (by WhiteWater), the Colorado Cooler lazy river, a giant wave pool, plus a multi-level interactive children’s aquatic adventure playground. Village Roadshow predicts that the park has the potential to entertain more than 650,000 guests annually.
Pictured announcing plans for Wet ’n’ Wild during the recent World Waterpark Association (WWA) Symposium in Las Vegas are, from left to right: Tim Fisher, CEO of Village Roadshow Theme Parks; Scott Bulloch, SPB Capital Partners; Roger Bulloch, SPB Capital Partners; Andre Agassi; and WWA president Rick Root
NOVEMBER 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76