Lets talk water parks and their future

roj2323

roj2323

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
With the soon to be completed Universal's Volcano Bay, Disney's Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach are starting to look pretty dated. What do you think Disney will do to update their parks in the coming years to compete with this new standard Universal is setting?

Here's a video on volcano Bay to give you an idea of what they're up to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?sns=fb&v=c3Ro3bYOraI
 
monothingie

monothingie

Evil will always triumph, because good is dumb.
Premium Member
In Disney's mind they don't have any problems filling the water parks, so there really is no problem. They will and have thrown in token improvements, over the last couple of years to Typhoon, but their mindset is no longer to be the innovator like they were when they opened their parks. They're just fine being on the field.

For USO, its just one more reason for their guests to stay on property and maybe curtail trips to Disney.

I do agree that both parks, especially Typhoon lagoon are showing their age, but that can be mainly attributed to deferred maintenance. I would love to see Typhoon open at night (since it was designed for night operation)during the busy season and maybe add some better dining options, one step above quick service, think be our guest meets Ohana.
 
Bairstow

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
yeti said:
I'm not a big fan of the exposed tube slides....otherwise it looks great. I don't see how they're "setting a new standard" though.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the teaser looks great, but none of those types of slides isn't something we haven't seen earlier elsewhere. Splashin' Safari has an LIM water coaster, Atlantis has underwater acrylic side tunnels, various Schlitterbahns have super-overbanked raft corners, etc., etc.
 
Jon81uk

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
Bairstow said:
Yeah, the teaser looks great, but none of those types of slides isn't something we haven't seen earlier elsewhere. Splashin' Safari has an LIM water coaster, Atlantis has underwater acrylic side tunnels, various Schlitterbahns have super-overbanked raft corners, etc., etc.
Click to expand...

Are any of those examples in Florida?
All of the top five most attended waterparks in the US are in Florida. So for many people the new slides at Volcano Bay will be very new!


But in terms of the OPs question. The Disney parks are the best themed, but have gone stale in what they offer and Volcano Bay will be more thrilling. But then I guess many Disney guests aren't looking for something thrilling! The new Miss Fortune Falls carries on with Disney offering family experiences, while Universal and SeaWorld offer something more thrilling.
 
Jwhee

Jwhee

Well-Known Member
yeti said:
I'm not a big fan of the exposed tube slides....otherwise it looks great. I don't see how they're "setting a new standard" though.
Click to expand...

They are setting a new standard by having a 200 foot tall Volcano as the icon, having luminescent caverns to flow through while on the lazy river. The park will (apparently) have a full service sit down restaurant. The main new aspect is the queue less system for the rides.
 
Bairstow

Bairstow

Well-Known Member
Jon81uk said:
Are any of those examples in Florida?
All of the top five most attended waterparks in the US are in Florida. So for many people the new slides at Volcano Bay will be very new!
Click to expand...

Aquatica has most of them. They definitely have trapdoor slides and underwater tubes (with animal viewing!) but they lack a proper watercoaster.
 
A

andre85

Well-Known Member
Dated? Volcano Bay looks nice, but it again looks like Universal's only going 80-90% as far as they should in theming. It almost looks like they're building a (admittedly impressive) volcano around an existing waterpark.

BB and TL still impress to this day imo in terms of theme (some of the latter's rides are a bit dated though--that I will agree with).
 
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Hakunamatata

Hakunamatata

Le Meh
Premium Member
Jwhee said:
They are setting a new standard by having a 200 foot tall Volcano as the icon, having luminescent caverns to flow through while on the lazy river. The park will (apparently) have a full service sit down restaurant. The main new aspect is the queue less system for the rides.
Click to expand...
Interesting to see how the queue-less think works with their version of magic band. Not being able to carry a smart phone might hamper showing up timely?

Back to the OP question. I think Disneys concept art is on par with universals.
 
DinoInstitute

DinoInstitute

Well-Known Member
Jwhee said:
They are setting a new standard by having a 200 foot tall Volcano as the icon, having luminescent caverns to flow through while on the lazy river. The park will (apparently) have a full service sit down restaurant. The main new aspect is the queue less system for the rides.
Click to expand...
No doubt it's going to look amazing, and depending on the end result it could for sure be better than Typhoon and Blizzard, though I wouldn't really call that groundbreaking like rumors once alluded to.

That said, the queue-less system sounds interesting. I'm curious as to exactly that will work?
 
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yeti

yeti

Well-Known Member
Jwhee said:
They are setting a new standard by having a 200 foot tall Volcano as the icon, having luminescent caverns to flow through while on the lazy river. The park will (apparently) have a full service sit down restaurant. The main new aspect is the queue less system for the rides.
Click to expand...
All of that sounds great, but BB and TL both have impressive icons of their own, as well as other similarly unique experiences. In other words, I don't see how this is a giant leap for water parks, besides just being new. It's really just reiterating what themed, extravagant water parks do best....which isn't a bad thing at all....except that it keeps being portrayed as something greater than the sum of its parts.
 

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