 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Amusement park operator |
| Founded | September 30, 1984 |
| Headquarters | Gold Coast, Queensland |
| Owner | Village Roadshow Theme Parks and EPR Properties |
Wet'n'Wild is a brand used for many water parks across the world owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks and EPR Properties. It is distinct from the Wet 'n Wild brand originally owned by SeaWorld creator George Millay or Wet N' Wild Waterworld, a stand-alone water park in Anthony, Texas, US.
The Wet'n'Wild brand originates from Wet'n'Wild Water World on the Gold Coast, Australia. It first opened in 1984 as Cade's County Waterpark, and was renamed to Wet'n'Wild in 1987 after a licensing agreement was reached with the chain of Wet 'n Wild water parks overseas. [1] [2]
In 2008, Village Roadshow Theme Parks, the owners of Wet'n'Wild Water World, proposed to acquire Aussie World and redevelop it into Wet'n'Wild Aussie World; [3] however, these plans were cancelled. [4] Internationally the company acquired the Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park in the United States. The park was rebranded to Wet'n'Wild Hawaii the following year. [5] The company also purchased WaterWorld Safari, investing US$30 million in the park relaunched as Wet'n'Wild Phoenix. [6] [7]
Wet'n'Wild Hawaii was sold to CNL Lifestyle Properties for an undisclosed sum in 2009, [5] but Village Roadshow Theme Parks continued to operate the park. [8] In 2013, new Wet'n'Wild water parks were built by Village Roadshow Theme Parks in Las Vegas and Sydney.
In November 2013, CNL Lifestyle Properties purchased Wet'n'Wild Phoenix, with Premier Parks, LLC taking over operations of both Wet'n'Wild Phoenix and Wet'n'Wild Hawaii for the 2014 season. CNL Lifestyle Properties also purchased the rights to the Wet'n'Wild brand in the United States. [8] [9] Village Roadshow Theme Parks continued to operate and hold a majority stake in ownership of Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas. [10] CNL Lifestyle Properties' ownership of the Wet'n'Wild brand in the United States led them to branding their recently acquired California water park as Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs, and their SplashTown Houston park as Wet'n'Wild SplashTown.
In 2018, the first Chinese Wet'n'Wild water park opened, owned by Guangzhou R&F Properties and operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks. [11] [12]
In 2016, Premier Parks purchased independent Wild Water Kingdom in Brampton, Ontario, Canada and renamed it Wet'n'Wild Toronto.
In July 2018, Parques Reunidos purchased Wet'n'Wild Sydney from Village Roadshow Theme Parks, and later renamed the park Raging Waters Sydney. [13]
Sea World is a marine mammal park, oceanarium, and theme park located on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It offers attractions such as rides and animal exhibits and promotes conservation through education and the rescue and rehabilitation of sick, injured or orphaned wildlife. The park is commercially linked to Warner Bros. Movie World and Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast as part of the theme park division of Village Roadshow. The park has no affiliation with an American park chain of a similar name.
Village Roadshow Limited is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and majority owned by Village Roadshow Corporation, with members of founder Roc Kirby's family in the top roles.
Elitch Gardens Theme & Water Park, colloquially known as Elitch's, is an amusement park in Denver, Colorado. It is owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment and operated by Premier Parks, LLC. Distinctive for being located in a downtown area, it is open April through October.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Splashtown is a water park located north of Houston in Spring, Texas, United States.
Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast is a water park situated in Oxenford, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, owned and operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks. In 2019, the park received 1,120,000 visitors making it the most visited water park in Australia and the 19th most visited water park in the world. Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast is located adjacent to Warner Bros. Movie World, a movie-related park also owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks. The park remains open all year with all of the pools and slides heated during the winter months. It is one of several water parks operating under the Wet'n'Wild brand globally.
Village Roadshow Theme Parks is a division of Village Roadshow Limited which operates theme parks and attractions in Australia and the United States of America. The Sydney Attractions Group Pty Ltd was formerly part of Village Roadshow Theme Parks; however, it was sold in 2011 to Merlin Entertainments.
Wet'n'Wild Hawaii is a Hawaiian water park, located in Kapolei in the City and County of Honolulu on Oahu. The park occupies 29 acres (120,000 m2) of land and has more than 25 rides and attractions. It is currently the only water park in the state of Hawaii. It is one of six water parks operating under the Wet'n'Wild brand globally.
Palace Entertainment is a subsidiary of Madrid, Spain based Parques Reunidos which operates various attractions including amusement parks, zoos, and water parks around the world. Palace Entertainment is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is primarily involved in the operation of attractions in the United States.
Wet 'n Wild is a name used by various water parks across the United States, Brazil and Mexico, originally owned by SeaWorld creator George Millay. It is not to be confused with the Wet'n'Wild brand owned by Village Roadshow Theme Parks and CNL Lifestyle Properties or the stand-alone waterpark Wet N' Wild Waterworld in Anthony, Texas.
WhiteWater World is a seasonal water park situated in the suburb of Coomera on the Gold Coast, Australia. It is owned and operated by Ardent Leisure and is the sister park to Dreamworld.
Big Splash is a waterpark in Canberra, Australia. It is located in the suburb of Macquarie and is the only waterpark in Canberra. It opened in 1969 as a public swimming pool, and has since become a private waterpark.
Wet 'n Wild Orlando was the flagship water park of Wet 'n Wild owned by NBC Universal, located on International Drive in Orlando, Florida. It was founded in 1977 by SeaWorld creator George Millay. It closed on December 31, 2016.
Wet 'n Wild, Wet'n'Wild, Wet N Wild appears in the names of a variety of water parks around the world, including:
Aussie World is a privately owned, medium-sized, family theme park on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. It has over 30 rides and attractions.
Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Phoenix is a water park located in Phoenix, Arizona. The park is situated on approximately 35 acres (14 ha) of land, making it the largest theme park in the state. It is located in North Phoenix at Adobe Dam Regional Park.
The Flash: Speed Force is an upcoming steel shuttle roller coaster at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. It is an Intamin Half Pipe roller coaster themed to the DC Comics superhero the Flash that is set to open in April 2024. The ride originally opened as Surfrider at the nearby Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast, where it operated from September 2007 until 2020, before being removed in April 2023.
Raging Waters Sydney, formerly Wet'n'Wild Sydney, is a water park in the greater western Sydney suburb of Prospect, New South Wales, Australia, that opened on 12 December 2013. The park was announced on 11 September 2010 and was the third Wet'n'Wild water park operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks, after locations on the Gold Coast and Las Vegas. On 2 July 2018, it was announced that the park had been acquired by Parques Reunidos who renamed the park Raging Waters Sydney for the 2019 season. It is the only attraction outside the United States owned by Palace Entertainment.
Cowabunga Canyon Waterpark is a water park in Spring Valley, Nevada. The park was part of Village Roadshow Theme Parks' Wet'n'Wild chain of water parks located across the world, until it was purchased by Pyek Group in March 2022. Pyek Group also owns Cowabunga Bay and together these 2 water parks makeup the Cowabunga Vegas brand. The park is located at 7055 S. Fort Apache Road, southwest of the I-215 and Sunset Road interchange.
Premier Parks, LLC is a limited liability company based in the United States. The company owns and operates several amusement parks and water parks across the country and one in Canada.
Wet'n'Wild Palm Springs is a defunct water park located in Palm Springs, California. The park operated under Cedar Fair's ownership as Knott's Soak City until 2013 when CNL Lifestyle Properties acquired it. The park plans to eventually reopen as Palm Springs Surf Club.
