Wet'n'Wild Sydney

Last updated

Raging Waters Sydney
SloganAn incredible day out that everyone will love - time and time again.
Location Prospect, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates 33°48′31.64″S150°54′39.92″E / 33.8087889°S 150.9110889°E / -33.8087889; 150.9110889 Coordinates: 33°48′31.64″S150°54′39.92″E / 33.8087889°S 150.9110889°E / -33.8087889; 150.9110889
Owner Parques Reunidos
General ManagerCameron Mackay
Opened12 December 2013 (2013-12-12)
Operating seasonSeptember – April
Area25 ha (62 acres)
Pools3 pools
Water slides42 water slides
Children's areasA single children's area
Website www.ragingwaterssydney.com.au

Raging Waters 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 [1] [2] [3] [4] 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 was acquired by Parques Reunidos. [5]

Water park amusement park that features pools with water play areas

A water park or waterpark is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for bathing, swimming, and other barefoot environments. Modern water parks may also be equipped with some type of artificial surfing or bodyboarding environment, such as a wave pool or flowrider.

Greater Western Sydney Region in New South Wales, Australia

Greater Western Sydney (GWS) is a large region of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia that generally embraces the north-west, south-west, central-west, and far western sub-regions within Sydney's metropolitan area and encompasses 13 local government areas: Blacktown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Camden, Campbelltown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Hills Shire, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith, Wollondilly and the western portion of the City of Parramatta Council.

Prospect, New South Wales Suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Prospect is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Prospect is located 32 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region.

Contents

History

The original proposal for Wet'n'Wild Sydney included 3 pools, 16 water slides and 2 children's areas. Wet'n'Wild Sydney Proposal pg1.png
The original proposal for Wet'n'Wild Sydney included 3 pools, 16 water slides and 2 children's areas.

On 11 September 2010, New South Wales Premier, Kristina Keneally, joined Village Roadshow Theme Parks' Chief Executive Officer, Tim Fisher, to announce Wet'n'Wild Sydney. The proposal detailed a 25-hectare (62-acre) water park in Prospect, New South Wales that was set to be one of the top ten water parks in the world. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Kristina Keneally Australian politician; former Premier of New South Wales and current Senator

Kristina Kerscher Keneally is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for New South Wales since February 2018, representing the Labor Party. Since 2019, she has served as Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, Shadow Minister for Home Affairs, and Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship. She previously served as Premier of New South Wales from 2009 to 2011, the first woman to hold the position.

In a master plan created by Canadian water slide manufacturer, WhiteWater West, Wet'n'Wild Sydney was set to play host to a variety of attractions including two wave pools, two lazy rivers, a children's AquaPlay area, spas and volleyball courts. These ground-level attractions would be coupled by several slide towers featuring a variety of water slides including two AquaLoops, a Boomerango, dueling Master Blasters, a Super Bowl, an Abyss, a six-lane Whizzard, two family raft rides, and a collection of inline tube slides. [6] The whole park was set to cost A$80 million, have a seasonal attendance of over one million visitors, and have a turnover of A$500 million in the first decade of operation. [7]

Water slide

A water slide is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to sit directly on the slide, or on a raft or tube designed to be used with the slide.

WhiteWater West

WhiteWater West is a manufacturing company based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1980 and manufactures a variety of products for water parks including water slides and water play areas. The company also owns Hopkins Rides and Prime Interactives which manufacture water rides for amusement parks and dry play areas, respectively.

Wave pool

A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, reasonably large waves, similar to those of the ocean. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks, both indoors and outdoors, as well as some leisure centres.

The commencement of construction was announced by New South Wales Premier, Barry O'Farrell, and Wet'n'Wild Sydney General Manager, Chris Warhurst, on 9 September 2012. [8] The announcement detailed Village Roadshow would now be investing $115 million into the park ahead of its planned opening in late 2013. [9] Plans for the $115 million park were designed by Water Technology Inc. [10] On 12 December 2013, the park officially opened to the public, after several days of soft openings. [11] [12]

Barry OFarrell 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Western Sydney 2011–2014

Barry Robert O'Farrell is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Western Sydney from 2011 to 2014. He was the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party from 2007 to 2014, and was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 2015, representing Northcott until 1999 and representing Ku-ring-gai on the Upper North Shore of Sydney from 1999 to 2015. He is currently President and Independent Board Chair of Diabetes Australia, Chair of the Wests Tigers Rugby League Football Club and CEO of Racing Australia Ltd.

The water park was forced to cancel its 2013 New Year's Eve Festival with just six hours notice due to "a major technical production issue". The event, which was expected to sell-out, was promoted as Australia's "first ever music festival to be held at a water theme park". Village Roadshow later stated that the organiser's "management plan for crowd control and safety failed to meet Wet'n'Wild's standards". [13] The event was later moved to Australia Day. [14]

New Years Eve holiday celebrated on 31 December

In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, the last day of the year, is on 31 December. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated at evening social gatherings, where many people dance, eat, drink alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the new year. Some Christians attend a watchnight service. The celebrations generally go on past midnight into New Year's Day, 1 January.

Australia Day Australian national holiday

Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Celebrated annually on 26 January, it marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the Flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip. In present-day Australia, celebrations reflect the diverse society and landscape of the nation and are marked by community and family events, reflections on Australian history, official community awards and citizenship ceremonies welcoming new members of the Australian community.

Attractions

View of H2Go racers (Tower 2) Wet'n'Wild Sydney- H2Go Racers (22611562493).jpg
View of H2Go racers (Tower 2)

Raging Waters Sydney features several water slide attractions; a large wave pool; a children's area; food, beverage and retail outlets; and a Surf Life Saving Club. The park features four water slide towers, each featuring a collection of slides grouped by the level of thrill. The park is centred around a large wave pool known as The Beach. The Beach was designed by an Australian company and is capable of producing (non surfable) waves of up to 2.3 metres (7 ft 7 in). [15]

Surf Life Saving Club volunteer institutions in Australia and New Zealand

Surf Life Saving Clubs are volunteer institutions at Australia's beaches. The clubs conduct surf lifesaving services on weekends and public holidays, and in the 2014-2015 season they saved 12,690 people. They also host many beach sport activities, such as Nippers, surf carnivals and other competitions. The SLSCs are responsible for the education of Lifesavers including operation of Inflatable Rescue Boats (IRBs) and maintaining radio communication with other beaches and air rescue resources.

To the left of the park entrance is the first slide tower, containing three slides by ProSlide Technology: Bombora, Tantrum and T5. [16] All of the slides use four-person cloverleaf-shaped rafts. Bombora is a Tornado Wave slide where riders are taken on an enclosed flume ride before dropping down to the ground and riding up a large wave-shaped surface. [17] Here, riders experience a feeling of weightlessness. [18] The second slide is the T5, a ProSlide Tornado 60. The ride is characterised by a large funnel, 60 feet (18 m) in diameter, in which riders oscillate back and forth. Both before and after the main funnel element riders navigate through enclosed flume segments. [19] [20] The final slide on this tower is Tantrum, a ProSlide Tornado 24. Tantrum features three enclosed funnels, each with a diameter of 24 feet (7.3 m), similar to the single larger funnel on the T5. Several enclosed flume segments link the three funnels, leading the ride to the shared splashdown pool. [21] [22]

The second tower is located adjacent to the first, and contains two slides manufactured by WhiteWater West: H2Go Racer and 360Rush. H2Go Racer is an eight-lane Whizzard Twist where riders race head-first on a mat down the slide to the runout chutes. Riders begin by entering an enclosed tube section where the individual lanes are braided. The lanes then enter a 360-degree helix, before emerging for a final open drop. [23] [24] The second ride is the 360Rush, a set of four AquaLoop looping water slides. Pairs of slides are situated on either side of the H2Go Racers, with each featuring a trap door release with 3G acceleration and a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph). [23] [25]

View of Bombora, Tantrum and T5 ride exits (Tower 1) Tower 1, Wet'n'Wild Sydney- Bomborra and Tantrum (22610574164).jpg
View of Bombora, Tantrum and T5 ride exits (Tower 1)

On the other side of The Beach is the third tower, featuring five slides also by WhiteWater West: Half Pipe, Typhoon, Tropical Cyclone, The Breakers, and AquaTube. [23] [26] All of the slides on this tower use two-person inline tubes. Half Pipe is a Boomerango of a similar design to Bombora; however, the exit chute from the vertical wall features a small camel hump for a second moment of weightlessness. [23] [27] Typhoon is a Rattler where riders slide down open flume sections before entering two cylinders at right angles. Riders oscillate back and forth inside the cylinders before emerging and continuing with the open slide. [23] [28] Tropical Cyclone is a Constrictor, a slide characterised by three wide helices. Internally, these helices measure 2.1 metres (6 ft 11 in) in diameter as opposed to the 1.3-metre (4.3 ft) diameter evidenced in the rest of the slide. [23] [29] The Breakers are a set of four Master Blaster slides. These slides mimic roller coasters by providing not only descents, but ascents as well. Ascents are achieved though water jets blasting the raft uphill. [23] [30] AquaTube is a traditional flume ride that features enclosed twists and turns in complete darkness. The ride is a Giant AquaTube by WhiteWater West. [23] [31]

The Sydney SkyCoaster during construction Wet n Wild Sydney construction 4 (9516163124).jpg
The Sydney SkyCoaster during construction

The fourth and final tower was manufactured by ProSlide Technology and features three slides: Double Bowlseye, The Curler and Riptide. [32] The tower is located near the front of the park. They used round rafts that can seat between four and five people but they kept getting stuck in the rides so they have been replaced by Cloverleaf rafts that seat only 4 people. Double Bowlseye is a Behemoth Bowl 40 where riders descend a dark tunnel before entering two large, open bowls. The raft circles the centre of the bowls before exiting down through the centre and into another flume channel. [33] [34] The Curler and Riptide are two Mammoth slides. The Curler is characterised by enclosed twists and turns while Riptide features a large open-air double drop to conclude the ride. [35] [36] [37]

Three family-oriented attractions and two upcharge attractions are located on the ground level, detached from the main slide towers. In addition to aforementioned wave pool, The Beach, other attractions include Boomerang Bay, a lazy and action river, and Wet'n'Wild Junior, a children's area featuring miniature versions of the park's main attractions. [38] [39] [40] The first upcharge attraction is the Sydney SkyCoaster, the world's largest double Skycoaster. Riders are raised to a height of 251 feet (77 m) before plunging at 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) and swinging out across The Beach. The ride was manufactured by Skycoaster, Inc., a wholly owned division of Ride Entertainment Group, who installed the ride. [41] [42] The second upcharge attraction is The Surf Deck, manufactured by Australian company LatiTube that is capable of simulating "waves" of up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in). [43]

MyBand

Raging Waters Sydney includes a wireless ticketing and payment system fully integrated into the park's infrastructure. The technology is called MyBand and uses radio-frequency identification held inside a silicon wristband which patrons wear. Season Pass holders are issued a permanent MyBand, while Single Day Admission ticketed guests receive a temporary MyBand. [44] The device is used by uploading cash from the park or online which can then be used to purchase retail items, food and beverages with a simple swipe. [45] The system was designed by RFID n Print. [10]

Complaints

Shortly after opening, various complaints had been made about ticket and food pricing, long queues, venue capacity, long lines for the car park, and rides being shut down without apparent reason. [46]

Incidents

An 8-year-old girl was injured in January 2014 on the Bombora ride. [47]

Season History

Season 1 - 12 December 2013 - 27 April 2014

Season 2 - 20 September 2014 - 19 April 2015

Season 3 - 19 September 2015 - 24 April 2016

Season 4 - 24 September 2016 - 24 April 2017

Season 5 - 23 September 2017 - 29 April 2018

See also

Related Research Articles

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