Indoor water park & hotel near Chicago.

I thought some of you might be interested in this. A developer is looking to construct a condo/hotel, indoor water park and convention center in Huntley Ill which is midway between Chicago and Rockford.

Here is the link:

http://www.dailyherald.com/main_story.asp?intid=37666168

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

Ill throw you a bone..... ( ;

Sounds fun... sounds a lot like Rays Splash Planet in Charlotte, NC. Hopefully it'll a little larger and less kiddy.

Actually, it's really nothing like Rays Splash Planet at all lol. Rays Splash Planet is some Mecklenburg Recreation Department/Schools little thing, while this is a hotel and tourist attraction.

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Jonathan Hawkins
Starcoasters.com
"There is a cluster of bees at the top of the lift. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Almosts sounds like the Great _____ Lodge's. Like in Sandusky. The Great Bear(i believe) Lodge, is actually pretty popular! Although as far as I know, people don't buy the rooms. I could be wrong!
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Evolution is wrong!

I see this place headed for iminent failure. With the number of Illinois license plates I see in my state every weekend I have no doubt that they will keep going to the Dells and Lake Geneva for waterpark fun. And with four MAJOR indoor waterparks in the Dells people will go just for the variety of choice. I also doubt if this place will even come close to blowing the doors off the likes of the Kalahari or Great Wolf Lodge either, maybe not even Bay of Dreams.

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Bob Hansen

Operation Wicked Twister
Goal: Lose enough weight (50lbs) to ride Wicked Twister in 2K3
Progress: 18 pounds since 1-1-2003

StarCoasters said:
Actually, it's really nothing like Rays Splash Planet at all lol. Rays Splash Planet is some Mecklenburg Recreation Department/Schools little thing, while this is a hotel and tourist attraction.

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Jonathan Hawkins

Nah really??? I was being sarcastic, lol:

Sounds fun... sounds a lot like Rays Splash Planet in Charlotte, NC. Hopefully it'll a little larger and less kiddy.

the ( ; is supposed to convey sarcasm at the top of my entry.

I guess I'm the only one that undersands ( *=

I guess so too. Most of us around here use ;) to show sarcasm.

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The only difference between stupidity and genius is genius has limitations.

Yeah I really don't know what the little guy with the birthmark or mole or whatever is lol. Doesn't matter anyway since I would imagine there are probably about 5 people here who have ever even heard of Rays Splash Planet and realize what an incredibly stupid waste of money it was :P

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Jonathan Hawkins
Starcoasters.com
"There is a cluster of bees at the top of the lift. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Kick The Sky. I look at this from a different view.

This new complex (if built), would probably attract people that normally dont want to make the commute to the Dells or Lake Geneva.

Its location is very ideal as it is midway between Chicago(largest Illinois city), and Rockford(2nd largest Illinois city).

This place would probably profit more during the winter if anything but that is a good 7 months of profits. The final thing is convenience. As the developer said, it will probably be a weekend retreat as opposed to a long vacation spot where the Dells and Lake Geneva thrive.

I truly believe it can work.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

30,000 sq.ft. of indoor water park? Isn't that like a Holidome? The guy from the Wilderness said they have 158,000 sq.ft., that is a pretty big difference.

Something like this might work by other attractions but I don't know what else is around there.
*** This post was edited by sparky697 2/14/2003 11:36:52 PM ***

Interesting article...though I have to side with the folks who think it would/will eventually fail.

While I understand the "boom" that the Huntley area has seen the past 5-10 years, I really think they will need to spend a LARGE amount of money on marketing to even give this thing a chance to get off the ground.

Less the Outlet Mall, there is not a "ton" out that way....and, actually, I see a big chance that would be needed (assuming, as I think they do, that they expect to draw a good portion of their business from Rockford) - They'd need to construct an Eastbound Exit & a Westbound Entrance for for I-90 @ Route 47. Right now that interchance only really caters to business from the east---Algonquin, Elgin all the way to Chicago.

Ahhh, but wait, Elgin could pitch in and bring back Trout Park's rollercoaster as a "hey, stop by here on the way to the waterpark!" attraction. ;)

But, seriously, I think for this thing to not turn into Old Chicago Part II (sort of), it'll take a lot of planning and coordinating with local towns (ie gambling boat in Elgin, Kane County Cougars, Schaumburg Flyers, Woodfield Mall etc). Cross promotion will have to be HUGE.

It'll be interesting to see where this thing goes! Thanks for the link and if anyone hears anything us, let us know!

MarimbaGuy87 said:
I guess so too. Most of us around here use ;) to show sarcasm.
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The site won't let me use the real smilies, it won't even let me cut and paste the one you put in my entry!

StarCoasters said:
Yeah I really don't know what the little guy with the birthmark or mole or whatever is lol. Doesn't matter anyway since I would imagine there are probably about 5 people here who have ever even heard of Rays Splash Planet and realize what an incredibly stupid waste of money it was :P
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Jonathan Hawkins

Don't mess with RSP, little kids love it!

Chitown said:

This new complex (if built), would probably attract people that normally dont want to make the commute to the Dells or Lake Geneva.
As the developer said, it will probably be a weekend retreat as opposed to a long vacation spot where the Dells and Lake Geneva thrive.

You may be right about people not wanting to drive up to the Dells, but the number of flatlander license plates I see driving on Hwy 50 toward Lake Geneva on any given Friday is unbelievable. (They're easy to spot 'cause they all drive 90). Anyway. What makes Lake Geneva so appealing? It's not Chicago. (That, and Hogs). I really don't see it replacing Lake Geneva, or the Dells for that matter. Will it have its own clientele? Yes. Probably. But they'll be from Indiana.

"Welcome to Wisconsin... Illinois' largest state park."

d8 -- Who is a proud cheesehead who grew up avoiding Lake Geneva at all costs during the summer...

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"Getting on Iron Wolf is kind of like going in a blender and pressing PUREE"

Yeah, that is true about Lake Geneva. I probably should have just used the Dells in my statement.

The thing is, when anyone that I know wants to visit the Dells or Lake Geneva, it is during the summer months. This proposed complex would probably benefit more during the offseason.

Remember, you have to start somewhere. Someone has to take the gamble and try to create a place to become a tourist destination. If its successfull, other businesses will start popping up.

Just like Gurnee , Huntley is a midway point between 2 big cities.

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Arena football has arrived in the Windy City. Go "Chicago Rush"

Sounds like everybody in Illinois wants to build a water park. Down here in the central part of the state, a developer is in the process of building a indoor water park.

Pirate's Lagoon Indoor Water Park is being built by Cardwell and Randall Enterprises in Decatur, IL. The 60,000 sq. ft. facility will have slides and pools of various sizes and be open all year around. It will be attached to a Holiday Inn Select hotel already owned by the Cardwell company. The city of Decatur has already built a new access road for the facility.

http://www.herald-review.com/rednews/2002/12/20/build/Editorialslead/leaded.php

I hope that this project gets completed as planned. The Decatur area has taken some hard blows in the last couple of years with the closing of multiple factories including Bridgestone/Firestone and Zexel. The city image of Decatur has never been a good one and the Bears players deciding that they didn't want to stay here sure didn't help. Even one of the city board members asked if this was going to be a water slide in a Morton building when it was first proposed to the city.

I hope they complete it as planned. Local entertainment is always good for a community.

http://www.herald-review.com/arc/coaster20057-9.php
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Damn Cornfields
*** This post was edited by bsr241 2/16/2003 10:43:33 AM ***

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