Water Park Design

Im currently searching the net for different water park design and slide companies. I was wondering if there is a program where i can design waterslides...........Oh why im doing this. A family member if mines is looking into opening a waterpark. I know your like yeah yeah everyone else too.......but seriously he's very serious about it. He asked me to come up with a conceptual design (im currently studying mechanical engineering at USC, trying to be a roller coaster and theme park designer) He gave me some information that he already had so i can go off that. But what im looking for is some actual dimensions, some 2-D renderings, and some fairly good quality slide manufactors. The only person he has had contact with (as far as slides) is white water. I have look at designs from proslide, NBGS, and several others. I would appreciate the help from fellow coaster buzzers.

If i knew how to attach pics, i would show the concept i have came up with and the slides i designed using Nolimits (just made the track a tunnel throughout the whole ride and added something in photo editing)

Again......thanks

I am not a big waterpark fan, but I can answer your second question(showing pics). You will have to upload them to a place and then put the links here. I know www.webshots.com has a free trial. I am not sure about other places

Just buy one thats already there.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2358517839&category=15825

Crashmando! Thank you! I've passed by that place a couple times and wondered 'what in the heck..." It's completely deserted, but doesn't look that old, so I couldn't figure out what was going on there, other than it might of recently went out of business.

I feel bad for the poor sucker who buys that thing. It looks like it has great rides, but it is built out in the middle of nowhere. I guess they were banking on people passing by and saying, hey lookie there, a waterpark! Let's stop and spend money! Brilliant.

I understand it was intended to be a 'destination,' but a place like that needs some sort of local economy besides desert gas stations to survive.

Well...........trying to do it right here in columbia,SC wheres their no competition yet. He says he wants 2 towers in the opening year, a lazy river, a waterplay area, arcade, and food area. Those are his main concerns im brain storming on what else to place in it to keep people there a min. of 2 hours (the latter wont do it!! lol lol) so im incorprating volley ball courts, teeter(sp??) ball court, and possibly a lazer tag . Basically things that wont cost much but will be a time consumer. And he said he wants atleast 50 acres for the project (he already has atleast 20 acres at another site).

Tell them to just build a walmart next to it. Thats all you will need and people will flock. Family day at walmart. With every $25 purchase at walmart you will get a free pass!

PS I love walmart!

You can use CAD for you concepts. I assume you're familiar with this since you're studying mechanical engineering. Also, I believe the owners of Shlitterbahn recently devised a program which you can create your own slides. I can't remember the link right now, though.

Why not put in a water wars type of thing? It's this thing at my local tiny waterpark that u fling water balloons at each other. As far as I could tell, they were probably cheap, and you could probably make one by yourself if you really wanted to.

Found a pic of what they look like:

http://www.adventurefun.com/waterwar.jpg

Your going to need at least 10 big slides. 5 Kiddie slides and add a splash area. You know the area with the big bucket that dumps a boatload of water on people. Maybe a used log flume. Lazer tag would be cool, but remember people will be wet. Don't forget a lazy river and wave pool. And whatever you do, DO NOT USE BLACK TOP!

Or you could, y'know, hire someone who knows what they're doing.

^^ Notice i said Conceptual Design. No way am i gonna be able to design a park without a degree or a design team. All im doing is putting on paper what he thinks he wants so when time comes he would have something to go by. Im simply the middle man, the chain link to the "chain". He knows absolutely nothing about water parks, except they have waterslides and it could be a marketable venture with all the smolting summers we have in columbia. He hasnt even mention a wave pool, but im thinking all that will come into play.

Im tryin to keep things basic yet at the same time enjoyable. im tryin to stay in, round about a 3-4 million budget, if its possible. if you want to i can explain things in detail and give some pics of what i have came up with. Just e mail me at jarmor1@yahoo.com

A 3-4 million budget isn't bad, but it will end up to be higher than that. The price of land, slides, filtering systems, staff wages, etc. will add up quick. I suggest landscaping well, for thats usually what most water parks are missing. Usually it's just a bunch of random slides thrown in some flat area.

And pay attention to the concrete you use. This is very important. The SFKK waterpark made me sit down with a headache from squinting at the reflection.

Edit:Poor spelling.

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Yeah , I know that's not the type of post you want , but it's important later. *** Edited 12/23/2003 5:49:45 AM UTC by thepinkdoomofmonkeys***

Suggestion: Remember that, in terms of the way people use them, water parks are more like municipal pools than they are like amusement parks. This is the lesson that Kings Island learned the hard way. They started with a bunch of water slides and other cycle attractions...and nothing else. They improved things in the first redesign when they added the kiddie play area and the wave pool, and the current redesign seems to be largely geared towards supplying more ways to lay about. It appears that the important things to have are attractions where participant climbs in and stays there for hours.......

Merely an observation. I'm not even a waterpark fan, let alone a professional!

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

Why even bother with a prelim. design when you could just have the professionals do it when they build the park anyways? Kinda seems like a waste of time if your serious about this.

I wouldn't get a laser tag place. Especially because if you want a good one it will cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars. I know the owner of the laser tag closest to me(awsome place). Apparently the guns alone cost something like $2000(Zone Empire[the maker] ones at least). I could go on and on, but unless you make lasertag the main atraction, I wouldn't get one

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sfft_freak said:
Why even bother with a prelim. design when you could just have the professionals do it when they build the park anyways? Kinda seems like a waste of time if your serious about this.

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He wants to get what he wants on paper so he can take it to a professional. If you knew anything about the industry, their is always a conceptual design in any design phase. Thats usually in the brainstorming part of the design. You just cant go to someone and say, " I want a waterpark." without telling them what it is you actually want cause it can hurt you in the long run.

If you have an idea of what you want then it would be very easy to come up with a feasible layout similar to what you have already conjured up and something original because i know if someone came to me and tell me they just want a waterpark, im gonna give them a cookie-cutter park if they dont know what they want or dont give me anything to go by.

So......does anyone else has some helpful suggestions and advice.

You know, if you want I could wip something up for you in Pro-E (You are in Mech-E.....hopefully you will take a Pro-E class) If this is just something for a proposal you could put some cool Pro-E 3d pics....nothing like what badnitrus does, but it is quick and easy.

http://www.edmeyer.com makes rides, slides and pools, along with special effects if you want to get a price estimate. http://www.italintl.com also has used slides and flumes.

Good luck!

-Kirby

Maybe if you read my post genius; I was saying that you should actually have a Professional do your prelimary design and then change things that he has to suit you. Because we all know the next time Six Flags wants a new park; they're gonna have the board member who was late that day go to town with a Doodle Pad. *** Edited 12/24/2003 8:25:33 PM UTC by sfft_freak***