Volcano Bay Construction & Preview Discussion

[Mad Dog]

I wonder if Disney will update any of their water parks. As far as I know, I don't think Blizzard Beach has ever had an update and Typhoon Lagoon got their last update over 10 years ago.

Plus, it seems like both parks are having a lot of maintenance issues, causing rides, & the parks themselves in a few cases, to be shut down. Like the rest of the resort, things are catching up with them. Time to pay the piper for years of doing nothing.

 

[Nick]

Do they have any room to add to them? I could have sworn Crush n Gusher was the only expansion pad either of the Dis water parks had

There's actually a decent amount of room over by Crush 'n Gusher still, I believe. It's sort of hidden off in it's own little corner.

 

[WAJAS]

Plus, it seems like both parks are having a lot of maintenance issues, causing rides, & the parks themselves in a few cases, to be shut down. Like the rest of the resort, things are catching up with them. Time to pay the piper for years of doing nothing.

Blizzard Beach was closed last minute yesterday due to park wide issues. Also, Crush n Gusher at Typhoon Lagoon hasn't worked in two weeks.

 

[JungleSkip]

Plus, it seems like both parks are having a lot of maintenance issues, causing rides, & the parks themselves in a few cases, to be shut down. Like the rest of the resort, things are catching up with them. Time to pay the piper for years of doing nothing.

Eh, there was a freak accident that caused one of the parks to close for a while. Other than that I'd argue WDW's water parks are pretty immaculately taken care of.

 

[JungleSkip]

Crush n Gusher at Typhoon Lagoon hasn't worked in two weeks.

Seriously? :ack:

 

[Mad Dog]

There's been lot's of issues in the past months if anyone has been watching the closings and ride shutdown notifications.

 

[JungleSkip]

Oh wow, apparently Summit Plummet has been broken even longer than Crush'N'Gusher

 

[Disneyhead]

Those issues will be spreading to the theme parks soon.

The budget ax has spoken.

 

[Brian G.]

I wonder if Disney will update any of their water parks. As far as I know, I don't think Blizzard Beach has ever had an update and Typhoon Lagoon got their last update over 10 years ago.

It'd be nice to see them give their water parks a little love. It's extremely inexpensive to throw up a new slide. The costly part would be theming it.

Kinda sad when Aquatica has been open for 8 years and has added more to the park than those 2 combined.

 

[Mad Dog]

And what's significant, is that these water park problems are cropping up "shortly after" they were closed for their annual maintenance & refurbs.

 

[Nick]

Kinda sad when Aquatica has been open for 8 years and has added more to the park than those 2 combined.

Disney's Water Parks both opened with great line-ups so it wasn't as necessary (and obviously water parks aren't a huge focus for Disney), but it'd be nice to see SOMETHING added every now and then.

 

[Jon84]

The costly part would be theming it.

Rock work!

 

[Disneyhead]

Wasn't one of the water parks winter refurb even extended a month? And now it's signature attraction has been down for an extended period?

 

[Brian G.]

Disney's Water Parks both opened with great line-ups so it wasn't as necessary (and obviously water parks aren't a huge focus for Disney), but it'd be nice to see SOMETHING added every now and then.

I disagree with that. Yes, they were great line-ups, but you still need to pay a little more attention to them than every 20 some-odd years and give a new reason for people to come to the parks. It obviously doesn't need a new slide every year, but as you said something would be nice.

 

[Jon84]

The thing with the Water Parks is that for a lot of tourists, it won't matter if its never updated. It's somewhere to chill out and cool off, especially for those of us from much cooler areas!

For those that are pass holders, locals, or able to visit multiple times of year, I can see the view. But, even if I was a local, a water park is a water park, be it at Disney, WnW, or VB when it opens.

 

[Brian G.]

The thing with the Water Parks is that for a lot of tourists, it won't matter if its never updated. It's somewhere to chill out and cool off, especially for those of us from much cooler areas!

For those that are pass holders, locals, or able to visit multiple times of year, I can see the view. But, even if I was a local, a water park is a water park, be it at Disney, WnW, or VB when it opens.

Ehhhhhh.....

Like I said, it doesn't need something new every year, but after a while...even to tourists, there's no sell or draw when there are other water parks in the area; or even their hotel pools are nice enough where they just can stay and save the money.

 

[maxairmike]

I just want a FlowRider at a park in Orlando. Is that too much to ask? Whoever puts a FlowRider into their water park gets my money instantly. They have a lot more models than just the typical setup you usually see where they can only handle one or two people (see the Kings Island installation with 3 different sections, which can handle, I think, up to 5 people at once). I know there's the standalone one off 192, but that's expensive compared to a water park pass, and not worth it, IMO.

 

[SeventyOne]

The thing with the Water Parks is that for a lot of tourists, it won't matter if its never updated. It's somewhere to chill out and cool off, especially for those of us from much cooler areas!

For those that are pass holders, locals, or able to visit multiple times of year, I can see the view. But, even if I was a local, a water park is a water park, be it at Disney, WnW, or VB when it opens.

Yeah, water parks work differently from regular theme parks. The Online Theme Park Community doesn't seem to get that. Guests want a fake beach, a wave pool and some slides. I'd love an IP-heavy 10-minute water coaster whizzing past animatronics but the vast majority of guests going to "a water park" just expect a lazy river and are ok with that.

 

[SeventyOne]

I know there's the standalone one off 192, but that's expensive compared to a water park pass, and not worth it, IMO.

Closed in less than a year, FWIW. Granted, horrible location.

 

[SeventyOne]

So what are the expectations on the visitor flow with this opening and Wet n Wild closing? Is it expected the locals will shift from Wet n Wild to Volcano Bay, or will Aquatica and Seaworld benefit (especially now Seaworlds annual pass is looking more and more attractive)?

Will be interested to see is Aquatica sees a significant expansion in 2017 to maintain interest. Exciting times, have we had a waterpark war before?

Aquatica has been the #1 choice among large segments of locals since opening. I think it will continue to be #1 for families with preteens even after VB opens. But yeah, reasonable AP prices help.