Wild Waters
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| Wild Waters | |
|---|---|
| Location | Ocala, Florida, United States  |
Wild Waters is a water park in Ocala, Florida. It is the sister park of Silver Springs Theme Park in Ocala. Wild Waters features a large wave pool and children's pool area. The deck surrounding the wave pool is filled with lounge chairs. Because Wild Waters is the sister park of Silver Springs, it has many trees and shady areas. There are many picnic areas, and several snack bars including a pizzeria. The park also has a sand volleyball court and a gift shop.
Wild Waters is a favorite attraction for tourists visiting the Ocala and Silver Springs area, as well as local residents. It is a small park by modern standards, but offers a more relaxed atmosphere than its mega water park competitors. Wild Waters has a special niche, attracting people wanting to enjoy a more traditional "classic" water park experience.
[edit] Rides & Attractions
The Hurricane: A large figure eight shaped double flume. Standing approximately 80 feet tall, it is the largest ride in the park. A large spiral staircase takes visitors to the summit. There are two flumes, which run adjacent to each other. Riders must use tubes to ride, which they have to carry to the top. This is due to the ride not originally requiring tubes. The finale of the ride is a long dark tunnel before a turbulent splash pool.
Osceola's Revenge and Bunyan's Bend: Dual flumes that are part of the Silver River Flumes area. Both flumes begin at the same point, but do not run parallel and have different patterns. Both feature many drops and turns, and both end at the same splash pool. Osceola's Revenge has an extra drop, and is therefore rated with a higher thrill level than Bunyon's Bend.
Silver Bullet: Wild Waters only speed flumes, they are part of the Silver River Flumes area. Dual speed flumes run side by side and end in a large splash pool. Unlike newer speed flumes, the Silver Bullet does not go straight down from the top. The flumes have two dips, with a plateau in between the two.
Mini Monster: A single flume that is part of the Silver River Flumes area. The ride is very short and only has a few turns, with no dips. It then ends into a splash pool.
Wave Pool: A 450,000 gallon pool that alternates between calm water and generating waves after a certain period of time. The waves can reach up to four feet tall at the deepest end of the pool.
[edit] Defunct Rides
In the early 1990s the park added several new water flumes including the Tornado, the Thunderbolt, and the Twin Twister as part of an ambitious expansion plan. Unlike the other flumes in the park, whose frames are constructed of wood and concrete, the new ride's frames were made of steel. In 2006 all of the new flume rides were taken out of service and dismantled. This was due to the frames being corroded by the humid Central Florida climate, as well as making room for new rides.
The former name of the children's play area was "Bonanza". It had towers equipped with water cannons that could be sprayed down onto people below. The towers were connected to each other via rope bridges. On the ground next to the towers were bunkers also equipped with water cannons that could be fired at the towers. A fully enclosed flume left from the top of one of the towers, and emptied into the pool below. The Bonanza was closed and demolished in the mid 1990s to make way for the new children's area.
[edit] Future Rides
In one of the cleared-out spaces made from the dismantling of the Twin Twister, Tornado, and Thunderbolt, it has been confirmed that a ride much like "The Storm" at Wet 'n Wild in Orlando, Florida will be built. Additional rides may also be built, although no information has been released.
