Boomerang Bay (Carowinds)

Boomerang Bay
Location Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina & Fort Mill, South Carolina, United States
Coordinates 35°06′16″N 80°56′23″W / 35.104339°N 80.93968°WCoordinates: 35°06′16″N 80°56′23″W / 35.104339°N 80.93968°W
Owner Cedar Fair Entertainment Company
Opened 1982
Previous names Riptide Reef (1989–1997)
WaterWorks (1997–2006)
Operating season May through September
Area 20 acres (81,000 m2)
Pools 5 pools
Water slides 13 water slides
Children's areas 2 children's areas
Website Official website

Boomerang Bay is a water park at Carowinds amusement park in Charlotte, North Carolina. It is owned and operated by Cedar Fair Entertainment Company and is included with the price of admission to Carowinds.

History

The water park originally opened as Ocean Island in 1982. In 1989, it was renamed to Riptide Reef.[1] For the 1997 season, Paramount Parks invested $7 million[1] in a 12-acre (49,000 m2) expansion and renamed the park to WaterWorks. Another major expansion occurred in 2006 adding a new Australian theme and changing the name to Boomerang Bay, a name shared with the water park at sister venue Paramount's Great America (now California's Great America). In 2008, Cedar Fair added a 600,000-US-gallon (2,300 m3) wave pool, Bondi Beach, increasing the total size of the water park to 20 acres (81,000 m2).[2]

As part of the multi-year Carowinds expansion, Boomerang Bay added Surfer's Swell and Dorsal Fin Drop for the 2014 season.

List of attractions

Name Year Opened Description Rating[3]
Awesome Aussie Twisters 1997 Fully enclosed inner-tube ride that plunges riders into total darkness 4
Bondi Beach 2008 600,000-US-gallon (2,300 m3) wave pool 3
Crocodile Run 1997 Lazy river ride 2
Dorsal Fin Drop 2014 351-long enclosed slide that empties riders into a bowl 4
Down Under Thunder 1997 Four-person family raft ride that takes riders down four stories of unexpected dips and sharp turns 4
Great Barrier Reef 1982 700,000-US-gallon (2,600 m3) wave pool 3
Jackaroo Landing 1997 Family-oriented, multi-level water fortress complete with slides, bridges, and rope ladders 2
Kangaroo Lagoon and Wallaby Wharf 1997 Children's area with pools for infants and toddlers 2
Kookaburra Bay 2006 Children's "spray-ground" with interactive fountains and other water activities 1
Pipeline Peak 2001 A complex consisting of two body slides and two inner-tube slides all of which are enclosed 5
Platypus Plunge 2006 Family-friendly two-person inner-tube water slide 2
Surfer's Swell 2014 263-foot long enclosed slide that plunges riders onto a platform that simulates the movement of ocean waves 4
Sydney Sidewinder 1997 A pair of two-person inner-tube water slides 3

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Carowinds History". Carowinds. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  2. ↑ "Wave Pool Part Of Carowinds Boomerang Bay Water Park Expansion". Ultimatewaterpark.com. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Ratings assigned per Carowinds, where "1" is the least intense and "5" is the most. See their "ride listing". Carowinds. on their website for more specific details.