Calypso Park

Calypso Park under construction, April 2010
Zipping down the Fast Track (Calypso Park)

Calypso Park is a theme waterpark located in Limoges, Ontario, Canada, about 35 kilometers (22 mi) east of Ottawa. It opened to the public on June 7, 2010. The park, built by Village Vacances Valcartier at about CA$45 million, is on a 450 acres (1.8 km2; 0.70 sq mi) site and is Canada’s largest waterpark.[1]

Details

The park’s wave pool, Calypso Palace, is a 52,000-square-foot (4,800 m2) concrete pool, one of the largest in North America (It is the equivalent of 3 official NHL hockey rinks). There are 35 waterslides, including 24.4 metres (80 ft) long extreme slides and a 500 metres (1,600 ft) jungle river ride.[1]

The park employs over 500 seasonal employees and is able to accommodate 12,000 visitors per day, and will be able to accommodate even more people with numerous new slides being built. The water temperature is kept at 27 °C (81 °F) and is filtered every 90 minutes. The park consumes 2500 kW of power.[1]

Calypso Theme Waterpark also includes several food outlets, shops, locker and changing areas, as well as picnic areas for individuals and groups. Electronic fingerprinting allows visitors to make purchases without the need to carry money or cards.

As of June 1st 2011, Calypso is home to the tallest free-standing waterslide tower in North America, standing at 90 feet (27 m) and including 10 new waterslides. The new Summit Tower contains roller-coaster like slides. The same tower also includes new slides for families.

Teaser of Kongo, the 2013 river ride.

In 2013, Calypso Park added a second thematic lazy river, Kongo. The total cost of the ride was $6 million.

All the parks attractions were provided by WhiteWater West.

Rough opening

Calypso experienced certain setbacks during its opening months. The heavily promoted fingerprint payment system had failed to function as planned, and on the first +30 degree day of the season the park experienced a four kilometre long line of cars trying to enter the park. A traffic light has since been installed to aid with the added traffic.[2]

Safety Violations

On Monday April 13, 2015, the Park was found guilty of six of eleven charges it faced under Ontario’s Technical Standards and Safety Act.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 David Gonczol (2010-04-06) Nearly ready for summertime fun, Ottawa Citizen
  2. ↑ Matthew Pearson (2010-07-04) Traffic tangles visitors to Calypso Waterpark, Ottawa Citizen


External links


Coordinates: 45°19′N 75°13′W / 45.317°N 75.217°W