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new generation of mammoth water parks with technology-
stoked thrill rides, splash pads, and lush, lazy rivers — some under all-
weather domes — are making the standard swimming pool passe,
especially at family-oriented resorts.
Today’s resort water park is the swimming pool on steroids —
designed to be a revenue-generating destination where multigenera-
tional families are happy to camp out together all day long. Often, year-
round.
Acres of Family Fun
Mountainside Villas at Massanutten in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley
proves a warm-weather destination is not a prerequisite for a water park.
While skiing and winter sports has been its big draw for nearly four
decades, the resort’s indoor/outdoor water park now beats every other
amenity in attendance, welcoming nearly 300,000 visitors in 2015.
“We’re not in Vegas, we’re not at the beach. Our resort is extremely
family-focused,” says Steve Krohn, COO at Massanutten. “It really is
about having everybody under one roof, which we accomplish in the
water park.”
Massanutten WaterPark includes an acre (0.4 hectares) of indoor
space with a lazy river, tube and body slides ranging up to 40 feet (12
meters), a shallow Frog Pond with water-spraying noodles for small
children, and a family pool surrounding a central area with water
cannons and a giant tipping bucket. The main attraction is a surf-
simulator called The Pipeline, which creates an endless perfect wave
with a continuous flow of 50,000 gallons (189,270 liters) of water
over a trampoline-style mat. Outdoors, there is a four-lane, headfirst
23
BAY GARDENS BEACH RESORT’S SPLASH
ISLAND WATER PARK (ST. LUCIA, CARIBBEAN)
HYATT COCONUT PLANTATION RESORT
(BONITA SPRINGS, FLORIDA)