Water parks aim to saturate market

[CoasterDave316]

Six Flags' new 15-acre water park in Gurnee boasts 25 slides, a river churning with waterfalls, a 500,000-gallon wave pool, a tiki bar and one thing sure to warm the oft-chilled hearts of Midwesterners in summer--heated water.

And that's just one weapon deployed by amusement parks, commercial resorts and even local park districts in their increasingly competitive bids to persuade children--and their parents--to slip, slide and surf in the multimillion-dollar aquatic playgrounds.

Call it the water-park wars.

Read More: <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0504180163apr18,1,5918890.story?coll=chi-newsnationworld-hed" class="news" target="blank">The Chicago Tribune</a> (Picture Included)
Related Story at: <a href="http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/newssun/top/w16sixflags.htm" class="news" target="blank">The News Sun</a>

[punkbunny24242]

I wonder why you can't see the slides like that from the webcam?? At least I can't.

[FParker185]

"The Caribbean-themed water park is "going to drive significant growth there, which is just growth to recapture where that park was for several years throughout the '90s," said Six Flags Chief Executive Officer Kieran Burke in a November conference call with investors. "I feel good about that market.""


How incredibly sad is that? That it takes a 15 acre expansion and spending nearly 30 million dollars to get attendance levels to where they were 10 years ago.

That should be the worlds ultimate wakeup call to Six Flags that their business practices and skills are running parks are F'ed up beyond belief.

And, in response to what should be the post right before this one, you can see that slide in the webcam, that's the one behind the wavepool.

[rctfan1556]

Water parks are definetly the trend these days. All I can say is when you go, and I'm sure many of us from personal experience can agree with this, is GET THERE EARLY. That is, if you want any chance of using a slide because I can just imagine that lines are gonna be massive. Oh well, just like amusment parks, that is what your going to encounter when you go to water parks such as this. I'm actully hoping it takes some, if any, lines away from the main park. More rides for me.
Hopefully our waterpark will generate a lot of money and we could then next year get a new coaster or at least go over parts of the park and make the park look a lot better.

[SixFlagsChick]

BAH THAT ARTICLE SUCKED!

Of course Daily Herald ran a photo Saturday, and one today, and then News Sun covered them too with their weekend paper on the front page.