Raging Waters Sydney

Raging Waters Sydney
Slogan	Make Better Memories
Location	Prospect, New South Wales, Australia
Coordinates	33°48′31.64″S 150°54′39.92″E
Owner	Palace Entertainment (Parques Reunidos)
Operated by	Palace Entertainment (Parques Reunidos)
General manager	Ros Pullen
Opened	12 December 2013 (2013-12-12)
Previous names	Wet'n'Wild Sydney ^(2013–2018)
Operating season	October through April
Area	25 ha (62 acres)
Pools	4 pools
Water slides	42 water slides
Children's areas	A single children's area
Website	www.ragingwaterssydney.com.au

Raging Waters Sydney, formerly Wet'n'Wild Sydney, is a water park in the greater western Sydney suburb of Prospect, New South Wales, Australia, that opened on 12 December 2013. The park was announced on 11 September 2010^[1][2][3][4] and was the third Wet'n'Wild water park operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks, after locations on the Gold Coast and Las Vegas. In 2018 the park was acquired by Parques Reunidos^[5] who renamed the park Raging Waters Sydney for the 2019 season. It is the only attraction outside the United States owned by Palace Entertainment.

History

On 11 September 2010, New South Wales Premier Kristina Keneally joined Village Roadshow Theme Parks' CEO, Tim Fisher, to announce Wet'n'Wild Sydney. The proposal detailed a 25-hectare (62-acre) water park in Prospect, New South Wales, that was set to be one of the top ten water parks in the world.^[1][2][3][4]

In a master plan created by water slide manufacturer WhiteWater West, Wet'n'Wild Sydney was set to play host to a variety of attractions including two wave pools, two lazy rivers, a children's AquaPlay area, spas and volleyball courts. These ground-level attractions would be coupled by several slide towers featuring a variety of water slides including two AquaLoops, a Boomerango, dueling Master Blasters, a Super Bowl, an Abyss, a six-lane Whizzard, two family raft rides, and a collection of inline tube slides.^[6] The whole park was set to cost A$80 million, have a seasonal attendance of over one million visitors, and have a turnover of A$500 million in the first decade of operation.^[7]

The commencement of construction was announced by New South Wales Premier Barry O'Farrell and Wet'n'Wild Sydney General Manager Chris Warhurst on 9 September 2012.^[8] The announcement detailed Village Roadshow would now be investing $115 million into the park ahead of its planned opening in late 2013.^[9] Plans for the $115 million park were designed by Water Technology Inc.^[10] On 12 December 2013, the park officially opened to the public, after several days of soft openings.^[11][12]

The water park was forced to cancel its 2013 New Year's Eve Festival with just six hours' notice due to "a major technical production issue". The event, which was expected to sell-out, was promoted as Australia's "first ever music festival to be held at a water theme park". Village Roadshow later stated that the organiser's "management plan for crowd control and safety failed to meet Wet'n'Wild's standards".^[13] The event was later moved to Australia Day.^[14] Raging Waters Sydney reached the milestone of 10 million guests in 307 days since its grand opening, which is a record among water parks worldwide.^[15] The previous record-holder was Wet 'n Wild Orlando, 338 days after its opening.

Attractions

A map of the Raging Waters Sydney territory. Source: OpenStreetMap.

View of H2Go racers and 360Rush (Tower 1)

Raging Waters Sydney features several water slide attractions; a large wave pool; a children's area; food, beverage and retail outlets; and a Surf Life Saving Club. The park features four water slide towers, each featuring a collection of slides grouped by the level of thrill. The park is centred around a large wave pool known as "The Beach", designed by an Australian company and capable of producing waves of up to 2.3 metres (7.5 ft).^[16]

Left of the park entrance are three slides by ProSlide Technology: Bombora, Tantrum and T5.^[17] All of the slides use four-person cloverleaf-shaped rafts. Bombora is a Tornado Wave slide where riders are taken on an enclosed flume ride before dropping down to the ground and riding up a large wave-shaped surface.^[18] Here, riders experience a feeling of weightlessness.^[19] The second slide is the T5, a ProSlide Tornado 60. The ride is characterised by a large funnel, 60 feet (18 m) in diameter, in which riders oscillate back and forth. Both before and after the main funnel element riders navigate through enclosed flume segments.^[20][21] The final slide on this tower is Tantrum, a ProSlide Tornado 24. Tantrum features three enclosed funnels, each with a diameter of 24 feet (7.3 m), similar to the single larger funnel on the T5. Several enclosed flume segments link the three funnels, leading the ride to the shared splashdown pool.^[22][23]

Tower one is located adjacent to the first, and contains two slides manufactured by WhiteWater West: H2Go Racer and 360Rush. H2Go Racer is an eight-lane Whizzard Twist where riders race head-first on a mat down the slide to the runout chutes. Riders begin by entering an enclosed tube section where the individual lanes are braided. The lanes then enter a 360-degree helix, before emerging for a final open drop.^[24][25] The second ride is the 360Rush, a pair of AquaLoop looping water slides, featuring a trap door release with 3G acceleration and a top speed of 60 kilometres per hour (37 mph).^[24][26] A new slide, Whirlwind, opened for the 2019-20 season, replacing a second pair of 360 Rush slides. ^[27]

View of Bombora, Tantrum and T5 ride exits (Tower 2)

On the other side of The Beach is tower four, featuring five slides also by WhiteWater West: Half Pipe, Typhoon, Tropical Cyclone, The Breakers, and AquaTube.^[24][28] All slides but one on this tower use two-person inline tubes, the exception being typhoon, which uses a four person raft. Half Pipe is a Boomerango of a similar design to Bombora; however, the exit chute from the vertical wall features a small camel hump for a second moment of weightlessness.^[24][29] Typhoon is a Rattler where riders slide down open flume sections before entering two cylinders at right angles. Riders oscillate back and forth inside the cylinders before emerging and continuing with the open slide.^[24][30] Tropical Cyclone is a Constrictor, a slide characterised by three wide helices. Internally, these helices measure 2.1 metres (6.9 ft) in diameter as opposed to the 1.3-metre-diameter (4.3 ft) helices evidenced in the rest of the slide.^[24][31] The Breakers are a set of four Master Blaster slides. These slides mimic roller coasters by providing not only descents, but ascents as well. Ascents are achieved through water jets blasting the raft uphill.^[24][32] AquaTube is a traditional flume ride that features enclosed twists and turns in complete darkness. The ride is a Giant AquaTube by WhiteWater West.^[24][33]

The final tower, tower three, was manufactured by ProSlide Technology and features three slides: Double Bowlseye, The Curler and Riptide.^[34] The tower is located near the front of the park. They used round rafts that can seat between four and five people but they kept getting stuck in the rides so they have been replaced by Cloverleaf rafts that seat only 4 people. Double Bowlseye is a Behemoth Bowl 40 where riders descend a dark tunnel before entering two large, open bowls. The raft circles the centre of the bowls before exiting down through the centre and into another flume channel.^[35][36] The Curler and Riptide are two Mammoth slides. The Curler is characterised by enclosed twists and turns while Riptide features a large open-air double drop to conclude the ride.^[37][38][39]

Three family-oriented attractions and one upcharge attractions are located on the ground level, detached from the main slide towers. In addition to aforementioned wave pool, The Beach, other attractions include Dinosaur Lagoon, (formerly Boomerang Bay) a lazy and action river, and Raging Waters JNR (Formerly Nickelodeon Beach and originally Wet'n'Wild Junior), a children's area featuring miniature versions of the park's main attractions.^[40][41][42] The first upcharge attraction is the Sydney SkyCoaster, the world's largest double Skycoaster. Riders are raised to a height of 251 feet (77 m) before plunging at 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) and swinging out across The Beach. The ride was manufactured by Skycoaster, Inc., a wholly owned division of Ride Entertainment Group, who installed the ride.^[43][44] The second upcharge attraction, which was removed prior to season 4 was The Surf Deck, manufactured by Australian company LatiTube that is capable of simulating "waves" of up to 2 metres (6.6 ft).^[45]

MyBand

Raging Waters Sydney includes a wireless ticketing and payment system fully integrated into the park's infrastructure. The technology is called MyBand and uses radio-frequency identification held inside a silicon wristband which patrons wear. Season Pass holders are issued a permanent MyBand, while Single Day Admission ticketed guests receive a temporary MyBand.^[46] The device is used by uploading cash from the park or online which can then be used to purchase retail items, food and beverages with a simple swipe.^[47] The system was designed by RFID n Print.^[10]

Complaints

Shortly after opening, various complaints had been made about ticket and food pricing, long queues, venue capacity, long lines for the car park, and rides being shut down without apparent reason.^[48]

Injuries on rides included an 8-year old girl in 2014.^[49]

See also

• Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast

References

1. "Keneally touts $80m water theme park". Daily Telegraph. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
2. "$80 million water park plan unveiled". Sky News. 11 September 2010. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
3. "Water theme park planned for Sydney". ABC News. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
4. "NSW $80 million water park plan unveiled". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
5. Kleiman, Joe (2 July 2018). "Wet 'n' Wild Sydney joins Parques Reunidos' international portfolio". In Park Magazine. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
6. "Concept Plan" (PDF). Wet'n'Wild Sydney. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
7. "Fact Sheet" (PDF). Wet'n'Wild Sydney. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2011. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
8. Tovey, Josephine (10 September 2012). "West to ride wave of park prosperity, says O'Farrell". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
9. Coote, Alice (10 September 2012). "Sydney, get ready for the slide of your life". Herald Sun. Retrieved 13 September 2012.
10. "Wet'n'Wild Sydney to be the World's Most Technologically Advanced Waterpark". Australian Leisure Management. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
11. Sieff, Evan (10 December 2013). "Gold season pass holders get sliding at Wet'n'Wild Sydney". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
12. Klein, Nathan; Bahr, Jessica (11 December 2013). "Wet'n'Wild theme park opens today: get soaked in fun on the wettest rides of your life". Archived from the original on 12 June 2014. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
13. "Wet'n'Wild's many problems have councillors fed up". smh. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
14. "Wet'n'Wild Sydney cancels New Year's Eve". The Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
15. O'Brien, Tim. "DisneySea bolts to 10 million. (In Brief)." Amusement Business 15 December 2018: 8. General OneFile. Web. 21 April 2015.
16. Warhurst, Chris (4 December 2013). "Wet n Wild Sydney - Exclusive Tour by Theme Park Director". Impact Multimedia. YouTube. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
17. "Wet'n'Wild Sydney Tower Tours - Bombora". Wet'n'Wild Sydney. YouTube. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.^{[dead YouTube link]}
18. "Bombora (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
19. "TornadoWave". ProSlide Technology. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
20. "T5 (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
21. "Tornado 60". ProSlide. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
22. "Tantrum (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
23. "Tornado 24". ProSlide. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
24. Seifert, Jeffery L. (September 2013). "News Splash" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.1): 24. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
25. "H2Go Racer (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
26. "360Rush (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
27. "Formerly Wild... Now it's raging! Sydney's largest waterpark is now Raging Waters Sydney".
28. "Wet'n'Wild Sydney Tower Tours - Half Pipe". Wet'n'Wild Sydney. YouTube. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.^{[dead YouTube link]}
29. "Half Pipe (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
30. "Typhoon (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
31. "Tropical Cyclone (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
32. "The Breakers (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
33. "AquaTube (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
34. "Wet'n'Wild Sydney Tower Tours - Double Bowlseye". Wet'n'Wild Sydney. YouTube. 4 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.^{[dead YouTube link]}
35. "Double Bowlseye (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
36. "Behemoth Bowl 40". ProSlide. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
37. "The Curler (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
38. "Riptide (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
39. "Mammoth". ProSlide. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
40. "The Beach (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
41. "Boomerang Bay (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
42. "Wet'n'Wild Junior (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
43. "Projects". Ride Entertainment Group. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
44. "Sydney Skycoaster (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
45. "The Surf Deck (Wet'n'Wild Sydney)". Parkz. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
46. "ABOUT MYBAND". Wet'n'Wild Sydney. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
47. "Gold season pass holders get sliding at Wet'n'Wild Sydney". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 3 January 2014.
48. Carroll, Lucy (2 January 2014). "Wet'n'Wild's many problems have councillors fed up". Traveller. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
49. Kate Burke (23 January 2014). "Wet 'n' Wild ride ends in injury for girl". Central Western Daily. Retrieved 21 February 2015.

External links

• Official website
• Raging Waters Sydney's channel on YouTube