Waterparks have been thrilling guests with their ever-growing diversity of waterslides, play areas, wave pools, lazy rivers, and attractions. While they’re often thought of as very separate entities, these destinations usually operate adjacent to theme parks. As a result, many of the design principles in themed entertainment have historically shaped the space for aquatics. As new trends emerge, those are beginning to make their way into the world of water as well. Here are just a few:
Interactive Play
Guests are given the ability to cast spells in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and immerse themselves in life-size gameplay at Super Nintendo World. This level of interactivity, autonomy, and ability to truly feel part of themed worlds creates a new type of guest experience. At water play venues, guests enjoy shooting water cannons, pivoting spray features, and engaging with water tables. Some features are button-activated. Overall, guests are more engaged with these splash pads and can interact with others through the experience.
Immersive Technology
PHOTO CREDIT: MOMENT FACTORY
At themed venues, projection mapping creates interactive floors and drives nighttime spectaculars. Large-scale touchscreens entertain guests in line queues and massive facilities like the Sphere immerse guests in ways never experienced before. We’re seeing glimpses of this influence in the aquatic world. On a smaller scale, cities are hosting dive-in movies and guests are entertained by animations inside the AquaMouse water coaster on Disney’s Wish. On a much more developed scale, some water parks envelop entire spaces with dynamic lighting and projections, fully immersing guests in a new world of aquatics. The Thea Award-winning areas shaped by this technology at Aquascope (in collaboration with Moment Factory) have shown the potential for other indoor parks to follow suit.
The Power of Storytelling
Every amazing themed entertainment experience engages guests with a story that draws them through an attraction or shapes the design details of an environment. Some of the best water parks have come with such narratives, and they’re reflected in nearly every design and branding decision that shapes the experience - Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and Volcano Bay, to name a few. Beyond specs for spray features and play structures, we’ve seen smaller parks and municipal attractions lean into theming on their floors, walls, and across their facilities.
Overlay of IP and Creation of Brand Experiences
Without a doubt, theme parks have been heavily influenced by movie and television IP that shapes their attractions and experiences. Smaller, location-based experiences are gaining traction, bringing these stories to guests around the country and the world. While early waterparks may have relied primarily on loose beach-focused theming, many are now also tying into IP and brands. An award-winning waterpark of note taps into several Nickelodeon shows at Aqua Nick Riviera Maya. Gabby’s Dollhouse: Kitty Splash Garden also recently debuted at American Dream. Disney has aptly themed many of their resort and waterpark aquatics after shows including a Finding Nemo design at Pixar Place Hotel, Moana feature at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, and a Frozen-inspired splash pad at Blizzard Beach. Basing these attractions on known IPs lends to unique design opportunities, bringing beloved stories to guests across a variety of aquatic amenities.
Inclusive Play
One of this year’s Thea Award winners, Adventure Play at Windsor Great Park, was designed as a fully inclusive and accessible playground. Attractions designed to provide guests of all abilities with a stellar experience often innovate to create more diverse and engaging spaces for everyone. We’ve been lucky enough to participate in aquatic enhancements to improve accessibility at both Morgan’s Wonderland and Give Kids the World Village. The success of these facilities underscores the importance of inclusive design considerations to improve experiences worldwide.
Creating New Location-Based Experiences
With the advent of surf parks, a new type of aquatic experience and destination has emerged. The same is true for themed entertainment as the interests of guests evolve. We’re seeing more localized entertainment and pop-ups. One instance of this in aquatics is made possible by a variety of wave technologies. From FlowRider’s systems on cruise ships and at resorts to Ka’ana Wave Co’s surf machines that can be installed in smaller bodies of water, all the way up to massive technologies like WhiteWater’s Endless Surf featured at O2 SURFTOWN MUC, new aquatic experiences are popping up at destinations all over the world. These locations, designed to make surfing more accessible regardless of location, almost always come with amenities to keep guests entertained and comfortable when not actively participating in sessions.
All of these trends have certainly brought joy and excitement to guests wherever they’ve been implemented. While this overlap between themed entertainment and the aquatic world exists, we still see the potential for so much more imaginative design, tech overlays, and interactivity. Contact us to collaborate with our Design Studio to dream up the next big thing.