White Water Bay

[traxx]

Wasn't sure where to post this, so if it needs to be moved to a better location, please do so.

With OKC growing and more businesses and entertainment opportunities coming to town, it would stand to reason that OKC should get a better water park. White Water has no competition and thus has no reason to be at the top of its game. I've taken the kids there the past couple of summers but i refuse to go back because it's just dirty and disgusting. The Lazy River is a petrie dish of germs with band-aids and other such crap floating by. It's as if WW doesn't even care. And I guess they wouldn't because what other water park are you going to go to in OKC? This was an okay place 30 years ago but it's turned to crap. Also, it's landlocked. It has no where to grow unless they build slides on their parking lot.

I know that Edmond has a water park and there's other municipal water parks around the metro, not to mention places like Andy Aligators and Hey Day, but there's not a good place for older kids who get bored with those smaller places. Older kids want more of a thrill.

What would be great is a joint venture of a nice water park right next to an entertainment park with big go-cart tracks and large, well layed out mini golf courses.

[BBatesokc]

White Water today reminds me of the dilapidated state Frontier City was in at one time before they cleaned the place up. You'd think they'd have put the same emphasis on both parks.

[GoOKC1991]

Honestly, if I am in the mood for a water park, I will make a few days out of it and go to KC or New Braunfels for Schlitterbahn.

[bchris02]

White Water today reminds me of the dilapidated state Frontier City was in at one time before they cleaned the place up. You'd think they'd have put the same emphasis on both parks.

Frontier City is still pretty bad even today. I can't justify the price of a ticket to go there, especially after living in Charlotte and having Carowinds, which is better than even Six Flags Over Texas. One would think OKC is large enough and in a good enough location to support a real amusement park and a real water park. It's also not like competition of lack of it has anything to do with it. Many cities, especially smaller markets only have a single amusement park and a single water park but they are much, much better than Frontier City or White Water Bay.

[shavethewhales]

I thought White Water was doing better under Premier Parks. They've been highly lauded for their work on other water parks, including the one in Nashville which they've built up a ton. They have the management contract for both White Water and Frontier City, and will probably buy them out completely by the end of this year since CNL is selling all of its parks. Frontier City has come a long, long way in the past few years even if some people can't appreciate it. It may never be a giant destination park, but they have certainly cleaned it up and are doing some interesting things with it.

White Water actually still has a good bit of expansion potential. Water parks don't need to cover a huge land area, and they have a lot of unused land to the west and north of the current space. They could shift the parking farther north and increase the park space by a half at least. Once Premier gets unfettered control of it I'd expect some major expansion to begin.

[bchris02]

I thought White Water was doing better under Premier Parks. They've been highly lauded for their work on other water parks, including the one in Nashville which they've built up a ton. They have the management contract for both White Water and Frontier City, and will probably buy them out completely by the end of this year since CNL is selling all of its parks. Frontier City has come a long, long way in the past few years even if some people can't appreciate it. It may never be a giant destination park, but they have certainly cleaned it up and are doing some interesting things with it.

White Water actually still has a good bit of expansion potential. Water parks don't need to cover a huge land area, and they have a lot of unused land to the west and north of the current space. They could shift the parking farther north and increase the park space by a half at least. Once Premier gets unfettered control of it I'd expect some major expansion to begin.

This would be good to see. Hopefully it happens. I don't see why they would just let the parks rot.

I haven't been to Frontier City since 2012 so maybe I should give it another visit. I just have trouble paying what it costs to go there when I could go to Six Flags Over Texas. Last time I was at Frontier City, several of the rides were broken down and several that I remember as a child were no longer there. Frontier City needs just a couple of larger roller coasters. That would make it a destination and put it on the level with Worlds of Fun in Kansas City. On that note both parks do have competition south of the Red River. Most Oklahomans have no issue with a day trip to DFW for a water park or an amusement park.

[HangryHippo]

I thought White Water was doing better under Premier Parks. They've been highly lauded for their work on other water parks, including the one in Nashville which they've built up a ton. They have the management contract for both White Water and Frontier City, and will probably buy them out completely by the end of this year since CNL is selling all of its parks. Frontier City has come a long, long way in the past few years even if some people can't appreciate it. It may never be a giant destination park, but they have certainly cleaned it up and are doing some interesting things with it.

White Water actually still has a good bit of expansion potential. Water parks don't need to cover a huge land area, and they have a lot of unused land to the west and north of the current space. They could shift the parking farther north and increase the park space by a half at least. Once Premier gets unfettered control of it I'd expect some major expansion to begin.

I think with all that's built up around it, it's a mistake to continue to expand White Water at the current location. It ought to be moved up by Frontier City where you can capitalize on having both of the parks near each other, or somewhere less industrialized, like Moore with the other two parks that are down there now. But to continue to invest money while more and more warehouses pop up around it seems foolish.

[traxx]

Once Premier gets unfettered control of it I'd expect some major expansion to begin.

Hopefully not just expansion, but a better run park. Like I said, I was grossed out last summer and won't be taking my kids back this summer.

And I know that the going down to Texas is just a quick jaunt down I-35, but to do that, I'd have to get a hotel room. That would take at least one full day. Where if we had a good water park and amusement park here, I can take the kids and just go for a few hours and then go back home.

[bchris02]

I agree if they are serious about upgrading White Water Bay they should move it up near Frontier City. Pretty much every other city I am familiar with has their theme park and water park in close proximity if not right next to each other.

[traxx]

I think with all that's built up around it, it's a mistake to continue to expand White Water at the current location. It ought to be moved up by Frontier City where you can capitalize on having both of the parks near each other, or somewhere less industrialized, like Moore with the other two parks that are down there now. But to continue to invest money while more and more warehouses pop up around it seems foolish.

Every time I drive by, I think about how the new warehouse on the east side is going to affect the aesthetics for the park patrons. There's going to be a huge concrete wall right next to the rides on the east side of the park this summer.

[traxx]

I agree if they are serious about upgrading White Water Bay they should move it up near Frontier City. Pretty much every other city I am familiar with has their theme park and water park in close proximity if not right next to each other.

They should buy the land just to the west of FC. Then they should have enough room for a really good water park and to expand FC with a couple of really good rides. I would even encourage them to keep as many of those trees as possible for atmoshpere and aesthetics. Clear cutting the area just to build a park and then planting new trees doesn't really seem to make sense. A lazy river through the trees would add visual interests.

[soondoc]

They should buy the land just to the west of FC. Then they should have enough room for a really good water park and to expand FC with a couple of really good rides. I would even encourage them to keep as many of those trees as possible for atmoshpere and aesthetics. Clear cutting the area just to build a park and then planting new trees doesn't really seem to make sense. A lazy river through the trees would add visual interests.

That is actually a very good idea. I wish OKC would expand FC and add a big time water park and make this place something of a destination for people to come to. It already has a great base to work with, and it could become more of a Six Flags/Silver Dollar City type place. The location is ideal and in the near future, perhaps we will have rail from Edmond to Norman it could run right by for public transportation. Is this something that would be feasible or pipe dream? Perhaps someone could start a FC thread to discuss.

[adaniel]

They should buy the land just to the west of FC. Then they should have enough room for a really good water park and to expand FC with a couple of really good rides. I would even encourage them to keep as many of those trees as possible for atmoshpere and aesthetics. Clear cutting the area just to build a park and then planting new trees doesn't really seem to make sense. A lazy river through the trees would add visual interests.

Frontier City already has a waterpark. A very nice one, in fact.

[shavethewhales]

You guys are thinking about this in far too simplistic terms. The reason WWB is out in an industrial district has to do with the group that started it, which was separate entity from the company that owned Frontier City at the time. To "move" the park out to Frontier City would be a $50-$100 million investment easily, and for what gain? It would be somewhat more convenient for some guests maybe, but there's definitely not enough need there to warrant it right now. It would be one thing if they were trying to set up a destination resort attraction out of FC, but as small regional entities it just wouldn't pay off. None of the patrons care about the view outside of the park.

Frontier City already owns a huge parcel of land to the west. If you look at it on google maps you'll notice the park's massive "boneyard", which back in the Six Flags days was used to store a lot of stuff for the chain. The issue with this huge piece of land is that it is not zoned for FC's use, and the neighbors have warned that they will make a massive boondoggle out of any attempt to expand the park there. They have played with the idea in the past, if I recall, and were rebuffed. I don't know what the park has planned for the future, but they seem to have purchased about half of the old RV park to the north and have been using it for parking. I'm thinking they'll ultimately expand to the north east and shift parking over to the west lot area, but that's just speculation.

I follow the attractions industry pretty closely and would be ecstatic to see any major developments in OKC, or anywhere within a 4-hour radius, but I know to keep my expectations limited because this is a fairly high-risk investment industry with a lot of roadblocks to new development.

[traxx]

Frontier City already has a waterpark. A very nice one, in fact.

Not on the same scale.

It has no major slides, no lazy river, no wave pool, no activity pool, no multi-person tube rides etc.

[traxx]

None of the patrons care about the view outside of the park.

I do. And I doubt that I'm the only one. Not only is that warehouse right next door going to be ugly to look at, but can you imagine the heat radiating off of that concrete wall on a hot Oklahoma summer afternoon?

[Easy180]

The indoor water park in Clinton ain't bad. Has 3 bigger slides and one medium. Not a bad place for older kids.

[turnpup]

When my daughter was about 3, she started asking about going to WWB. Wanting to postpone going to that place for as long as possible, I told her that they had a minimum age of 10 to get into the park. She bought it! That is, until one of her cousins (6 or 7 years old) told her that she'd been going there ever since she was a toddler. BUSTED!!! My reply: "Oh, I guess I was mistaken." I'm so bad.

Perhaps we'll go down to Schlitterbahn one of these days.

[zookeeper]

I hate to throw water on the hopes (pardon the pun) for a Whitewater turnaround, but Tierco/Premier Parks was a great company in the 80's and 90's and they really turned Frontier City around. Two of the three main guys who were the original Premier Parks are no longer part of the picture. One is President & CEO now at Valliance Bank and is not a part of the new Premier and Gary Story (the 'amusement brains' behind the company) died a little over a year ago. Kieran Burke and Gary Story started the "new" Premier Parks in 2011, but with Gary's passing, it lost its shining star. He was an amusement master.

[Plutonic Panda]

When my daughter was about 3, she started asking about going to WWB. Wanting to postpone going to that place for as long as possible, I told her that they had a minimum age of 10 to get into the park. She bought it! That is, until one of her cousins (6 or 7 years old) told her that she'd been going there ever since she was a toddler. BUSTED!!! My reply: "Oh, I guess I was mistaken." I'm so bad.

Perhaps we'll go down to Schlitterbahn one of these days.

when are you going? I need to know the best time to be there! I kid I kid...

But seriously, have you been to Hurricane Harbor in Dallas? It is a pretty cool water park, although not as great as Schlitterbahn, it has slides and features great for kids and teens. Also a very clean park. About 7 years ago or so(I was like 14), I used to love to go there and my dad worked right by it.

But if you want a resort type, big time water park, I'd go with Schlitterbahn.

[gamecock]

I thought White Water was doing better under Premier Parks. They've been highly lauded for their work on other water parks, including the one in Nashville which they've built up a ton. They have the management contract for both White Water and Frontier City, and will probably buy them out completely by the end of this year since CNL is selling all of its parks. Frontier City has come a long, long way in the past few years even if some people can't appreciate it. It may never be a giant destination park, but they have certainly cleaned it up and are doing some interesting things with it.

White Water actually still has a good bit of expansion potential. Water parks don't need to cover a huge land area, and they have a lot of unused land to the west and north of the current space. They could shift the parking farther north and increase the park space by a half at least. Once Premier gets unfettered control of it I'd expect some major expansion to begin.

I think WWB is a very good value for the money. You can get a season pass for BOTH parks for only $70. That's hard to beat. And, personally, I actually think both parks look a little bit better in recent years. And WWB added a new attraction, with two different slides that accommodate multiple riders, a few years ago. My kids always ask to go there, and it's nice to have an affordable option. Water parks, in my experience, are always a little bit gross, and I didn't think that WWB was any worse than other places I have been. That said, I would definitely be willing to pay more to have a larger park with better rides. But I actually see more of a need at Frontier City (which doesn't really have any major attractions) than at WWB.

[Kemotblue]

I'm a fan of both parks and very impressed what Premier Attractions has done with the parks. CNL has done a good job using this management company. I have been a season pass holder since 2010. In that time I have seen a tremendous amount of love the management has put into their parks. I frequent Frontier City more the changes they made especially the past few seasons. They have refurbished rides even reopened one of their classics that has just sat for many years. They have removed rides they could not fix and added a ride last year and by their facebook page look to add a new ride this year. They have changed and freshened up areas of the park with new signage and graphics and put some love into their buildings. I have noticed the past two seasons more patrons have been visiting the park. They do a Awesome job with their staff I haven't had any trouble just a few times where just like anybody that has had a bad day in the Oklahoma Heat but very few incidents. The staff are most of the time upbeat and very friendly. I was actually floored this past season for the first time and I visit allot of theme-parks have never had a associate stop me while I was walking introduce themselves ask me and my friend how we were doing and how our day was going etc. small friendly conversation. I don't know if they recognize me just because of my frequent visits. But it made a impression. The management by far has done a tremendous job with the property. I actually use the trails around the park for exercise plenty of shade cool zones to cool off and the park is perfect for a workout and to have fun. Here is a idea if you have kids and you don't care to ride the rides. Walk the park and let the kids have fun the grounds are very nice to look at and you actually get a glimpse of wildlife. I seen many different type of birds and even small mammals. LOL (Not just squirrels and a occasional stray cat) Hats off to what they have done to the parks. White Water bay added those two new slides just last year and they have room to add something to the West they have a old miniature Golf course and picnic area that is not being used on that Westside. So they have plenty of room for expansion. I'm glad OKC has these park there is a number of cities across this country who wish they had these attractions in their backyard. I am not going to complain and look forward to many more years visiting Frontier City and White Water Bay.

[Jeepnokc]

I hate to throw water on the hopes (pardon the pun) for a Whitewater turnaround, but Tierco/Premier Parks was a great company in the 80's and 90's and they really turned Frontier City around. Two of the three main guys who were the original Premier Parks are no longer part of the picture. One is President & CEO now at Valliance Bank and is not a part of the new Premier and Gary Story (the 'amusement brains' behind the company) died a little over a year ago. Kieran Burke and Gary Story started the "new" Premier Parks in 2011, but with Gary's passing, it lost its shining star. He was an amusement master.

I worked for Gary back in mid 80's for a couple of summers when they took over the parks. Definitely a master of his craft.

[turnpup]

when are you going? I need to know the best time to be there! I kid I kid...

But seriously, have you been to Hurricane Harbor in Dallas? It is a pretty cool water park, although not as great as Schlitterbahn, it has slides and features great for kids and teens. Also a very clean park. About 7 years ago or so(I was like 14), I used to love to go there and my dad worked right by it.

But if you want a resort type, big time water park, I'd go with Schlitterbahn.

Hurricane Harbor sounds like a good middle of the road option. Plus, I really need to take a trip to Dallas.

Back when I was in college (late 80's to early 90's), I got a really cool summer job working for a marketing firm that had the PepsiCo account. They paid us $10 per hour (which was a fortune back then, plus we always worked at least 10 hours of overtime each week) to go to a bunch of places and set up a Pepsi/Coke taste test. It was a modern remake of the Pepsi Challenge from the 70s. Many, if not most, of our venues were the various Whitewater parks across the DFW metro. I'm trying to think if Hurricane Harbor used to be a Whitewater or not. If so, it got completely gutted and rebuilt. But I can't remember for sure. That was a long, hot summer, but we made so much $$$. When you're in college, that's a real blessing.

[traxx]

I hate to throw water on the hopes (pardon the pun) for a Whitewater turnaround, but Tierco/Premier Parks was a great company in the 80's and 90's and they really turned Frontier City around. Two of the three main guys who were the original Premier Parks are no longer part of the picture. One is President & CEO now at Valliance Bank and is not a part of the new Premier and Gary Story (the 'amusement brains' behind the company) died a little over a year ago. Kieran Burke and Gary Story started the "new" Premier Parks in 2011, but with Gary's passing, it lost its shining star. He was an amusement master.

I hate to hear that. If WW were just run better and kept clean, that'd do a lot to improve the park.