Getting Wet ‘n’Wild
MidWeek checks out the newest rides at Wet ‘n’ Wild, and comes down screaming (and ready for more!)
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MidWeek checks out the newest rides at Wet ‘n’ Wild, and comes down screaming (and ready for more!)
For my birthday last month, my friends and I decided to celebrate with an all-day adventure to Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii, formerly Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. All my boyfriend Shannon Shima could talk about the week leading up to the big day was how much he was looking forward to going down the Cliffhanger, aka “the wedgie express.”
So imagine our surprise to see a sign announcing the closure of both the Cliffhanger and Volcano Express greeting us at the ticket gates. My journalist mind began to spin, and the next day as soon as I got into the office, I decided to investigate.
“From the surveys, not just from us but also from our industry partners, we found that people are looking for a shared experience,” Wet ‘n’Wild general manager Takuya Ohki explains of the decision to replace the popular rides in favor of the two new attractions.
“The (former rides) were great, but there’s nobody to share the joy with. The Island Racers and Raging River allow us to provide a better experience, better customer service and accommodate more riders at one time.”
To see for myself what Ohki was talking about, I ventured out to Kapolei last Friday and got an exclusive sneak peek at the rides a day before they officially opened to the public. I also brought Shannon along as a consolation for the Cliffhanger fiasco.
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Let me tell you, Ohki sure wasn’t kidding when he said these rides were intended to enhance multiperson rider-ship. The Raging River weighs in as the biggest and longest slide in the park. It is geared toward large groups, with up to six people able to pile into a raft at once. In fact, the rafts are so large, they need to be carried up to the top of the ride via conveyor belt rather than the traditional hoist-and-carry technique used on the park’s other raft rides.
“That’s a huge plus. I definitely like not having to carry the rafts; makes it easier to get back to the top,” says Shannon on our climb up the steep steps for a second ride-through.
Having faced forward on our first time down, I’m now barreling blindly backwards on our second run on the bright blue slide. FYI: Not being able to see the upcoming twists, turns and rapids makes the adventure all the more exciting. You can ride Raging River multiple times in a row (ah, the price I had to pay to get the right photos!) but it’s always a different experience.
“It’s like going white-water rafting, but you really need a big group to see what this ride can do,” Shima says. “Just two people is pretty good, but I think if I got four or five of my friends on here with me, we’d be going a lot more fast, climbing higher up the sides and flying over those rapids.”
One ride not lacking speed is Island Racers. Using the existing lanes of Volcano Express, the 240-foot raceway pits four people against each other to see who can reach the end of the 240-foot raceway first - that is, if you can stomach entering the starting line head-first and pushing off into complete darkness.
“It’s like the Volcano Express on steroids,” laughs Ohki. “We took out the top of the Volcano Express to increase the length. We also increased the height from four stories to five.
“So far it’s been very popular with our employees. We let our lifeguards test it out, and we had to cut them off! I know it’s going to be very popular this summer. It’s one of those rides that people are still talking about even after getting off.”
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That’s for sure. After peeling myself off my mat upon reaching the finish line after our first trial, I looked up to see my competitor smiling and ready for round two. I also saw our MidWeek photographer motioning to me to go again.
Now I think myself pretty adventurous, but this ride had me shaking in my suit. The thought of speeding down the black tunnel at 20 feet per second to drop not once, but twice, with only a piece of foam-rubber and gravity (how reliable is that?) keeping me safe made me question my devotion to my job.
But I went down a second time. And a third. Granted I was shouting things you can’t say on television or in a family publication, but the point is, you quickly overcome your fears of falling in favor of the adrenaline rush you get with each go-round.
“This is my new favorite ride in the park, hands down, even more than The Shaka,” says Shannon, a thrill-seeker who delighted in the opportunity to actually be required to go down a water ride face first. “Next time we come here, we’re doing this ride first.”
Other things Ohki says we need to check out this summer are the popular “Dive in Movies” from 7 to 10 p.m. every Friday, where guests have the choice to watch the latest movie releases from a seat on the lawn or on select park rides. And if you haven’t yet been to the Kapolei park this year, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
“If people haven’t come out in six months, they will realize what we have done,” Ohki enthuses. “We’ve added grass seating and repainted all the rides. With all of these beautifications, we hope to be featured as one of the best parks in the industry.”
After the acquisition by Australian company Village Roadshow Ltd. last May, the park gained two new attractions in the Tornado and the Tiki dumping bucket in the children’s area. With the sale leaseback of the park to Florida-based real estate investment trust CNL Lifestyle Properties Inc. last month, Ohki says that they have been able to invest in $1 million worth of upgrades and $3 million in new rides, which he believes shows the commitment Village Roadshow has.
“They see Wet ‘n’ Wild Hawaii as a gem in a tropical paradise and they wanted to take it to the next level. This is a significant investment in a very difficult economic time. It’s going against the trend.”
As for the name change, Ohki explains it’s strictly business.
“For us to change names enables us to have slides X, Y and Z,” he says, adding that Hurricane Bay will be renamed Hawaiian Waters in commemoration of the former moniker. “We can do more and more stuff with a money-backer. There’s five acres in the back that’s in discussion of what to put in within the next two to three years.
“We’re consistently making upgrades and improvements. It’s only going to get better.”
For information on passes, attractions, hours of operation or park specials, visit www.hawaiiwetnwild.com or call 674-WAVE (9283).
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