The Park at OWA Discussion Thread

The Ride Line up appears to be:

Roller Coasters

Thunderbolt

Twisted Coaster(Zamperla"s version of Wild Mouse)

Mega Disk'o - Not a coaster IMO, but Zamperla lists it as such

Flats

Air Race...looks like 8.2 or maybe the 6.4 model

Endeavour

Vertical Swing(Zamperla's version of Funtime Star Flyer)

Midi Discovery

Flying carousel

Windstar Z

Rockin' Tug

Tea Cup

Disko

Samba balloon

Also 8 Kiddie flat rides and 1 kiddie coaster. 21 rides total in the park. Pretty decent start.

YES! YES! YES! This is what I've been waiting to know! Anyone else plan on being there opening weekend? I'm strongly thinking about it!

I’ll be there for sure (trying to be one of the first 100 riders).

OWA officially opened today!

[fbvideonew]

www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2017/07/alabamas_newest_amusement_park.html

Was at the opening day ceremony at OWA. I must say I was not all that impressed but I will hold my negative comments about the rides and attribute that to opening day jitters. I just hope it improves. However I will say that for a steel coaster Rolling Thunder is pretty rough. Not just my opinion, had several others that I met in line say the same thing. The Crazy Mouse was your typical wildmouse and the Southern Express was a nice kiddie coaster. Customer service is not in their vocabulary right now in the Customer Relations department. Hopefully that will get better with time. I can only imagine that the problems were because they weren't prepared for the park opening.

^I'd love to hear more details. This park is on my radar because I also want to check out Gulf Shores eventually, but I won't exactly make it a priority without decent reviews.

Zamperla better get their act in gear when it comes to their coasters. How can a coaster of this size and importance turn out to be rough on opening weekend? I had hoped that they would improve from the Coney Island prototype. There are so many competitors in the market that make similar rides that ride much better. I guess they make the sales by offering a bulk discount. Sad for the park...

Here's hoping the park gets off it's feet and expands a bit soon. The South needs more coasters.

Was at the opening day ceremony at OWA. I must say I was not all that impressed but I will hold my negative comments about the rides and attribute that to opening day jitters. I just hope it improves. However I will say that for a steel coaster Rolling Thunder is pretty rough. Not just my opinion, had several others that I met in line say the same thing. The Crazy Mouse was your typical wildmouse and the Southern Express was a nice kiddie coaster. Customer service is not in their vocabulary right now in the Customer Relations department. Hopefully that will get better with time. I can only imagine that the problems were because they weren't prepared for the park opening.

It was just nervous on its first day. LOL. But I wanted to visit so badly for opening weekend, but I decided to visit that first weekend in October. By then, all of OWA should be open and running. But I'm sure the theme park is going to do great. I'm definitely looking forward for a first time visit!

^I'd love to hear more details. This park is on my radar because I also want to check out Gulf Shores eventually, but I won't exactly make it a priority without decent reviews.

 

Zamperla better get their act in gear when it comes to their coasters. How can a coaster of this size and importance turn out to be rough on opening weekend? I had hoped that they would improve from the Coney Island prototype. There are so many competitors in the market that make similar rides that ride much better. I guess they make the sales by offering a bulk discount. Sad for the park...

 

Here's hoping the park gets off its feet and expands a bit soon. The South needs more coasters.

One of the guys I was referring to actually lives in PA and has been to the one at Coney Island and he said this was rough but not as bad as the one at Coney. My main complaint other than the rough ride is that the ride staff was not ready for this ride to open. Load times are far too long and a little disorganized but like I said that should improve with time. The Crazy Mouse was a typical wild mouse and was not bad. A little jerky at times but typical. The kiddie coaster Southern Express was much better than a worm coaster and has an 180 in the middle of it. You have to be aware of the last catch on the chain because when it catches it is quite a jolt. The park is, of course, clean, after all, it is new. The station for Rolling Thunder is at the opposite end of the park from the entrance and runs right down the middle of the park from end to end. The big problem, especially with the sun down here in the summer, is there is no shade except for a couple covered areas with tables and chairs for eating snacks. With the bright clean almost white concrete walkways the sun will roast you. It was 100 degrees yesterday according to my car. There is an assortment of flat rides mostly for children, so bringing the youngsters would be a treat. There are plenty of food and beverage stands a couple walkthroughs under the Rolling Thunder so you don't have to walk all the way around it to get from side to side. Hope this helps.

SKI

If anybody is looking for some great entertainment, look at Owa's Facebook page. They just did a post talking about safety restrictions on their rides and how guests that are too tall or too fat may not be able to ride. I spent a full ten minutes reading all the comments and I laughed the whole time. About half of the people were saying how they understand that they may not be able to ride some rides when they go to the park because of their size. Then the other half of the people were raving about how the manufacturer discriminates against fat people, how the park needs to put on their website how fat a person can be to ride, and how unsafe the rides must be if they have to kick people off for being fat. It was the funniest thing I've seen on Facebook in a while. I feel so bad for Owa since they have to deal with people like that.

^ It was kind of amusing ,well actually sad, reading the post from the woman who has the 240 lb 14 year old kid who can't ride and blames the park. There's a lot of that type stuff. Oh well, it is where it is. That said, it does look like a cute little park, not worth a special trip to go to, but still, a nice FEC type place if one is nearby.

Went this past Sunday and I must say I was impressed considering the fact that this is in Alabama. I love this state but it has its problems. Anyways, Rollin' Thunder was very thrilling (much more intense than I expected) but it was still pretty bumpy. I hit my head a couple of times, and it did not feel good. Also the seats on the coaster weren't the most comfortable but I still enjoyed this ride so much that I rode it three more times. There isn't a lot to do because OWA as a whole is still under construction, and the retail area is pretty much blocked off. I'd say wait until later this year to go if you are traveling from a far place.

^ That's wonderful to hear! I'm glad you had a good time! I do wish I lived closer to Owa, but I live about twelve hours away in Springfield, Missouri. I hope to visit maybe in 2019 when I take a southern trip to visit Owa, Alabama Adventure, and Jazzland when/if it reopens. Maybe by then they'll have built another coaster. It'll be nice to go when the trees have all grown a bit. From pictures and videos the park looks really lovely. I love how the company designed the park how they have Rolling Thunder right in the middle with fountains lining it.

Double post, but I was just thinking about the future of Owa. I wonder if they will continue to be supplied by Zamperla. And if so, I hope the next coaster they gwt is a moto coaster like Steeplechase.

If anybody is looking for some great entertainment, look at Owa's Facebook page. They just did a post talking about safety restrictions on their rides and how guests that are too tall or too fat may not be able to ride. I spent a full ten minutes reading all the comments and I laughed the whole time. About half of the people were saying how they understand that they may not be able to ride some rides when they go to the park because of their size. Then the other half of the people were raving about how the manufacturer discriminates against fat people, how the park needs to put on their website how fat a person can be to ride, and how unsafe the rides must be if they have to kick people off for being fat. It was the funniest thing I've seen on Facebook in a while. I feel so bad for Owa since they have to deal with people like that.

With 66% of America being obese, this doesn't surprise me.

If anybody is looking for some great entertainment, look at Owa's Facebook page. They just did a post talking about safety restrictions on their rides and how guests that are too tall or too fat may not be able to ride. I spent a full ten minutes reading all the comments and I laughed the whole time. About half of the people were saying how they understand that they may not be able to ride some rides when they go to the park because of their size. Then the other half of the people were raving about how the manufacturer discriminates against fat people, how the park needs to put on their website how fat a person can be to ride, and how unsafe the rides must be if they have to kick people off for being fat. It was the funniest thing I've seen on Facebook in a while. I feel so bad for Owa since they have to deal with people like that.

With 66% of America being obese, this doesn't surprise me.

Yeah. But what surprises me is the sheer amount of people commenting about it on one post. Well. It isn't even just one post. Ever since that one post, anytime Owa posted a picture or a video of a ride, there is at least three people that comment/complain about not being able to ride because they are too fat. It makes me sad because they don't blame themselves for being extremely overweight, instead they blame a park that has nothing to do with the requirements for their rides.

It's not just Alabama, didn't the family of the guy that fell out of Superman SFNE try to sue the park even though he tried to ride w/ no legs?

America's stupidity really should never be underestimated. See: the President.

If anybody is looking for some great entertainment, look at Owa's Facebook page. They just did a post talking about safety restrictions on their rides and how guests that are too tall or too fat may not be able to ride. I spent a full ten minutes reading all the comments and I laughed the whole time. About half of the people were saying how they understand that they may not be able to ride some rides when they go to the park because of their size. Then the other half of the people were raving about how the manufacturer discriminates against fat people, how the park needs to put on their website how fat a person can be to ride, and how unsafe the rides must be if they have to kick people off for being fat. It was the funniest thing I've seen on Facebook in a while. I feel so bad for Owa since they have to deal with people like that.

With 66% of America being obese, this doesn't surprise me.

66% obese? That sounds really high. Overweight, maybe.

It's not just Alabama, didn't the family of the guy that fell out of Superman SFNE try to sue the park even though he tried to ride w/ no legs?

 

America's stupidity really should never be underestimated. See: the President.

I do agree that there are a lot of people that do dumb things, but please don't get political. We come on this site for entertainment, not to hear people complain about politics. There are different forum boards for that.

On a lighter note, is anybody visiting Owa soon?

I'm not obese but I am 6'4". Since I'm not 2 inches shorter, OWA will not get my support until they cater a little more to us tall people. I was really excited for this park cause it was in my home state. I'm used to being turned away on kiddie coasters but not regular coasters. Not a fan of the rules. Seriously I rode Thunderbolt at Luna Park with no problems...Not sure why Rolling Thunder is like this.

It's not just Alabama, didn't the family of the guy that fell out of Superman SFNE try to sue the park even though he tried to ride w/ no legs?

 

America's stupidity really should never be underestimated. See: the President.

I do agree that there are a lot of people that do dumb things, but please don't get political. We come on this site for entertainment, not to hear people complain about politics. There are different forum boards for that.

On a lighter note, is anybody visiting Owa soon?

This.

I don't care what your opinions of current politics are. I and others come to this forum for escapism or entertainment - no need to get into that political shit.

I'm not obese but I am 6'4". Since I'm not 2 inches shorter, OWA will not get my support until they cater a little more to us tall people. I was really excited for this park cause it was in my home state. I'm used to being turned away on kiddie coasters but not regular coasters. Not a fan of the rules. Seriously I rode Thunderbolt at Luna Park with no problems...Not sure why Rolling Thunder is like this.

Awe. I'm sorry. And I heard Rollin' Thunder was actually pretty good, a lot more comfortable than Thunderbolt. Speaking of which, how did you like it? It seems like most people either love it and think it is underrated or most people hate it with a burning passion. And also, what did you think of the rest of Owa? I absolutely LOVE the collection of flat rides they got from Zamperla.

It's not just Alabama, didn't the family of the guy that fell out of Superman SFNE try to sue the park even though he tried to ride w/ no legs?

 

America's stupidity really should never be underestimated. See: the President.

I do agree that there are a lot of people that do dumb things, but please don't get political. We come on this site for entertainment, not to hear people complain about politics. There are different forum boards for that.

On a lighter note, is anybody visiting Owa soon?

This.

 

I don't care what your opinions of current politics are. I and others come to this forum for escapism or entertainment - no need to get into that political shit.

I'm not obese but I am 6'4". Since I'm not 2 inches shorter, OWA will not get my support until they cater a little more to us tall people. I was really excited for this park cause it was in my home state. I'm used to being turned away on kiddie coasters but not regular coasters. Not a fan of the rules. Seriously I rode Thunderbolt at Luna Park with no problems...Not sure why Rolling Thunder is like this.

Awe. I'm sorry. And I heard Rollin' Thunder was actually pretty good, a lot more comfortable than Thunderbolt. Speaking of which, how did you like it? It seems like most people either love it and think it is underrated or most people hate it with a burning passion. And also, what did you think of the rest of Owa? I absolutely LOVE the collection of flat rides they got from Zamperla.

The first time I rode it I sat on the middle seat, and it wasn't too bad, but not the best I've experienced. The second time, I sat on the left seat and man I heat my head three times on the seat and it felt like my leg was being ripped off. That ride is a lot more scary than it looks.

I'm not obese but I am 6'4". Since I'm not 2 inches shorter, OWA will not get my support until they cater a little more to us tall people. I was really excited for this park cause it was in my home state. I'm used to being turned away on kiddie coasters but not regular coasters. Not a fan of the rules. Seriously I rode Thunderbolt at Luna Park with no problems...Not sure why Rolling Thunder is like this.

Awe. I'm sorry. And I heard Rollin' Thunder was actually pretty good, a lot more comfortable than Thunderbolt. Speaking of which, how did you like it? It seems like most people either love it and think it is underrated or most people hate it with a burning passion. And also, what did you think of the rest of Owa? I absolutely LOVE the collection of flat rides they got from Zamperla.

 

The first time I rode it I sat on the middle seat, and it wasn't too bad, but not the best I've experienced. The second time, I sat on the left seat and man I heat my head three times on the seat and it felt like my leg was being ripped off. That ride is a lot more scary than it looks.

Honestly, sounds kind of fun to me. I'm probably known for riding T3 at Kentucky Kingdom, THE thigh crusher, and I liked it. LOVED it even. I'm excited for when I'm able to go out to Owa. How did you like the rest of the park? I love the selection of rides they chose. Although I wish they went with a Zamperla Giant Discovery rather than a Zamperla Midi Discovery Revolution, I do love the Midi Discovery Revolutions, but I like the Giant Discoveries better because they give more floater air, plus they just look more impressive.

I'm not obese but I am 6'4". Since I'm not 2 inches shorter, OWA will not get my support until they cater a little more to us tall people. I was really excited for this park cause it was in my home state. I'm used to being turned away on kiddie coasters but not regular coasters. Not a fan of the rules. Seriously I rode Thunderbolt at Luna Park with no problems...Not sure why Rolling Thunder is like this.

Awe. I'm sorry. And I heard Rollin' Thunder was actually pretty good, a lot more comfortable than Thunderbolt. Speaking of which, how did you like it? It seems like most people either love it and think it is underrated or most people hate it with a burning passion. And also, what did you think of the rest of Owa? I absolutely LOVE the collection of flat rides they got from Zamperla.

 

The first time I rode it I sat on the middle seat, and it wasn't too bad, but not the best I've experienced. The second time, I sat on the left seat and man I heat my head three times on the seat and it felt like my leg was being ripped off. That ride is a lot more scary than it looks.

Honestly, sounds kind of fun to me. I'm probably known for riding T3 at Kentucky Kingdom, THE thigh crusher, and I liked it. LOVED it even. I'm excited for when I'm able to go out to Owa. How did you like the rest of the park? I love the selection of rides they chose. Although I wish they went with a Zamperla Giant Discovery rather than a Zamperla Midi Discovery Revolution, I do love the Midi Discovery Revolutions, but I like the Giant Discoveries better because they give more floater air, plus they just look more impressive.

I honestly only rode Rolling Thunder, Aerozoom, and the Crazy Mouse. Those spinning rides make me feel HORRIBLE. I was hesitant to even ride Aerozoom because of the constant circling around. Living in Alabama for most of my life I honestly love this place, especially since its near me. It can't be compared to Disney, or Universal but it's still not bad. They definitely will need to expand the park because it's pretty small. The retail area looked really nice but only a small section of it was open for us to walk around and look. I spent about four hours here in the theme park alone, so with the addition of a retail area, expanded amusement park, and waterpark, I can definitely spend a day here. I do think it was a good idea to open areas of OWA in phases to test the waters and honestly they're not doing too bad. One flaw that really concerned me was that I saw a lady use the admin panel for the locker rentals to open a locker for someone. No password or anything was required to get to the admin panel, just a simple three taps on a certain part of the screen. Me and my friend tried it when she left and were able to open a locker. We didn't take anything but this could easily be abused. I hate to post this online but that's not a smart thing on their part.

I'm not obese but I am 6'4". Since I'm not 2 inches shorter, OWA will not get my support until they cater a little more to us tall people. I was really excited for this park cause it was in my home state. I'm used to being turned away on kiddie coasters but not regular coasters. Not a fan of the rules. Seriously I rode Thunderbolt at Luna Park with no problems...Not sure why Rolling Thunder is like this.

Awe. I'm sorry. And I heard Rollin' Thunder was actually pretty good, a lot more comfortable than Thunderbolt. Speaking of which, how did you like it? It seems like most people either love it and think it is underrated or most people hate it with a burning passion. And also, what did you think of the rest of Owa? I absolutely LOVE the collection of flat rides they got from Zamperla.

 

The first time I rode it I sat on the middle seat, and it wasn't too bad, but not the best I've experienced. The second time, I sat on the left seat and man I heat my head three times on the seat and it felt like my leg was being ripped off. That ride is a lot more scary than it looks.

Honestly, sounds kind of fun to me. I'm probably known for riding T3 at Kentucky Kingdom, THE thigh crusher, and I liked it. LOVED it even. I'm excited for when I'm able to go out to Owa. How did you like the rest of the park? I love the selection of rides they chose. Although I wish they went with a Zamperla Giant Discovery rather than a Zamperla Midi Discovery Revolution, I do love the Midi Discovery Revolutions, but I like the Giant Discoveries better because they give more floater air, plus they just look more impressive.

 

I honestly only rode Rolling Thunder, Aerozoom, and the Crazy Mouse. Those spinning rides make me feel HORRIBLE. I was hesitant to even ride Aerozoom because of the constant circling around. Living in Alabama for most of my life I honestly love this place, especially since its near me. It can't be compared to Disney, or Universal but it's still not bad. They definitely will need to expand the park because it's pretty small. The retail area looked really nice but only a small section of it was open for us to walk around and look. I spent about four hours here in the theme park alone, so with the addition of a retail area, expanded amusement park, and waterpark, I can definitely spend a day here. I do think it was a good idea to open areas of OWA in phases to test the waters and honestly they're not doing too bad. One flaw that really concerned me was that I saw a lady use the admin panel for the fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo rentals to open a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo for someone. No password or anything was required to get to the admin panel, just a simple three taps on a certain part of the screen. Me and my friend tried it when she left and were able to open a fluffy, fluffy bunny filled with medicine and goo. We didn't take anything but this could easily be abused. I hate to post this online but that's not a smart thing on their part.

Ah. I'm sure after this year most of the operations and stuff will be figured out. I mean this is a brand new park operated by people who have never operated another park. Still sounds like you had a pretty good time. It will be exciting whenever all the shops open. And I'm super excited for the water park. I'm not usually crazy about water parks, but a water park would really make Owa a great place to visit with a hotel on site, lots of shops, an amusement park, and a water park. Owa does seem a bit small, but I'm sure I could be entertained for about five to six hours. I'd probably marathon Rollin' Thunder and Spinning Mouse, then ride all the flats a couple times each. Most of the time I can ride flat rides, but the time I went to Six Flags Over Texas it get up to 115 degrees and I was pretty nauseous throughout the day. I almost threw up on the Sky Screamer. I'll be excited for when I can go to Owa in a couple years when all the trees have grown a bit so there is more shade. Plus by then there will probably be a water ride and maybe even a couple more flat rides (I'd love to see them get a Zamperla Power Surge and Galleon). I wonder what year the water park will come? I'm thinking maybe 2019, at least it seems more realistic since they would probably want to make some money before they make another huge expansion. But I was reading that the tribe that owns it has a LOT of money so I wonder if the water park would come next year?