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Splash Adventure (Alabama Adventure) Discussion Thread


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^I agree--the water maze looks like the fun, but the zip-line, not so much.

 

I also agree, these new owners are complete idiots and are going to completely bankrupt this place! The Zip line absolutely makes no sense. The new thing they are building where the fountain was just looks idiotic already, Look at all the negative reviews the park has gotten on face book since this new owner took over. One person said the park was over run with bees and guest were getting stung left and right, one kid got stung while in the maze, imagine how awful that was for the parent trying to find their way out to get help and when they got to first aid didn't have any ointment and charged her for ice!

and then when you get on a slide you get a beautiful view of all the defunct rides and roller coasters like jack asses they refuse to operate them..I hope some one buys out the park that knows what they are doing.. you can see the junk they are putting together in place of the fountain on the fox 6 web cam http://www.myfoxal.com/Global/link.asp?L=397374

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Actually, I think neither of these additions look good. The water maze looks like it was assembled with plastic, and the zipline looks like something you'd see at Camp Anawanna with Zeke the Plumber at the helm.

 

I understand that the new owners think that a water park may be the only way to keep this park afloat (like Geauga Lake), but if these two additions are supposed to give us an idea of the direction they are heading in, I think we've got a grim prediction set for Splash Adventure. There is simply no way that a water maze or a cheap zipline is enough to change the attendance of a park that just gave up a ton of thrill rides that had their own appeal.

 

I'm just glad I got to visit the park when I did, and was able to ride Rampage as much as I could. I wish the park owners the best of luck (especially since they seem to be needing it right now), but man, what a shame this situation is.

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I know the park has been getting a huge amount of bad rep from people all over the internet... actually, I have yet to see someone review the park as being "good" or "great." I didn't mean to make the park look worse from what I've posted either.

 

Yes, the walls of the water maze were probably made of plastic. Yes, there were a good amount of wasps around, I even had two constantly bugging me while I was there (no joke, this happened). Yes, the zip-line looks short and dull and something that doesn't look permanent. And yes, the park as a whole isn't amazing.

 

But as far as I know, they just transformed into a water park-only park, which means they still have time to build-up and make it better. I'm sure the zip-line was quickly added so people who didn't want to get wet at least had something to do. I'm sure the water maze was quickly added for the same reason, minus the part about being dry. I'm sure it was easy to assemble so they could get them ready for this new season. Because frankly, the water park alone isn't enough. It now desperately needs something new, and they are still planning for that stuff. I'm sure of it.

 

In short: I think we should give them time to improve. Full scale zip-lines and mazes with better material for walls would take a lot longer to put up. These were only quick additions so the park had something new to advertise.

 

-Midgetman "still typing that review" 82

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^But by that logic should they not have kept a few of the dry rides open for those that didn't want something wet? Let's face it. They are calling the park a water park. All bets are off that there is anybody willingly paying for admission now with the intention of rising dry attractions.

 

If they were really serious about making the transition properly they would have kept the regular park open one more year while they buffed up the water park lineup, or at least closed the entire park for the season so they could open a year later with a full lineup. What people seem to be paying for this year is a half finished, half baked attempt at marketing this park as something entirely different and from what I can tell it is simply Alabama Adventure sans all of the attractions it had outside of the water park.

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Some of you would be very disappointed if you saw the actual numbers they are pulling in now that they are just a waterpark. The area flat out refused to support a park the size of Alabama Adventure, for a variety of reasons. The waterpark has done pretty well on its own so far.

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Some of you would be very disappointed if you saw the actual numbers they are pulling in now that they are just a waterpark.

What does this even mean?

 

The area flat out refused to support a park the size of Alabama Adventure, for a variety of reasons. The waterpark has done pretty well on its own so far.

That's not surprising at all, really.

Summer in Alabama + waterpark > an entire unshaded park with one decent roller coaster.

 

Plus, it's in Buttcrack, Alabama. You don't really need much to impress folks there. An open fire hydrant would probably suffice.

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So where do you stop on the zipline, the concrete block, or the concrete sidewalk?

 

I was waiting for someone to mention this.

Some of you would be very disappointed if you saw the actual numbers they are pulling in now that they are just a waterpark.

What does this even mean?

 

Sounds like his is just responding to all the "experts" on TPR who know "everything" and insist the change to a waterpark only will be a failure.

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There have only been 2 times when a park has gone to a waterpark only park and "worked"

 

- Splashtown, Houston

- Splash Zone Waterpark

 

 

And that's It. If Wildwater Kingdom, OH can't afford to add anything, This won't.

 

How many have there been that didn't work? And how are you defining if they "worked".

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Okay, as I told you (a week ago, =-/ ), I visited the park in June 30th. I was in the Birmingham area with a college group I was with. We were mostly visiting civil rights areas (Kelly Ingram Park, Civil Rights Museum, 16th East Baptist Church, etc.), but the water park was included on the last day of the weekend trip.

 

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This was my first time coming to Birmingham, let along to Bessemer where this water park is located. When I first pulled in, a lot of the people on the bus were excited to lear that the park also had amusement park rides. I informed some that the rides were closed this year and they were selling them. As expected, they were a little let down.

 

Anyways, I contacted the park prior to visiting so i could obtain POV's of their water slides for a website I own, Water Slide Database. When I arrived and contacted the park again, they hired a security guard to escort a friend and I through the park AND to the front of the lines for each slide! Being the first time I've ever been escorted through any park, it definitely made this the most interesting water park visit I've ever made! (Of course, the security was there to inform the lifeguards I had permission to film.)

 

Splash Adventure water park itself seemed like a decent park. It's more of a destination for locals than something I would go out of my way to visit. The slides were pretty good, the park was pretty clean, and the lifeguards were quite nice. The water temperature was also perfectly warm on all slides.

 

-Upsurge wasn't super thrilling, but it's still a pretty fun slide to get on.

-Acapulco Drop has a crazy steep downward-pitch radius! Felt like I was siding off of the edge of a cliff! Too bad you get sore after a few re-rides.

-Splashdown bowl slide turned out to be my favorite slide in the park. Another slide that scratched your back a little, but not too bad.

-Neptune's Revenge was nice. Had a few sudden turns that rocked our tubes nearly to flipping!

 

After riding every slide within an hour, a few friends and I conversed around the lockers. After that, I spent the rest of the 1 1/2 hours taking photos of the park.

 

Right before we had to leave the park to go back to the hotel, I took photos of the MISTical water maze and zip lines.

 

So, here's the four slides I did POV's of:

 

^You can see the first two security escorts in this video.

 

 

 

Photos on the next page...

Edited by Midgetman82
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Be sure to view part one by clicking this link, or going one page back!

 

And so begins the photos...

 

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I'm guessing this was the original name for the waterpark.

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Passing the MISTical maze while heading into the water park section.

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A sunset, how appropriate for a beach! Yes, we did the water park in the afternoon. We only spent 3 1/2 hours here.

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I stuffed my pants, t-shirt, sunscreen, and backpack that contained a DSLR, extra lens, and a few books in this thing. I also had enough room for my friend to squeeze her small bag in as well. Wish I took a photo of it, I felt like a pro at stuffing in these things!

Here is where I rode the slides. After that, the escort was done. So I grabbed my camera again to walk around on my own and take photos.

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Maybe this is why TPR should go out of their way to come here.

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First slide I rode. Pretty fun.

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Nice cabanas available for rent.

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Then I came here to ride these.

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Like I said, Acapulco Drop has a really steep downward pitch angle. It also had the shortest line in the park.

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Splashdown was pretty interesting to ride.

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Neptune's Revenge are also some pretty good slides. Though, it would make more sense to paint them dark blue.

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Upsurge in the distance.

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I'll try not to post too many photos, especially of AD.

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The park from the top.

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Rampage looks like an epic roller coaster. Too bad I couldn't ride it.

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... I felt like getting artsy. So I used a fish-eye.

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Neptune's Plunge. I saw older photos of this slide on the park's Facebook page. It seems the red and yellow paint job is new. It sure looks a lot better than its old-self.

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Then I went back to Upsurge for more photos. This time at the top. I'll spare you the repetitious photos, and skip the kiddy area photos I took. THis is only half an hour before the park closed, so right after this, I gathered my stuff and headed to the front to get back on the bus.

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Before that though, I had to get a closer look at the water maze.

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These steps felt a little flexible, which scared me a little walking up them.

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One of two squirt thingies.

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*Gasp!* My foot!

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The result of stepping on the pedal, though this one on the left sprayed water continuously with no one operating it.

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Generic overview.

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Victorious water curtain at the end!

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If I come back here, I do want to try it out. Seems pretty cool to do with friends.

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Sorry I couldn't make the zip line look special. I only took three of the same photos of it.

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Thus ends my vist.

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Oh, and the price board for any of you planing to come here.

 

There you go. My trip report on the park. If I wasn't supposed to post it here in the discussion thread, I apologize.

 

The one thing I strongly think this park needs is another water slide. Preferably a family raft slide.

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  • 1 month later...

So, it seems this topic has been kinda idle for quite some time now. Anybody have any good news or updates about the park? All you see on face book is people complaining about half the rides being down, which is not good since its cut back to half a park now and they stay short staffed it seems. They Really need to add something major for thrill seekers for next season, at least reopen buzz saw falls and the rampage it looks like its kinda boring now.

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While having water squirters in one of those mazes is cool, wouldn't it make getting through the maze a whole lot easier because you can just look up and see where the water features are?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just saw the latest on the park....

Here is the New Story:

 

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/08/alabamas_splash_adventure_clos.html

 

Splash Adventure's first full season ending with increased attendance, owner says

 

Thursday, August 30, 2012, 4:13 PM

 

After a busy summer, Alabama's Splash Adventure Waterpark is winding down its first full season of operation.

 

The closure of the amusement park and three new rides contributed to increased attendance at the water park, said the park's new owner.

 

When Kent Lemasters bought the park from Oklahoma-based Adrenaline Family Entertainment, he hoped to slash operating costs, increase attendance, and in turn, increase profits.

 

To accomplish that, Lemasters and his team decided to shut down the amusement park.

 

"The amusement park was not getting the visitation that the water park was," Lemasters said. "It did not make financial sense to continue to offer the amusement park because of the lack of visitation."

 

Those decisions have helped the privately-owned company turn a greater profit, said Lemasters, though he would not release exact figures.

 

To attract more visitors, the park concentrated on opening new rides over the course of its first summer in operation. Since its grand re-opening on May 11, guests have lined up to experience three new rides, including the Zip Line, Mist-ical Maze and the Wipeout Adventure Course.

 

The increased ride availability has helped create another attractive feature, said park guests: Shorter lines.

 

"I'm impressed that it's not overly-crowded," said Cindy Stanley, who attended the park Sunday with her children, Grant and Erin as well as her husband, Sam. "Everything is in working order; it's nice and clean."

 

So far, said Lemasters, the most popular ride has been the Wipeout Adventure Course. Advertised as the first of its kind, the attraction consists of a series of elevations, rope courses, and bridges that are all doused with water. Geysers, sprays and foot and hand-activated cannons create an interactive experience. Guests making their way through the Adventure Course are strapped in with a harness attached to an overhead rail for added protection, while those on the outskirts of the ride have the opportunity to participate as well: Water cannons and sprays help keep them entertained as they aim at those balancing atop the course.

 

Some guests, who had visited the original park, were able to make comparisons. Kim Tanner was one of those guests. The restructuring of the park and its new emphasis on the water park, said Tanner, is a positive change.

 

"I like it," said Tanner, who had just taken a ride on a recent Sunday down Neptune's Plunge, a series of four enclosed dark tubes that release into a pool. "It's nice not having to wait as long to get on another ride. I'm riding the blue one next," she said, as she pointed towards Splashdown, a 50-foot plunge through and enclosed tube and spiral.

 

The various areas within the water park, including Castaway Island -- which resembles a playground dripping with water -- and Salamander Bay, built for the little ones, helps ensure the park attracts families with children of all ages.

 

"It's been fun," said Kalli Waldrep, who was at the park Sunday with her children and a family friend, ranging in age from 6 to 12. "There are a couple of new rides the kids really seem to like," as she pointed to the various areas the children had run off to. Some were floating down the Warrior River, an inner-tube attraction that propels guests along a winding course, said Waldrep, while the rest went off to explore the newer rides.

 

Lemasters said the plan is to add even more rides. Over the fall and winter months, when the park is not in operation, his team will review the season and make any necessary adjustments and plan the course for next season. Eventually, Lemasters said he hopes to sell of the remaining amusement park rides, including the still-visible Rampage roller coaster.

 

 

In September, the park will host Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants as part of its Fun-tastic Labor Day Weekend celebration, Saturday-Monday. Sunday night, the water park is scheduled to light up with a planned Fireworks Splash-Tacular. Guests who purchase a general admission ticket for $27.99 during Labor Day weekend will be able to revisit the park for the rest of the season for free.

 

The park will continue to operate through Sept. 16, open on Saturdays from 10:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. and Sundays from 11:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. On its last weekend of operation, September 15-16, the park will be open from 10:30 a.m. until 6 p.m.

 

General admission adult tickets are $27.99 and $19.99 for juniors under 42 inches tall. Children younger than three are always free.

 

For more information, go to splashadventurewaterpark.com or call 205-481-4750

Edited by jedimaster1227
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I think we'll have to see how the park reports at the end of the season, but I have to say that I'm surprised to hear that it is succeeding as a water park alone... Especially that returning patrons are actually responding that they prefer the park without the dry rides.

 

I really wanted Alabama Adventure to succeed after visiting it on the Deep South 2009 trip. The park treated us really, really well, and the rides were running incredibly. Rampage still ranks up there for one of my favorite ERT sessions ever. If operating solely as a water park is what it takes for this place to succeed, than so be it. I'd rather see an open water park than a close amusement facility rotting away (i.e. Hard Rock Park, Six Flags New Orleans and Kentucky Kingdom).

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