SplashDown Beach’s newest water raft ride isn’t just big. It’s mammoth.
At nearly six stories high and more than 600 feet long, the twisting, turning, tunnel and open air raft ride surely is worthy of its name: Arctic Mammoth.
“We worked in-house with designers on this,” said Andrew Chafatelli, the Fishkill water park’s general manager. “This is a custom ride you won’t see anywhere else.”
The largest of SplashDown Beach’s attractions and one of the biggest family raft rides in the northeast, Arctic Mammoth takes kids 36 inches and taller and adults in five-person rafts on an exciting yet moderate water ride, epitomizing the park’s family-fun philosophy.
“We really have such pride in the impact of the park,” said President Steven Turk, whose family bought the water park in 2004 and have since added a wave pool, Bullet Bowl tube ride, pipeline rides, Bob the Builder Splash Works and other major attractions.
Planning for the $2 million Arctic Mammoth ride, which is made primarily of fiberglass and wood, and features a separate conveyor to bring up the rafts, began in 2012 with the feature set to open in mid-June. A sister attraction is planned for the next three to five years.
The World Waterpark Association reports more than 1,200 water parks dot North America, including municipal/city-owned pools with water park features, corporate-owned water parks, independently owned water parks and indoor water park resorts/hotels. During the 2013 summer season, the organization estimated about 82.5 million people attended water parks in the North America, with average park attendance increasing 3 to 5 percent annually.
“We continue to see water parks, both indoor and outdoor, public and private, being developed both in the United States and throughout the world in areas like Asia, the Middle East and Europe,” said Aleatha Ezra, the organization’s director of park member development. “As part of this growth, the industry continues to create new, exciting rides, as well as develop innovative theme options that make water parks a must-do destination for families everywhere.”
Ezra said water parks’ family appeal relates to the quality, memorable water recreation experiences they provide for families in an extremely safe environment.
“Also, today’s water parks offer multigenerational options that allow Mom and Grandma to enjoy the park alongside the kids,” she said. “For the little ones, there are zero depth areas with interactive spray features that spur the imagination. And for the tweens and teens there are thrilling bowl rides or multilane mat racers that allow guests to compete against one another.
Water parks bring it all together in one exciting, safe package.”
SplashDown Beach’s 17-acre waterpark, whose focus is on families with kids ages 2 to 10 years old, is open from Memorial Day through Labor Day when it hosts more than 200,000 visitors and employs nearly 400 part-time staff. The park’s nine food courts are served by Cosimo’s Catering of Poughkeepsie.
Karen Maserjian Shan is a freelance writer: mkshan@optonline.net