Aquatic Development Group (ADG), one of North America’s top water park design/build companies, has recently completed the $25 million renovation of the old Wild Water Kingdom, an hour North of Toronto, which closed in 2014, and is opening this summer as Wet ‘n’ Wild Toronto. This is ADG’s third full park renovation project in the last six years, having previously overseen the renovations of Ocean Breeze Water Park in Virginia Beach, VA and Wet n Wild Splashtown in Houston, TX.
The 45-acre former Wild Water Kingdom property was acquired by Premier Parks LLC in 2016 who then chose ADG as their partner to design and oversee the construction of their new Wet n Wild Park. Premier and ADG have a long standing relationship in the industry, having worked together on over eleven projects within the past two decades.
Upon visiting the preexisting Wild Water Kingdom, ADG observed the park to be in complete disrepair.
“There had been no upkeep since the closing of the waterpark. Pipes were frozen, buildings were falling apart and the landscaping was completely overgrown,” notes Jim Dunn, Executive Vice President for ADG. “But the bones of the property were in good shape overall and the value of the location was undeniable. We felt confident we could create a vision for the park that would live up to the Premier Park standard”.
ADG employed their trademark Indepth™ approach to create, design and build a project around Premier’s desire to create a “premier” guest experience while maximizing revenue generating opportunities throughout the park with strategic design enhancements to existing guest flow patterns, operations and in-park capacity. To bring this vision to reality their plan included not only incorporating world class attractions and amenities that emphasized the bright and colorful trademark look of the Wet n Wild brand, but also dug deep to include electrical upgrades, operational enhancements, and new walkways to improve guest circulation patterns throughout the park.
“ADG’s vision of seeing beyond the debris at Wild Water Kingdom and comprehending the potential of the park was truly an asset,” said Hue Eichelberger, COO of Premier Parks LLC, “We’ve seen the exceptional work ADG has done, time and time again, making it an easy choice for us to pick a designer, builder and construction manager for our projects.”
To most efficiently manage the time line and budget, ADG retrofitted existing park buildings and equipment which allowed for additional capital to purchase new attractions for the park. Major attractions include a new raft ride, a six-story speed slide, a mat racing slide, a wave pool, lazy river, and two children’s play areas. ADG’s filtration systems were also installed throughout the park.
“Wet ‘n’ Wild Toronto was a challenge, ADG consistently saw beyond the problems and issues that posed delays to the project and pushing through them.” Said Kieran Burke, President of Premier Parks LLC.
The grand opening of Wet ‘n’ Wild Toronto occurred on June 30, 2017.
About Aquatic Development Group (ADG):
Aquatic Development Group (ADG) designs and builds indoor and outdoor water parks and recreational water ride attractions for all types of venues from large amusement parks and resorts, to smaller aquatic and municipal settings. All of their products and designs, from innovative wave pools and rivers to surf rides and adventure lagoons, are developed on the basis of creating unique guest experiences that maximize in-park capacity, encourage incidental purchases, entice repeat visits and increase length of stay.
ADG’s has installed more than 90% of all wave systems in the U.S. with their patented WaveTekTM technology and has provided design/build and equipment services to more than 4,000 public, scholastic, leisure resort and amusement facilities worldwide. They have won numerous IAPPA Brass Ring and WWA Leading Edge Awards for their innovative water parks and water ride attractions. For more information visit: www.aquaticgroup.com.