Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast |
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| Slogan | Biggest 'n' Best |
| Location | Oxenford, Queensland, Australia |
| Coordinates | 27°54′54″S 153°19′04″E / 27.9151076°S 153.3176744°E |
| Owner | Village Roadshow Theme Parks |
| Opened | 30 September 1984 |
| Previous names | Cade's County Waterpark (1984–1985) Cade's County Wet'n'Wild (1985–1986) Wet'n'Wild (1986–1997) Wet'n'Wild Water World (1997–2013) |
| Operating season | All year, heated in winter |
| Status | {{{status}}} |
| Pools | 4 pools |
| Water slides | 17 water slides |
| Children's areas | 2 children's areas |
Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast is a super fun water park located in Oxenford, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It's owned and run by Village Roadshow Theme Parks, the same company that owns Warner Bros. Movie World right next door! This park is incredibly popular, with over a million visitors in 2009. That made it the most visited water park in Australia and one of the top ten in the world. Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast is open all year, and all its pools and slides are heated during the cooler winter months. It's one of seven water parks around the globe that use the Wet'n'Wild name.
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The Story of Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast
The idea for this amazing water park came from a person named Colin Herringe. He called the original park Cade's County Waterpark. Colin spent years looking at other water parks all over the world to get ideas. Many of the first pools and slides were even better versions of popular rides found in famous parks like Wet'n'Wild Orlando.
Building the park started in 1982. When it first opened, it was the biggest water park in the Southern Hemisphere! Colin named the park Cade's County after his son, Cade.
Later, the park became part of Village Roadshow Theme Parks. They changed its name to Wet'n'Wild Water World. This made its name similar to their other parks, Sea World and Warner Bros. Movie World. In 2013, the park's name changed again to Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast. This helped people tell it apart from the new Wet'n'Wild Sydney park.
You might have even seen the park in a movie! Scenes for the 2014 British comedy film The Inbetweeners 2 were filmed here. In the movie, the park was called "Splash Planet."
Exciting Rides and Attractions
Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast has many thrilling rides and fun areas for everyone. During busy times, like summer holidays, you can even buy a "Fast Track" pass. This lets you skip the regular lines for some rides, just like a similar system at Warner Bros. Movie World.
Extreme H2O Zone Rides
The Extreme H2O Zone opened in 2006 and has some of the park's most exciting slides. It features cool, modern attractions like a giant funnel slide and super fast tube slides.
- Kamikaze is a unique ride that's wet and dry! It's the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. You sit in a two-person tube and zoom down a steep slope. Then you go up the other side, like a boomerang, until you slow down. It's a really fun, back-and-forth ride.
- Tornado is a huge funnel slide where four people sit in a clover-leaf shaped tube. You dip down, make a turn, and then speed into a giant funnel. You can reach speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour! This ride was designed by a Canadian company called ProSlide.
- Blackhole has two dark, enclosed tube slides that twist and turn. You'll be in complete darkness as you slide down at high speeds! This ride was brought to Wet'n'Wild from another water park in Brazil.
Other Awesome Rides
- AquaLoop has four looping body slides that start with a trap door! When the door opens, you drop almost straight down, reaching speeds of 60 kilometers per hour. It's the first ride of its kind in Australia.
- Buccaneer Bay is a fun pirate-themed play area for younger kids. It has water slides and lots of water activities. There are also shallow pools for splashing around. The current Buccaneer Bay opened in 2005.
- Calypso Beach is a big, relaxing lazy river. You float along in a tube as a gentle current carries you around the course. Calypso Beach was added to the park in 1997.
- Constrictor is a three-person water slide that's 18.37 meters tall and 166.7 meters long. It has three corkscrew turns inside an enclosed slide. You can reach speeds of 30 kilometers per hour! This slide replaced the old Terror Canyon rides.
- Flowrider lets you try out surfing! It creates a constant wave that you can ride on a board, located next to the Giant Wave Pool.
- Giant Wave Pool is a massive pool with three million liters of water! It creates consistent one-meter waves, making it feel like the ocean. This was one of the first attractions when the park opened in 1984.
- Mammoth Falls opened in 2000 and has two six-person raft slides. They were built by Australian Waterslides and Leisure. Originally, there were two different slides, but now both slides have the same 658-foot-long layout.
- River Rapids are four fast body slides that opened in 2007. They are located on Whitewater Mountain, where older slides used to be. Two of the River Rapids slides are fully enclosed, and two are open-air flumes.
- Skycoaster is an extra-cost attraction near the front of the park. Riders are lifted 50 meters high, then plunge at 60 kilometers per hour, swinging out over the Giant Wave Pool. It's a huge swing experience!
- Super 8 Aqua Racer is an eight-lane mat racing slide. You race headfirst down an 86-meter track, reaching speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour. Sensors at the finish line tell you exactly how fast you were and your placing!
- Surfrider is a "Half-Pipe" roller coaster. You ride in a surfboard-shaped car that launches back and forth on a U-shaped track. Water features make it feel like you're riding a real wave! This ride opened in 2007.
- Wet'n'Wild Buggy lets guests drive "tomcar" buggies over a special course. You'll go through log obstacles, tire grids, jumps, water splashes, and even a tunnel!
- Wet'n'Wild Junior is a new area designed just for younger kids. It has smaller versions of many of Wet'n'Wild's popular slides, perfect for little adventurers.
- Whirlpool Hot Springs is a relaxing area, especially in winter. The upper level of the old Whirlpool attraction becomes 10 hot spas, heated to 36 degrees Celsius. It's a great place to warm up!
- Zip Lines are a series of three zip lines that go from the top of White Water Mountain all the way to the Giant Wave Pool. You'll travel over 200 meters through the air!
Past Rides and Attractions
Over the years, some rides have left the park to make way for new and exciting attractions.
- Mach 5 was a large water slide complex with five different slides. It had two open flume slides called Sidewinders and three high-speed body slides called Jetstreams. The Mach 5 was brought from another water park in Brazil. It closed permanently in late 2018.
- Double Screamer was one of the first all-fiberglass slides in the world. It was removed in 2005 due to safety concerns and to make space for the expanded Buccaneer Bay.
- Mammoth Plunge was part of Mammoth Falls. This slide was moved to Sea World in 2005, where it still operates today.
- Speedcoaster was a fast, enclosed slide that plunged riders down a snake-like path. It was removed in 2010 to make room for the AquaLoop ride. This slide was later moved to Big Splash in Canberra.
- Terror Canyon 1 & 2 were slides that closed down in 2008. The area where they stood was later used for the Constrictor slide and the Zip Lines.
- Twister was an attraction with two body slides that wrapped around each other. It was removed in 2010 to make way for the AquaLoop and was also moved to Big Splash in Canberra.
- Whirlpool was a gentle, circular ride that was only open in the summer months. It was located where the Whirlpool Hot Springs are now.
- WhiteWater Mountain had four body flume slides that opened with the park in 1984. These slides were removed in 2007.
Food and Shopping
You'll find many places to grab a bite to eat throughout the park, offering different kinds of fast food:
- Bombora Burger Bar
- Snack Shack
- Oasis Ice Cream Parlour
- Go Frozen" Frozen Coke Bar
- Wraps 'n' Rolls
- Natural Selections
- Clocktower Coffee
- Calypso Bar
- Dominos 2 Go (This pizza place opened in 2009!)
There are also two shops near the front of the park where you can buy souvenirs and other items:
- Surf Store
- Quiksilver
Images for kids
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Mach 5 (Now closed)
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Aerial view of Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast in 2018
