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DreamWorks Water Park dares to dream big

Opinion
DreamWorks Water Park_American Dream

DreamWorks Water Park at American Dream opened this past summer in East Rutherford, New Jersey to tremendous fanfare and excitement.

by the ProSlide team, the fifth part of a 6-part series on WaterKINGDOM.

It’s no wonder that people couldn’t wait to experience this one-of-a-kind park. With an astounding 29 high-performance ProSlide water rides including the world’s tallest indoor speed slides, the world’s longest indoor ProSlide Water Coaster, the only indoor triple family ride complex, and so much more, DreamWorks Water Park raises the bar on almost every level.

young guest dreamworks water park

One of the areas where this water park exceeds every expectation is its world-class ProSlide RideHOUSE. This is a complete, all-in-one, water entertainment centre for the whole family. A water park within a water park, by every measure.

Working in close collaboration with the American Dream team, the two designed an industry-leading attraction that goes beyond just creating great memories. It also entertains families, stimulates imagination and discovery, and drives repeat visits.

One of the standout aspects of the RideHOUSE is its theming. This weaves throughout the entire play structure. The term ‘theming’ refers to elements that are added to a structure or space to create an engaging environment. This gives the DreamWorks Water Park a unique personality that helps set it apart from others. It ignites the imagination and transforms the water play space into something magical.

ProSlide RideHOUSE American Dream

It can be as simple as decoratively painting a steel structure to be a tree trunk or shipwreck beam or adding characters like bears, underwater wildlife, or insects and butterflies. Each detail creates a visual journey that is unique to each RideHOUSE.

Theming evokes feelings in the guests, like nostalgic memories, that keep them immersed, engaged, and exploring for hours. Nowhere is that on display in a better fashion than at DreamWorks Water Park.

Theme of dreams

It’s immediately evident where you are when you see the RideHOUSE at DreamWorks Water Park. The colours, the design, the finishes of the ‘Kung Fu Panda Temple of Awesomeness Play Structure’ – they all evoke the world of Kung Fu Panda with just a glance. When guests interact with this RideHOUSE they instantly become part of the world of DreamWorks’ Studios Kung Fu Panda movies.

Recognizable characters from the famous animated films are strategically placed throughout the entire structure, in addition to being woven into the landscape of the whole water park. The roof of each section has a 3D sculpted statue of Po, Shifu, Tigress, and other characters from the films perched atop, overlooking the action, and creating a distinctive identifier.

Kung Fu Panda Temple of Awesomeness Play Structure

Not just at the peak of the structures, the theming is also present in almost every aspect of the RideHOUSE. A central aspect of every RideHOUSE is the selection of toys and interactives on offer. These are an essential design feature for discovery, imagination and play among the young guests.

All the toys in the Kung Fu Panda Temple of Awesomeness Play Structure at the DreamWorks Water Park are yellow or red. This matches the overall visual scheme of the structure. The same colour choices apply to items like the handrails, slides, and rooftop canopies too.

Creating a world

Speaking of the rooftop canopies, the RideHOUSE also includes other decorative aspects. These help keep the guest firmly cemented in the world of Kung Fu Panda.

Those canopies are among the many design choices that elicit the traditional Chinese-influenced design from the films. Items like the evocative Chinese lanterns that dangle from above (also yellow and red), ornamental Chinese dragons, and tall trees straight from the movie (that, in some cases, are actually well-hidden structural columns) maintain the illusion and help stimulate the imagination.

play at DreamWorks Water Park

Every piece of theming and décor in the design of DreamWorks Water Park’s RideHOUSE was purposefully chosen to create a sense of immersion while heightening the imagination, fun, and exploration of the guests.

American Dream had a vision of a fully customized RideHOUSE. One that enhanced the world of DreamWorks Water Park to levels never-before-experienced in a water park. Their customization choices and collaboration with ProSlide created a completely unique attraction. This drives revenue, entertains guests, and keeps them coming back.

Tomorrow, the final installment in the 6-part series looks at future innovations for WaterKINGDOM and what’s on the horizon. 

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ProSlide is a global leader in water ride design and manufacturing. Over their 34-year history, they have pioneered almost every major water ride innovation in the industry. Their rides power the best, most successful, and recognised parks around the world. Working with their clients they are driven to create the world’s best water ride experiences and deliver incredible value. They do this through relentless vision, strong customer focus, and commitment to design excellence. If it’s world-class, it’s ProSlide. https://www.proslide.com/

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