ProSlide’s WaterKINGDOM and range of KIDZ attractions are designed to provide a graduated ride experience, keeping young visitors coming back for more.
by the ProSlide team, the third in a 6-part series on WaterKINGDOM.
The best water parks in the world make it a point to create a guest experience that offers something for everyone. From parents and grandparents to teenagers and little kids, and everyone in between, a water park with attractions that cater to every demographic possesses the right mix of water rides to be successful.
For many years there has been a significant gap in high-quality, high-entertainment kid’s attractions. ProSlide’s new WaterKINGDOM makes it simple for parks to offer attractions and rides purposefully designed for kids of all ages.
These rides are engineered to create memorable experiences for guests, which drive repeat visits and ridership for park operators.
WaterKINGDOM rides and attractions also work in conjunction with each other. This is what ProSlide calls its ‘graduated ride experience’. Each attraction stands on its own. But they also complement each other and ready riders for the next level of ride and age.
“At the product design stage, we purposefully develop rides and ride features for the intended demographic. In the WaterKINGDOM space, a key factor in the process is to build a ‘graduated’ experience for young riders to aspire toward a more advanced ride as they age and grow confidence”, says ProSlide’s Director, Product Line Management and R&D, Greg White.
“Toddlers can experience rides with their parents. Then when they’re a bit older and moving about without assistance, they can discover and experience our attractions on their own. As they become more independent, we have more age-appropriate, challenging and rewarding attractions that they can explore. That graduation from ride to ride keeps going until they’re old enough for the larger ProSlide water rides.”
A ride for every age
ProSlide’s graduated ride experience provides water parks with a means to entertain guests at an early age. And also keep them captivated as they grow older.
Each attraction within WaterKINGDOM is tailored to set age groups and they overlap with other attractions. By designing ride experiences that cater to an age group’s unique needs and expectations, ProSlide is working to foster lifelong water park experiences.
ProSlide’s WaterKINGDOM Product Line Manager Kiel Graham notes that the ‘something for everyone’ ethos is on full display with WaterKINGDOM:
“Every WaterKINGDOM attraction is purpose-built to offer safe discovery and high-entertainment value. But also to serve as a transition for riders to the next level up. If riders are familiar with ProSlide’s Spray Parks, then they can graduate to our KIDZ Rides, and then on to our KIDZ Iconic Rides.
Every WaterKINGDOM attraction is purpose-built to offer safe discovery and high-entertainment value. But also to serve as a transition for riders to the next level up
“If they’re older and want to engage in a bit more exploration and discovery, then the RideHOUSE – which offers entertainment for a variety of ages – is a perfect fit. ProSlide’s KIDZ Adventure Tower offers rides that are more thrilling. These are geared at older kids, and can serve as a bridge to our full portfolio of adult rides.
“This ensures that parks have something that every guest can enjoy at any stage of their development and growth, securing a reason for them to return when they’re older.”
An icon at any size
Many of ProSlide’s water rides provide iconic, thrilling, high-entertainment value. This characteristic also applies to ProSlide’s lineup of KIDZ rides that mirror their adult counterparts in almost every way. Rides like the iconic TORNADO, TornadoWAVE, or ProRACER, have KIDZ versions. These can serve as a bridge for introduction to larger rides.
It’s not uncommon to see a KIDZ TORNADO 18 in the WaterKINGDOM, and then the massive TORNADO 60 in the main area of the park, flanked by smaller ones like the TORNADO 24.
“Seeing large and small versions of our rides can create an anticipatory feeling for kids. It gives them something to look forward to when they’re older and come back”, says Graham. “They’re able to try the KIDZ rides and understand what the experience is like on the bigger version without even riding it.”
Many parks use the same colours on the KIDZ rides as they do on the larger ones. For instance, at Wet ‘n Wild Phoenix. This makes the relationship even more evident.
The future of ProSlide KIDZ
ProSlide believes that kids and family rides are an important element in all best-in-class water parks. WaterKINGDOM functions as a ‘water park within a water park’. It creates unique experiences for kids and families, while also preparing them for their next thrill.
ProSlide is continuing to transform the family experience at water parks with additional KIDZ rides to make the graduated ride experience even more complete.
Soaky Mountain Waterpark debuted ProSlide’s KIDZ TornadoWAVE when it opened this past summer. This complements the visually stunning Double TornadoWAVE 60 that anchors the park’s Avalaunch Water Coaster (above).
“We’re looking to add even more in the coming years”, says Graham. “Whatever stage a youngster is in, you can rest assured that ProSlide will have an exciting, high-performance water ride built for them.”
Tune in for tomorrow’s blog which will look RideHOUSE, the new aquatic play system debuted at the brand new Kalahari Round Rock in Round Rock, Texas.
