WhiteWater World

After years of planning and a year of construction, WhiteWater World opened to the public on 8 December 2006. The ten Australian beach culture themed attractions cost approximately A$56 million. These included The Green Room, Super Tubes Hydrocoaster, The Rip, The BRO, Temple of Huey, Cave of Waves, Wiggle Bay, and Pipeline Plunge. Since then, four additional water slides: two called Little Rippers, one called The Wedgie and one called the Triple Vortex have been added, with newly revealed plans for a $7 million expansion starting in 2019.

History

Development
In 2004, Macquarie Leisure began planning a water park to be located next to the company's existing Dreamworld theme park. Dreamworld's Chief Executive Officer Stephen Gregg and General Manager of Special Projects Bob Tan visited water parks around the world to discover the most thrilling and cutting-edge water rides available. Later Tan was quoted saying "...the drawing board for the new park was a restaurant napkin in a little cafe in the US".

On 28 November 2005, Macquarie Leisure announced it would invest $56 million on the Dreamworld Water Park project, with construction commencing shortly thereafter.

The existing Dreamworld car park was redesigned to accommodate more cars and the addition of a water park in the southern portion. Construction of the water park began in January 2006. In June, two of the three slide towers were complete, with several slides in the early phases of construction. One month later, several attractions were announced by the park with others being speculated upon. Some attractions were nearing completion in September and all the planned attractions had been revealed by October.

WhiteWater World opened three weeks ahead of schedule on 8 December 2006 after a week of previews.[9][10][11] The park opened with ten attractions, including The Green Room, The Rip, Super Tubes Hydrocoaster, The BRO, The Temple of Huey (3 individual slides), Pipeline Plunge, Wiggle Bay and the Cave of Waves. At this time, the park featured many Australian and world firsts: The Rip and Super Tubes Hydrocoaster were both Australian firsts; The BRO was a world first; and The Green Room was Australia's biggest Tornado slide. After six months of operation Macquarie Leisure announced that WhiteWater World attracted 247,360 visitors, producing a revenue of $8.7 million and a profit of $4 million.

Performance
An overview of WhiteWater World from Dreamworld's entrance showcasing (from left to right) The BRO, park entrance, Green Room, and Super Tubes Hydrocoaster.
An overview of WhiteWater World from Dreamworld's entrance showcasing (from left to right) The BRO, park entrance, Green Room, and Super Tubes Hydrocoaster
WhiteWater World performed above expectations after opening with approximately 23,000 guests between 8 December and 31 December 2006. WhiteWater World continued to exceed Macquarie Leisure's expectations during its first year of operation. The first year saw 493,227 guests, exceeding the 450,000 estimate, earning the park over $8.4 million in revenue. The park continued to perform well in subsequent years with an 18.4% increase in attendance in 2008.

In June 2009, Macquarie Leisure was renamed to Ardent Leisure as part of a corporate repositioning which saw the company split from Macquarie. In August 2010, Ardent Leisure announced a decline in revenue and profits in its theme park division. It stated that a capital expenditure plan had been endorsed which would "...strengthen ride inventory and consumer appeal".

WhiteWaterWorld is currently ranked as one of the world's most water efficient parks because of its sustainable water management and environmentally friendly technology.

Expansion
In September 2007, the park added two attractions: a pair of ProSlide Cannon Bowls called The Little Rippers and an events venue called The Shell.[35] A month later, WhiteWater World submitted a development application to the Gold Coast City Council to extend the water park.[36] The main feature of the application was a 25-metre (82 ft) tower featuring three new water slides: two Mammoth slides and a Tornado Tantrum Alley. The expansion proposal also featured a lazy river and a large water play area. After two years, the application was approved by the council. The expansion plans have been delayed due to the 2007-2010 financial crisis.

In December 2009, it was reported that WhiteWater World planned to add a WhiteWater West AquaLoop. However Village Roadshow Theme Parks, owner of competitor Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast, attempted to negotiate an exclusivity agreement with the manufacturer. Three months later in February 2010, it was announced that WhiteWater World would build an alternative attraction built by ProSlide before the April school holidays. The Wedgie, the first ProSlide Superloop, opened on 1 April 2011. It was the first ride in Australia to feature a trap door release and was marketed as Australia's first looping water slide.

In 2011, WhiteWater World's contract with Nickelodeon was terminated and Nickelodeon's Pipeline Plunge was renamed Pipeline Plunge.

In late 2018, the park announced a $15 million 'Adventure Precinct' expansion[48] to the park which organisers described as a "tropical oasis" with a combination of features "never before seen in similar attractions around the world". At the time of announcement earth works for the expansion had already begun, however in early 2019 this construction work ceased without explanation. The site remains untouched, suggesting that the expansion has been cancelled with no explanation from the park as to why it did not go ahead.

At a shareholders conference on 23 August 2019 Ardent Leisure announced a $7-million investment[49] into WhiteWater World, featuring a new waterslide complex named 'Fully 6'. The new attraction consists of six new body slides and multi-coloured natural light effects. Construction of the slide complex, designed and manufactured by Swimplex-Polin Australia had already begun at this point with plans to open to the public in late 2019. The investment is also set to include a full re-paint and refurbishment of the existing attractions at the park.

Located in: Dreamworld
Address: 1 Dreamworld Pkwy, Coomera QLD 4209, Australia
Opened: December 8, 2006
Hours: Closed ⋅ Opens 11AM
Children's areas: 2 children's areas
Owner: Ardent Leisure