Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas was a

water park A water park (or waterpark, water world) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming, and other baref ...

in Spring Valley,

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. The park was part of

Village Roadshow Theme Parks Village Roadshow Theme Parks is a division of Village Roadshow Limited which operates theme parks and attractions in Australia and the United States of America. The Sydney Attractions Group Pty Ltd was formerly part of Village Roadshow Theme Pa ...

' Wet'n'Wild chain of water parks located across the world. The park opened in May 2013 and is located at 7055 S. Fort Apache Road, southwest of the I-215 and Sunset Road interchange. The water park reopened June 22, 2020 with enhanced COVID-19 safety protocols. The Park was purchased by Pyek Group in March 2022. Pyek Group also owns Cowabunga Bay and re-branded the former Wet 'n' Wild water park as Cowabunga Canyon.

History

On August 6, 2011, plans to develop a water park in the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Stat ...

were unveiled. The owners of the Hawaiian Falls chain of water parks in Texas were behind the proposal to open the park by

Memorial Day Weekend Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...

2012. On November 14, 2011, ''Splash Canyon Waterpark'' was officially announced along with a listing of the rides and attractions to be included in the park. On February 3, 2012, it was announced that the opening of the water park would be delayed by a year. In June 2012,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n-based entertainment company

Village Roadshow Village Roadshow Limited is an Australian company which operates cinemas and theme parks, and produces and distributes films. Before being acquired by private equity company BGH Capital, the company was listed on the Australian Securities Ex ...

revealed they had plans to open a Wet'n'Wild-branded water park in Las Vegas. The company already operated

Wet'n'Wild Hawaii Wet'n'Wild Hawaii (formerly Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park) is a Hawaiian water park, located in Kapolei in the City and County of Honolulu on Oahu. The park occupies of land and has more than 25 rides and attractions. It is currently the only w ...

and Wet'n'Wild Phoenix in the United States, as well as amusement and water parks in

including

Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast Wet'n'Wild Gold Coast is a water park situated in Oxenford, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, owned and operated by Village Roadshow Theme Parks. In 2019, the park received 1,120,000 visitors making it the most visited water park in Australi ...

. On October 4, 2012, it was announced that Village Roadshow Theme Parks would be opening Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas in May 2013 on the site of the proposed Splash Canyon Waterpark. Village Roadshow held a 51% stake in the park with private investors including

Andre Agassi Andre Kirk Agassi ( ; born April 29, 1970) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors. Agassi is the second of five men to ach ...

and

Steffi Graf Stefanie Maria Graf ( , ; born 14 June 1969) is a German former professional tennis player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time, she was ranked world No. 1 for a record 377 weeks and won 22 major singles titles, ...

holding the remaining 49%. The water park cost over

US$ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

50 million. In mid-May 2013, Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas announced the park's opening and operating schedule, as well as a charity auction for the first rides on four of the park's slides. Due to the popularity of the park, Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas' opening was staggered for different ticket holders. Following a private grand opening party on May 23, the park opened to Gold Pass holders on May 25, Season Pass holders on May 28, and all other ticket holders on June 3. Demand for season passes caused the park to cease selling passes for the year, and pushed expansion of the park forward to the immediate end of the season, as Village Roadshow owned 71 acres around the park for future expansion. A 2019 high school "neon night" was marred by multiple fights requiring police intervention and an early closure of the park. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas did not open in spring 2020. Even after legal restrictions were removed, Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas remained closed. In March 2022, the Wet'n'Wild property was sold and re-branded as ''Cowabunga Canyon Waterpark'', which joined into partnership with Cowabunga Bay Waterpark, known as Cowabunga Vegas. Season passes are shared between the two parks. Cowabunga Canyon opened in May 2022.

Attractions

Wet'n'Wild Las Vegas features 26 attractions including: * Canyon Cliffs – two

speed slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to s ...

s * Colorado Cooler – a

lazy river A lazy river is a water ride found in water parks, hotels, resorts, and recreation centers, which usually consists of a shallow () pool that flows similarly to a river. There is generally a slow current, usually just enough to allow guests to g ...

* Constrictor – a multi-person raft ride featuring corkscrew turns and speeds of up to * Desert Racers – a

multi-lane racer water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to s ...

with 6 lanes * Hoover Half Pipe – a

WhiteWater West WhiteWater West is a manufacturing company based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1980 and manufactures a variety of products for water parks including water slides and water play areas. The company also owns FlowRide ...

Boomerango water slide * Rattler – a

Rattler water slide * Royal Flush Extreme – a

bowl water slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of Playground slide, slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides re ...

* Splash Island – a

AquaPlay area which features a variety of slides as well as a tipping bucket * The Wave Pool – a

wave pool A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, large waves, similar to those of the ocean. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks, both indoors and outdoors, as well as some leisure centres. History T ...

capable of producing waves * Zipp, Zapp, and Zoom – a series of

inline tube slide A water slide (also referred to as a flume, or water chute) is a type of slide designed for warm-weather or indoor recreational use at water parks. Water slides differ in their riding method and therefore size. Some slides require riders to s ...

s * Tornado – A slide that "simulates a natural storm experience" including weightlessness

References

External links

* * {{Village Roadshow Theme Parks 2013 establishments in Nevada Village Roadshow Theme Parks Water parks in Nevada Buildings and structures in Spring Valley, Nevada Tourist attractions in the Las Vegas Valley