Amusement park Wild Waves to grow even wilder

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On the roller-coaster ride of business, the Wild Waves and Enchanted Village park in Federal Way is on track and chugging uphill, ramping up for the single largest expansion in its 25-year history.

What began as a small amusement park with children's rides in 1977 is now a combination water and rides park owned by Six Flags. Officials of the Oklahoma City-based theme-park giant hope to transform it into a world-class theme park and regional destination with the addition of 10 new rides.

Seattle and Phoenix are the only two U.S. cities without a major regional theme park, a result, in part, of their weather reputations — rain here and extreme heat in Arizona.

The new attractions range from thrill rides with names like Buzzsaw Falls and The TimberAxe that appeal to adrenaline-seeking and cash-flush teenagers, to family rides like The Enchanted Railway and The Dodge'ms bumper cars.

The park is also in line to get a hefty dose of Six Flags-style themes, changing its look in two new sections of the park, called Northwest Territory and Big Sky Country, to capitalize on the region's timber history and western flavor. The park plans to upgrade everything from landscaping to food service to games and merchandise, said general manager Lenny Freund.

David Dorman, director of marketing at Enchanted Parks, declined to say how much the expansion would cost Six Flags. "It is a significant investment on the part of the park," he said. Six Flags paid $19.3 million to purchase Enchanted Parks in December 2000.

According to Tim O'Brien, a senior editor at Amusement Business trade magazine in Nashville who monitors the amusement-park industry, the expansion is typical of the way Six Flags turns smaller parks into regional destinations. They step back and study the market, then invest in what's lacking. In the case of the Federal Way park, what has been lacking is good family rides.

Major thrill rides and big roller coasters may attract the "coasterheads," O'Brien said, but they don't appeal to 50 percent of the people who walk inside the park gates. With the 10 new rides, Six Flags is going after the family and young-teen market, trying to have something for everyone.

"They're being smart, building strong attendance and critical mass," said O'Brien. "They're taking a we're-in-it-for-the-long-haul type of approach."

All new construction at Wild Waves and Enchanged Village will be handicap-accessible, and 600 additional parking spaces are planned. Construction is scheduled to begin next month, and most of the new rides are expected to be ready by opening day, May 19.

Water parks typically draw people from within a 30-mile radius, Dorman said. "(The new rides) will allow the park to generate a strong regional base of business," he said. "To draw people from Portland, Spokane, everywhere within a day's drive."

Admission prices will jump $3 for the new and improved park, to $27.99 for adults and $22.99 for children less than 4 feet tall.

The expansion will not involve any more land beyond the 70-plus acres the park now occupies.

Five children's attractions will be torn down to make more room for new rides: the mini golf course; the kids' merry-go-round, the Kiddie Whip, the Tubs of Fun and the Jungle of Fun are all being scrapped in favor of more inclusive rides.

In their place will be attractions like hang-gliding and free-fall rides, a roller coaster and 50-foot tall splash coaster, a 63-foot-tall ride that whips its riders around 360 degrees in the air, as well as some tamer, more family-friendly rides like a chug-a-lug train and a tilt-a-whirl ride.

The 10-ride expansion is the first phase of Six Flags' plans to make over the park into a destination theme park, with rides that have broad appeal. More roller coasters and elaborate theme setting are in store, Dorman said.

"Six Flags is synonymous with coasters," he said. "We will be adding major coasters to this park."

But as with most roller coasters, you can never be sure what twists and turns lie over the next hill.

Industry watchers like O'Brien say weather is the No. 1 deterrent keeping people from attending amusement parks. Freund and Dorman are confident that the Puget Sound area will support a major destination theme park, despite its rainy reputation.

"We believe the weather here is advantageous to running a park," said Freund. "Summers here are deceptively dry; July and August have very little rain, and I'm not sure there's a prettier place on Earth."

Dorman would not divulge Wild Waves and Enchanted Village's attendance numbers, saying only that Six Flags' 38 theme parks around the world have attracted 50 million visitors annually.

Caitlin Cleary can be reached at (206) 464-8214 or at ccleary@seattletimes.com.