Students living off campus come up with creative ways to stay cool during the summer. Yards empty all year long frequently become adorned with temporary swimming pools. Now, the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium has made it easier to keep the heat away with the opening of its new water park, Zoombezi Bay.
The new park takes the place of Wyandot Lake, the old park owned by Six Flags. After Six Flags decided not to renew its lease, the Columbus Zoo decided to develop on the land.
"We thought, hey, Central Ohio could still use a water park so we decided to make it an entertainment spot," said Jeff Glorioso, director of marketing and sales.
The new park is an island surrounded by 15 water rides; the most popular ride being the Cyclone, an extreme four-person raft ride that sends you down a slide and launches you into a giant funnel. Other main attractions include Roaring Rapids, an action river in which you float with wave motions and waterfalls, and Wild Tides, a wave pool that has seven different types of waves that vary every cycle.
"It's crazy: If you want waves from Tahiti, you can have them," Glorioso said.
Although family-oriented, the park also includes a 21-and-over area called Croctail Creek, which has a bar.
Some students have already made the trip to the new park.
"It was fun, better than Wyandot Lake," said Holly Rives, a freshman in accounting. "The slides are just bigger and better."
Zoombezi Bay blends aspects of the zoo into the water park, naming many of the rides after animals. In the future the zoo hopes to add some live animals to the area.
"Obviously our brand is animals so we're hoping to incorporate more animals into it," Glorioso said.
Open from Memorial Day to Labor Day, tickets for the park are $29.99 for ages 10 to 59, including access to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Season passes start at $79.99. Discount tickets are available at Kroger grocery stores.
Eden Gaskill can be reached at gaskill.11@osu.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
grad student
posted 7/07/08 @ 2:21 AM EST
gotta love the way they talk about it as a great option for students and then end the article by listing the price; an amount far more than students can afford more than once or twice a year. (Continued…)
benbo
Benbo
posted 7/08/08 @ 12:35 PM EST
Students can't afford $30? Laying off the drinking for a week would yield more than enough money for a day-pass. It's just about priorities.
The attractions for adults are the same as the ones for children--water rides. (Continued…)
Kate
posted 7/15/08 @ 2:48 PM EST
If you are going once you might as well buy a season pass for 80. Then if you go at least 2-3 times its well worth it.
Post a Comment