| 37th | Top waterparks |
| Zoombezi Bay | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Location | Powell, Ohio, United States  |
| Website | www.zoombezibay.com |
| Owner | Columbus Zoo and Aquarium |
| Opened | May 26, 2008 |
| Previous names | Wyandot Lake - 1984
to 2006 Gooding Zoo Park - 1946 to 1984 |
| Operating season | Memorial Day to Labor Day |
| Area | 22.7 acres (92,000 m2) |
| Rides | 11 total |
Zoombezi Bay is a water park owned by the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium on Riverside Drive in Columbus, Ohio. The park opened on May 26, 2008, and currently has 11 water rides. The dry park, Jungle Jack's Landing also made its debut in the 2008 season. Zoombezi Bay boasts all new water slides, a new wave pool, two lazy rivers, and cabana rental.
Contents |
| Picture | Name | Description | Height Requirement | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Tides | 544,500-gallon wave pool with a maximum depth of six feet. Waves can reach up to four feet high. | Children 36" and smaller must wear a PFD unless accompanied within arms reach of a parent. | Same Name as Wyandot Lake's wave pool but all new. Significantly larger and better and safer than the old wave pool. | |
| Croctail Creek | Adult-only lazy river containing 203,000 gallons of water, 850 feet (260 m) in length, and just a little under 28 inches (710 mm) in depth. | Age: 21+ only | Same river as Canoochee Creek when Wyandot Lake was around. Croctail Island Bar in the middle of the river. | |
| Roaring Rapids | 1570,000 gallons of water for 1,500 feet (460 m) at 32 inches deep and an average of 17 feet (5.2 m) wide. | Children 36" and smaller must wear a PFD unless accompanied within arms reach of a parent. | ||
| Barracuda Bay | 18,000-square-foot pool/playground aimed at children | 54" and smaller. Parents may accompany small children on the slides. | Formerly Christopher's Island | |
 |
Katoomba Lagoon | 4,000 square foot water playground for smaller children | Under 36" | 0" depth entry to 22" max |
| Slippery Seals | 48" | Three slides. Part of the "Sea Splash" Complex. Similar to the three body slides at Wyandot Lake | ||
| Sea Snakes | One- or two-person raft slides starting from a 51-foot (16 m) tower with the premier attraction being a bowl shaped slide section where the rider slides around the side of the bowl in a circular motion. | 48" | Two Slides. Part of the "Sea Splash" Complex. | |
| Sea Tubes | One or two person raft from 51 feet (16 m) | 48" | Two Slides. Part of the "Sea Splash" Complex. (Green one is the fastest) | |
| Cyclone | Waterslide that ends in a reducing-radius tunnel | 48"-700 lb combined | Four person clover-leaf tube | |
| (See Above) | Tahitian Twister | Five-person raft ride | 48" or 42" and accompanied by an adult, 800 lb (360 kg) combined | |
| Dolphin Dash | "Race" style slide | 42" | Can accommodate six riders at once (side-by-side), uses blue mats. |
Lifeguards at Zoombezi Bay are trained by Ellis and Associates and have successfully completed the International Lifeguard Training Program. This program is used across the world by aquatic facilities in 42 states, and in Mexico, Brazil, China, Spain, Bahamas, Korea, Cairo Egypt, Bahrain and Dubai.
Funtime Parks, Inc which owned Wyandot Lake merged with Premier Parks, Inc in 1995 which subsequently bought the Six Flags chain in 1999.
The park was operated by Six Flags under the name Wyandot Lake until the end of the 2006 season. While under Six Flags management, the park hosted to over 45 rides and attractions including "Sea Dragon". Six Flags ran into financial trouble shortly after purchasing Wyandot Lake. This forced Six Flags to sell a number of water and amusement parks.
In June 2006, Six Flags and the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium announced the purchase the park at the end of the 2006 season. [1] Shortly thereafter, the Zoo announced the current reconstruction of the park. Because of the construction, the zoo also announced that Wyandot Lake would be closed for the 2007 season. In addition, the zoo also announced that they would be renaming the park from Wyandot Lake to Zoombezi Bay prior to its opening in 2008.
| Name | Type | Description | Operating | Notes/Fate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starfish | Ferris wheel | A Big-Eli chain driven red Ferris wheel. | unknown-2006 | Because it was chain-driven, the wheel was often broken down |
| Christopher's Island | Water Treehouse | A three section water treehouse. Pirate themed. | 1997-present | Exact same location today, fixed-up and renamed Barracuda Bay |
| Hum-Dingies | Boats | Old kiddie boat ride with real water and boats with bells attached. | unknown-2004 | Part of "Kiddie Land" Replaced with Kiddie Stage and Seating |
| Dune Buggies | Cars | Circular Hampton car ride with two sets of motorcycles. Red, yellow, and blue spinning canopy. | unknown-2006 | Part of "Kiddie Land" |
| Sand Dollar | Mini Ferris wheel | Mini "Big-Eli" chain-driven Ferris wheel | unknown-1997 | Part of "Kiddie Land." Almost always broken down. Never Replaced |
| ? | Circular Car Ride | A car ride where riders would go in a circle, but be able to change the position (radius) of their path by turning the steering wheel. | unknown-200? | Part of "Kiddie Land." Most likely from the same manufacturer as "Sea Horses." Riders would often get grease on their hands if the touched the wrong place in the car. Replaced by "Guppies". |
| Guppies | Fish | A small circular fish ride where colorful fish would go up-and down. (similar to the motion of a Merry-Go-Round) | unknown-2006 | Part of "Kiddie Land." Replaced the old circular car ride. |
| Tottering Turtles | Turtles | A circular ride with a hill in one point. Almost like a roller coaster, but very small and electric powered throughout the ride (no chained hill). | Unknown-2006 | Part of "Kiddie Land." Replaced the space-ship ride. |
| Sea Horses | Horses | This ride was almost like a little carousel (no music) and was actually horse-themed, not seahorse-themed | unknown-2006 | Part of "Kiddie Land." Possibly made by the same manufacturer as the old circular car ride. |
| Dirt Bikes (?) | Motorcycles | A Hampton motorcycle ride with hills throughout. Spinning red and white canopy. | unknown-2006 | Part of "Kiddie Land." |
| Jet Fighter? | flying ships | A spinning ride where all the ships rose to 6' in the air and came down all at once. | unknown-200? | Part of "Kiddie Land." Replaced with "Flying Elephants" |
| Flying Elephants | Elephants | A spinning ride where all the elephants rose to 6' in the air and came down all at once. | unknown-2006 | Part of "Kiddie Land." Replaced "Jet Fighter (?)" Similar to the current elephant ride in Jungle Jack's Landing, but not the same. |
| Monsoon | Rider-Controlled spinning | Circular ride with carts seating two people (facing each other) that could be manually spun by a wheel in the center of the car. Painted Blue with white and yellow fluorescent bulbs at top. | unknown-2006 | |
| Black Squid | Evelyn Spider | This ride had six (possibly 8?) arms, and has the two cars attached right above the arm. The cars spun independently and each car had to be loaded separately by an employee. Had yellow and green fluorescent bulbs along with yellow incandescent bulbs under the downward-curving arms. | unknown-2006 | Not operating often, as it was subject to frequent breakdowns and long wait times (because of loading) |
| Neptune's Revenge | Scrambler | This ride had three arms with three cars on each prong that spun as the ride goes around. Was painted white with a future-theme. | unknown-present | Moved to Jungle Jack's Landing, renamed "Dust Devil" and painted brown. |
| Barracuda (Original) | Ferris wheel with cages | This ride, similar to the "zipper", was a blue Ferris wheel with completely free spinning (?) cages. | unknown-200? | This was the original "Baracuda" ride. The ride that replaced it kept the same name and sign, but was actually a Tilt-A-Whirl. |
| Barracuda (Replacement) | Tilt-A-Whirl | This ride had seven cars that moved with chaotic motion around a bumpy circular track. Had generic red, white, and blue theme. | unknown-present | Moved to Jungle Jack's Landing, renamed "Whirligigs" and painted in a pond theme. |
| Sea Dragon | Figure-Eight Junior Coaster | This ride was built by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company and has been giving rides ever since. | 1956-present | While now part of Jungle Jack's Landing, the coaster has remained in the same location. It also kept the same name and sign (on the station), but received a fresh coat of white paint. |
| Grand Carousel (original) | Carousel | This Mangels-Illions Carousel had 52 Horses and 2 Chariots. In
the middle sat a Stinson (Style "JB66M-1" 46-Note
Carousel Voice) Band Organ that played every day. |
1938-1999 | Beautifully and completely restored. Now sits at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. |
| Grand Carousel (replacement) | Carousel | Typical amusement park carousel. Had white and blue incandescent bulbs. No band organ, but played music from CD. | 2001-2006 | Kept name and old signage of "Grand Carousel" |
| Wild Tides Wave Pool | Wave Pool | Large wave pool | unknown-2006 | New wave pool in Zoombezi Bay kept name, but is actually a completely new and different wave pool. |
| Buccaneer Bay | Kiddie play area | This was a small kiddie play pool | unknown-1997 | This pool became home to the exit of "Shark Attack" when the bigger "Christopher's Island" was built in '97. ("Christopher's Island" is now called "Barracuda Bay" and is part of Zoombezi Bay) |
| Frog Pool | Kiddie Play Area | Small circular pool with small slide where toddlers would slide through a frogs mouth. Featured red mushroom water feature. | unknown-2006 | |
| Canoochee Creek | Lazy River | This lazy river had features such as a leaky tunnel, air bubbles, steam (coming from the scenery), a bar along the way called "Croctail Island", and a "mill". | unknown-present | Still used today as "Crocktail Creek" in Zoombezi Bay. It is for Adults only and still has Croctail Island. Also toned down, for a "lazier" effect. Some of the scenery was burned down in a fire, but replaced soon after. |
| Havoc Harbor (original) | Bumper Cars | These bumper cars were the classic style, one/two rider type. Had an island-themed backdrop with a concrete center island. | unknown-200? | The cars were destroyed in a fire, and replaced with gentler cars under the same name. |
| Havoc Harbor (replacement) | Bumper Cars | These bumper cars were the one-rider type. Two hand controlled sticks were used to operate the car that had an intertube-like bumper. Cars were in all different colors. Power was distributed through the floor, rather than the ceiling. | 2002-present | These cars were the replacement to the cars that were destroyed in the fire. They now occupy Jungle Jack's Landing as "Condor Craze." |
| Shark Attack | Water Slide | This red slide held up to three people and let sliders go up onto the side of the slides through centripetal force while turning. | 1997-2006 | Occupied former home of "Buccaneer Bay" |
| Zuma Falls | Water Slide | Two gentle generic white water slides. Riders rode tubes down this open slide. | unknown-2006 | Started from same tower as the "Jet Stream." Auctioned off to "the Beach" when Wyandot Lake closed. |
| Jet Stream | Water Slide | Two fast black covered water slides, with small holes of light throughout. | unknown-2006 | Started from same tower as the "Zuma Falls." Auctioned off to "the Beach" when Wyandot Lake closed. |
| Splash Slides | Body Slides | Three body slides (one straight down, one curvy, and one completely covered) The two open slides were light blue, while the covered slide was a greenish color. These slides could be seen well from the parking lot. | unknown-2006 | Name changed frequently with different sponsors; I remember "Ice Mountain Splash" and "Sunkist Splash". The covered slide, named "The Phantom", was hardly ever open and eventually was permanently closed around 2003. |
Work began on October 2006 to remove the former picnic area and clear trees and other out-dated rides. Many of the rides and equipment were auctioned off in order to offset the cost of some renovation. One signature Wyandot Lake water slide complex, with "The Jet Stream" and "Zuma Falls", was purchased for $500 by The Beach Water Park, located in Mason, Ohio. As of July, 2007 everything had been removed from the former Wyandot Lake except the "Sea Dragon" and Christopher's Island. The zoo continued normal operation as the rebuilding of the park took place.
On July 12, 2007, the zoo announced that the new name of the park would be Zoombezi Bay. The zoo selected the name from an online poll at the zoo's website. Other names that were considered included Kisawa Waves, Katoomba Lagoon, Kahuna Island and Tahiti Tides. [2]
The Zoombezi Bay theme song "Zoombezi Bay" was written and produced by freelance musician Kelly Warner from Columbus, Ohio. Vocals were performed by Nachilus Kezuck and Brian O'Dell. [3]
Coordinates: 40°09′18″N 83°07′12″W / 40.154896°N 83.119866°W
   | About.com info about the park. - Wyandot Lake water park - Wyandot Lake waterpark in Ohio |
| | Zoo to keep Wyandot Lake afloat - The Columbus Dispatch - Local/State |
| | Out with the old, in with THE MEGAZOO - The Columbus Dispatch - Local/State |
| | Park rechristened Zoombezi Bay: Former Wyandot Lake to Reopen in May - The Columbus Dispatch : Park rechristened Zoombezi Bay |
| | Zoo Leaders Awash With Ideas For Park - The Columbus Dispatch - Local/State |
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