In late 2015, Universal Orlando Resort shocked central Florida theme park fans when it announced that Wet ‘N Wild, which it had acquired nearly two decades prior, would be closing its gates forever in December 2016. Though Wet ‘n Wild was still quite popular, attracting over 1.2 million guests in 2014, recent developments at Universal Orlando Resort had put the park’s future in doubt. Fans were given just one year to get their final visits to this park in for what was being called its “last splash”.
On the surface, the closure of a water park might not seem all that remarkable (especially in a market like central Florida, which has half a dozen other water parks guests can visit). However, Wet ‘n Wild Orlando has a storied history not only in central Florida, but in the theme park world at large, because it holds the distinction of being the world’s first modern water park. The story of Wet ‘n Wild is also the story of an extraordinary man, George Millay, who thought of himself as an innovator and a man in the mold of Walt Disney with extraordinary vision when it comes to what theme parks and attractions can be.
Though George Millay’s legacy is forever tied to Wet ‘n Wild, it was the success of another theme park you’ve probably heard of that set Millay on the path towards inventing the world’s first modern water park only a few years later.
It all started with… a whale?
Image: SeaWorld San Diego
You might not think it at first, but in order to look at the history of Wet n’ Wild, we have to go all the way back to the early 1960s in San Diego, California, where four graduates of the University of San Diego drew up plans to create an underwater-themed restaurant and bar. However, when the initial plans for this uniquely-themed eatery fell through, the four partners decided instead to open an a marine zoological park that combined the animal attractions of Marineland with the business model of the then-nascent Disneyland Park, which was located just a few hours away in Anaheim.
After a modest investment of about $1.5 million (around $12 million today), the very first SeaWorld park opened on March 21, 1964. When it debuted, the San Diego park was pretty simple, even by 1960s standards, with only 45 employees, a dolphin exhibit, a sea lion enclosure, and two saltwater fish aquariums. Despite its meager beginnings, the park was a modest success in its first year, attracting 400,000 guests. However, one of SeaWorld San Diego’s four founders, George Millay, thought the park could be much bigger, and he had just the hook to get those extra guests: an orca named Shamu.
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
The young Millay was a huge fan of Walt Disney, and saw how the Mickey Mouse icon was bringing guests in droves to Disneyland in Anaheim. Millay created the character of Shamu, and was convinced that this friendly whale would help bring guests to SeaWorld. And of course, he was absolutely right. Guests fell in love with the Shamu character, and the park became so profitable that Millay was able to subsequently open SeaWorld Ohio in 1970 and SeaWorld Orlando in 1973, less than a decade after the first SeaWorld park opened its gates. And that’s where the story of Wet ‘N Wild really picks up steam.
Central Florida’s heat inspires a big idea
Image: Wet ‘N Wild
In the early 1970s George Millay flew down to central Florida to help build SeaWorld’s third location in Orlando, with SeaWorld Orlando officially opening in 1973. However, shortly after the park welcomed its first guests, Millay parted ways with the company he helped found, reportedly after a business disagreement with some of his partners. Rather than retire early, Millay decided to throw himself directly into another project.
While Millay was working on developing SeaWorld Orlando, he took note of the oppressive heat in the region. Though Florida is littered with plenty of places to cool off, including natural springs, lakes, and of course beaches, Millay hypothesized that a park in the middle of the state that combined the convenience of a public pool with kid friendly features like splash pads could be a big success in the region. While this notion sounds like common sense today, such a thing did not exist forty years ago, and Millay was determined to bring his vision of the world’s first modern water park to central Florida.
Plans come together and public excitement hits a fever pitch
Image: Florida Memory, State Archive of Florida (license)
Because of Millay’s excellent reputation after developing three successful SeaWorld parks around the US, he was able to raise $1.5 million for his new theme park project fairly easy, though the plans for what would eventually become Wet ‘n Wild were still coming together.
By early 1976, Millay had a concept and proposals drafted for what was then being called a “water playground” (the term “water park” hadn’t quite been invented yet). Though Walt Disney World’s River Country had just opened that same year, Millay didn’t want to simply copy what Disney had done, and instead wanted to bring a whole new experience to central Florida. While Disney’s park contained several water attractions, it didn’t have a wave pool and had only a single slide, which Millay thought wasn’t enough for a full water-themed park. In addition, River Country used fresh water in an effort to mimic Florida’s natural springs, which wasn’t an experience Millay thought a water park should duplicate. Millay wanted to create an all-new experience, and was adamant that “clean” chlorinated water should be used at his new park, similar to what was used in pools.
Once Millay finalized the plans for this new park, construction time was quick, with Wet ‘n Wild officially opening to the public on March 13th, 1977. Excitement was high among the public, and the local media was on hand to document this the opening days. You can check out some archive footage of local news coverage of the brand new park below:
A troubled start
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
Even though opening day excitement for this park was high, the first year of operation for Wet ‘n Wild wasn’t exactly a smashing success. With only half a dozen slides open, a single kids’ play area for young guests, and a wave pool with limited capacity, Wet ‘n Wild wasn’t really a full day destination quite yet. Making matters worse was the fact that when it was time to market the new park, Millay decided to air commercials on TV that used footage of water slides and play areas that were actually in other parts of North America. When guests found out that the rides they saw on TV weren’t really in the park, they were understandably upset and reactions ranged from simple disappointment to full-blown outrage.
Because of these early issues, Wet ‘n Wild suffered a $600,000 loss during its inaugural year. However, Millay was convinced that his idea for a water park was a good one, it just needed time to develop. Investors hung in there despite this park’s sputtering start, which proved to be a good decision as 1978 officially brought profitability to the park. From there, Wet ‘n Wild began a meteoric ascent that continued for nearly four decades.
Movin’ on up
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
Once the original Wet N’ Wild showed that it could turn a profit, Milay turned his eye towards expansion. In 1979, just two years after the park opened, construction work began at Wet ‘n Wild on the Kamikaze super slide, a freefall body slide that was the first of its kind. Once this slide was completed, Wet ‘n Wild was a bona fide hit, attracting more guests every year.
Milay knew he was on to something, and quickly made plans to construct additional Wet ‘n Wild locations across North America the same way he has expanded SeaWorld a decade earlier. Over the course of the next 20 years, Millay oversaw a massive rollout of Wet ‘n Wild parks across the country that saw the addition of two locations in Texas, one in Nevada, and even international locations in Cancun, Mexico and Campinas, Brazil.
However, though Wet ‘n Wild was expanding all over the world, the most popular Wet ‘n Wild park remained the Orlando original. By the mid 1980s, the park was attracting over a million guests a year. And though that sounds like good news, overcrowding was becoming a real problem at Wet ‘n wild Orlando. There were still fewer than ten slides at this park (in addition to the wave and kiddie pools) and guests were having to wait hours and hours in the hot Florida sun just to experience a few of Wet ‘n Wild’s early attractions. The guest experience was suffering, and it became clear that the park was in dire need of new attractions. Fortunately, Millay had a plan to dramatically increase capacity.
A massive expansion comes to Wet ‘n Wild just in time
Image: Wet ‘N Wild
The biggest expansion in Wet ‘n Wild history came on the 10th anniversary of the park’s opening in 1987, which saw a $2.5 million investment in new thrill rides. While the park was continuing to draw families every year, Millay correctly hypothesized that young adults and teenagers were looking for something a little more exciting, as evidenced by the popularity of rides like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain down the street at Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. In order to cater to modern tastes, Wet ‘n Wild opened 5 new attractions during this period of rapid expansion that were designed especially for thrill seekers:
- The Hydra-Maniac: A 32-foot tower that featured two enclosed twisting tubes that slashed down to a pool below.
- Mach 5: A slide complex with five semi-enclosed slides, three of which were designed for mat rides and the other two for inner-tube rides.
- Der Stuka: A six-story freefall body slide that sent riders down a 250-foot, almost completely vertical drop.
- Blue Niagara: Two enclosed corkscrew slides that twisted around one another.
- Raging Rapids: an inline tube slide that sent guests careening from side to side down a wide track.
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
This massive expansion was certainly a big gamble, but it paid off in a big way, boosting Wet ‘n Wild’s annual attendance to the biggest its ever been. The park even gained national attention in the late 1980s when it hosted MTV Summer Break Nights which featured band performances and were broadcast not only on MTV, but locally on Cablevision of Central Florida on Channel S-32.
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
Although Wet ‘n Wild didn’t ever launch another full-scale expansion like it did in the mid- 1980s, The 1990s also brought a number of new slides and attractions to the park, including The Black Hole, and The Surge, which went on to become signature attractions in their own right and continued to make Wet ‘n Wild Orlando the premiere destination for water park fans.
George Millay gets out, and Universal takes over in Orlando
Image: Universal Studios Florida
The park’s reputation only grew during the 1990s, especially as Universal Studios Resort opened down the street, bringing more guests than ever to the water park. However, the next big turning point for Wet ‘n Wild happened in 1998, when founder George Millay sold off his interests in his parks more than 20 years after he had founded the original Wet N’ Wild location in Orlando. The chain of parks was purchased by several different companies, but the Orlando location was bought (perhaps unsurprisingly) by Universal Studios Recreation Group, which leased the land on which it was located. Universal Studios Florida was in the process of transforming into Universal Orlando Resort (Islands of Adventure would open a year later in 1999), and adding a well-established and popular water park to the burgeoning resort’s lineup seemed like a good idea that Universal executives seized on.
Universal keeps on building
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
Only two years after Universal purchased Wet ‘n Wild, Universal Studios Recreation Group began making substantial improvements to the park, which began with an overhaul of the Kids Park children’s area, which received a new beach theme. The following year, in 2001, the park began a multi-year alliance with Canadian water slide manufacturer, ProSlide Technology (which had previously brought The Surge to the park in 1994). This alliance proved fruitful, and brought four exciting new slides to the park in seven years:
- The Storm (2001): A swirling body coaster that dropped riders from an elevated chute into a giant open bowl where guests spun in circles before splashing down into a small pool.
- The Blast (2003): An inner tube slide that sends riders along a series of “pipes” and slides as they are blasted by constant streams of water
- Disco H2O (2005): A spinning ride that allows guests to rotate around a 70s inspired “aqua club” dome while onboard a four-person cloverleaf raft.
- Brain Wash (2008): A six-story raft ride that takes guests down a 53-foot vertical drop into a 65-foot domed funnel where they rotate side to side while light, sound, and video effects play on the walls above.
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
Though the loss of founder George Millay was certainly regrettable, Universal proved to be an excellent steward of this park, continuing to open new attractions periodically and grow the attendance at this park. Though Disney’s Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon had increased local competition (and had actually overtaken Wet ‘n Wild in terms of raw attendance by this time), Wet ‘n Wild Orlando was still attracting well over a million guests a year under Universal’s care. And it wasn’t just new slides debuting at this park either.
The precursor to MyMagic+ gets tested at Wet n’ Wild
Image: RFID-Armbands
Though Walt Disney World guests have been using MagicBands and MyMagic+ technology for several years now, what some may not remember is a technology that very closely resembles what is currently in use at Walt Disney World was first tested out at Wet ‘n Wild back in 2006. Known as GO technology, Wet ‘n Wild guests who opted to use this brand new technology could store credit card info on a waterproof bracelet that used Radio Frequency (RFID) technology in order to pay for food, souvenirs, rentals and more by scanning their bracelet. Though this technology wasn’t as intricate as what was being developed at the same time at Walt Disney World, it is certainly interesting to think that theme park wearables actually debuted more than a decade ago at a water park.
Wet ‘n Wild gets hit by a Volcano
Image: Universal
Universal continued to expand Wet ‘n Wild in the early 2010s, with the park getting a new kids’ area named Blastaway Beach in 2012 and the all-new Aqua Drag Racer slide complex in 2014. However, even though new attractions were coming in at regular intervals, plans were coming together just across the street that would eventually become this park’s undoing.
In 2015, Universal Orlando Resort announced that it would be opening its own brand new water park: Volcano Bay. This new park would have an explosive icon, several new slides, and would be constructed right across from the Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Now those with knowledge of the immediate vicinity of Universal Orlando Resort know that this location is just a block away from the existing Wet ‘n Wild park. Which presented Universal with an interesting question: did a resort with two theme parks also need two water parks? And perhaps more importantly, would the presence of the well-established Wet ‘n Wild hurt the brand new Volcano Bay? By now, you probably know how Universal answered.
Image: Universal
Just a few weeks after Volcano Bay was first announced, it was confirmed that Wet ‘n Wild would be closing forever on December 31st, 2016. This certainly came as a shock to fans of this water park, and while the aforementioned location concerns were certainly a factor, some have hypothesized that Universal may also be trying to poach some of Wet ‘n Wild’s slides in an effort to boost Volcano Bay’s early ride count during its first few years of operation. Whatever the case is, Wet ‘n Wild is counting down its final days of operation, which is sad news indeed.
The lasting legacy of the world’s first modern water park
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
Founder George Millay imagined Wet ‘n Wild as a new kind of destination for Florida tourists, and he most certainly accomplished his goal of introducing the world’s first modern water park. Throughout his life, Millay was honored for his contributions to the theme park industry. In 1994, Millay was inducted into the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) Hall of Fame, and in 2004 (only two years before he would pass away due to complications from lung cancer), the World Waterpark Association gave him their first ever Lifetime Achievement Award and named him the official “Father of the Waterpark”.
While George Millay may not have the lasting name recognition that Walt Disney has, there’s no doubt that he had almost as great an impact on the theme park industry. While Walt dreamed of a park where families could have fun in the sun, Millay solved a practical problem for Florida tourists and invented a new kind of theme park in the process that would go on to pave the way for water parks around the country like Water Country, Adventure Island, and even Walt Disney World’s Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, which would not exist if it wasn’t for Millay’s invention.
Image: Wet ‘n Wild
Though the park that started it all, Wet ‘n Wild Orlando, may be facing down its final days, this park’s historical impact will be felt for years to come, as water parks around the world owe a huge debt to both founder George Millay and the original Wet ‘n Wild.
Did you get the chance to visit Wet n’ Wild Orlando during its nearly 40 year history? What are your favorite memories of this water park? Share your stories in the comments below!
