Water Parks Make a Big Splash in NH

The indoor water park trend is sweeping through the hospitality industry. With well over 100 parks nationwide, indoor water parks are increasingly popular among lodging owners seeking to attract more families. In North Conway alone, there are two indoor water facilities one's a water park and the other is a water feature.

Chuck Randall, assistant general manager of the Red Jacket Mountain View Resort in North Conway, says that the resort's April vacation week increased from the usual 30 percent occupancy to about 95 percent occupancy this year. And he attributes this to the newly-opened $14 million, 40,000-square-foot Kahuna Laguna indoor water park.

NH's only other water facility is almost across the street from the Red Jacket at the Hampton Inn and Suites North Conway. Any water park under 15,000 square feet is considered to be a water feature; those over 50,000 square feet are called mega-parks. The Hampton Inn's water feature, which opened in 2007, is about 5,000 square feet. A third mega-park is in the works at the Manchester Marriott at the Pines Water Park and Spa in Merrimack is scheduled to open later this year. That park will be the largest in the state at 55,000 square feet.

Randall says that for many people the Red Jacket is now a destination resort and that it's the water park that attracts guests. He notes that the additional traffic also benefits the entire region, as guests are likely to patronize other businesses while in town.

And guests did just that this past April. The Muddy Moose Restaurant located near the Red Jacket had one of their busiest April vacation weeks ever. I think it was a combination of three things: first Easter was early this year; second it was a beautiful week; and the third was the business we got from the Red Jacket, says Jim Abraham, owner of the Muddy Moose Restaurant.

Regarding water usage, Randall says that other than the initial fill up, the Kahuna Laguna, which relies on town water, uses almost no water except when a backwash is necessary. During the backwash, some water is lost and it must be replaced. We recycle all of the water, says Randall, adding that they also use an ultraviolet filtration system that can purify and filter all of the water in about an hour.

He says a computer system controls the entire building, maintaining the water at 84 degrees and monitoring humidity, filtration and chemical balance. The control room, Randall says, Looks like the inside of a nuclear sub.

Water parks must also be staffed by lifeguards, and the Red Jacket uses Jeff Ellis and Associates, a firm that also lifeguards at all Disney pools and parks. To further ensure the safety of Kahuna Laguna guests, Ellis and Associates will send inspectors, unbeknownst to the resort, to test the lifeguards. Inspectors will drop mannequins or towels into the water. Lifeguards must follow the 10/20 rule, which says that a lifeguard should be able to identify anyone in trouble within 10 seconds and be able to reach that individual within 20 seconds. A towel could be just a towel or it could contain an infant. Regulations are strict and if a lifeguard fails these spot tests, certification is revoked until the lifeguard is retrained.

Kahuna Laguna was designed by local North Conway architect Michael Couture and constructed by Glen Builders, another local firm. Consultants for the project were Aquatic Development Group of Cohoes, New York, which has designed such water parks for Six Flags and Dollywood. During the process Randall says that they had frequent meetings and inspections by NH Department of Safety's Tramway and Amusement Ride Safety Bureau, which insured that the Red Jacket was in compliance with the laws and safe operating procedures for carnival, amusement ride and ski area operators in NH.