Those given to reading signs as they crawl along the expressways would be correct in thinking there has been a steady increase in the number of water parks.
“It’s bigger every year,” says Rick Last, president of Downers Grove-based Express Construction, which has worked as general contractor on large-scale water parks for 19 years. “The quantity of jobs is bigger, the quality of the parks is better, the number of parks is greater. But there is not a major water park in the Chicago area. We’re overdue.”
That may be, but there are plenty of options.
“The current attitude is, everybody needs one,” says Ron Atlas, president of Paragon Aquatech Ltd., which has built or worked on more than 30 water parks and facilities in the Chicago area. “If you try to pass a bond issue for a new school, you can’t get it done, but water parks are a different matter.”
Citing aquatic facilities’ replacement of older, less financially viable swimming pools, Atlas adds, “Water parks have become the savior of the park district industry. Now that they put in water parks, they are over capacity and people have to wait in line.”
A couple of dozen family aquatic centers have opened in the Chicago area since the mid-1980s, so if you can’t find a place to cool off the kids, you really haven’t been looking.
Here are some of the bigger water parks in the area. Call parks to confirm hours and opening dates before visiting.
Deep River Waterpark
Merrillville, Ind.
Coolest attraction: The 45-foot-tall Storm is a complex of three enclosed tube rides. Though each has a different length, speed and route, all are completely dark inside. Opens May 26.
Park volume in gallons: about 1 million
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 49
Splashdown: 9001 E. U.S. Highway 30, Merrillville, Ind. 800-928-7275
Family Aquatic Center
Palatine
Coolest attraction: Two 180-foot-long slides: One speeds riders around one curve, and the other allows them to descend more slowly through multiple curves. Opens May 27.
Park volume in gallons: 265,000
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 28
Splashdown: 340 E. Palatine Rd., Palatine
847-705-5123, x332, before May 27, then 847-991-1700
Moran Water Park
Lombard
Coolest attraction: Two flume water slides, 210 feet long, four stories tall, that take differing corkscrew paths to the 3-foot pool at bottom. Because the family-oriented Moran Park is situated in a long-standing park environment, it has less concrete and more shade and grass than many newer water parks. Opens May 27.
Park volume in gallons: 470,000
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 21
Splashdown: 433 E. St. Charles Rd., Lombard
630-627-6127
Mystic Waters Family Aquatic Center
Des Plaines
Coolest attraction: The two Otter’s Run water slides rise 35 feet above pool level and provide 600 combined feet of “water-sliding excitement” into a 3 1/2-foot pool. Opens June 3.
Park volume in gallons: 519,045
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 18
Splashdown: 2025 Miner St., Des Plaines
630-415-2470
Racing Rapids Action Park
East Dundee
Coolest attraction: The two Slidewinder water slides, 40 feet tall and 400 feet long. Riders board sliding mats and either embark through a waterfall or are swept away by a mini-flash flood. You’ll hit speeds of up to 30 miles per hour before you splash into the 4-foot pool at the bottom. Opens June 10.
Park volume in gallons: More than 400,000
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 37
Splashdown: Rtes. 25 and 72, East Dundee
847-426-5525
Rainbow Falls Water Park
Elk Grove Village
Coolest attraction: The three-story Funhouse, half old-time carnival fun house and half interactive water technology, is the newest attraction in the park. Seventy-two water “gags” or toys will soak you when you least expect it, and a 2,500-gallon water bucket stands 32 feet above ground, dunking those below every few minutes. Opens June 3.
Park volume in gallons: 365,000
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 22
Splashdown: 100 Lions Drive, Elk Grove Village
847-228-2860
Seafari Springs
Hanover Park
Coolest attraction: Seafari Springs claims more water slides than neighboring parks. Water worshipers climb the stairs of the two-story slide tower, then choose one of three slides: a 200-foot tube slide; a 130-foot body slide; or a speed slide 61 feet long that takes all of three seconds to slip down before splashing into the plunge pool. Opens May 27.
Park volume in gallons: 330,000
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 29
Splashdown: 1700 Greenbrook Blvd., Hanover Park
630-830-0300
Splash Country Water Park
Aurora
Coolest attraction: The 1,100-foot Lazy River inner-tube ride. During the 10 minutes it takes to drift the route, you can go under, over or avoid a variety of dumping water buckets, frothing water and fountains. Opens May 27.
Park volume in gallons: 500,000
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 46
Splashdown: 195 S. Barnes Rd., Aurora
630-906-7981
Splash Down Dunes Water Park
Porter, Ind.
Coolest attraction: Powered by eleven 40-horsepower motors, inner tubers are propelled on a curvy, 15-minute ride around the Lazy River. This hourglass-shaped waterway, which is 1,200 feet long and 10 feet wide, passes under another new attraction, the elaborate, indoor Kiddie Playland. Opens May 28.
Park volume in gallons: 1,300,000
Miles from North Avenue Beach: 51
Splashdown: 150 East U.S. Hwy. 20, Porter, Ind.
219-929-1181
