Kalahari Resort & Water Park Coming to Spotsylvania County, VA in 2026

[Unagi]

I've never experienced vegas so I wouldn't know. Just big(in my opinion) for the region it's going in, although I guess it will probably serve NoVa, D.C., and possibly Baltimore.

I'd say it's massive if it was just a hotel alone but it's a destination resort with a water park so the 900 room count seems like the right size considering, as you pointed out, its proximity to the DC and Baltimore CSA. You also have to factor in Richmond's large population as it's only 40 miles north of that city. The DC area has a few massive hotels already (Gaylord National Harbor with 2000 rooms and Marriot Marquis with almost 1,200) so Kalahari's large room count wouldn't seem so unique to that region.

Also, their four other existing resorts have room counts within the 750-1000 range so this new location in Spotsylvania is inline with what they usually build.

• Wisconsin Dells - 756 rooms (May 2000 opening)
• Sandusky - 884 rooms (June 2005 opening)
• Poconos - 977 rooms (July 2015 opening)
• Round Rock - 975 rooms (November 2020 opening)
• Spotsylvania - 900 rooms (Late 2026 opening TBA).

 

[SixFlagsIssues]

I'm kinda excited for the adventure park. I might go up summer 2027 considering it's no farther than Kings Dominion.

 

[Unagi]

I'm kinda excited for the adventure park. I might go up summer 2027 considering it's no farther than Kings Dominion.

I also forgot to point out that since this resort will have a convention center, the large number of rooms it's providing is necessary to handle the volume of visitors they will need to accomodate for these events. This is why you see the massive hotels on the Vegas Strip and also at the Gaylord and Marriott Marquis in the DC area.

 

[Jonesta6]

I'm curious if the location will get as much foot traffic as anticipated given it's not that close to anything else.

I'd reckon anyone within an hour or so commute to it may choose to go visit the water park if they offer day passes, but otherwise may not spend a night there since they can relatively easily drive home.

 

[Unagi]

I'm curious if the location will get as much foot traffic as anticipated given it's not that close to anything else.

I'd reckon anyone within an hour or so commute to it may choose to go visit the water park if they offer day passes, but otherwise may not spend a night there since they can relatively easily drive home.

Their Poconos location gets a lot of traffic and it's in the middle of nowhere two hours north of Philly and two hours west of NYC.

 

[Unagi]

Indoor waterpark construction video...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Direct Link to Embedded Media Source

 

[cackylack]

I can see staying at this hotel and having that serve as home base for a weekend with their offerings as well as KD, so I think this sounds more complementary rather than competition.

 

[Unagi]

I can see staying at this hotel and having that serve as home base for a weekend with their offerings as well as KD, so I think this sounds more complementary rather than competition.

Lots of people do this at their Sandusky location as it's only 8 miles from Cedar Point.

 

[paintervision]

Lots of people do this at their Sandusky location as it's only 8 miles from Cedar Point.

Only difference is that Cedar Point does not have an included waterpark; Cedar Point Shores is a separate ticket. You can swim in Lake Erie but... I mean, I won't stop you.

It's all tourism, has strengths and weaknesses like anything. Kalahari should be a complimentary experience.

 

[Joshp1939]

Only difference is that Cedar Point does not have an included waterpark; Cedar Point Shores is a separate ticket. You can swim in Lake Erie but... I mean, I won't stop you.

It's all tourism, has strengths and weaknesses like anything. Kalahari should be a complimentary experience.

I live around 3 hours from kd and had actually planned on staying here in the winter and doing the indoor water park during the day and winterfest at night, but kd decided to take that from me.

 

[Unagi]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Direct Link to Embedded Media Source

 

[farfeather]

Kalahari is having a slide naming contest for one of their new slides.

https://www.kalahariresorts.com/virginia/name-the-slide/

 

[CoasterBroCam]

Kalahari is having a slide naming contest for one of their new slides.
View attachment 40821

https://www.kalahariresorts.com/virginia/name-the-slide/

Everyone should band together to call the slide Intimidator 305

 

[Le Moose]

Everyone should band together to call the slide Intimidator 305

I did my part.

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

Everyone should band together to call the slide Intimidator 305

 

[farfeather]

Found this image of the waterslide tower, which looks crazy.

Source

 

[mikes]

I wonder if Great wolf Williamsburg will see a substantial investment. I went last year around this time and we enjoyed our stay there. I felt like some of the slides were too short, but thankfully there wasn't a crowd.

Biggest complaint with Great wolf (I have this complaint with a lot of hotels recently) is that there was not enough lighting in the rooms. It felt like you were in a cave with the lack of lighting. Ceiling lights are okay to be installed hotel operators!

 

[Tacky3663]

I wonder if Great wolf Williamsburg will see a substantial investment. I went last year around this time and we enjoyed our stay there. I felt like some of the slides were too short, but thankfully there wasn't a crowd.

Biggest complaint with Great wolf (I have this complaint with a lot of hotels recently) is that there was not enough lighting in the rooms. It felt like you were in a cave with the lack of lighting. Ceiling lights are okay to be installed hotel operators!

I wouldn’t count on it. They don’t really like investing into their already built resorts rather than building new ones

 

[Tacky3663]

Found this image of the waterslide tower, which looks crazy.
View attachment 40848
Source

This is likely just one of several they will have

 

[TPoseOnTantrum]

This is likely just one of several they will have

To my understanding there is another, plus the master blaster and collection of kiddy slides. This one is quite dense;

Source

The Master Blaster will be exciting to see because WhiteWater West has quietly overhauled their nozzle design within the last two years or so to what they claim is a higher efficiency than the Rocketblasts. I wasn't able to take notes, photos, or grab a diagram given the nature of my meeting, but the water streams don't bounce around inside the nozzles anymore. I think the new number they gave me was around the 90% range if not higher. A lot of the newer water coasters from both them and Proslide have a tendency of losing speed and/or slowing down super noticeably on the ascents so fingers crossed this is maybe a solution on their part. I am surprised to see flat blaster sections though as operating costs will slightly increase when trying to speed up a raft on a non-ascent.