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Yeah, Sand Dune Lagoon is really small. I'm curious to see how exactly these attractions will be situated on the site...
 
I know Facebook comments are garbage but I do see a lot of people making remarks like "Kings Dominion is going downhill removing rides left and ride and adding nothing!" Also I've seen a lot of people just see Twisted Timbers as like a "recycled rehashed Hurler." Obviously completely unaware it's now one of the best attractions in the park. So when they look at the years since I305 they see: Volcano gone, Shockwave gone (and in their eyes replaced by a carnival ride that has bad publicity lately as dumb as that is), Tornado gone, Big Wave Bay gone, Hurler gone, then Planet Snoopy expansions, minor water park expansions delirium and Twisted Timbers.

I even did like a "comparison" between us and Carowinds since the 2014 up to 2020. Carowinds has added 10 rides that I as an adult would consider riding (this is including all 4 flats of county fair), while Kings Dominion has added........3 (considering a slide tower as 1 "ride") I will also acknowledge I did not take into account how many rides each park took out. Meanwhile BGW has added 4 coasters, Finnegan's Flyer, and Battle for Eire (I know) with ANOTHER coaster likely in 2021-2022.
 
I think the 3,000 sq. ft is referring to the tiny kid wave pool...that is part of the whole new addition. Worded poorly but it says "the little ones can find their own piece of paradise AT....”. Looking at the rendering, the whole addition is obviously bigger.

I can see why people are frowning about about KD losing rides. But, I still believe that the loss of Volcano was not anticipated to happen as quickly as it did. And it may be (I'm not too educated on this) you can't just go out and get an off the shelf roller coaster as you can a water attraction (re: clone at Dorney). I'm sure they'll bounce back in '21.

I agree with @warfelg ...Dorney clone.
 
Actually I kind of disagree on that. As bad and over hyped as Planet Snoopy was at least most of those rides were new to the park. This looks largely to be a clone of the Splash house right next to it unless I am missing something. I don't usually make more then on visit to Soak City a year so I have to ask is that so busy that we have crowding issues that require a second one?

The new attraction is actually replacing Splash House. As it is now, Splash House is basically falling apart- broken effects and closed walkways everywhere, and entire portions of the structure often go down due to mechanical issues. It’s also far too small to accommodate the crowds it gets, even on lower attendance days. I wish the new splash house weren't the only new addition for next year, but on its own, it’s a much-needed replacement.
 
OK, now I'm confused and concerned. When I saw the concept art for Sand Dune Lagoon I thought it looked quite small compared to Big Wave Bay, but didn't think anything of it because cartoon concept art like that is never to scale. Then I just read the Sand Dune Lagoon description again:


New area coming in 2020

3,000 square feet? That's the size of a medium-large suburban home, not a wave pool the size of Big Wave Bay. I then measured Big Wave Bay myself on Google Earth to find it's approximately 30,000 square feet (see photo below). So either they are shrinking the size of the wave pool by 90% for Sand Dune Lagoon similar to the size represented in the concept art (and because of staffing issues) OR they simply forgot a 0 (zero) in their Sand Dune Lagoon description (3,000 ≠ 30,000 sf) and it's going to take up the entire former Big Wave Bay.

View attachment 17462
I think the new play structure and the kiddie wave pool are going in Big Wave Bay's spot. I wonder if the new restaurant will go where the current splash house is now. Some of the other CF parks have gotten a fairly large restaurant addition in their water park over the last 3-4 years.

I could see the restaurant facing the fountain circular pad, with ample seating (inside and outdoor patio). Personally, I don't think there is enough seating for dining in Soak City as it is.
 
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^ I understand that, but I don't think a lot of people who have heard this announcement do. I believe many are thinking they are replacing Splash House with Lighthouse Landing and just transforming the existing 30,000 sf Big Wave Bay into Sand Dune Lagoon by changing the wave settings to mild 1 ft waves and adding the children interactive elements/figures in the shallow end.
 
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This addition seems fine in itself. The park did need a splash pad upgrade. But in the context of their so called master plan, it's a symptom of CF's reluctancy to invest in it.

Kings Dominion has been mega cursed this decade (post I305). The only worthy additions they've gotten are Twisted Timbers, a slide complex, and arguably Delirium. This is while removing not only several attractions, but the park's icon. BGW down the road is expanding extensively meanwhile, and it's hard to see why anyone would travel up to KD for more than like a day or two for I305/TwT. This is exactly why I am so vehemently against a simple flat ride package on the ruins of Volcano. It does nothing to push the needle for a park that desperately needs it in a competitive market.
 
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Btw Hersheypark has a mini-wave pool in their Boardwalk, its extremely popular with guests.

Big Wave used to require 12 guards at all times, so it's easier to cut that down to what might be 8 or 9 and spread them out over s few attractions. Aka more rides open, easier staffing thresholds.
 
I think the mini wave pool will probably be similar to the wave pool at Sesame place. They have a small wave pool that is probably 2 or 2.5 feet deep at his tallest point but kids love it.
 
If you think about it, by getting rid of big wave bay, this allows the park to reconfigure the area and open up the land around the old wave pool for future development. Big Wave Bay was a very wide wave pool and it cut off much of the land around it.

Now, the new configuration gives them open access to the surrounding land and to the GP for future water attractions. I would think any future expansions will go around what will be coming in 2020. Hopefully, it won't take another 4-5 years for that to happen (Maybe 2-3 years?).

I my future wish list includes the following:
  • Mat Racer of some type
  • Wave River - (Capacity Hog Attraction of some type)
  • Water Coaster
 
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Has there been much confirmation on where exactly this is going?

And there's a specific reason I ask....if this is going where BWB used to be, this could be an expansion for SC....but not in the direction you think. Lets say this gives you the ability to get rid of Soak House, along with Lil Barefoot Beach. That area where those were, plus the triangulated area to the current changing station to Racer, to TT....is the same size as the isolated Soak City on the other side of Racer. I know this becomes very concept-y/hoping.

But the size of Coconut Shores is a lot bigger than Sand Dune Lagoon....but they don't list the actual size. Based on those renderings it's at least 3x the size of SDL. Plus you got space between them and you need chairs and areas to sit around it. I wouldn't be shocked if this takes up the ENTIRE area BWB used to sit in and continues to 'block' the area down there. And frankly, the park shouldn't want to expand there.

I'm going to finish this thought in the concepts think tank and link it here when I'm done.
https://parkfans.net/threads/concepts-think-tank.2850/post-201741
 
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I am just going by what I can see in the artist renderings. They show pathways/seating areas all around the two new attractions (360 degrees). My guess is that KD will have the BWB area leveled out. No deep end nor the raised grassy embankments on either side (they will probably use some of the embankment dirt for filling in the deep end of BWB).

If the BWB land is leveled for 2020, there could be a circular or semi-circular path around the new 2020 attractions leaving the GP potential access to future water attractions. So I don't think the surrounding land will be as cut off as it is now with BWB.
 
I actually had no idea that KD had a 2nd wave pool until they announced it was closing. I completely missed that part of the water park. I'm going to take a different view on this addition and say that it seems pretty good for what it is. The kids wave pool is a great idea for families with young kids. Young kid will absolutely love that. And I think anybody can enjoy one of those splash zone type things on a really hot day. I know I do. Huge dumping bucket is a win. So, no it's not for me, but I think it's a good thing for them to do.

That does not mean I wouldn't have liked to have seen a water coaster or two....

I'd 100% pass on a mat racer, for the reason I noted in the Carowinds post.
 
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Here's the Richmond paper story. It includes a rendering of "Sand Dune Lagoon", a 24-inch-deep mini-wave pool where little swimmers can cool down with 1-foot-tall waves. Also a little more detail about the new food offerings.

 
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