Splash Works is a

water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...

located within the park boundaries of

Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting, Taft Broadcasting Company and the Gr ...

Vaughan Vaughan ( ) (2022 population 344,412) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increa ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Entry is free with park admission. Splash Works is home to "Whitewater Bay", the largest outdoor

wave pool A wave pool is a swimming pool in which there are artificially generated, large waves, similar to those of the ocean. Wave pools are often a major feature of water parks, both indoors and outdoors, as well as some leisure centres. History Th ...

in Canada, and is today home to 16 waterslides."Canada's Wonderland, Vaughan, Ontario",

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

, May 18, 2008 Splash Works operates during the summer months of May through September.

History

First expansion: 1992

The water park opened in 1992 with and it cost the company $6 million

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

. It opened with four combo water slides: Body Blast, Whirl Winds, Pipeline and Drop Zone (later renamed Wipeout). It also included a

lazy river "(Up A) Lazy River" is a popular tune and song by Hoagy Carmichael and Sidney Arodin, published in 1930. The melody is by Arodin, arranged and with words modified by Carmichael. It is considered a jazz standard and pop standard, and has ...

and a kids area, ''Scooby Splash Islands'', with some kiddie slides and a wading pool. Of these slide towers, Whirlwinds is the only waterslide from Splash Works' opening year to still be operational.

Second expansion: 1996

The year 1996 was the single largest expansion of the water park since its opening in 1992. It saw Splash Works expand to through an expansion south of the

Mighty Canadian Minebuster The Mighty Canadian Minebuster (often shortened to Minebuster) is a wooden roller coaster located at Canada's Wonderland amusement park in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. History Mighty Canadian Minebuster was one of five roller coasters to debut at ...

, so much so, some of the track had to be reconfigured so a bridge could be built over it. It essentially created a south side to the water park. The 1996 expansion saw the creation of White Water Bay, which is still the largest outdoor wavepool in Canada, along with the Black Hole enclosed tube slide complex and Pump House, an interactive spray ground.

Third expansion: 1999

The year 1999 was the third expansion of Splash Works. It saw the creation of two new slides, Super Soaker and The Plunge. While two separate rides, they share a common loading platform tower. The 1999 expansion also saw another bridge to the south side of Splash Works (behind these two slides). In addition, these two new slides and new bridge cross over Minebuster. The Plunge is a multi-person raft straight down a slide, and the Super Soaker is twisting water slide. They both use the same tube and share the same tower.

Fourth expansion: 2002

The year 2002 expansion of Splash Works saw the addition of Riptide Racer and Barracuda Blaster. Barracuda Blaster is bowl slide, and Riptide Racer is an eight lane mat-racer slide. Barracuda Blaster took a part of the Lazy River for exiting out of the bowl and Riptide Racer also created a new waterfall for the Lazy River. Two new kiddie slides were added to Splash Island as well as an interactive water playground.

Fifth expansion: 2015

The latest expansion of Splash Works was made in 2015. Canada's Wonderland announced two new additions in 2014, Typhoon and Splash Station. Typhoon, originally known as Topsy Turvy, was relocated from Ontario Place where it never opened. It features funnels and hairpin turns. The two attractions are built in the former area of Wipeout, near Muskoka Plunge.

2017 and Onwards

In 2016, Canada's Wonderland announced the addition of Muskoka Plunge, a quadruple drop pod slide that would replace the aging Body Blast. Around January 2017, it was discovered that Muskoka Plunge would be manufactured by SplashTacular, an American company that supplied larger versions to

Six Flags New England Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–1999), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts. Opening in ...

and

Six Flags America Six Flags America is an amusement park in Woodmore, Maryland, United States,COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It opened in 2021. On 10 August, 2023, the park announced Splash Works would receive Moosehorn Falls for the 2024 season. The slide, manufactured by

WhiteWater West WhiteWater is a manufacturing company based in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada. It was established in 1980 and manufactures a variety of products for water parks including water slides and water play areas. The company also owns FlowRider, wh ...

features six-person rafts travelling down a course of small drops and turns before plummeting down a large drop into a 13-metre (42 feet) wall, leading in to the final splash pool. The name "Moosehorn Falls" is inspired by waterfalls on the Moosehorn Trail of the

Fundy National Park Fundy National Park is a national park of Canada located on the Bay of Fundy, near the village of Alma, New Brunswick. It was created on April 10, 1946 and officially opened on July 29, 1950. The park showcases a rugged coastline which rises up ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

Slides and attractions

Splash Works has removed three attractions since opening; Pipeline in 2001, Wipeout in 2004, and Body Blast in 2017.

Lakeside Lagoon

Lakeside Lagoon is a sub-area within Splash Works designed for the very youngest of children. The area opened in 1992 (alongside the rest of Splash Works) as Splash Island and opened with four slides, and it was expanded in 2002. In 2018, the name of Splash Island was changed to what it is known as today. In addition, Lakeside Lagoon doubled in size and introduced new interactive water features and children's slides alongside various aesthetic changes during this revamp, giving the area a more Canadian theme. Lakeside Lagoon includes: * Lakeside Lagoon Pool * Waterways * Lakeside Lagoon Kiddie Slides * Spray Ground

References

External links

* {{Paramount Parks Water parks in Ontario Six Flags water parks 1992 establishments in Ontario