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Waterpark Profile
www.parkworld-online.com
It was the determination and belief of Chimelong
Group owner Su Zhigang that convinced Mahony, a
waterpark professional with 12 years’ experience of
working in Asia, to come on board. Recommended to
Chimelong by the team at Whitewater, the Australian-
born consultant is now an integral part of the
waterpark’s 1,100 staff, where he works closely with
general manager Vincent Wang.
“When I came here I was blown away because I saw
a group doing it properly,” he tells Park World. “The
amusement park, the zoo and the hotel were already
here, and they had a very hands-on owner who really
understood his market.”
Having juggled with two projects before moving to
Gunagzhou permanently in January 2007, Mahony
was prepared for the challenges – and the 15-hour
days – that lay ahead: “You have to remember that
Asia works seven days a week,” he says. “As long as
you divide it up into sections it can be done. You can
build one waterpark in four months or you can build
four waterparks in four months; it’s just four little
waterparks.” bonus. Attached to the same tower, but usually
The ride selection has already been done when attracting a shorter queue, is the Family Raft Ride,
Mahony arrived, and naturally Whitewater included featuring a bumpy “Bubba Tub” configuration.
plenty of its own product, but what’s remarkable about At the opposite end of the thrill scale is the cute Mini
the collection of attractions at Chimelong Water Park is Tornado from ProSlide, installed this season as part of
that there’s virtually no duplication; the beauty of being a kiddie area expansion. It’s a nice complement to the
able to plan a waterpark from scratch …with a fat full size Tornado elsewhere in the park, which is a firm
budget. favourite with guests and generates significant photo
“We always look to get a good balance of family sales. Finished in candy-tinted hues of pink and yellow,
with thrill of rides for young and old, of tube, mat and the Mini Tornado can be enjoyed by parents and
raft, of rivers and wave pools to slides and rides,” children together, an important consideration for this
confirms Wray. park.
Also new this season from ProSlide was the
World Firsts Behemoth Bowl, which sits to the side of the main
Mahony’s close relationship with manufacturers such entrance and acts as a beacon for the park as guests
as Whitewater enabled him to try out a few world firsts travel along Chimelong Avenue outside. Riders enjoy TOP OF PAGE: The Whizzard slide
at Chimelong. The Family B.oomerango, for example, both this and the Tornado on ProSlide’s four-person complex ABOVE: General
is a multi person ride and one of the park’s most cloverleaf tubes although, in keeping with the variety consultant Alan Mahony BELOW:
dramatic attractions. Up to six riders sit inside a round offered across the park in general, no two tubes the The Tornado slide (left) and Family
raft and begin their descent along a twisting slide that same are used on any other rides. Boomerango
shoots them out up a giant wall, before pausing for a Those other rides – all by Whitewater – include a
split second of weightlessness and straight back down. 22-metre-long Master Blaster water coaster, three
Towards the end of the ride, before they slide into the high-speed slides, three innertube slides and The
splash pool, a transition hump adds an unexpected Whizzard, an eight-lane mat racer complex. The
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