Diving into waterpark growth trends in 2019
For the ever-growing waterpark industry, 2019 will be another year for robust growth as over $1 billion in investment is slated for indoor and outdoor waterparks and their related resorts. We project 21 municipal and private outdoor waterparks will open and three resorts will add or expand outdoor waterparks. The indoor segment will total 629,200 square feet of new waterpark space in 12 properties.
Three of this year's most anticipated and expensive new waterparks are all indoor facilities. They include the 225,000-square-foot DreamWorks Waterpark at American Dream Mall in Rutherford, New Jersey; the 350-room Great Wolf Lodge with an 85,000-square-foot indoor waterpark in Scottsdale, Arizona; and the 324-room Kartrite Resort with an 80,000-square-foot indoor waterpark in Monticello, New York.
2019 WATERPARK STANDINGS FOR U.S. AND CANADA
As of March 2019, the United States and Canada had a total of 1,158 waterparks. Thirty-three waterparks opened in 2018. Most of these openings were in the standalone outdoor segment, with three new private facilities and 16 new municipal facilities. Eleven openings contributed to the indoor supply, and three resorts opened new outdoor waterparks. Changes in our counts are driven not just by openings, but also by closings, expansions, and discovery of established parks not previously identified.
The following table identifies, by region, the current supply of waterparks.
