How to go
What: The Beach Waterpark opens for the 2014 season.
Where: 2590 Waterpark Drive, Mason — located off of I-71 at exit 25-A, 20 minutes north of downtown Cincinnati
When: May 24.
Hours: Vary. See website for details.
Winter plans: This year the park is planning some winter activities with a 8- to 10-lane tubing hill that will be opened sometime in November.
Entertainment activities planned for this summer: Include Dive In Movies and Reggae Sundays (beginning June 29). See website for complete schedule.
More info: (513) 398-SWIM (7946) or www.thebeachwaterpark.com
This year The Beach Waterpark is taking the thrills far above the park’s waves and slides.
The Soaring Eagle Zip Line, a 460-foot-long two person zip line that soars at 30 miles per hour thanks to a 600-foot drop over the Big Surf wave pool, is the major addition this year to the park. A 400-foot-long four-lane mat racer ride has also been added as a part of park upgrades totaling around $1.5 million by operator Adventure Landing.
The park, which has struggled in recent years abruptly closing prior to the 2012 season, was scooped up by Jacksonville Beach, Fla.-based Adventure Holdings LLC. It reopened for the 2013 season with $5 million in upgrades.
Vilardo and his team are hoping for more cooperation this year from the weather. More than 40 days in last year’s 109-day operating season experienced rain or cooler than normal temperatures. Attendance averaged 2,500 visitors a day.
“We had a very mild summer with a lot of rain,” said the waterpark’s general manager Ralph Vilardo Jr.
Here are some stats Vilardo sites to get excited about this season:
No. 1: The Beach is the largest stand-alone waterpark in Ohio
2,600: Tons of white sand that will greet guests
150: Live palm trees as well as lifeguards — the park’s largest labor category
2 million+: Gallons of water
1,400 feet: Length of the Kokomo Lazy River (one-fourth of a mile)
35: Number of acres in the waterpark
500: Seasonal park employees
First: Home of the first outdoor water coaster in the Midwest
$1.5 million: The cost of upgrades to the park for the 2014 season
$5 million: The cost of upgrades to the park for the 2013 season
4: Food areas—Surfside Grill, Beachcomber Café, Wave Rider Grill, Melt Away Bay
1: Bar, the Island Oasis
1985: Year the park opened
2013: Year The Beach opened under new management, Adventure Holdings, which owns and operates 18 family entertainment centers across the country including parks in Florida, North Carolina, New York and Texas.
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