WhiteWater Highlights Global Growth at IAAPA Expo 2025
Orlando, FL – The press conference held by WhiteWater Expo 2025 at IAAPA Expo 2025 focused on the exciting momentum within the industry, showcasing bold new projects across various venue types and innovative attractions set to debut in 2026/2027. The update from the world’s leading designer of water parks and attractions concluded with several corporate announcements.
North and South American Project Updates
With a keen focus on the Americas, WhiteWater Expo 2025 highlighted several significant projects that have opened this year while also looking forward to the upcoming year.
As part of a major expansion in 2025, Hotel Xcaret México in Playa del Carmen is inviting families to experience five new water slides featuring AquaLucent, translucent, and veil fiberglass technologies—all seamlessly integrated into this luxury resort. In Aquiraz, Brazil, Beach Park has made waves with “Surreal,” the world’s tallest water coaster—a Master Blaster + Constrictor Fusion launching from a height of 28 meters (92 feet).
Looking ahead in Brazil, “Nações,” a mega 32-meter tower with two 6-person Family Blaster fusion raft rides, is nearing completion at Thermas dos Laranjais in Olímpia. Additionally, Norwegian Cruise Line’s Great Stirrup Cay in The Bahamas will unveil the 6-acre (24,000-square-meter) Great Tides Waterpark, featuring a magnificent 170-foot (52-meter) Tidal Tower, a RainFortress 5, and a total of 19 slides.
In the USA, fans of the renowned family leisure brand, Kalahari Resorts and Conventions, are eagerly anticipating two projects. An $85-million indoor water park expansion in Wisconsin Dells will include seven kids’ slides, two Parallel Pursuits, and two 6-person family raft rides, featuring the world’s first Covered Boomerango. In Spotsylvania County, Virginia, a brand-new property will boast the state’s largest indoor water park with a diverse ride mix and a FlowRider® Double.
Beyond water parks, WhiteWater Expo 2025 is also collaborating with theme parks and zoos. At Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, the Water Rides team is providing a fresh fleet of durable composite vehicles for the guest-favourite “Daredevil Falls” Super Flume. At San Antonio Zoo in Texas, the Vantage team is launching a guest engagement platform that includes a guest app, a team app, and a configuration and reporting portal to enhance visitor satisfaction, understand behaviour, and drive sales.
Five Projects to Open in 2026 for Endless Surf
Following the fanfare opening of O2 SURFTOWN MUC in 2024 in Munich, Germany, Endless Surf’s state-of-the-art surf lagoon has demonstrated over 6,000 hours of operation since August with zero downtime, maintaining an average occupancy of 90%. This facility can host up to 15,000 people for major events, creating highly successful revenue opportunities.
With powerful pneumatic hardware and an innovative software suite, Endless Surf is set to launch five impressive projects across various venue types in 2026, showcasing its versatility in diverse business models. In Saudi Arabia, the groundbreaking water theme park Aquarabia Qiddiya City will unveil the Kingdom’s first surf pool, followed by another—an Endless Surf ES36, featuring 36 caissons—at a high-end resort on the Red Sea. In Brazil, an ES48, with 48 caissons, will anchor the members-only Brasil Surfe Clube Aretê Búzios. In Mexico, Cabo Real Surf Club will attract discerning home buyers to its private luxury community with an ES48. In Vero Beach, The Point—a standalone surf park—will become the first in Florida and home to the first Endless Surf lagoon in the United States—an ES36.
Endless Surf also announced its largest project to date—a record-breaking ES66—to be constructed at Terras de São José, a residential community in Itu, São Paulo, Brazil. This model will offer impressively long rides of 40 seconds in Single Peak mode and 20 seconds in Split Peak.
Innovative Products and Experiences
WhiteWater Expo 2025 showcased the next evolution in aquatic play: AquaAdrenaline. Set over a purpose-built pool or a repurposed existing pool, it is an unharnessed adventure course featuring irresistible agility challenges. AquaAdrenaline is designed for free exploration, allowing children to push their boundaries while promoting multi-generational play. PortAventura Caribe Aquatic Park in Tarragona, Spain, will be the first to introduce this new ride category for water parks.
Among the water slides set to debut in the coming years will be Nautilus and Hurricane. Nautilus, reminiscent of a spiraled seashell, is an oscillating slide feature that adapts to incoming slide paths and speeds, thrilling guests at Great Tides Waterpark in 2026. Hurricane is a visually impressive feature for 6-person rafts that surprises riders with a fun pool entry-like deceleration followed by strong vertical and centripetal acceleration for the exit, set to premiere in the USA in 2027.
Recognising that a great guest experience extends beyond physical slides and attractions, Vantage is providing a unified platform for guests, operations, and commerce to personalise experiences and ensure seamless interactions. With every guest account linked to multiple systems, such as ticketing, POS, gamification, and marketing, the Vantage platform will anticipate each guest’s needs, whether in water parks, theme parks, or zoos. The team highlighted the newest venue to implement Vantage, with San Antonio Zoo going live in December 2025.
“The landscape for water parks and attractions is evolving, weaving together thematic storytelling, technology, and sport to create experiences that friends and family would want to share, both in person and online,” stated Onno Meeter, President of Water Parks. “With the largest portfolio in the industry, WhiteWater Expo 2025 is well positioned to assist clients in this shift towards building multi-experience destinations.”
Partnership, Sustainability, Scholarship: Corporate Updates
Concluding the press conference, the company made three significant announcements.
WhiteWater Expo 2025 revealed a strategic partnership aimed at bringing the world’s leading water park products and services to Australia by collaborating with Swimplex in the region. This partnership combines WhiteWater’s global expertise with Swimplex’s deep local knowledge, enhancing support for developers, accelerating project delivery, and elevating aquatic experiences in this market.
WhiteWater Expo 2025 also announced that the company successfully passed its second ISO 14001 audit, adding Endless Surf to its certification scope. This international standard for environmental management systems signals to partners and clients that sustainability is integral to WhiteWater’s processes—and can be part of the process for other players in the attractions sector.
In addition to promoting sustainability across attractions, WhiteWater Expo 2025 is committed to advancing the industry and bridging the opportunity gap for underrepresented groups. The company introduced the 2026 IDEA Scholarships to attend IAAPA’s Institute for Executive Development (IXD)—one for the programme in Riyadh in April 2026 and another for Orlando in November 2026. Applications are currently open for the first programme, with details available on their website.
