Loop 034 printable

Volume 2, No. 10. June 14, 2002

A winter summerland
Operations at Water World in Federal Heights, Colorado, are threatened one way or another by drought conditions brought on by lack of snow, but it was a snowstorm that almost kept the waterpark from opening in the first place this year.

On May 24, the Denver area was blanketed by a snowstorm bad enough to close offices throughout the metroplex. Water World had already prepped its facilities in anticipation of opening for the summer season the next day.

“It’s the first time we’ve ever had a snowstorm the day before we opened,” said General Manager Steve Loose. “We had the rides running, and the steam coming off those rides was so thick you couldn’t even see through it. And that, with the snow still coming down, was quite a sight to see.”

He was most concerned about the temperature dropping in the pools as the thermometer dipped close to 30 degrees Fahrenheit (0 Celsius) that night. He also kept a wary eye on tent-like awnings already erected over the ticket plaza. “I had to come up on an alarm call in the middle of the night, and it was snowing really heavily," Loose said. "Those tents were drooping down to the roof of the ticket windows. I was praying they wouldn’t rip, but they held up.” The only damage the park recorded was to synthetic palm trees with fronds that went limp from the weight of the wet snow.

Even with the snowstorm, however, Water World opened the next day on time. And why not? The day was sunny with a high of 75 degrees Fahrenheit (24 Celsius).