$300 Million Water Park Proposed for Garden Grove Just One Mile From Disneyland

[Dustysage]

The Orange County Register reports that a water park is being considered for a Garden Grove site near the intersection of Harbor and Garden Grove. The 10.3 acre site would include a 600-room hotel, conference and meeting space, and a 3 acre water park which would be partially enclosed.

The city has been attempting to cash in on its proximity to the Disneyland Resort for many years, with little success. A hotel/water park complex has the potential to lure theme park visitors to stay a bit further from Disneyland in exchange for the added benefits.

A project of this magnitude could help put Garden Grove on Orange County's resort map, but it's not going to be easy, said Al Lutz, editor of MiceAge.com


"If Garden Grove can get their act together, do some long-term planning, make some serious commitments and work with Disney instead of competing with them, there's a good chance this could happen," he said.
One way Garden Grove can work with Disney and Anaheim is to link to their shuttle transportation, Lutz said.

The Garden Grove City Council could vote on the project as soon as next week.

Orange County Register

[goofypirate]

Time for the annual "Garden Grove is turning itself into a west coast vacation destination to steal people away from the DLR" article. I'll believe it when I see it.

[denice25]

great info... thanks..

[ROBONICS95]

Wasn't there a rumor a few years back about a theme park opening in this same spot and being operated by the OLC?

[Dustysage]

There have been several false starts in Garden Grove, including proposals for Indian casinos. However, this project is pretty small. Just a hotel and small water park. It is just a first step in transforming the area and not a wide plan for the entire area.

[MagicWDI]

Just a 3-acre water park? I think Indiana Jones sits on more land then that. Well not exactly but 3-acres is just over the size of Flik's Fun Fair. It sounds more like a glorified pool/water slides attraction for the hotel than an actual pay-to-play water park, unless they cram a bunch of slides into one very large pool of water.

[stitchon]

Sounds like a Great Wolf Lodge-style thing to me..

[jagass]

Thanks for the info...

[migy21]

I heard that rumor 2 years ago about that big theme park operated by OLC but it never came to place. I guess it is just a propaganda.

After all how many have tried to open a theme park next to DL, but never pushed through.

[RabidAlienz]

If a competitor opens a water park, then Disney will build the long rumored one as well. Disney will not allow ANYONE to take money out of their pockets.

[JesterMn]

Isn't Knott's Soak City fairly nearby? Is it smart to build another water park so close by?

Besides Soak City, there's Raging Waters, Wild Rivers, and Hurricane Harbor also fairly local. Why one more? (And even if Wild Rivers bites the dust, there still leave three to OC/LA area.)

[Flickering Bulb]

3 acres?!? geez... that's not a water park, that's an olympic size swimming pool. indiana jones is like 2 acres.

[Dustysage]

Originally Posted by stitchon

Sounds like a Great Wolf Lodge-style thing to me..

That would be about right. Great Wolf Lodge is a hotel/indoor water park concept which would be in about that same price range.

[Ride Warrior]

Garden Grove considers $300 million water park resort | project, grove, garden, hotel, city - News - OCRegister.com

Just read an interesting OC Register article (link provided above). If approved by the Garden Grove City Council, a proposed $300 million waterpark/hotel resort will be the largest of it's kind "west of the Mississippi". Coucilmembers will meet next week. Looks like the vote will incurr unanimous approval, as the council selected a developer for the project in 2008 ..Mcwhinney, a Clorado-based company.

Plans call for a 3-acre indoor (or possibly outdoor) waterpark on a 10.3-acre site. Also on the property would be a 10-story hotel (company brand currently undetermined) with 600 rooms and a 15,000 sq. ft. meeting area. The water park hotel would be a major anchor for Garden Grove's InternationalWEST resort area close to the Harbor and Garden Grove Blvd intersection ..only one mile from the Disneyland Resort.

City Manger Matt Fertail related, "The water park is not meant to be a giant attraction where tourists spend a whole day, but an amenity to those who stay at the hotel...It's an incentive for people who come to Disneyland to stay at this hotel". Fertail is excited and upbeat over the possible venuture.

MiceChat's own Al Lutz weighed in with his thoughts when the OC Register interviewed him -

"If Garden Grove can get their act together, do some long-term planning, make some serious commitments and work with Disney instead of competing with them, there's a good chance this could happen," he said.
One way Garden Grove can work with Disney and Anaheim is to link to their shuttle transportation."

Garden Grove is looking to match the serious commitment made by the Disneyland Resort when it fought off residential housing developers that would have encroached on resort area property. My own thoughts are, that I hope this happens for a couple of important reasons.

First of all, I love waterparks. Although I'd prefer to stay at a Disneyland resort hotel, it would be easy to trek down the road a mile to enjoy the waterpark. Secondly, there's been much talk (off and on) about the strong possibility of disney building a heavily themed waterpark of it's on for the Disneyland resort. As many know, competition almost always gets Disney up off it's tokus and spurs it on into new endeavors.

[flynnibus]

$300 Million Water Park Proposed for Garden Grove Just One Mile From Disneyland