Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe

Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe
Slogan	Millions of Gallons of Fun!
Location	Greensboro, North Carolina, United States
Coordinates	36°0′27″N 79°50′25″W / 36.00750°N 79.84028°W / 36.00750; -79.84028Coordinates: 36°0′27″N 79°50′25″W / 36.00750°N 79.84028°W / 36.00750; -79.84028
Owner	Parques Reunidos
Opened	1984
Previous names	Aqua Gardens, Water Country USA, Emerald Pointe Water Park
Operating season	Memorial Day - Labor Day
Area	40 acres (160,000 m2)
Water slides	36 water slides
Website	www.emeraldpointe.com

Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe (often simply referred to as Wet 'n Wild or Emerald Pointe) is a water park located in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Wet 'n Wild chain of water parks. It is the 12th largest water park in the United States using over 3 million US gallons (11,000 m³) of water. There are 36 rides including Daredevil Drop, one of the nation's tallest water slides, and family rides such as Tropical Drop.^[1] The park also features two heavily themed family sections known as Splash Island, and Happy Harbor. Emerald Pointe is also the largest water park in both of the Carolinas. According to Amusement Business magazine, Emerald Pointe boasts the tenth highest annual attendance among American water parks at nearly 500,000 visitors^[2] The park is located on Holden Road just off Interstate 85 Business (North Carolina) in southern Greensboro. Major competitors are Carowinds' Carolina Harbor in Charlotte, North Carolina and Dollywood's Splash Waterpark in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

History

The park opened in 1984, briefly named Aqua Gardens. Through much of the 1980s it was called Water Country USA until it eventually was renamed Emerald Pointe. Wet 'n Wild purchased it and renamed it Wet'n Wild Emerald Pointe.

Lifeguards

The lifeguards at Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe are among some of the highest trained professionals. The guards are licensed by Jeff Ellis & Associates, an aquatics consultant company and the guards go through four hours of in service training each month to maintain their skills. Other safety procedures include in house audits performed by Wet 'n Wild Emerald Pointe as well as unannounced, random audits performed by E&A themselves. An audit can consist of OMD's (Operational Mannequin Drop's) where a lifelike mannequin is dropped into a guard's zone of protection and the lifeguard has 10 seconds to respond, or the audit is failed. VAT (Vigilance Awareness Training) Drops, are similar to an OMD, but consist of using a silhouette or other foreign object that is placed into a guard's zone of protection. Guards are also subject to hidden camera audits both by Wet 'n Wild and Ellis & Associates. The lifeguards are audited and responsible to be test-ready daily, and guests may encounter this highly effective means of training while visiting. This training has been so effective, that Wet 'n Wild has maintained zero drownings while it has been in operation.

Rides and attractions

Current attractions

Former attractions

See also

• Wet 'n Wild (brand)
• Wet 'n Wild Orlando

References

External links

• Official website