Original Wildwater Kingdom Concept Art

"Plans for the project include a 50,000 square foot wave pool that will generate 2-3 foot waves, a body flume that carries riders into a splash pool, a tube ride down a 'lazy river' environ and the Rampage, an area where participants ride a rubber sled down a 45 degree slope and skip across a pool at the bottom.

Also planned are a speed slide featuring a radar mechanism gauging the speed of riders, a cable slide that allows riders to slide along a cable, let go and drop into a pool, and activity pools with water guns and revolving barrels.

Two bath houses, a picnic grove, an outdoor gym where officials plan to offer aerobic classes and two restaurants, one possibly offering health foods will be included."

That description nicely summed up the original plan to build a water park adjacent to Dorney Park, submitted for local approval in Summer 1984.  The original plan is somewhat different than what was actually built, some of the more extreme attractions were cut - including the rope drop and Rampage slides.

The speed slides, wave pool, and body slides were built as shown in the art, but many items in the center of the park were either rearranged, changed, or deleted all together.  You can make a nice comparison to the aerial of the finished product, seen above.  Wildwater Kingdom opened in 1985 and quickly became a hit - leading to to be heavily expanded upon in following years.