Mini Blaster and Elevated AquaForms: WhiteWater’s New Products at IAAPA Expo Europe

At this year’s IAAPA Expo Europe in Vienna, WhiteWater unveiled two new water park products for the most important decision influencers in young families: children.

Giving them pint-sized thrills is Mini Blaster, a kid’s dream-come-true version of the classic Master Blaster, while the highly configurable Elevated AquaForms provides them with hours of exploration fun with water, even in tight footprints.

Pint-Sized Water Coaster Thrills: Mini Blaster

Often the attraction with the longest lines in a water park, Master Blaster has been a much sought-after ride for over 20 years—but only for riders 42”/107 cm and up who are brave enough to try. Mini Blaster is an age-appropriate rendition of the popular original. Now for the first time, small children 36”/90 cm and up will also get to enjoy the ride’s exhilarating uphill blasts and multiple tummy-tickling drops, reaching speeds of up to 15 mph/25 kph. Two children can ride together on an inner tube or one child can ride with an adult for a unique family experience that the little ones will rave about the entire summer.

This rare ride experience will differentiate a water park’s kids’ area from the others. It introduces small children to the exciting sensations of larger slides in preparation for graduating to the adult slides. Mini Blaster is designed with excellent sightlines for parents so they can rest easy on the sidelines AND take unobstructed photos of their cute kids laughing.

The first installation of Mini Blaster will be in 2024 as part of a new kids’ area at Schlitterbahn New Braunfels in Texas, a forward-thinking family-favourite that has won a Golden Ticket Award for Best Water Park 25 years in a row.

Raise the Fun with Elevated AquaForms

WhiteWater has taken its modular AquaForms interactive play structure and raised the stakes, literally. With Elevated AquaForms, the monopole design is raised on different levels, up to 33 feet/10 meters in height, to create a treetop canopy walk-like experience while freeing up space below. Guests, especially children, can explore the different paths and discover play elements and cause-and-effect features along the way. Through polycarbonate guardrails, they can see all the activities of the water park below while parents and lifeguards can better keep an eye out on them. Combined with a selection of thrilling body slides, kids will be thoroughly entertained inventing splashing games on the structure and finding all the features.

The freed up space on ground level has several advantages:

• It creates a feeling of spaciousness in enclosed areas and allows for better sightlines.
• It allows for more ground level play when placed over a splash pad with AquaSplash or AquaSpray toys.
• It allows for other attractions or amenities to be placed underneath, such as a lazy river.

The modularity of Elevated AquaForms means it can fit any footprint or circulation constraints, making it especially ideal for indoor environments where space is at a premium.

The first installation of Elevated AquaForms is at Island Waterpark at Showboat in Atlantic City, New Jersey, which opened in 2023. The centerpiece of the indoor water park, this sleek structure is placed above a splash pad and is surrounded by a lazy river. It provides 280 ft/85 m of total paths to explore, with 12 platforms and 55 features, including five slides and a 317-gal/1200-L tipping bucket.

Learn More About Attractions, Design, Layout of Great Kids’ Areas

Mini Blaster and Elevated AquaForms are two new products that will make any play zone in a water park stand out. To dive deeper into the design, layout, and attractions for a complete kids’ area to extend dwell times for families, join the IAAPA Education Webcast, “Don’t Underestimate Your Kids’ Area” on October 18. Register here.