Nick Guevel was a beach kid. Growing up in California, he says he always lived around water. But he never experienced the endless summer entertainment of a Midwestern swimming pool.
Now he knows all about it.
FAQ
White Water
WHEN — Saturday through Sept. 5; new this year, White Water adds 9 more days of Night Water, when the park stays open until 10 p.m. all Saturdays in July and daily July 31-Aug. 7
WHERE — Branson, Mo.
COST — Season passes are $85 for ages 4-11; $95 for adults; single-day tickets for kids are $20 all season
INFO — bransonwhitewater.c…
Guevel is operations manager for White Water, the 13-acre, Herschend Entertainment-owned water park in Branson, Mo. He's taken the dive on the KaPau Plummet, floated the Aloha River and watched his children, Uriah, 5, and Penelope, 2, grow up in the water.
"They don't understand why I get to work at a place they love so much," he says with a laugh. But of course wife Shayla brings the kids almost daily; a season pass is a perk of employment.
"Watching my son progressing from the kiddie area to the middle areas and aspiring for the slides is just so amazing," Guevel says. "The relationship he has with that park, those milestones, will be part of his memory forever."
It's no surprise, Guevel adds, that White Water is a "big season pass park."
"That way, you can come for two or three hours and not feel like you've got to do everything in one day."
It might seem like that wouldn't be a challenge -- there's fewer than a dozen attractions -- but Guevel promises there's plenty to stay busy all summer long.
"We call it mild to wild," he says, talking about the range of experiences that runs from the Kalani Towers -- seven stories, six slides, with two 300-foot drop slides and four additional 312-foot slides for lane racing -- to Coconut Cove, a play area specially designed for smaller kids. "That's the beauty of what we've tried to do. We look at attractions for the whole family -- and we've even focused on more restrooms and more guest conveniences, especially for moms.
"For the most part, [our guests] are families, but we're definitely going to have some thrill seekers."
The biggest thrill is also the latest addition to the park. Opened in 2014, the KaPao Plummet is described as "breath-taking," "heart-pumping" and "exceeding the thrills of any water ride ever built at White Water." Guevel says yes, he's experienced it and admits it's not for the faint of heart.
After a four-story climb -- because what comes down must first go up -- each rider steps into a vertical capsule, a clear door closes, and below his feet is the 245-foot enclosed slide down which he's about to travel.
"You hear, '3-2-1 KaPao,'" Guevel says, and then the bottom of each slide drops out, creating a rider free fall for two stories, speeding at 26 feet per second into a looping translucent waterslide before final splashdown. "It's a 70 degree angle, but it sure looks like straight down," he adds.
There's also the middle ground, so to speak, of the Pipeline Plunge; the family fun of Ohana Falls, a raft adventure; the Kalani Towers drop slide -- just a 75-foot drop; the 800-foot themed Aloha River, where tube riders float the twists and turns under fountains, misters and geysers; and the Surf's Up wave pool, 500,000 gallons of fun for floating, swimming and playing.
The wave pool was actually one of the first attractions at White Water, which opened in 1980 with cabanas and a beach feel. That's expanded over the years to include adventure, but Guevel promises the family feeling is still his first goal.
"One of the best things about Herschend Entertainment is to be part of that relationship with our guests," he says, "to tell the stories behind the rides and to provide a depth of experience."
No pun intended.
NAN What's Up on 05/27/2016