Adventure Island (water park)

Adventure Island
Location	Tampa, Florida, United States
Coordinates	28°2′30″N 82°24′47″W / 28.04167°N 82.41306°W / 28.04167; -82.41306Coordinates: 28°2′30″N 82°24′47″W / 28.04167°N 82.41306°W / 28.04167; -82.41306
Owner	SeaWorld Entertainment
Opened	June 7, 1980 (1980-06-07)
Area	30 acres (12 ha)
Pools	2 pools
Water slides	10 water slides
Children's areas	3 children's areas
Website	Official Website

Adventure Island is a water park located northeast of Tampa, Florida across the street from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The park features 30 acres (12 ha) of water rides, dining, and other attractions. The park opened on June 7, 1980, and is part of SeaWorld Entertainment, a division of Blackstone Group.

Rides

• Aruba Tuba
• Calypso Coaster
• Caribbean Corkscrew
• Colossal Curl
• Everglides
• Key West Rapids
• Riptide Rush
• Runaway Rapids (5 individual slides: 2 kids - Little Squirt, Corkscrew Canal / 3 adult - River of no Return, Barracuda Run, Courageous Falls)
• Wahoo Run
• Water Moccasin's (3 enclosed tube slides)

Pools

• Endless Surf
• Fabian's Fun Port
• Paradise Lagoon
• Rambling Bayou
• Splash Attack

Defunct rides

• Tampa Typhoon: A water slide that closed in 2005.The slide opened in the late 1980s and shared a tower with Gulf Scream, a now defunct water slide(read below for info). Standing nearly 70 feet (21 m), or seven stories tall, the ride allowed patrons to see for miles around, including a view of the nearby MOSI museum.
• Gulf Scream: Built in 1980, it was the second ride to be constructed in the park. It shared its tower with (now defunct) Tampa Typhoon until 2005. It was demolished in 2014 to make way for the Park's newest ride Colossal Curl, a tube slide that opened in 2015.
• Barratuba: Built in the mid 1980's. Entrance to this ride was near the top of the hill behind the Runaway Rapids where Wahoo Run is now located. This ride was a similar experience to Calypso Coaster (using a tube to ride on) but instead was built in-ground and followed the lands natural terrain down hill. The ride finished with a short drop through a large cylinder before ending in a splash pool located immediately adjacent to the splash pool of the Runaway Rapids, approximately where the parks most eastern snack and concession stand is now located. Guests can still observe the remnants of this ride now disguised as flower bed decoration lining the exit path of Wahoo Run. The exact details of this rides fate are unclear, but many Tampa natives who are old enough to remember Barratuba and the lore behind it, believe it was closed after a law suit was filed after a patron broke a bone while riding. As stated above the ride was built in ground, and this created a very haphazard unpredictable experience which often created enough force to eject riders from their tubes. The slides surface was hard like concrete and not very forgiving.

Attractions

• Endless Surf
• Fabian's Funport
• Paradise Lagoon
• Rambling Bayou
• Spike Zone
• Splash Attack

Dining

• Surfside Cafe
• Mango Joes'
• Surfside Ice Cream
• Gulf Scream Ice Cream
• Bayou Beach Club
• Island Taco Truck
• Snack Attack

External links

• Official Website