Go KAPAU at Whitewater This Summer!

White Water launched its 2014 season with an all-new drop-floor slide designed to be the biggest thrill in White Water history. The $1.7 million KaPau Plummet opened in May 2014, featuring a near-vertical plunge through two 240-foot dueling slides, followed by a spiraling loop. Those who slow their pounding hearts enough to climb atop a four-story tower and into one of two encapsulated slides—described as launch capsules—hear the countdown: 3…2…1 KAPAU! The bottom of each slide drops out, creating a rider free fall at 70 degrees, speeding at 26 feet per second into a looping 240-foot translucent waterslide before a final splashdown. Spectators watch the riders’ rocket-like plunge and see them spiral through the loops.

KaPau Plummet is the centerpiece for White Water and exceeds the thrill factor of any water ride ever built at the 13-acre tropically-themed water park in Branson, Missouri. Cory Roebuck, White Water Director of Operations, explains that ‘kapau’ is a U.S. surfer slang term meaning the next big wave or the next big thing, pronounced Ka-Pow. “KaPau Plummet offers a thrill like no other ever at White Water,” he says. “The AquaLaunch trap door builds anticipation for an incredible drop, and then the plunge will literally take your breath away.”
 

But there’s more at White Water—over a dozen rides, slides, and attractions and two million gallons of cool water fun ranging from riveting to relaxing. Thrill rides include the seven-story, six-slide Kalani Towers and raft slides such as Raging River Rapids and Ohana Falls. For a more relaxing adventure, Aloha River is an 800-foot themed river, where tube riders float the twists and turns under fountains, spraying mists, and geysers. Splashaway Cay is an interactive family attraction with slides and geysers, and Coconut Cove is a play area specially designed for smaller kids.

The popular Night Water event is bigger than ever, adding more “Dive-In” movies on Friday nights in July and August, featuring films from animated hits such as “Frozen” and “The Little Mermaid” to classic family favorites including “ET” and “Back to the Future.” Movies are shown on a 10-foot screen above the 500,000-gallon Surf’s Up Wave Pool. Guests watch and float on the cool water. Also new this year for Night Water, “Red, White & Boom!” fireworks fill the sky above the wave pool at park closing on Saturday nights. During the Night Water schedule, guests can play all day and into the night under a sky of sparkling stars. White Water is open May 17-September 7.