Shipwreck Island

TAKING THE PLUNGE

Shipwreck Island Waterpark ushers in improvements

BY HANNAH BURKE

BUDDY WILKES, general manager of Shipwreck Island Waterpark in Panama City Beach, can recall a time when waterslides were a novelty. Early American prototypes, he said, began popping up around KOA campgrounds and RV parks in the early ’70s, when some unsophisticated pioneers discovered if you dig a pond, embed some concrete troughs in a dirt mound, and get a hose going, you could have yourself a time.

One Panama City Beach resident, James Lark, was fascinated. Already, he had built a 2,000-foot rollercoaster amid the sand dunes along Front Beach Road, an attraction that established the Miracle Strip Amusement Park in 1963.

People thought he was crazy, recalled Wilkes, so it came as no surprise when Lark announced he was going to tear up his property to build his own hydro ride.

“He dug a pond, built up a mound, and made a mountain that would hold the Zoom Flume,” said Wilkes, who has been a part of the Miracle Strip-Shipwreck Island Corporation since the year the slide opened in 1976. “Back then, I think people paid a dollar or two for a 30-second ride where they’d grab their mats and take turns racing down.”

Today, the three towering, snaking lanes of the Zoom Flume still stand but are nowhere near the main attraction of the now 15-acre waterpark. Unlike the now-defunct Miracle Strip Amusement Park, Shipwreck, boasting around a dozen attractions, has only improved with age.

Shipwreck hit a record year in 2021. More people are buying season passes, and as of 2022, Shipwreck converted from a weekend operating schedule to opening every day from May 27 to August 7.

For Wilkes, much of that success is attributed to the era of Will Lark, grandson of James Lark, and the park’s current owner.

“Today, Shipwreck looks better than it ever has,” Wilkes said. “Will is here every day. He has spent millions of dollars on park infrastructure alone. We have a very expensive chemical bill now because Will wants our water to be the clearest and bluest of any waterpark in the country. His past 10 years here have been all about improvement.”

The latest project is the addition of Lighthouse Cove, an aquatic playground that will extend from the existing Tadpole Hole kiddie pool and accommodate elementary-aged guests with multiple slides, tipping buckets and climbable nets.

Parents, added Wilkes, will also enjoy the play zone’s expanded seating area, a move he believes will “make people more comfortable.” Construction of Lighthouse Cove was delayed in 2022 due to nationwide shipping delays, but will likely see its debut in the spring of 2023.

“My goal has been to make this park a place I’d like to take my own wife and kids if we were vacationing here,” said Will Lark. “From the food we serve to the cleanliness to especially employee hospitality. We love being able to employ local kids here and teaching them lifesaving techniques, work ethic and responsibility and watching them move on to bigger things. Some of them are now season pass holders bringing their own kids.”

A true family destination, Shipwreck caters to all members of the household. Thrill-seekers especially favor the Tree Top Drop, a 65-foot free fall down either an open drop slide or a spiraling tube flume. The tamer Lickity Split and Pirate’s Race slides, found within the Skull Island family activity pool, suit smaller

Aerial photo demonstrates the proximity of Shipwreck Island Waterpark to the Gulf of Mexico. Many were dubious when James Lark committed to building the attraction. Given its location, Lark, himself, doubted whether a wave pool was a good idea when it was suggested by Shipwreck general manager Buddy Wilkes.

Skull Island is a family activity pool with a kiddy slide called Lickity Split and a family racing slide called the Pirate’s Plunge. Skull Island also features a fort with a gigantic tipping bucket that unloads 700 gallons of water on awaiting guests every three or four minutes. Right: The Lazy River meanders for over 2,000 feet while providing Shipwreck Waterpark’s most relaxing aquatic encounter.

visitors. Meanwhile, the whole family can fit inside the tubes that twirl down the 660-footlong White Knuckle River.

But Lark, who was just 10 years old when the park opened, is biased toward the classics. “I was a customer back then, for sure,” he said. “I’d have my birthday parties here and loved the Raging Rapids, the lazy river — oh, and the wave pool.”

On that note, Wilkes laughs. There’s a story he likes to tell about Shipwreck’s 500,000-gallon Ocean Motion Wave Pool, an attraction we now know to be a staple of any bona fide waterpark.

When Wet n’ Wild, the country’s first official waterpark, opened in Orlando in 1977, Wilkes decided to pay it a visit and gain intel. He was most excited to report back about the massive pool, which generated a steady stream of artificial waves.

Selling it, he said, took some convincing.

“Let me get this straight,” inquired a befuddled James Lark. “For a million dollars,

The Ocean Motion Wave Pool contains 500,000 gallons of clear, clean, cool, water and generates perfect, three-foot waves every 10 minutes. Right: Raging Rapids was built on the open space along the backside of the Zoom Flume hill. The “Rapids,” as it is affectionately referred to by park-goers, is a whitewater inner tube ride with a breathtaking start and finish and is unique to Shipwreck.

you want to build a pool that makes a three-foot-wave?”

“Yes, sir,” nodded Wilkes.

“By the Gulf of Mexico, where people can play in the waves for free?”

“Yes, sir.”

“You’ve got to be out of your mind.”

Undeterred, Wilkes raised a brow. “Mr. Lark, what did they say to you when you wanted to build a rollercoaster on the beach?”

For a beat, Lark was silent. Then, “Fair enough,” he said. “We’ll talk about it.”