The waterpark industry continues to demonstrate resilience and steady expansion across the United States and Canada. Based on the national supply and performance data, as well as the feasibility studies Hotel & Leisure Advisors (H&LA) has completed over the past year for both existing and proposed indoor and outdoor waterpark properties, we see sustained developer interest, strategic expansions by established operators, and growing diversification into surf parks, lagoons, and hot springs concepts. While visitation patterns have normalized in some markets following the post-pandemic surge, investment activity and long-term development pipelines remain active. The following analysis aligns industry data with the real-world insights we are observing through our feasibility work, providing a comprehensive snapshot of where the industry stands today and where it is headed in 2026.

CURRENT WATERPARK STANDINGS FOR THE U.S. AND CANADA

As of February 2026, the United States and Canada had a total of 1,266 waterparks. Twenty-two of these properties opened in 2025, while four properties closed. Half of these openings were municipal outdoor properties. Six new resorts with outdoor waterparks, two new indoor waterpark resorts, and three new standalone indoor waterparks also opened.

The following bullets break down the numbers regionally for all waterparks in the U.S. and Canada:

• The Midwest and South are home to the most waterparks, with 449 and 423, respectively.

• The Midwest and South are home to the most outdoor waterparks, with over 300 each, while Canada, at 33, has fewer than any U.S. region. Outdoor waterparks in the South typically have slightly longer operating seasons than those in the Northeast and Midwest due to more favorable weather conditions.
• The Midwest holds more than half of all U.S. and Canadian indoor waterpark resorts with 84 of the segment’s 154 properties.
• The West leads in standalone indoor waterparks with 54, primarily due to the large number of municipal/non-profit indoor aquatic facilities with waterparks in Colorado and Utah.
• The South leads in resorts with outdoor waterparks with 68.
• Indoor waterparks account for just over half of the Canadian market with 40 indoor waterpark resorts and standalone facilities. Canada has 33 outdoor waterparks and only four resorts with outdoor waterparks.
• Of all hotels with indoor and outdoor waterparks, 49% are affiliated with national hotel franchises while 51% are independent.
• Of all standalone indoor and outdoor waterparks, 28% are private/for-profit while 72% are municipal/non-profit.

The following chart shows the breakdown of waterpark properties by type among the 1,266 waterparks in existence.

REVIEW OF 2025 NEW OPENINGS AND EXPANSIONS IN THE U.S. AND CANADA

Indoor Waterparks: A significant year-over-year increase in waterpark space occurred in 2025 with 463,500 square feet added. However, the 953 new rooms added in 2025 fell short of the 1,384 added in 2024. Great Wolf Resorts opened its Mashantucket, Connecticut, resort at Foxwoods Resort Casino, marking the third consecutive year in which the company debuted a new property. The $300 million resort features 549 rooms and a 92,000-square-foot waterpark. The Chickasaw Nation opened the $400 million OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, adjacent to the First Americans Museum. OKANA features 404 rooms, a 100,000-square-foot waterpark, 4.5-acre outdoor lagoon, spa, dining, amphitheater, and conference center.

Outdoor Waterparks: Growth in the outdoor segment continued in 2025 with 11 new waterparks, all of which were municipal. Although there were no new private outdoor waterparks in 2025, many established parks invested in expansions and renovations. Under new ownership, Big Surf Waterpark in Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri, was renamed SuperSplash USA and added $3 million in new attractions, including a slide, water playground, and cabanas. Soak City at King’s Island in Mason, Ohio, added a dual-racing water coaster and expanded its Splash River Junction area with seven new slides and a reimagined Bluegill Lagoon.

Resorts with Outdoor Waterparks: Three new outdoor waterpark resorts and two new RV/camp resorts reopened in 2025. Notable additions include the 1,600-room Gaylord Pacific Resort in Chula Vista, California, and the 525-room Villatel Orlando Resort in Orlando, Florida. South Seas Resort in Captiva Island, Florida, joined this segment with its new Bottlenose Bay waterpark.

All U.S. Openings: The following map highlights the locations of the 2025 indoor and outdoor waterpark openings in the U.S., inclusive of resorts and standalone properties. It excludes expansions.

Closures: Four waterparks closed in 2025, all privately owned and in the outdoor segment. The most notable closure was Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags America in Bowie, Maryland. This is the first of multiple properties that Six Flags Entertainment may close as it targets underperforming parks for redevelopment.

PROJECTIONS FOR 2026 NEW OPENINGS AND EXPANSIONS IN THE U.S. AND CANADA

We are currently tracking 28 potential openings in the U.S. and four in Canada. We also anticipate the expansion of 12 existing facilities. Regionally, the South leads with 14 projected openings, followed by the Midwest with eight, and the West with six. At present, there are no anticipated openings in the Northeast. The following map highlights the locations of these U.S. properties. It excludes expansions.

Indoor Waterparks: We project 564,500 square feet of new indoor waterpark space in 2026, which will surpass 2024’s 463,500 square feet. New indoor waterpark resorts and expansions will add 935 new rooms, falling just short of the 953 room additions in 2025. The most significant additions in this segment are:

• Kalahari Resorts will open its Spotsylvania, Virginia, property by year-end 2026 with 175,000 square feet of indoor waterpark space, 900 suites, a 156,000-square-foot convention center, and 90,000-square-foot family entertainment center. It will be the fifth Kalahari resort.
• Kalahari will also debut a $50 million expansion at its Wisconsin Dells resort with 28 new Tree Houses and Lakeside Cabins and a 75,000-square-foot glass-enclosed waterpark addition with a retractable roof.

Outdoor Waterparks: Growth in the outdoor segment will continue with 17 new standalone waterparks anticipated, and many existing waterparks investing in modest to large expansions in 2026. Highlights include the following:

• A new $7.2 million waterpark is under construction at Kemah Boardwalk, a gulf-coast theme park in Kemah, Texas. The expansion features a new deck with waterslides and a pool and is expected to open in mid-August.
• The city of Chico, California, will debut its new $30 million CARD Aquatic Center in the fall. This extensive municipal facility offers amenities including multiple water slides, a lazy river, and leisure and lap pools.

Resorts with Outdoor Waterparks: We currently anticipate four openings or expansions in this segment for 2026. A noteworthy addition is Camp Margaritaville Resort Orange Lake in Citra, Florida, which will feature 430 RV sites, vacation cottages, and Fins Up Falls waterpark.

INDOOR WATERPARK VISITATION TRENDS

To better understand current market dynamics, we analyzed monthly and historical visitation patterns for 13 leading indoor waterparks across the United States utilizing data from Placer.ai. Placer.ai utilizes cell phone tracking software to determine the visitation and number of visits to a predefined target area. Such tracking does not provide exact attendance to a destination but does offer a representation of the number of visitors. Twelve of these properties are resorts, while one is standalone. They represent a combined total of more than 1.9 million square feet of indoor waterpark space. The accompanying charts illustrate both seasonality and multi-year performance trends across this segment.

Indoor waterpark resort demand closely tracks with school calendars and traditional vacation periods. Visitation peaks during the summer months, with secondary surges occurring around spring break and winter holiday periods. This pattern reinforces the role of indoor waterpark resorts as short-stay, family-oriented destinations that benefit from predictable calendar-driven demand.

The year-over-year comparison chart highlights the industry’s post-pandemic recovery. From 2021 through 2023, visitation increased meaningfully as pent-up leisure demand, stimulus savings, and a preference for drive-to destinations supported strong attendance. However, the data reflects modest declines in 2024 and 2025. While still above pre-pandemic benchmarks in many cases, this softening suggests a normalization of demand rather than a structural decline.

Overall, the indoor segment remains resilient, though it is clearly transitioning from recovery-driven growth to a more stabilized operating environment.

OUTDOOR WATERPARK VISITATION TRENDS

We analyzed the top outdoor waterpark resorts by attendance in the United States as identified in the TEA 2024 Global Experience Index report utilizing data from Placer.ai. The following graphs demonstrate a distinctly different demand profile compared to indoor properties.

Performance in this segment is overwhelmingly concentrated in the warm-weather months. Unlike indoor properties, outdoor waterparks operate within a compressed seasonal window, with the majority of annual visitation occurring between late spring and early fall. This creates a highly seasonal revenue model that requires strong peak performance to sustain overall profitability.

The data indicates strong visitation in 2021 and 2022, reflecting post-pandemic leisure travel strength. However, attendance declined in 2023 and 2024 before experiencing an uptick in 2025. This volatility highlights the outdoor segment’s greater exposure to macroeconomic conditions, weather variability, and discretionary spending patterns.

While the outdoor segment is seeing signs of renewed growth, it remains more sensitive to external factors than the indoor segment. Proper market analysis and realistic ramp-up assumptions are essential in underwriting new projects.

OTHER AQUATIC ENTERTAINMENT ATTRACTIONS

The waterpark industry continues to expand into other aquatic entertainment attractions including surf parks, lagoons, and Nordic spas.

Surf parks are a growing commercial reality, driven by strong consumer interest, technological improvements, and increasingly sophisticated development models. Based on insights from H&LA’s recent surf park feasibility studies, combined with industry-wide research, demand indicators continue to strengthen across both destination and regional lifestyle formats.

In 2025, new surf parks opened in Brazil, China, and the U.S. In Virginia Beach, Virginia, Atlantic Park Surf opened as part of the oceanfront Atlantic Park mixed-use development, offering shopping, dining, live entertainment, and lodging. Standing on the site of the former Dome, this 4.3-acre property with 2.7-acre Wavegarden Cove Surf Lagoon provides 1,000 surfable waves per hour. The coming year could see as many as a dozen new surf parks across Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Man-made swimming lagoons are revolutionizing how people experience water recreation, offering a fresh and relaxing alternative to traditional pools and beaches. These expansive, carefully designed aquatic destinations are making waves in the residential, resort, and attractions industries, transforming both leisure and real estate landscapes.

A prominent example is the two-acre Crystal Lagoons installation at the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa in San Antonio, Texas, slated to open in 2026. This high-visibility project is part of a broader resort revitalization and represents Crystal Lagoons’ first major luxury hospitality partnership in the U.S. central market, complete with white-sand beaches and a pristine-water swimming experience that complements existing amenity offerings.

Nordic spas are being developed in multiple locations in the United States but are more common in other Western countries. A Nordic spa offers an often rustic wellness experience focused on hydrotherapy, typically involving a hot-cold-relax cycle to boost circulation, reduce inflammation, and ease stress. Common amenities include wood-fired saunas, steam rooms, cold plunges, hot pools, and relaxation areas.

Zion Canyon Hot Springs, a WorldSprings property opened in July 2025 in La Verkin, Utah, approximately 30 minutes from Zion National Park. The wellness property offers 53 bodies of water, including 32 natural hot spring pools, 16 WorldSprings-inspired pools, three cold plunge pools, and a freshwater pool and whirlpool as well as three barrel saunas.

OUTLOOK

For more than two decades, the waterpark segment has experienced annual growth as aquatic attractions have became firmly embedded in the vacation patterns of travelers. Numerous project openings across multiple formats in 2026 demonstrate the industry’s ongoing ability to innovate and respond to evolving market demand. Waterparks remain among the most family-oriented and versatile development opportunities in the leisure sector, appealing to a broad demographic base while offering both seasonal and year-round operating models. H&LA continues to evaluate proposed projects throughout the United States and Canada, reflecting sustained developer interest in identifying the right markets and positioning strategies for new waterpark investments.

With the addition of other aquatic entertainment attractions such as surf parks, man-made swimming lagoons, and Nordic spas, the water attractions industry continues to innovate in ways that are popular with customers and investors alike. Beyond topline growth metrics, the industry is increasingly shaped by evolving consumer preferences that emphasize experiential, family-centered travel. Today’s guests expect more than traditional slides and wave pools; they are seeking immersive, memorable environments that justify repeat visitation and premium pricing. Mattel’s fall 2025 announcement regarding their plans to brand five or more Mattel Wonder Indoor Waterparks in the United States indicates the growing recognition by international chains about customer interest in the segment. The demand for highly themed and story-driven environments continues to rise, with operators investing in cohesive design, interactive features, and integrated entertainment elements to deepen guest engagement.

From H&LA’s perspective, these innovations are becoming more prevalent as properties look to differentiate themselves in increasingly competitive regional markets. As new developments and reinvestment projects move forward, experiential depth, operational efficiency, and clear market positioning are playing a larger role in long-term feasibility. Overall, the waterpark and larger aquatic entertainment sector remain positioned for measured, sustainable growth, particularly in markets supported by expanding tourism infrastructure and favorable demographic trends.

Author

David J. Sangree, MAI, CPA, ISHC, is President of Hotel & Leisure Advisors (H&LA), an international hospitality consulting firm specializing in appraisals, feasibility studies, impact analyses, economic impact studies, and litigation support for the lodging, waterpark, and leisure industries. Sangree is an internationally recognized expert on waterpark resorts and has completed more than 1,000 studies of indoor and outdoor waterparks. He was named one of Aquatics International Magazine’s “2019 Power People”. The World Waterpark Association honored him with induction into their Hall of Fame in 2022, and with their Executive Board Award in 2016. He has appeared on Good Morning America and CNBC and has written articles for numerous publications. He can be reached at 216-810-5800 or dsangree@hladvisors.com. The author wishes to acknowledge Michael Weber and Heidi Banak for their assistance with this article. For a list of 2025 and 2026 openings and expansions, please see our website to purchase, https://hladvisors.com/publications-research/hla-research-data/.