Credit: Great Wolf Resort
Credit: Great Wolf Resort

Two national waterpark chains are eyeing new locations.

On the heels of the recent opening of the record-holding Verrückt water slide in Kansas City, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., city commissioners approved a 30-year lease to Schlitterbahn to build a park on 64 acres of land within the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.

The plan must also be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration because of the airport location.

The park won’t open until at least 2017, and is planned to be an interconnected system so visitors won’t have to get out of their inner tubes to enjoy the rivers and rides.

In Manteca, Calif., the plans for an 187-acre family entertainment zone call for the development of a Great Wolf Resort – complete with indoor waterpark – during the first phase of construction.

While there have been some rumblings in the community because of the ongoing severe drought in California, plans are moving forward. A final analysis of the project, including environment studies and other research, will be presented to the city council by November so elected officials can make a ruling about the resort.