It's a New Day at Alabama Splash Adventure With New Owners, New Focus.
Published: June 22, 2015
By: Carol Muse Evans
On any given day at Alabama Splash Adventure, you may see a fit, white-haired older woman, out with her broom and dustpan, picking up trash, talking with patrons and directing the staff.
What you may not realize is this is “The General,” aka Pat Koch (pronounced “cook”) and one of the new owners of Alabama Splash Adventure. She’s a hands-on owner, just like the rest of the Koch family. With more than 60 years of experience in running a theme park, she knows what she is doing.
The Koch family, who has been in the amusement park business for more than 45 years, is famous for their family-friendly, hands-on approach to running a park. Pat and her son Dan and daughter Natalie bought the former Alabama Adventure in early 2014. But they have a history that goes back to the 1960s and 1970s in Santa Claus, Indiana, where the family, led by the late Jim Koch, started, ran and grew Holiday World.
Today Holiday World (http://www.holidayworld.com) is owned and managed by the daughter-in-law of Jim and Pat since their oldest son Will passed away.
The Koch family has been known for running a world-class family park in Indiana, and both Dan and Pat say Birmingham will be the same. They have brought “value” pricing to the park – free parking, free soft drinks, free sunscreen, free life jacket use and even free Wi-Fi are now available at Alabama Splash Adventure. There’s also free float rental for the lazy river and the slides.
About the only “extra” you pay for is a locker, wheelchair or stroller rental now. And their “one low price” gets you into the whole park – or both sides, if you will – the water park and the rides side of the park. Even the laser challenge game on Main Street is free with admission.
Dan says you’ll also find better quality food this season, and bringing in a can of Pepsi or other Buffalo Rock product – their drink sponsor – will get you $5 off your ticket or $10 off food or merchandise in the park. And that price of admission is $29.95, while a season pass is $79.75. Don’t miss the giant funnel cake – it’s enough for four people or more! And now it’s a Splash Adventure specialty. (And yes, you can still get a single serving size.)
You’ll also notice a cleaner, safer park, the Kochs say, and happier employees, which translate into happier visitors to the park. Lifeguards are given rigorous training, multiple security guards are on site at all times, as are two EMT’s for additional safety. Water quality is much improved and has state-of-the-art monitoring now. The keyless locker system makes it easier to keep up with your locker information, and it will hold the belongings of up to 4 people easily. And Main Street is virtually spotless, along with the other walkways, restrooms and eateries at Splash Adventure.
Everything here has been repaired, painted, scrubbed, cleaned and improved. If you’ve been to this park in the past, you’ll definitely notice the positive changes. The Kochs say they are “here to stay,” and they will do things in stages, making sure to get everything right and do the things they have well first before adding on. “We are focusing on the theme park and the water park, doing what we do best – food, service and hospitality.”
“We knew the South really needed a ‘holiday world’,” Pat and Dan both say. And while Six Flags over Georgia and other parks do exist within a day’s drive of the city, “Alabama Splash Adventure is a family park with thrilling rides, but not a thrill park…we want families to enjoy coming here,” Pat adds. Part of that family-friendly atmosphere is clothing and shoes must be worn outside of the water park area, no smoking, except in designated areas and no alcohol sold or allowed on the property.
Walking through the park, Dan greets some of his “regulars” by name, talks to the kids and shakes hands with the parents. The Kochs’ reputation is important to them, and they want visitors to enjoy the park and have the best experience possible, Dan says.
You’ll still find the favorites at the water park – Neptune’s Plunge, Kahuna Bay, Salamander Bay, the Warrior River (lazy river), and the newer Wipeout Adventure Course. On the “rides” side of the park is the famous Rampage roller coaster, repaired, upgraded and improved, along with four children’s rides and three “hybrids” (the whole family can ride). There’s a family coaster, the “Centispeed,” named by Pat, the Rio Grande Train and the Jump around Frog ride. The park is far from being “just” a water park now.
It’s time for Birmingham to get over the perception of “what was” at this Alabama theme park, Dan says. A new “General” is in town, and there’s a new and improved park for Birmingham and the state to finally enjoy.
For details about admission, operating hours and special events, visit http://www.alabamasplash.com.
Carol Muse Evans is publisher/editor of Birmingham Parent.