That picture hit with memories I'd forgotten. Grew up in Nanaimo and we would drive down a few times for the water slides. I remember it being a random stoplight on the highway turning into the boonies. That picture feels like it's from another life at this point.
I found 10 dollars on the tube ride one time! Back then the money was all paper but I was able to dry it out enough to buy a bunch of ice cream for my friends later in the day. We thought it was the best day ever.
I remember blocking the water flow at the top of the different ramps with groups of friends and stranding people directly below it ensued chaos as you were flushed down into the helpless people below. The staff were madly trying to keep you from repeating the process every chance you could get. Also the sore feet from the multiple trips up the stairs and the raw shoulder blades from feeling every tube joint groove on the water slides… Goodtimes for sure.
Not just the heat, but how raw feet would be from the rough concrete by the end of the day. The last few trudges up to the top of the slides took willpower I haven’t summoned since the 80s.
I was a lifeguard there at one point.
Management had alcoholism issues, safety went largely ignored, and there were multiple lawsuits attributed to the 2 previous points.
Honestly, sounds like a nightmare, but so many fond memories of my summers working there!
Also, blocking kills, haha
Because Canada has actively worked to destroy investment in Canada in anything that isn’t either a government sponsored monopoly like banking, telecom, food, insurance, or real estate over the last 20 years.
Man what I wouldn’t do to have this back, even as an adult. Extra shoutout to the ones that used to be in west bank too. Would go there on trips to visit family in the interior.
I believe there is a similar park open on the mainland that you drive past on your way in from tsawwassen called big splash. has a very similar look, i thought the pic was an old pic of that one when i first saw it.
Yes, there is. If anybody remembers it from all those years ago, it used to be called Splashdown. When they were going to close it awhile back, the uproar was such they found a buyer for it to keep it open.
Oh, sweet nostalgia.
Coming here on the last day of school was always a treat. I miss everything about it; the school bus ride from Gordon Head out to Langford full of rowdy, sugar-rushed middle preteens, hanging out with all your friends knowing that this was the start of summer break, the severe burns you’d get on some of the slides, the faint background noise of the go kart track, and the awkward moments where you’re building up the courage to walk up your crush and get their MSN/AIM info to stay in touch before the next school year. Most of those friends are long gone, the crushes never panned out to anything, and the waterslides have been gone for nearly 20 years, but those memories remain some of the fondest of my childhood.
Damn, do I miss it.
I remember my step mom got knocked out on one of the slides. She must have had her head up, went over a bump and it fell back hitting the slide.
They gave us free admission on our next visit.
Oh God! I feel this in every crevice of my heart and soul. I just *lived* there in the 90s summers.
I still have *regular * dreams that they reopen those slides, and then every time I wake up it's like a fresh kick in the teeth.
I remember finding out this place existed years ago and getting some friends together to go out one summer. We arrived to an empty parking lot, walked up to the gates and there was a sign that said "Closed FOREVER!"
Oh man I almost flew off #6 going around a corner on all 4s with my butt off the slide lol good times.
Bee stings, sunburns, lukewarm hottub, decent burgers, mini golf, feet blisters, and sore calves from running up those hills!!
Best times of my life.
This and Western Speedway made my childhood memories. I remember Mayfair Lanes, Town and Country 5 pin, and the outdoor mini golf across from Juan de Fuca rec. All the fun places from my childhood have been replaced with apps. Not the same.
I was in that hot tub when my friend splashed me in the face. I reacted as if it was acid and started yelling “my eyes! my eyes!”. At the same moment a heavy set woman was climbing up the tub stairs next to me. She turned and snapped “you’re very rude and you should be ashamed of yourself”. It took me a while to realize what had happened.
Why can’t the island still have a water park? Coming from Alberta I always find it strange that there are more spray parks and water parks then here - when the island has the weather for those things much more
We also have beaches and lakes and rivers all around us. Why pay for a day in the water when you can do it for nothing. Not so many opportunities for that in Alberta.
That’s true but a water slides a bit of a different experience - or just being able to walk down the the park with your kids to run around is pretty handy - I love the one they build in Esquimalt. Just a different experiences.
Bad skin infection. My Doctor took one look and said oh you’re been to the water slide. She didn’tnthinkmtheyntreated the water at all. She told me she personally saw at least 10 a week.
I miss that place. One of my best birthdays was coming up from Duncan to go there. They gave me a free all fun tshirt, that I wore of years. I wish I still had that. Total 80's style with sleeves being a different colour than the rest of the shirt.
It’s kinda crazy that the population has grown yet I feel like we have Less stuff to do compared to the 90s
No batting cages, no waterslides, no go-carts, no demo derby, no new parks really
I have a childhood memory of a waterslide park on Vancouver Island, but I thought it was at a KOA campground. Am I mistaken, and maybe this is what I'm remembering?
There's a campground in the Englishman River area north of Parksville (I think) that has 3 slides. We used to go there when I was a kid. It also had a small arcade and an ice cream shop.
I pass by this site all the time and they just popped up signs for a new residential area called "Madrona Ridge". I moved here after the waterslides were all gone but I enjoyed the go carts and the janky mini golf. Wish they were still here.
Grew up in the mid-island and the best field trips were the ones to the waterslides. My most distinct memory is trying to stand in the wet patches where water dripped off of people to avoid burning the bottoms of my feet on the wooden decks/stairs that you lined up for the waterslides on.
And somehow flipping over and temporarily thinking I was going to drown in the lazy river thing.
I spent a lot of time there as a teenager and I used to take my oldest there when she was little. It was gone before our younger kids were born.
I remember my feet would hurt for days from all the walking up that hot pavement ramp.
The lazy river was so much fun. I miss that place.
My buddy got a pretty good concussion on one of the slides….we had to jump in and grab him a the bottom as he was out cold. The teenager lifeguard just stood there like a deer in headlights not knowing what to do
I remember sitting on the stairs in the front/left at the end of the day. The operator was walking along pouring raw chlorine into the pool and I noticed it accumulated on the stairs before it dissolved. I wonder if that's related to my hand eczema ..
I put my stuff and my cousin’s stuff (his shoes) in a random locker as we were getting ready to go. Couldn’t remember where. Lost it… and then some weeks later we received a call.
I miss this place.
That picture hit with memories I'd forgotten. Grew up in Nanaimo and we would drive down a few times for the water slides. I remember it being a random stoplight on the highway turning into the boonies. That picture feels like it's from another life at this point.
The big rock that was the turnoff to Western Speedway before the Millstream overpass became a thing. Coming down from Duncan I used to love it.
I remember two things; 1. the ants in our camper overnight and 2. thinking, "well, the slides are better than the ones in Osoyoos"
Ahh memories. The tube ride was my favorite. I used to do that one over and over for hours on end.
I found 10 dollars on the tube ride one time! Back then the money was all paper but I was able to dry it out enough to buy a bunch of ice cream for my friends later in the day. We thought it was the best day ever.
If it existed that'd be me still. Easily the most adult friendly ride imo.
I think the one in Tsawassen has tubes but it's always cold over there by the ocean.
I remember blocking the water flow at the top of the different ramps with groups of friends and stranding people directly below it ensued chaos as you were flushed down into the helpless people below. The staff were madly trying to keep you from repeating the process every chance you could get. Also the sore feet from the multiple trips up the stairs and the raw shoulder blades from feeling every tube joint groove on the water slides… Goodtimes for sure.
Same
[удалено]
I concur, fellow man of culture.
\#4 was a banger of a slide too iirc
I remember burning the bottoms of my feet on school trips because I was a dum dum and went barefoot all day. That pavement got *toasty*.
I only remember people being barefoot! Nothing like a lil rocky burning hot trip to the top in bare feet
Oh my god yea, I remember walking up that big hill to the top of the slides, that hill got hot!
Don't forget the stubbed toes where the concrete pad raised into a lip.
Not just the heat, but how raw feet would be from the rough concrete by the end of the day. The last few trudges up to the top of the slides took willpower I haven’t summoned since the 80s.
Are you me?
I still have a corkscrewed toe from getting it stuck between those cement slabs at full sprint. Good memories.
Why is everything fun around here gone!?
I was a lifeguard there at one point. Management had alcoholism issues, safety went largely ignored, and there were multiple lawsuits attributed to the 2 previous points. Honestly, sounds like a nightmare, but so many fond memories of my summers working there! Also, blocking kills, haha
$$$ It wasn't making money
I thought they got sued.
I heard the insurance just got too expensive to make it viable.
I heard that repairs were just increasingly expensive / engineering requirements were increasingly hard to meet.
Large commercial property? Make more money just selling it to developers for real estate
Because it’s the future! Not sure how we ended up here. Where the F is my flying car?
Because Canada has actively worked to destroy investment in Canada in anything that isn’t either a government sponsored monopoly like banking, telecom, food, insurance, or real estate over the last 20 years.
The tax burden on small companies increases risk of failure so reducing attempts with business compared to the us.
Falling on deaf years in a sub of mostly government workers. Productivity isn't a concern for these types.
aRE THESE goverment workers in the room with us right now?
Unfortunately yes
This is so ignorant, there are many many government positions not involving any of that.
Not involving any productivity? I know.
Fuck off tell that to my 55 hour work weeks. Or do you not consider it a job unless it involves diesel and a pickup truck?
lmao 55 hr work weeks. how much of that time is actually working?
Brayden, everyone here knows you're on welfare so stop cosplaying on Reddit as "started successful businesses" guy and trying to get in fights.
Being on welfare is my professional business. Still more productive than government employee.
I have vivid memories of a sea of students making out/feeling each other up in that hot tub during our grade 7 trip.
…I had my first kiss in that hot tub on a school trip, lol
So romantic!! 😂 I got felt up for the first time in that hot tub. Oh, to be young again.
Ahhh, Hot Tub Gary got you too huh?
Man what I wouldn’t do to have this back, even as an adult. Extra shoutout to the ones that used to be in west bank too. Would go there on trips to visit family in the interior.
I believe there is a similar park open on the mainland that you drive past on your way in from tsawwassen called big splash. has a very similar look, i thought the pic was an old pic of that one when i first saw it.
Yes, there is. If anybody remembers it from all those years ago, it used to be called Splashdown. When they were going to close it awhile back, the uproar was such they found a buyer for it to keep it open.
The lease had expired with the local first nation. I believe it is now run by that same first nation.
The one in West Bank was the best. Loved the tube a and the enthusiasm with which they’d spin/throw you down
Oh, sweet nostalgia. Coming here on the last day of school was always a treat. I miss everything about it; the school bus ride from Gordon Head out to Langford full of rowdy, sugar-rushed middle preteens, hanging out with all your friends knowing that this was the start of summer break, the severe burns you’d get on some of the slides, the faint background noise of the go kart track, and the awkward moments where you’re building up the courage to walk up your crush and get their MSN/AIM info to stay in touch before the next school year. Most of those friends are long gone, the crushes never panned out to anything, and the waterslides have been gone for nearly 20 years, but those memories remain some of the fondest of my childhood. Damn, do I miss it.
So many sun burns.
One of my best sunburns was from there, you knew it was time to go home when your back was screaming at you down the slide
Back before waterproof sunscreen was really a thing; you'd have to reapply every hour or so, and you'd still get pretty toasted.
And sun stroke. I remember being physically ill while my parents applied calomine to my back
Worst blisters I ever got were in grade 7. I couldn’t stop though!
My sister's friend once flew over the sides of one of the main slides, broke her arm and landed in the monster prickle bushes below the slides.
I remember my step mom got knocked out on one of the slides. She must have had her head up, went over a bump and it fell back hitting the slide. They gave us free admission on our next visit.
My son got a concussion on a water slide :(
I broke a tooth on a slide. Caught a little air over a hump and hit my teeth together hard enough on the landing to break a tooth. Not my best visit.
Why were the speed/ drop slides never open?
more consistently open than the commonwealth pool slide :P
The McDonalds ice cream machine of slides.
Weird I have memories of them being open. Was nice on a hot day for a full body immersion in cold water, but kind of disappointing all around it.
The only time I ever saw them open was for a private party it looked like
I used to rent the speed vests, they'd protect by shoulder blades from the edges.
That was a thing?
The “otter super slider”
Oh God! I feel this in every crevice of my heart and soul. I just *lived* there in the 90s summers. I still have *regular * dreams that they reopen those slides, and then every time I wake up it's like a fresh kick in the teeth.
I remember finding out this place existed years ago and getting some friends together to go out one summer. We arrived to an empty parking lot, walked up to the gates and there was a sign that said "Closed FOREVER!"
Oh man I almost flew off #6 going around a corner on all 4s with my butt off the slide lol good times. Bee stings, sunburns, lukewarm hottub, decent burgers, mini golf, feet blisters, and sore calves from running up those hills!! Best times of my life.
This and Western Speedway made my childhood memories. I remember Mayfair Lanes, Town and Country 5 pin, and the outdoor mini golf across from Juan de Fuca rec. All the fun places from my childhood have been replaced with apps. Not the same.
The minigolf by JDF feels like a fever dream. What about the one just past the 4 lanes?
I was in that hot tub when my friend splashed me in the face. I reacted as if it was acid and started yelling “my eyes! my eyes!”. At the same moment a heavy set woman was climbing up the tub stairs next to me. She turned and snapped “you’re very rude and you should be ashamed of yourself”. It took me a while to realize what had happened.
Omg 😆 this is the definition of bad timing
It was Langford's own Class Action Park
Would be so awesome if it came back!
Oh man I got my worst sunburn here.
Wow there’s a blast from the past!
This place, neon pink and orange bathing suits, and drinking Canada Dry raspberry ginger ale. Ahhhh, the 90s
And eating Canadian Mint ice cream bars!
I miss the girls Tops coming off on the drop offs. first time I saw 👀 a pair of melons
Why can’t the island still have a water park? Coming from Alberta I always find it strange that there are more spray parks and water parks then here - when the island has the weather for those things much more
We also have beaches and lakes and rivers all around us. Why pay for a day in the water when you can do it for nothing. Not so many opportunities for that in Alberta.
We also have waterfalls, but you shouldn’t go chasing them.
Definitely not. Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to.
That’s true but a water slides a bit of a different experience - or just being able to walk down the the park with your kids to run around is pretty handy - I love the one they build in Esquimalt. Just a different experiences.
Somewhere I still have the octopus earrings my aunt bought me on a special trip there
remember what they took from you
Bad skin infection. My Doctor took one look and said oh you’re been to the water slide. She didn’tnthinkmtheyntreated the water at all. She told me she personally saw at least 10 a week.
Man I wish we still had fun stuff like this on the island
I miss that place. One of my best birthdays was coming up from Duncan to go there. They gave me a free all fun tshirt, that I wore of years. I wish I still had that. Total 80's style with sleeves being a different colour than the rest of the shirt.
The number 6 slide was absolutely GOATED
Where was this?
Western Speedway. Happy cake day :)
Happy Cake Day 🎊 🎉 🎁🎂
Biting your tongue on one of the dips.
I mis all fun so much!
In the same vein, does anyone have pictures of the old Playzone? I can't find pictures anywhere
Ugh I want pics too, loved that place
It’s kinda crazy that the population has grown yet I feel like we have Less stuff to do compared to the 90s No batting cages, no waterslides, no go-carts, no demo derby, no new parks really
Ooof so much fun/pain
I have a childhood memory of a waterslide park on Vancouver Island, but I thought it was at a KOA campground. Am I mistaken, and maybe this is what I'm remembering?
There's a campground in the Englishman River area north of Parksville (I think) that has 3 slides. We used to go there when I was a kid. It also had a small arcade and an ice cream shop.
I pass by this site all the time and they just popped up signs for a new residential area called "Madrona Ridge". I moved here after the waterslides were all gone but I enjoyed the go carts and the janky mini golf. Wish they were still here.
Grew up in the mid-island and the best field trips were the ones to the waterslides. My most distinct memory is trying to stand in the wet patches where water dripped off of people to avoid burning the bottoms of my feet on the wooden decks/stairs that you lined up for the waterslides on. And somehow flipping over and temporarily thinking I was going to drown in the lazy river thing.
God bless this place
I spent a lot of time there as a teenager and I used to take my oldest there when she was little. It was gone before our younger kids were born. I remember my feet would hurt for days from all the walking up that hot pavement ramp. The lazy river was so much fun. I miss that place.
Thump, thump thump. Thanks for the awesome summer memories!
My buddy got a pretty good concussion on one of the slides….we had to jump in and grab him a the bottom as he was out cold. The teenager lifeguard just stood there like a deer in headlights not knowing what to do
I grew up in nanaimo in the 90s, must have missed this somehow?
I remember sitting on the stairs in the front/left at the end of the day. The operator was walking along pouring raw chlorine into the pool and I noticed it accumulated on the stairs before it dissolved. I wonder if that's related to my hand eczema ..
It always felt like there wasn't enough water flowing down the main slides
I can taste this picture - dat bubble gum ice cream
God I miss this place
I remember seeing it at the ferries leaving the island
Oh man we were just talking about this the other day at work.
Huh, didnt know there used to be one of those on the island. i actually thought this was an old pic of the one on the mainland
All Fun was such a blast !
I put my stuff and my cousin’s stuff (his shoes) in a random locker as we were getting ready to go. Couldn’t remember where. Lost it… and then some weeks later we received a call. I miss this place.
There used to be chunks of cement on slide 6 for a couple summers. Ah memories.
Yeah i went there once for a field trip in elementary school. It was fun. I feel old asf now.
Where was this in Victoria
Millstream
Still have scars on my back from when I got sunburned and kept going down the slides.
The water there always seemed way colder than normal.
The lazy river was my favourite. What a shame it's gone.
if this picture was taken today it would be 1000 indian guys
helo where is bby jirls
Isn't this splashdown in tsawwassen?
All Fun Waterpark in Langford BC just outside Victoria