Siam Park (Tenerife)
Encyclopedia
Siam Park is a Loro Parque
-owned water park
in Tenerife
, Canary Islands
, Spain
. It is located on the TF1 highway in Costa Adeje. At 18.5 hectares (45.7 acre). Siam Park features a Siamese theme, and claims to be the most spectacular water attraction in Europe,. The park was opened by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Thailand
Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
.
s. Originally stated to open in May 2007, it has endured construction problems, however the park finally opened to the public on September 17, 2008. The park's plans also originally included a roller coaster, but the park has opted to focus on developing the first phase of the park in order to open the park as soon as possible.
Siam Park includes Thai theming on all of its rides, park buildings, and restaurants. The park's 25 buildings are the largest collection of Thai-themed buildings outside Thailand. The park's designer, Christoph Kiessling, received permission from the Thai royal family to use the park's name and theme; but, to respect the family's wishes, he did not copy royal palaces, temples, or statues of Buddha
in the park.
In addition, the restaurants serve Thai food as well as family favorites. The park also has a Thai floating market.
s. Hence, they lack the prominent support structure present in most water slides.
Siam Park is the world's first green water park. The park's water is heated to 25 °C (77 °F). Keissling calls Siam Park the "first air conditioned outdoor aquatic park in the world".
To conserve the island's water, Siam Park has a desalination
plant on site, which desalinates 700 cubic metre of sea water per day. After the water is used in the rides, the park recycles the water by using it to water the park's plants. In addition, Siam Park has the first natural gas
plant in the Canary Islands.
Loro Parque
Loro Parque is a zoo located on the outskirts of Puerto de la Cruz on Tenerife, Spain where it houses an extensive and diverse reserve of animal and plant species...
-owned water park
Water park
A waterpark is an amusement park that features waterplay areas, such as water slides, splash pads, spraygrounds , lazy rivers, or other recreational bathing, swimming, and barefooting environments...
in Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
, Canary Islands
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. It is located on the TF1 highway in Costa Adeje. At 18.5 hectares (45.7 acre). Siam Park features a Siamese theme, and claims to be the most spectacular water attraction in Europe,. The park was opened by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
Maha Chakri Sirindhorn
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn is the second daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thais commonly refer to her as Phra Thep, meaning "princess angel." Because her title in Thai is the female equivalent of the title held by her brother, Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, she is informally referred...
.
History
Siam Park's construction started in 2004 and cost 52 million euroEuro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
s. Originally stated to open in May 2007, it has endured construction problems, however the park finally opened to the public on September 17, 2008. The park's plans also originally included a roller coaster, but the park has opted to focus on developing the first phase of the park in order to open the park as soon as possible.
Siam Park includes Thai theming on all of its rides, park buildings, and restaurants. The park's 25 buildings are the largest collection of Thai-themed buildings outside Thailand. The park's designer, Christoph Kiessling, received permission from the Thai royal family to use the park's name and theme; but, to respect the family's wishes, he did not copy royal palaces, temples, or statues of Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
in the park.
In addition, the restaurants serve Thai food as well as family favorites. The park also has a Thai floating market.
Rides
- Vulcano: a four-person ProSlide Behemoth Bowl slide with a laser inside which produces a flashing image of a dragon
- The Dragon: a ProSlide Tornado with a light show inside the 20 metres (65.6 ft)-wide funnel.
- Wave Palace: a wave pool with an artificial white sand beach. At 3 metres (9.8 ft) high, its waves are the highest of any wave pool in the World. The park's surfing school will give surfing lessons at the Wave Palace.
- Naga Racer: a six-lane racing slide
- The Giant: twin ProSlide Cannon Bowls, one moving clockwise and one moving counterclockwise
- Tower of Power: a vertical, transparent slide which sends riders through an area with sharks and stingrays, is similar to Leap of Faith at Atlantis Paradise IslandAtlantis Paradise IslandThe Atlantis Paradise Island is a resort and waterpark located on Paradise Island, The Bahamas. Officially opened in 1998, the resort was created by South African hotel magnate Sol Kerzner and Kerzner International Limited. Paradise Island first opened its Coral and Beach Towers as the Trump...
. - Mai Thai River: the world's longest lazy river, which also has the highest elevation of any lazy river at 8 metres (26.2 ft).
- Jungle Snakes: four twisting slides which follow the park's terrain
- Lost City: a children's play structure with 120 games
- Mekong Rapids: a river rafting rideRiver rafting rideA river rafting ride is an amusement ride that simulates whitewater rafting.-History:The river rapids ride concept was proposed by Bill Crandall and developed by Intamin AG...
Technical information
The park is built on a hill, which permits the slides to follow the park's terrain similar to terrain roller coasterTerrain roller coaster
Terrain roller coasters are roller coasters which, as their name suggests, take advantage of the natural undulations of the land upon which they are built. Such rides may often weave through forests, and some may even dive down cliffs...
s. Hence, they lack the prominent support structure present in most water slides.
Siam Park is the world's first green water park. The park's water is heated to 25 °C (77 °F). Keissling calls Siam Park the "first air conditioned outdoor aquatic park in the world".
To conserve the island's water, Siam Park has a desalination
Desalination
Desalination, desalinization, or desalinisation refers to any of several processes that remove some amount of salt and other minerals from saline water...
plant on site, which desalinates 700 cubic metre of sea water per day. After the water is used in the rides, the park recycles the water by using it to water the park's plants. In addition, Siam Park has the first natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
plant in the Canary Islands.
Records
The park has 5 world records:- The statue of the world's largest dragonDragonA dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
. - Increased elevation within the lazy river (up to 8 metres (26.2 ft)).
- The largest man-made wave in the world (about 3 metres (9.8 ft)).
- Increased diversity in slides.
- The Thai building world's largest outside AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
.