Wave reviews for new aquatic center in Renton
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For this summer's hottest day-trip outing, check out Renton's new Henry Moses Aquatic Center and its two 26-foot-high slides, wave pool, spray structure, lazy river and play fountain.
The $5 million facility opens today amid high anticipation by Southenders. "We haven't had to do much promoting since you can see the slides from (Interstate) 405," said Kris Stimpson, the city's recreation supervisor.
Bradley Brown of Renton plays basketball at the nearby community center and watched the aquatic center's progress. He brought his two children, Bradley Jr., 12, and Janelle, 6, to a trial-run opening Thursday evening, and both kids assured him on the drive over they knew the pool's exact location.
"There's a lot here for little kids to enjoy themselves," he said.
The aquatic center is one of a handful of outdoor city pools in the greater Seattle area and the only one offering so many added fun features. Though large by city standards, Stimpson said the complex isn't designed as a regional attraction on par with Wild Waves/Enchanted Village, the Six Flags-owned water and amusement park in Federal Way.
No matter — kids will still think it's cool.
For children taller than 4 feet, the first choice will be: orange or blue? The 189-foot-long blue slide is shorter but steeper and faster. Kids can ride an inner tube down the slower 245-foot-long orange tube slide.
The inner tubes also come in handy at the lazy river, which is pushed by jet currents around winding bends. It's not so lazy in spots, so children under 4 feet must float with an adult.
An informal poll of visitors found kids voted for the water slides or wave pool as their favorite part of the park.
The wave pool, which is much smaller than the one at Wild Waves, got a thumbs up from Mike Mattingly, 11. He liked the different settings, which send the waves out in crisscrossing and diagonal patterns "like the ocean," he said, "not like the shore of a lake."
The wave pool starts out shallow like a beach then deepens to 6 feet, with the up to 4-foot-high waves running in 15-minute on/off increments.
Younger children can stomp on geysers shooting up in the shallow play area or manipulate various water guns on a metal play structure to squirt other kids or fill buckets. Kids especially enjoyed pulling a rope to fill an overhead metal trough, then pushing a lever to dump the collected water onto the person underneath. Parents do need to watch little kids at a spot where the wave pool intersects with the shallow play area, creating choppy water.
For parents who aren't so active, all the water is warmed to a pleasant 83 degrees. There is a small grass area for blankets and towels, plus rows of lounge chairs.
Parents said the center's compact size has its advantages. Brown found it easier to keep track of his children. "If you go out to Wild Waves, it's so much more walking around and it's so congested," he said. "And this is only a quarter of the price."
The aquatic center replaces the former Henry Moses Pool, an outdoor pool in Liberty Park that closed in 1997 because of extensive leaking. (The former pool site is now a popular skateboard park.)
There was never any question of funding another "old water-in-a-box thing," Stimpson said. "This is what everyone is building now."
Since the facility is so new, the staff isn't sure whether they'll reach capacity on hot days and have to turn folks away. Parking could be a limiting factor, with 400 spots shared by the nearby community center, Carco Theater, Cedar River Park and ballfields.
The city of Mountlake Terrace, which last year remodeled its indoor pool to include a shallow-water play area and lazy river, saw leisure-swim attendance jump 30 percent since reopening in April 2003, said recreation supervisor Barbara Uram.
Leisure pools have broader appeal than lap pools, with families looking for entertainment as well as fitness, Uram said. "I think (Renton) can expect a tremendous reception and use by families," she said. "All ages and abilities will enjoy that facility."
That was true for Frank and Joyanna Mattingly, who brought their four children, ages 11, 9, 4 and 7 weeks. The family admission rate, plus the fact the pool allows outside food, made it an affordable outing for their family. The big kids could hit the slides and wave pool while the little ones played in the shallow water. "We're all around liking it," Frank Mattingly said.
Stephanie Dunnewind: 206-464-2091 or sdunnewind@seattletimes.com