Waterslides Under Construction At $400 Million Okana Resort

Slide construction is underway inside the Okana Resort and Indoor Water Park.

Cranes carefully lift pieces of the park’s 18 waterslides. It may look like high-stakes Lego’s, but with this build, the fun is on the other side.

The 150,000-square-foot concept slowly comes together. “Seeing all of it come together is what’s most thrilling and exciting,” says Director of Sales and Marketing, Edd Karlan.

Karlan gets to sell guests on why they should come to Okana. The indoor water park makes that job easier. “Some of the rides and attractions we have, no one else has,” says Karlan.

He estimates completing the slides will take another six to 8 months. It helps to have a 450 to 500-member crew, but it’s still a grind. “It’s an exhaustive process. Obviously, [we] want to make sure everything is put together correctly,” says Karlan. “Just to place that one piece took some time.”

Just this one attraction isn’t all there is to the $400 million tourist attraction. There is also the outdoor lagoon, the 11-story hotel, and the family entertainment center – to name a few.

As pieces of the water slides slowly move inside, expectations are raised one section at a time.

Karlan has his branding for what will be, “It’s going to be two, three-letter words – wow and fun.”

Okana is scheduled to open in the spring of 2025, and day passes to the water park itself will be available to the public.