Amusement Park News

At Schlitterbahn in New Braunfels, Texas kids had a lot to splash about last summer. The park opened a new attraction area, Schatze's Storybrook Park, which is the location of what the park terms the world's “first water coaster for kids.”

Schlitterbahn spokesperson Chris Ozimek says that it's the first new attraction area built in over ten years. The new kid's area reportedly cost $2 million dollars and is aimed at children under the age of 12. It's located in the original section of the park.

The park began construction on this new park section last September, and per general manager and park VP Darren Hill, the work was finished on schedule and just in time for this season's summer crowd. The park held the grand opening for the area on April 27th.

For families with little ones, Ozimek says the new area offers a variety of options for parents and kids to enjoy water features together, while introducing the kids to the concept of the park's larger water slides and coaster.

The new children's area is named for the park's mascot, a dachshund called Schatze. The star attraction of the Storbybrook Park area is the water coaster, dubbed the Bow Wow Blaster. It has a considerably lower height restriction than the park's Master Blaster coaster, and it allows parents to enjoy the ride with their kids. The uphill coaster takes riders through a variety of dips, curves, and turns and has a maximum water depth of 8 inches. Smaller riders are positioned between the legs of the larger rider.



Along with the coaster, the new section includes a variety of other attractions. There's the Fairy Tail Trail, a splash pad area, and Schatze's Paw'nd, which is a kid-perfect shallow pool that boasts three slides which also come with a cute name: the Three Little Pugs. The location is also home to the Fur-bidden Fort, with over 70 water features from geysers to slides and water buckets.

In the Fur-bidden Forest, kids will find themselves in what the park calls a “magical world” that includes mushrooms that gush fountains of water, water slides that are shaped like trees, and a wide range of playing, climbing, and soaking areas. Among the big highlights here are a 1,200-gallon tipping bucket and interactive water features for the kids, while parents may be most excited by new seating areas replete with shade structures and the souvenir shopping options at Schatze's Shoppe. The seating areas are designed to accommodate up to 200 guests.

As to the Fairy Tail Trail, here's where kids will find small slides and a variety of splash pads, as well as the wagging tail of mascot Schatze, available for meet ‘n' greet interactions with park guests. Per the Schlitterbahn website, “Everyone will giggle at Schatze's wacky, watery take on classic storybooks, including Little Red Riding Hound's Forest, Houndsel and Petzel's dog treat house, Rapawnzel's enchanted castle, and the water geysers of Pawed Piper's Pipes.” Prince Hopsalot a character from The Paw Prints and the Frog story as told by Schatze himself, is positioned at the edge of the trail.

Along with the new kid's area and its diminutive coaster thrills, Schlitterbahn also offered other updates throughout the park. A redesigned hillside Tube Chute attraction is a major refurbishment. The update featurex a new bypass that takes riders through roaring rapids amid churning white water. Also new and improved is the Hillside Terrace refreshment area, which offers a vast view of the park itself, as well as new restrooms, expanded and enhanced changing areas, and lockers.



A new service has also been introduced at Schlitterbahn: Fast Lane. This $40 upgrade allows guests participating to spend less time waiting in line for popular attractions. The wristband includes rapid access to the popular The Falls, Wolfpack, and Hillside, and is valid for one ride on each attraction on the day a guest chooses to use it.

Hill notes that “We had an epic season in 2024 with the addition of Schatze's Storybrook Park and other great new amenities and experiences for our guests.” He adds that these new attractions are a part of the park's continuing commitment “to provide innovative, refreshing fun that brings families together to create lifelong memories and traditions that span generations.”

In all, Schlitterbahn New Braunfels has 51 attractions that are spread across more than 70 acres. Along with its sister park, Schlitterbahn Galveston, both were acquired by Cedar Fair in 2019. Of course, Cedar Fair itself will soon be merging with Six Flags. Six Flags and Cedar Fair announced their plans to merge last November in an $8 billion dollar deal, with Cedar Fair still retaining 51.2% of the shares.

Schlitterbahn New Braunfels Waterpark is well known for its natural setting along the Comal River. The spacious park has four main attraction areas spread across both an East and West section of the park. Home to the new Schatze's Storybrook Park, The Original Schlitterbahn area is located in the park's West section.



Discounted tickets were available for the park through May 24th; regular 2024 Season Passes start at $99; daily tickets are priced starting at $49.