Amusement Park News

It's an expansive new season for Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta, Ga. which opened a new addition for 2023, with more new attractions and expansions ahead. All told, the expansions will be in the multi-million dollar range as the park continues to evolve.

Just opened for the season, Wild Adventures' brand new three-acre addition is called the Oasis Outpost, which the park's vice president and general manager Jon Vigue calls “an unforgettable experience,” one that provides guests with new adventures while allowing them to “get close to our very special and intriguing animals.”

The area includes the new Trail Trackers, an adventure ride that allows kids to drive into habitats of both the sulcata tortoise, and a leopard area, and view the animals more closely.

The ride will essentially bring back a former attraction, a Safari Jeep ride, but now rethemed as a family experience.

Oasis Outpost also includes the Misty Springs Soak Station, which provides splash pads and misting posts to cool off during warm Georgia days. Parents can get a break at Misty Springs, too: there are two Stay and Play Zones that are a part of this attraction, allowing kids to explore and play on their own, safely.  



Visitors of all ages will enjoy the new Wild Adventures restaurant, Paradise Pizza, focusing on personal pizzas, salads, and as a sweet treat, boba lemonades.

Vigue, however is most proud of the new additions to the park's animals, with new habitats in this area of the park. The new residents include caracals, prairie dogs, African crested porcupines, tamanduas, and spider monkeys. There are four new animal exhibits in all, and new one-on-one animal encounters are also coming up. Oasis Outpost is located near the Splash Island waterpark entrance.

But the excitement of Oasis Outpost is just the beginning of major expansions at the park. According to Vigue, a new campground experience will be opening in 2024, offering guests a “one-of-a-kind way to sleep under the stars and next to the animals.” The campground will be positioned directly adjacent to the park itself, and comprise 7 acres for camping, a camp store, bathhouse, a fishing pond, and walking trails. There will be opportunities for both tent and RV camping. But best of all, the new area will allow “close-up experiences to interact with and learn about some amazing animals,” Vigue says. The campground will be positioned on the far end of the property, close to the animal habitats.

Later this year, the Wild Adventures Christmas event will expand with a new “floating lake spectacular,” Vigue adds. It will feature  many thousands of holiday lights. Also on tap: a walk-through tunnel with illumination that moves in time to favorite Christmas tunes. A Gingerbread Village, made for Instagram and family photos, is also part of the mix. Vigue believes the expanded event will make Wild Adventures Christmas a festive occasion that's a must for residents and visitors across the region.

The park is also going all out on music this year, with the Wild Adventures LIVE! concert series already beginning. The program this year includes the Beach Boys, Styx, Lee Brice, REO Speedwagon, and T.I., among others. Concerts are free with general admission; park guests bring their own chairs to sit in the GA area. To get closer to the stage, a reserved seat add-on is available at a low price of $15.



One more change at the park: some new paths have been added to connect the Twisted Typhoon coaster to the waterpark itself.

Vigue attests that “Our guests expect something from us year after year…We're never done expanding, we're never done improving, we're never done growing this property.” Wild Adventures' PR team says that the park is constantly focused on investing and improving upon guest experiences, with the new multimillion-dollar expansion just the latest.

Earlier this year the park repainted its Go Bananas roller coaster at Wild Adventures, giving it a new color scheme with a blue shaded support, a bright green track, and shiny yellow cars.

Just a year ago the park added its music venue as well as a new restaurant in partnership with the Georgia Beer Company called Water's Edge Brews & Bites, which also provided shady areas for guests to relax and enjoy live music around the lake in the center of the park. Vigue says that the addition of the restaurant was something park guests had sought for some time.

Also added in 2022 was the Wanyama Overlook, the largest new habitat for the park in over a decade. The Grill at Wanyama offers BBQ, hot dogs, and other casual fare all with a view of animals such as giraffes and zebras.

Last year also marked an expansion of the park's annual Easter celebration which is back this year for family fun with what the park terms the largest egg hunt in Southern Georgia. There will be over 100,000 candy-filled eggs in all, including a giant ostrich egg, which will provide the finder with a Gold Season Pass to the park.  
This year, a single day theme park admission is $59.99; early on-line single admission is $44.99. Pre-purchased general admission plus an extra day at the park is priced at $54.99. Passes are priced between $109.99 and $169.99.

Along with the expanded theme park, Splash Island Waterpark just reopened this past weekend. The 27-acre waterpark adjoins Wild Adventures.

The parks are located midway between Atlanta, Ga., and Orlando, Fla.