Part of Everland, a year-round resort area near Seoul, Caribbean Bay is the largest indoor/outdoor water park in the world. It can handle up to 15,000 guests a day, and had more than a half million guests during its first 45 days of operation.

Creating this $140 million indoor/outdoor water park uncovered some acoustic challenges common to many themed attractions or entertainment facilities. The indoor section of the water park is a large, open area (approximately 70,000 square feet) with high ceilings and many reflective surfaces made from hard water-resistant materials. The potential for long reverberation times and echoes was a concern, because guests would naturally generate noise as they swim, surf, and inner tube down the Lazy River. However, guests were not the only source of noise in the water park. Waterfalls, water rushing down the slides, and decorative fountains all add to the background noise level in the facility.

Caribbean Bay also required a large pump room for moving the water throughout a series of connecting waterways and pools built along a terraced hillside. Combining the operating system’s mechanical noise and vibration with water flow sounds and vocal reverberations could have produced an uninviting acoustical environment. To help avoid this, our engineers reviewed the designs to make recommendations for improving the facility’s overall acoustic quality, then provided methods to control the mechanical noise and vibration created by the park’s water pumps. To further ensure a comfortable acoustic environment, we worked with the design team to create “quiet zones” within the park where guests could retreat to relax away from the activity.

Caribbean Bay received a special award for significantly advancing the industry at the 1996 World Water Park Symposium.