Fun in the sun
Fort Worth-area park unfurls new waterslides and plans for pirate-ship cabins
In time for fun in the summer sun, North TexasJellystone Park will debut new double-tubular waterslides over Memorial Day weekend.
Visitors to the popular Burleson campground have kept their eye on the construction of the new 65-foot-tall, 350-foot-long, tubular waterslides that twist and turn underneath the park’s existing slide in the Pirates' Cove Waterpark area.
And now that they are ready to ride, guests are keeping their eye on another coming attraction: a pirate ship.
According to a release, Jellystone is building a fully-furnished pirate ship with 10 different cabin compartments for rent.
“We’re building it right now,” says Steve Stafford, general manager of the North Texas Jellystone Park, in a release. “It’s a humongous ship. It’s 260 feet long and its masts are 85 feet tall. It looks like something out of a storybook. It even has two cannons with red lights to simulate the firing of cannonballs.”
Each of the ship's cabins will sleep a family of six and will have a kitchen and private bathroom with a shower, the release says. It is expected to be completed in the fall.
The waterslides and pirate ship are the latest in ongoing enhancements to the park, which is located just off Interstate 35 and attracts families from Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond for weekend getaways and staycations. Last year, it completed the installation of 20 new two-bedroom cabins, bringing the total number of cabins to 120, and the addition to 106 additional RV sites, bringing the total number to 221.
"Of course, the main attractions at the North Texas Jellystone Park are the family amenities, activities, and the ability to visit with Yogi Bear," park leaders tout in the release. "The park’s theme weekends range from family athletic competitions with various sporting events, to Christmas in July with Christmas karaoke and other holiday themed activities, to Halloween-themed weekends with costume and campsite decorating contests and trick-or-treating."
Stafford says in the release that the park’s recent improvements and expansions have created a need for more housekeeping, grounds and maintenance staff. The park plans to hire 35 international students this year to help in August when the park’s high school and college age employees return to school.
Pirates' Cove Waterpark is adjacent to the Jellystone campground and requires a separate entrance fee.