Sandcastle Waterpark

This article is about the waterpark in Pittsburgh, USA. For the waterpark in Blackpool, England, see Sandcastle Waterpark (Blackpool).
Sandcastle Waterpark
LocationWest Homestead, Pennsylvania, United States
Coordinates40°23′53″N 79°55′41″W / 40.398°N 79.928°W / 40.398; -79.928
OwnerPalace Entertainment Parques Reunidos
Opened1989
Water slides14 rides water slides
WebsiteOfficial website

Sandcastle Waterpark is a water park located in the Pittsburgh suburb of West Homestead. The park is located on a 67-acre (270,000 m2) piece of land along the banks of the Monongahela River. Sandcastle is owned by Palace Entertainment, subsidiary of Spain-based Parques Reunidos, who purchased original parent company Kennywood Entertainment. The company runs its original sister parks, Kennywood, Idlewild Park, and Lake Compounce. The park contains sixteen water slides, several swimming pools, and a handful of other attractions.

History

The site where Sandcastle currently sits was formerly a railroad yard for U.S. Steel. In 1988, Kennywood Entertainment bought the land and began construction on the park. Sandcastle officially opened for business in July 1989.

Current Attractions

The entrance to the park, from 2005

The park has a total of 16 water slides including 3 speed slides. Other slides include the Blue Tubaluba (which replaced Bermuda Triangle, the only closed slide in the park), Thunder Run, Tubers Towers and Cliffhangers. Other attractions at Sandcastle include a "lazy river," a large swimming pool, Mon-Tsunami, a wave pool, and an area of water slides and water attractions designed specifically for children called Wet Willies.

Former Attractions

The only slide to be removed was a body slide known as "The Bermuda Triangle." It was replaced with Blue Tubaluba (2002) which is still in operation. It utilizes the same structure as the earlier body slide. Sandcastle previously offered a miniature golf course, a go-kart track and beach volleyball courts; they were replaced by the Mon Tsunami wave pool (1999) and Dragon's Den slide (2010) respectively, although the sand pit leftover from the courts was repurposed a sandbox for children.

Location

The park is located in West Homestead, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The water park is located down the road from the Waterfront, a large shopping complex with stores, restaurants, and movie theaters. The park can be easily accessed via Interstate 376, and one PRT Transit bus line, the 59 Mon Valley (which also runs past Sandcastle's sister park Kennywood) runs near the park, but does not run up to it.