originally posted on 7/28/2023
Photo: Xander Lee. View full-sized image.
News flash: Texas is hot in the summer.
Okay, so that isn’t really news. ACE South Central enjoys supporting many of its parks throughout the year, and the summer season allows a waterpark or two to creep in there.
On July 15, it was the first time for the region to support a Hawaiian Falls waterpark. This is largely due to Ron McKenzie, who has established a reputation for being very supportive of ACE, regardless of the various parks in which he had worked. McKenzie, now at the marketing helm for Pro Parks, invited ACEers out to one of the company’s properties — and 57 members accepted.
The Hawaiian Falls park selected for this year was the facility in Waco. At check-in, everyone received a lei (and yes, there is a joke to be had there) as well as other goodies.
Check-in had ACE members receiving merchandise including Hawaiian leis appropriate for the occasion.
Photo: Jason Knutson. View full-sized image.
These parks are intended to be neighborhood parks, so they are not on the scale of some of the more renowned, monstrous parks across the state. However, what the park — and Aloha Con — brought was intimacy. A reserved pavilion allowed members to be together, whether it was over a meal, a frothy beverage or fun conversation.
Ron McKenzie welcomes members to a reserved pavilion inside Hawaiian Falls for many of the event’s activities.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
This event had more perks exceeding those at which one could shake a pool noodle. The admission, early ERT, breakfast, drink bottle with all day refills, lunch and two adult beverages were all included for a nominal registration fee that hardly matched the value of so many courtesies. For those who drove into town and stayed over in Waco, the park even provided another admission ticket if anyone wanted to come the next day (or later in the season). It was all one huge and generous welcome.
Attendees were allowed into the park an hour early before the public. The wave pool and the two large slide towers were open exclusively for the assembled enthusiasts.
Aloha Con attendees enjoy Hawaiian Falls’ water slides and wave pool before they opened to the public for the day.
Photo: Xander Lee. View full-sized image.
Photo: Xander Lee. View full-sized image.
Lunch was Tex-Mex fare, catered by the Texas chain Chuy’s, and there were enough chips and dips to feed a thousand ACEers, or so it seemed.
The park staff threw in some other fun moments, often led by Park Director Daniel Nguyen. A tug-of-war in the wave pool and a hula hoop contest at lunchtime were all in good fun. Nguyen also encouraged attendees to join the foam party shortly after lunch.
Some ACE members participated in a tug-of-war in the wave pool, while others took part in a hula hoop contest.
Photo: Xander Lee. View full-sized image.
Photo: Jeff Braziel. View full-sized image.
With a very hot summer, being in a waterpark is the most advisable outdoor activity. Those who continued to enjoy the park could be seen in the lazy river or enjoying one of those select beverages. A dip in the wave pool also kept the scorching heat at bay.
ACE was grateful for the extremely gracious welcome by McKenzie, Nguyen and the park team who showed attendees a great time on what would become a busy summer Saturday.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News
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