The newest theme park of the United States, Lost Island Theme Park, will open coming Saturday (18 June). The 63-hectare (159-acre) park that is located in Waterloo, IA will contain several rides, including 3 rollercoasters and an interactive dark ride called Volkanu – Quest for the Golden Idol, that was announced during the IAAPA Expo in Orlando (November 2021).
Lost Island Theme Park is owned by the Bertch family, that already owns the nearby Lost Island Water Park. According to Laughing Place, the new park has been a 15 year long dream of owner Gary Bertch. The goal of Lost Island Theme Park was to create more than a park with rides: “the experience will be closer to a Disney or a Universal Park than a Six Flags.” said Eric Bertch to Laughing Place.
The park will be divided into five themed areas, or ‘realms’: Mura (fire), Yuta (earth), Awa (water), Udara (air) and Tamariki (spirit). Every realm will have several rides in the themes of the four elements. The fifth ‘spirit’ realm will contain several children’s attractions.
The Mura-realm contains the specially designed interactive dark ride “Volkanu: Quest for the Golden Idol”. Riders will experience five minutes full of interactive 3D imagery, dynamic scenery, animatronic figures and dazzling special effects. The ride was designed by Sally Dark Rides, with the trackless ride system being delivered by ETF Ride Systems and interactive systems by Alterface.
The park was originally scheduled to open last Friday, but the park was forced to delay the opening. “Creating a brand new theme park from ground up has been a huge undertaking,” says Lori Thureson of Lost Island to Des Moines Register, “As much as we look forward to sharing it with the public, these delays are out of our control.”
