Alabama Splash Adventure 2015 attendance up from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Alabama Splash Adventure attendance is up 30 percent over a year ago and with the popularity of the resurrected Rampage roller coaster, the new owners are already turning their thoughts on how to make the water and theme park bigger and better in 2016.

Dan Koch and his mother, “the general” are at the park every day. (Michael Tomberlin/Alabama NewsCenter)

Dan Koch, president of Alabama Splash Adventure, said people have responded to the family-friendly, clean and hospitable atmosphere his family has created since buying the closed-down park last year.

“Things are going fantastic at Alabama Splash Adventure,” Koch said. “We are super excited and delighted that the citizens, the people of the state of Alabama, have come to love us as much as we love being here.”

Since Koch Family Parks invested more than $7 million to buy and prepare Alabama Splash Adventure for the 2014 season, the Koch family has made every effort to convince the public that the park is run differently than under past owners.

For one thing, Koch and his mother – dubbed “the general” – are at the park every day helping with everything from picking up litter to welcoming guests.

Funnel cakes are among the items sold on Main Street. (Michael Tomberlin/Alabama NewsCenter)

“It takes a lot of hard work running a family-owned and -operated park,” Koch said. “We are here seven days a week from start to finish because this park needs tender-loving care of families serving Alabama families.”

The hot spring and early summer has definitely helped draw people to the park to cool off, Koch said.

“Heat is our friend in the theme park and water park industry,” he said. “It’s been a hot summer but you can always cool off in the lazy river in the afternoons. The ‘washer’ is the lazy river and then you’ve got the ‘dryer’ over here, which is the Rampage.”

The Rampage is a wooden roller coaster, which was the focal point of the park when it opened in 1998. It has garnered global notoriety and The Weather Channel named the Rampage the top thrill ride in Alabama.

Previous owners let the coaster fall into disrepair but the Koch family invested heavily to not only restore, but improve the Rampage.

“It’s running better and faster than ever. We added uplift track steel so that it goes smoother over those hills and into those curves,” Koch said. “Due to technological improvements, it is running smoother and faster than when it first opened in 1998. We use advanced computers to test it through the curves and through the straights to make sure that it’s running perfectly. We are really pleased with it and the guests are responding accordingly.”

The return of the Rampage roller coaster has spurred attendance. (Michael Tomberlin/Alabama NewsCenter)

Already this year, coaster enthusiasts from Brisbane, Australia; Oxford and London, England; and Ottawa, Canada have traveled to the park to ride the Rampage, Koch said.

“People are traveling from across the globe just to ride the Rampage and then they get to enjoy Alabama Splash Adventure,” Koch said. “So, it is fantastic to have one of the best wooden roller coasters located right here in Alabama.”

The Koch family has owned and operated Holiday World and Splashin’ Safari in Santa Claus, Ind., for decades. Alabama Splash Adventure is the first park they have owned and operated outside of their core parks.

Hot weather draws people to the water park. (Michael Tomberlin/Alabama NewsCenter)

VisionLand was the “vision” of then-Fairfield Mayor Larry Langford. Langford, now serving a prison sentence on public corruption charges stemming from his time as a Jefferson County commissioner, convinced 11 Jefferson County municipalities to join forces and spend $90 million to finance VisionLand.

Southland Entertainment Group bought VisionLand out of a bankruptcy transaction for $5.25 million and invested $5 million more to create Alabama Adventure in 2003. General Attractions, which sold the park to Koch, bought the park in January 2012 and invested $1.5 million to add four new attractions. Most of the theme park rides were sold off by previous owners, who focused on the water park side of the business.

VisionLand’s failure and subsequent absentee owners have left the park somewhat snakebit, Koch believes. But public opinion is coming around thanks to bold moves like offering free parking, soft drinks, Wi-Fi and sunscreen. Most important, however, is daily owner involvement, he said.

“It takes awhile to regain the trust of the community about some things that have gone on here in the past,” Koch said. “We are blessed that Alabama people and folks have discovered that the Koch family does care. We care. We bought this theme park because we love theme parks. We love owning and operating theme parks.”

T-shirts featuring the popular roller coaster are a big seller in the gift shop. (Michael Tomberlin/Alabama NewsCenter)

Koch said the family can’t change the past but wants the public to know they are committed to the future of Alabama Splash Adventure.

“As long as I’m alive, this is going to be a Koch-family owned and operated theme park. I can guarantee you this – nobody is crazy enough to buy this park except the Koch family anyway,” he said. “But we love it. We’re not interested in flipping this property. It’s in the Koch family and once it becomes part of the Koch family, it’s like a brother or sister. If you have a theme park heart, which we have, this thing becomes a part of your family.”

So, with the success of the Rampage, can we expect the “family” to grow?

“We have a long-term plan of increasing rides and slides. I’m not going to reveal which side of the park we are doing, but we’re going to continue to bring back both the ride section and the water park section,” Koch said. “The water park section, when we bought it, was in pretty good shape. It’s a big water park. The ride park, not so good.”

Who wants candy? (Michael Tomberlin/Alabama NewsCenter)

Koch said there are plans to keep investing in both the water park and the theme park.

“The five-year plan is more rides and then slides, but it’s a little bit of both alternating kind of in between years,” he said. “So, 2016 is going to be great and it’s just going to keep getting better and better because the Koch family is wired for growth. What a blessing it is to be here in the great state of Alabama to be able to grow a fantastic park like Alabama Splash Adventure.”

The more attendance continues to grow, the more accelerated those plans can become, Koch said.

“The more they come, the more stuff we can build,” he said. “Come on out so we can build and grow this thing together. It’s going to be a great park. We’re just getting started, Alabama.”

The 89-acre park is located off Interstate 20/59, Exit 110 in Bessemer. Alabama Splash Adventure is open 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sunday.