Beach Park: A Splashing Success

The Origin

Beach Park began with a dream and a vision that transformed and grew the property into a destination.

In 1985, developer Ednilton Soárez opened his beachside restaurant as the anchor of a real estate development project. One fateful trip to Orlando changed everything. Soárez’s visit to the now retired Wet ‘n Wild water park sparked inspiration. He returned to Brazil with the vision to create a world-class attraction for the Latin America market.

“That was the seed for what happened next—in 1989 the water park opened as the first attraction,” Murilo Pascoal, CEO of Beach Park, explains to Funworld. The facility became one of the first water parks in Brazil, starting with a lazy river and a single tower with five slides. “From that point on, we kept growing the park.”

Over the years, the park has added attention-grabbing attractions, like Insano, which opened as one of the world’s tallest water slides in 1997. That spirit of innovation and creative thinking continue to be a common thread running through each new arttraction.

Park leaders point to their 2021 Tobomusik slides, made by Polin Waterparks, as one key example. The planned tower of three slides did not have record-breaking features, but thinking outside the box allowed Beach Park to create a new type of experience in their market. The translucent-colored sections on the slide’s design reminded Pascoal of the lights found inside a discotheque. “It would be nice if we had some sound inside [combining] sound and light, like a dance club. We did a test with a loudspeaker, and it worked well,” Pascoal recalls. Tobomusik opened as a unique experience with lights and music inside the slide—a first in Latin America.

Marketing Splashy Synergies

As the property continued to grow, park officials began looking for ways to attract visitors from a wider area. “We are in Fortaleza, a three-hour flight from the main markets [of] Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and all that. We have to attract our main crowd from a little bit far away,” Pascoal explains.

Creating a sense of exclusivity has allowed the resort to thrive.

“Brazil is very rich and has a lot of beautiful destinations around, so we know we have to create something unique and special,” elaborates Clarisse Linhares Machado, Beach Park’s marketing director. “Every time that we create something, we make our brand stronger—and we know that when we do—more people want to come here. It's a formula that we use.”

The park has found significant success through partnerships with high-profile guests for marketing campaigns to further elevate Beach Park’s profile. Pascoal mentions partnering with the popular Brazilian DJ Alok to create a playlist for Tobomusik, who then made an appearance at the ride’s opening as both an emcee and performer. “The ride was not that big, but the excitement around it was great,” Pascoal shares. “We always try to create something special, something different.”

Surreal, the new water coaster, also was part of an elaborate marketing campaign. When Guinness certified the ride, a year had passed since the official opening. Beach Park didn’t miss the opportunity to treat the certification ceremony as a second inauguration for the ride. Drawing on Aqua Park’s beachfront location—which is popular for surfers—the event featured appearances by world-renowned surfers who gave lessons in a nearby pool, along with music, dancing, and a specialty menu. Leaning into the park’s setting and creating a full experience inforced its core identity. “We knew that this combination is who we are. It makes us different to be around the surf theme,” shares Machado.

One Common Goal

Beach Park’s 2,300 employees are encouraged to live by the company’s purpose: to create happy moments. Management empowers the employees through the mantra of “plan, do, check, and act,” maintaining a standard of excellence. The operator believes that when employees are treated well, a trickle-down effect takes place: employees pass along the positive energy to the guest, creating a memorable and uplifting guest experience.

“They have the autonomy to do it well, and we follow that up when the result of their work is good,” Pascoal explains. “You have to plan it; you have to do it right as you plan; then you check if you did it right; and then you act by correcting what is wrong in the process. We do that all over the company.”

With Beach Park’s roots in the restaurant business, it’s no surprise that F&B offerings remain central to the park’s identity. Machado outlines the importance that food plays, saying that culinary is not simply a complement to the guest experience; it’s essential. The team has found strong profitability by leaning into fresh, local food festivals, a strategy other operators can adopt to drive success.

“We always think of local, fresh ingredients,” Machado says. “We know that the vacation experience is [based] around new experiences with food, so everyone goes from here and thinks, ‘Oh, that's different, that's unique.’”

Beach Park’s success is a result of successful partnerships forged over the decades with some of the industry partners, including WhiteWater, ProSlide, and Polin Waterparks. “When we go to IAAPA Expo, we stop and say, ‘Hey, what would be the different thing to do next?’” Pascoal says. “That collaboration is something that we try to do together,” adding it’s essential that suppliers visit his property to see their vision.

Beach Park’s management also emphasizes the importance of using a week spent at IAAPA Expo to explore other central Florida attractions and potentially gain inspiration that can be taken back home. Inspired by Disney Springs and Universal CityWalk, Beach Park built Vila Azul do Mar, a retail and dining area. Sourcing inspiration from their visits to central Florida, Beach Park also diversified its offerings and created an area to host retail, dining, and events.

“I think this is something that completes the products that we offer to the client,” Pascoal says.

The plan has worked. Through its history, Beach Park has become a place where Brazilians have demonstrated a sense of ownership—a sense of belonging that every operator could benefit from.

“They come here and they think, ‘It’s ours,’” he concludes.