Lagoon Boom: A Newer Take on Water Attractions

FROM THE SHADE OF AN ELEGANT WHITE CABANA, a family watches as kayakers in bright yellow and orange boats cut across the brilliant blue waters of Evermore Orlando Resort. The $1.5 billion luxury destination, located just minutes from Walt Disney World, is situated around a 7.78-acre crystalline lagoon—an inland expanse of turquoise water that brings a beach-like experience to landlocked Central Florida.

Built on a portion of a former golf course, the resort features a mix of luxury vacation rental homes, a 433-key Conrad hotel, and private residences with up to 11 bedrooms. The lagoon serves as the heart of the property, bordered by two beaches—one beside the hotel, spanning 31,700 square feet, and another at the far end with a clubhouse and additional guest amenities. In addition to water-based recreational activities, guests regularly unwind by fire pits, enjoy live music, and attend outdoor movie nights.

“When coming to Florida, people are often forced to decide between the theme parks or the beach. With Evermore Bay, we’ve given our guests the unique option to do both in one location,” explains Stewart Brown, the executive vice president of hospitality for the resort’s owner and developer, Dart Interests.

The Appeal of Water

Across the globe, lagoon attractions—including surf parks, artificial beaches and even dining destination resorts—continue to become increasingly popular and bigger, with some extending to 30 acres. Crystal Lagoons, the company behind the Evermore Orlando Resort, currently has 80 lagoons in operation and tells Funworld another 1,000 projects are in development. More than 20 dynamic-wave surf parks are currently in operation, with another 100 in the pipeline.

“The connection between mankind and water is primal,” says Taylor Jeffs, the president and chief creative officer of Legacy Entertainment, which continues to work on large-scale lagoon projects in Mexico, Indonesia, and Uzbekistan. “Just as we’ve seen colossal leaps forward in the sophistication of creativity of dark rides and roller coasters, such is also the case for water park-style experiences. The universe of what’s possible is still expanding at an unfathomable pace.”

Technological Innovations and Environmental Benefits

The global rise of lagoon attractions is rooted in advancing water technologies, real estate, and people’s enduring attraction to water. New systems for wave generation, filtration, and water management continue to transform what’s possible, both creatively and operationally. The water monitoring and filtration systems— offered by companies like Martin Aquatic and Crystal Lagoons—use a fraction of the water, energy, and chemicals of traditional pools.

“Our lagoons can use any type of water, including salt and brackish, are filled only once, and operate in a closed circuit,” says Crystal Lagoons Global Business Director Jean Pierre Juanchich. “We can implement it in any environment—from cities to deserts.”

Juanchich also shares lagoons are a high-impact amenity with low operating costs. “Our lagoons utilize 50 times less energy than a regular pool and 33 times less water than an 18-hole golf course,” he says.

“On a golf course, the water is just being poured into the ground,” explains Craig Stoddart, a director of Thinking Adrenaline, a strategic consultancy that specializes in surf park development. “Apart from evaporation, surf parks don’t waste water because they are contained.”

Business Value and Development Impact

Property development is another factor driving the sector, with lagoons proving to be serious value multipliers in master-planned communities and resorts. In Australia’s Gold Coast, for example, developers at Palm Valley are offering a “front-row seat” to a surf park and golf resort that is touted as the one of the region’s “biggest tourism developments since SeaWorld and Dreamworld.” At a development north of São Paulo, a surf lagoon prompted a six-fold surge in property transactions and greater jump in property values, according to Wavegarden, which has a multi-year partnership with KSM Realty.

Development costs can run between $40-50 million, not including the cost of new hotels and other buildings. Lagoon attractions that focus on water sports and dining cost significantly less and are more attractive options for cost-conscious developers.

Innovative Lagoon Destinations

In Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK 2), a huge residential development outside Jakarta, Indonesia, whose name means “Beautiful Bay Beach,” upscale esplanades flank a canal that is the site of a “floating city mall” conceptualized by Legacy Entertainment, Agung Sedayu, and the Salim Group. The promenades link an elaborate network of overwater boardwalks that connect more than 50 restaurants, retail outlets, and entertainment facilities. Visitors dine by the water while enjoying water parades and fountain shows.

“Our client approached us with a significant creative challenge—how to activate an inlet from the Java Sea. We posed several ideas to them and were happy that they gravitated towards the most audacious of them all,” explains Jeffs. “Defying the downturn in retail, the property has been completely packed since opening in June 2023.”

Legacy is undertaking an even more ambitious water-based project in Uzbekistan, one of only two double-landlocked countries in the world, meaning you must cross at least two international borders to reach a coastline. Set to open in 2028, the Grand Serai Resort in Tashkent is a 28-hectare integrated resort with a 10-hectare lake, inspired by folklore and fairy tales.

“We made it our mission not only to present water, but to do it in ways that were shocking and unexpected,” explains Jeffs. “At the heart of our design is a massive lagoon with several functions— think of it as Las Vegas’ Bellagio meets Great Wolf Lodge.”

A waterfront shopping village, large amphitheater, and motorized watercraft will be on one side of the lagoon, while a sprawling beach and swimming lagoon, separated by invisible safety barriers, will be on the other.

Surf Park Technology and Experience

One of the biggest innovations for surf parks is new technology that creates multiple zones, so experts and beginners can surf simultaneously in the same lagoon.

“It’s very similar to a beach,” explains Stoddart’s co-director, Damon Tudor, who is currently working on a major development in Bahrain. “You’ll have a main wave that might be out the back, and then where it’s already broken, a bay area where the whitewater is great for beginners and kids with boogie boards.”

Wavegarden Cove and WhiteWater’s Endless Surf are perhaps the best-known providers of these systems, though at least half a dozen new entrants have entered the market in recent years. Wavegarden Cove uses a modular hydrodynamic paddle system, arranged along a central pier, to push water and create programmable waves. Its technology has been deployed at Australia’s Urbnsurf, Switzerland’s Alaïa Bay, and at the inland United Kingdom surf park named, The Wave. Endless Surf from Whitewater has a pneumatic system of compressed air chambers that has been deployed at O2 Surftown in Munich, among other locations.

“You want the surfers to have a good experience, but not everyone wants to ride a 2-meter-tall wave,” Tudor adds. “This is where surf parks are changing the dynamic. You’ve got a controlled environment. You’ve got lifeguards. You can turn the waves on and off.”

Tudor estimates surf parks attract 150,000-200,000 active guests a year, plus as many as 100,000 visitors who come to watch the surfers, have a drink, and enjoy the surroundings. Repeat visitation is “off the scale,” says Stoddart, who adds that some people use surf parks like a gym, surfing up to 200 times a year.

As these turquoise innovations continue to spread globally, they’re proving that with the right technology, any destination, no matter how far it is from the ocean, can create its own slice of paradise.

5 Tips for Planning a Successful Lagoon Attraction 

1. When selecting a site, keep in mind that lagoons are easier to build on flat land with relatively low water tables.
2. Complex, irregular shaped lagoons might look nice, but they are more expensive to develop than rounded ones. Lagoon technologies have economies of scale—the larger the lagoon, the lower the cost per acre.
3. During the permitting process, be prepared to answer questions about water usage. Statistics comparing lagoons with other attractions, such as golf courses, are useful to have on hand.
4. Liners, rockwork, and edging materials fade or degrade over time. Select UV-stable, stain-resistant materials and plan for mid-life refurbishment costs.
5. Wave generation systems in surf parks can be power-intensive, so plan to optimize with off-peak energy contracts, solar integration, or battery backups. Include cooling and maintenance time in scheduling to avoid burnout of mechanical systems.