After months of speculation and what was thought to be the beginnings of a lengthy legal battle between NLand and the county, NLand Surf Park announced today that it would be opening up its doors on Friday October 7th. It also released a longer video showing the wave and the pool. Both the waves and the water looked beautiful in what is the most advanced public surf pool in the world at this time, and the second Wave Garden in as many years. Prices are set at US$90/ hour for the main peak, with no differentiation between days of the week or times, and up to 10 surfers per session. There’s no public mention of wave rate and how many waves each surfer can expect on the site. Upon the news, the site immediately appeared to struggle under what was likely the heavy load of clients trying to book through their reservation system. All indications would point to sell-out for the coming months, repeating the experience of Surf Snowdonia in 2015 and Typhoon Lagoon at Disney World in Orlando to this day.
NLand represents a bare-bone 'surfers first' approach to a Surf Park, with little beyond the pool to attract a wider clientele and maximize dwell time and revenues. Their approach has been very much focussed on a pool for surfers. Given they have set a new and very high mark for artificial waves, and in a warm-climed, wave-starved and wealthy region, this will without a doubt be a success independent of what goes on around the pool.
We wish NLand all the best and look forward to riding their perfect waves soon!