ORLANDO, Fla. — Wet 'n Wild Orlando will be permanently closing on Dec. 31, 2016, park officials announced Wednesday.
Wet 'n Wild Orlando has been in business on International Drive for 38 years, opening its doors in March 1977, and is home to about 300 employees.
The park had opened the Aqua Drag Racer™, just a year ago.
Photos: Popular Wet 'n Wild slides
The park wrote in a Facebook post, "Thank you to our fans for all of the countless memories."
“It’s just sad. I’ve been to a lot of water parks and this is by far the best one I’ve ever been to,” tourist Jake Caldwell said. “Forty years, that’s a lot of history to just close it down. I say they leave it open.”
A blog posted on the company's Facebook called Wet 'n Wild Orlando "America's first water park," and "The birthplace of numerous innovations."
The post also pushes to the development of Universal's new Volcano Bay Water Park.
The park is owned by NBCUniversal.
Universal spokesperson Tom Schroder would not talk about future plans for the 50-acre property.
http://twitter.com/icFloridaEvents/status/611195931833335809
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