WhiteWater Named Exclusive Vendor for Bellevue’s Mattel-Themed Waterpark

The future of Bellevue Bay Indoor Waterpark is becoming clearer as another major partner has officially joined the growing Mattel-themed entertainment project planned for Bellevue’s Highway 34 corridor.

Recently, Vancouver-based water attraction manufacturer WhiteWater announced it has been selected as the exclusive global water attraction vendor for all future Mattel Wonder Indoor Waterparks being developed by American Resort Management.

The company will provide water slides, wave pools, aquatic play structures, and other attractions for the planned parks, including the Bellevue Bay project, which city officials say will be the first Mattel-branded location to open.

Bellevue Director of Economic and Community Development Harrison Johnson said the announcement is an important step forward for the project. “This is great news because it shows how much the Mattel brand is investing in their location-based entertainment, which Bellevue will be the first one to open at least a year and a half before all others,” Johnson said.

According to the announcement, WhiteWater was selected because of its global experience developing large-scale water attractions and integrating well-known intellectual properties into immersive entertainment destinations. The parks are expected to feature Mattel brands including Barbie and Hot Wheels integrated into attractions and themed experiences.

Johnson said partnering with a single vendor should also help streamline development in Bellevue.

“It will help us due to efficiencies that WhiteWater will have at producing Mattel-branded slides as opposed to using a variety of slide vendors,” he said.

Despite the scope of the new partnership, Johnson said Bellevue’s project timeline should not be impacted.

“Being the first, it was important to us that we don’t experience the downsides as being a ‘test case’ as much as possible,” Johnson said. “So no, WhiteWater’s new venture shouldn’t delay us at all.”

The Bellevue entertainment district surrounding the waterpark project also continues to attract development interest. Johnson said the city is aiming to finalize land sales for the district’s planned hotels later this month.

Johnson added that interest in the broader entertainment district has accelerated since construction activity began. “We’ve seen a significant amount of interest since construction has started, and we are hoping to make a big announcement on that end by the end of summer or sometime in the fall,” he said.

He also confirmed that additional national and international brands have expressed interest in the area since the Mattel partnership was first announced, though no further announcements are ready yet.

| Image Courtesy of Holland Basham Architects |