Puerto Rico waterpark has been closed since September 2009. It was demolished and is now the location of Mogan Mall shopping center.
💦 The nearest water parks to Puerto Rico Gran Canaria are
Lago Oasis Taurito water park and Aqualand Maspalomas.
This post is dedicated to all the good times spent at Atlantida Waterpark in Puerto Rico with throwback photos from our own experience, our readers memories and videos of its demolition leading up to the new shopping center being built in its place.
Atlantida Waterpark was situated near the back of Puerto Rico Shopping Centre and was open everyday from 10:00am til 18:00pm. With different sections, for the little ones and the not so little the waterpark was a fun day for all the family.
There were sun beds and parasols for hire, kids area, restaurant, snack bar and a small arcade. All in the best climate in the world.
Why did Puerto Rico Water Park Close?
Where did it all go wrong at Puerto Rico waterpark? With high prices, an impending recession plus the competition of Aqualand in Maspalomas – the Atlantida waterpark in Puerto Rico closed down. Back in 2009 a sign was put on the gates saying ‘Closed for Holidays’ – that sign was there right up until demolition day in 2017, to make way for Mogan Mall.
Puerto Rico Waterpark History
Back in the 90s, when Spain were still using pesetas, the waterpark in Puerto Rico was thriving with locals and tourists alike. It was before the Atlantida theme, but the attractions were very much the same, making it a nice change from the beach and close proximity to accommodation.
Although not boasting as many slides as Aqualand Maspalomas (then called Aquasur) or Ocean Park in Maspalomas (now closed down), the prices were good for what was on offer at around 1,200 pesetas/7€ per adult.
Rebrand to Atlantida Water Park
The rebrand was a tiki style theme and with it came the new name Atlantida. The huge totems that used to be at the entrance can now be found at the Barbacoa in Europa Shopping Center. Entry prices for more than doubled with a child’s ticket costing 15,50€. What used to be a affordable day out in Puerto Rico, became an expensive day for families and they chose to get more for their money at the bigger water park Aqualand.
From Water Park to Outdoor Shopping Center
And so, Atlantida closed, with no explanation and looking worse for wear. The slides and tiki hut roofs were beyond repair, the ticket office ransacked. Every few months there were rumours about somebody wanting to buy it and fix it back up, which we hoped was true because it was a great nearby excursion for Puerto Rico.
10th June 2016
Amid Achi, owner of El Tablero Shopping Center, announced plans to demolish Puerto Rico waterpark in a 26 million euro investment, to build a brand new Shopping Center, beginning work in 2016.
7th July 2016
The plans for the new addition to the resort moved along quicker than usual due to falling in with the modernisation plan of Mogán. The venture is backed 60% by Fund Grube owners Ghirdari and Manmohan Chhabria, 20% Amid Achi and 20% Javier Puga.
8th February 2017
We have movement! A large crane appeared inside Puerto Rico Waterpark. The famous curly slide was demolished along with several other slides. The crane was lifting up portions of the slides and bringing them down towards the gates so they can be removed.
At the point there was a LOT of work to be done on this site, with just one crane, it seemed to take forever.
13th August 2017
We took a walk round the old car park and peeked through one of the windows where we could see a mess of bottles in the old bar area. There was an umbrella and chair set up for the security guard. There was also a burnt out car on the car park. In general the place was looking more overgrown than the last time we took a look round and there appeared to be squatters living in part of the building by the bar. More portions of slides had been lifted out.