Big Rivers Waterpark & Adventures features water slides, a lazy river, an inflatable aqua park and an aerial ropes course. It is part of a 632-acre plan for the Grand Texas development.
"People are cooped up—they're going to want to get out," Galland said in the video. "You're going to have a lot of fun, whether you're going to be on the water park side or you're going to be at the petting zoo. Everything is open and operating and ready to go."
Gov. Greg Abbott announced April 27 his plan to reopen the economy in phases, as Community Impact Newspaper reported. Phase 1 allows all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls to reopen May 1 at 25% capacity; Phase 2, which will be around May 18, will include openings for for more businesses, and others can operate at 50% capacity as long as the virus remains contained, Abbott said.
Galland said he believes the park will be safe for individuals to visit during the coronavirus outbreak due to the summer heat and reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that there is no evidence the virus can be transmitted through the water in pools, hot tubs, spas or water play areas.
Additionally, the park will implement several social distancing practices, including moving lounge chairs further apart and keeping dining areas separated to encourage "natural social distancing," Galland said.
"We're working on systems on how to keep things safer [and] keeping more distance, so you're going to see a lot of that," he said.
New items at the park this year include an archery range and axe throwing, he said.
In the future, the Grand Texas development will also feature a theme park, a Sportsplex, more retail space and the Grove Factory Outlets.
Other waterparks across the state are also planning for a tentative May opening. Hurricane Harbor in Spring and Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort in New Braunfels and Galveston have postponed their openings until at least mid-May, according to notices on both parks' websites.
Community Impact Newspaper has reached out to Schlitterbahn Waterpark & Resort officials for further comment.
