About Lost Island Themepark

DISCLAIMER

Information on this site is unofficial. It is compiled by fans of Lost Island Themepark in Waterloo, Iowa. There will be inaccuracies and omissions. For official Lost Island Themepark information, visit the official website. To get an idea on the direction of this project, see my Adventureland history site. If you are interested in contributing content to this site, e-mail me at allen@parkhopping.com

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This page was last updated on 03/29/2025. Total Pages: 120. Total Files: 84.

5/18/2023 Update: FigmentJedi has been adding lore details to many entries. Walk-thru videos have been added to Realms pages and Whalebone Grill and Totara Market.

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Home - About Lost Island Themepark

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Lost Island Themepark is a new theme park that opened in Waterloo, Iowa on June 18, 2022. It is just down the road from the Lost Island Waterpark which opened in June 2001. The properties are not connected, so hopping between the two Lost Islands is done by car.

Unlike most carnival style amusement parks, Lost Island Themepark is has very specific themes for each area of the park. These area are known as "realms" and are themed after elements (Air, Water, Fire, Earth) and Spirit. The entrance area is more of a tropical theme, similar to that of the water park.

Amenities

Lost Island Waterpark entrance.

In addition to the water park and the new theme park, the owners also operate the Waterloo/Lost Island Waterpark KOA Resort. This is a campground located near the water park. As of 2022, there does not seem to be any official hotel or lodging provider.

Lore

Lost Island icon near the entrance.

Lost Island is set on a fantastical island named Auk Modu in its local tongue Aukipi and divided into several realms home to the park's five peoples. Throughout the park, messages encrypted in the Aukipi script can be found, with translation keys being found in the park's books "Sneaky Tamariki" and the Aukipi Dictionary.

Each section of the park uses a specific color scheme, often with shapes on the pavement such as large waves or water droplets in the water realm, or imprints of gears and cogs in the steampunk-inspired Air realm. The light posts also change from area to area, making it very easy to tell which section of the park you are in. (This has come in very handy when sorting photos from a visit.)

The park is inhabited by creatures known as Tamarikis. Statues of them are "hidden" throughout the park, and if you show up at the right time, you may be able to meet one in person.

Parking

Parking lot.

A large surface parking lot is located directly in front of the entrance. For opening year in 2022, parking was $10. The parking check-in has six self-service drive-up kiosks, and a parking attendance booth. The two lanes on the right are Cash or Credit, while the others are Credit Only.

The parking lot is currently unnumbered, but there are light posts with colored signs on them featuring a park symbol, such as Mura/Fire.

A long row of disabled parking spots is directly against the sidewalk nearest the entrance.

Ticket Booths

Ticket booths.

At the entrance of the park there are two free-standing ticket booths, able to sell out of three sides. Directly to the left and right of the main entrance are more ticket windows, giving them a total of 10 places to purchase tickets at the gate. If you purchase your tickets online, you can walk straight to the entrance and be scanned in without going to a ticket window.

There is a restroom located to the right of the ticket booths.

Park Layout

Lost Island uses a circular layout around a central body of water, similar to World Showcase at Disney World's Epcot. As you enter each area, a large sign with the name of the realm is present. This makes it very clear that you have entered a new section of park, which is not the case at most amusement parks.

Ara Matua (Entrance)

Ara Mutua (Entrance).

Upon entering the park, there is a large open courtyard lined with six artificial palm trees. The buildings on the left contain backstage areas ("guides only"), and Island Emporium, the park's main gift shop.

On the right side are Guest Relations, Restrooms, Rentals and Lockers.

From this area, several paths can be taken leading to other sections of the park. Heading immediately to the right (counter clockwise) leads to the Tamariki realm. Heading to the left (clockwise) leads to Mura. Proceeding forward, towards the water, will then split off in to two paths that will bypass most of those two areas.

Cosmetically, the park appears to have been designed with heading to the right (counter clockwise) in mind. If you take the left path, you end up seeing more of the backsides of buildings. With that in mind, this tour will go counter-clockwise.

The light posts in this area are black, and feature a glass pineapple at the top.

There are at least two Tamariki statues in this area.

The island's residents will often appear around Ara Matua before disembarking to the other realms, but will also congregate towards the central planter twice a day for the Lost Island Legend Ceremony, where they retell the history of the island with a little audience participation.

Tamariki (Spirit)

Tamariki (Spirit).

The first area to the right of the entrance is the children's realm. Tamariki, meaning Spirit, is full of colorful children's rides and activities. There are eight different rides, a snack stand, and a gift shop. To burn off even more energy, there is a playground.

There are animal footprints embedded in the pavement, with some tracks wandering all the way across the walkway.

The lampposts in this area look like large green flower stems, with the lights inside of flower petals at the end.

There is at least one Tamariki statue in this area.

Udara (Air)

Udara (Air).

Continuing counter-clockwise, the next area is Udara, meaning Air. The area uses rounded white shapes, representing clouds, though most seem to see them as snow or igloos.

Udara is home to four rides, one snack stand, and an interactive kinetic sculpture.

The color patterns in this area are blue and purple, painting in the shape of air currents. Embedded in the pavement are gears and cogs. The light posts are silver with a decorative cylinder hiding the lights at the top.

There is at least one Tamariki statue in this area.

Awa (Water)

Awa (Water).

The next area is Awa, meaning water. It seems to be the largest area of the park, and is split in to two area: the main land, and an "island" surrounded by water and accessible by a bridge on each side. On the official park maps, the ground paths are shown as two slightly different shades of blue, which makes me think these might be considered two separate areas, perhaps earlier in the design stage.

This area features seven rides, a drink/snack stand, and a counter service restaurant. There are two dry play areas, and a water maze play area. From the description on the official site, the water maze is supposed to have a pattern you can figure out to navigate it without getting wet. (This is the same as the similar water area Disneyland opened as part of their New Tomorrowland in 1997.) It seems most of the kids prefer getting wet, so I do not have any details on if this "maze" actually exists.

For opening season, the Thirsty Voyager was the only place in the park offering adult beverages. These included a few draft beers, with one made specifically for Lost Island, canned beers, canned seltzers, and frozen vodka lemonade drinks. There is a covered seating area behind the building that faces the water.

The pavement features blue wave and droplet shapes, and there are imprints of seashells. The lamp posts are bamboo with a wooden beam holding a square lantern.

Awa is also home to the carnival games. One location features seven different games, and the other has a photo booth and giant claw machine. The games operate on credits, which can be loaded on plastic cards obtained from a kiosk next to the photo booth.

We observed many approaching games to play them, then walking away after being told they couldn't buy credits there. It seems walking across the area to the kiosk is enough of a barrier for some folks to just not want to play. (Hint to businesses: don't make us work to give you our money.)

This area also features a tiny playground, and a large artificial sand castle surrounded by real sand.

Yuta (Earth)

Yuta (Earth).

After crossing the island bridge, the next area is Yuta, meaning Earth. This area features three rides, but only one was open during opening year. There is a counter service restaurant, and dig site.

The colors in this area are kind of a lime grean, with giant leaf shapes painted on the pavement. There are also imprints of giant leaves, giving a kind of prehistoric feel to the area.

The lamp posts are wooden pillars with round metal lanterns at the top.

This area is home to one of the most heavily themed areas in the park - Totara Market. On the outside it looks like ancient ruins with a large tree than you enter through. Even the connected restroom has fully themed walls, though the insides of these locations are modern.

The Kukui Station bumper cars are one of the only things in the park that are not themed to the area. Instead, they are generic "Spin Zone" vehicles. The recorded announcement that plays before and after the ride even refers to it as the "Spin Zone" rather than the Lost Island name. These are not traditional bumper cars. They are round and are controlled by two tank sticks, allowing the ride to spin in place. The cars will also spin if hit from the side. Very fun and different.

Mura (Fire)

Mura (Fire).

The final area is Mura, meaning Fire. This area is next to the entrance, and features the park's highly praised 3-D motion simulator dark ride. This ride has been the breakout hit of the new park, as it features a heavily detailed queue, a video preshow, an animatronic preshow, and the dark ride itself which features trackless ride vehicles with a motion base. Rides put on 3-D glasses and then up to six ride at a time, using guns tethered to the vehicle to shoot at physical and video targets. There are many detailed rooms and physical props, including animated figures. At several points, the vehicle will stop in front of a projection screen and the motion simulator will take over, making it feel like there is real forward motion. (Think "Indiana Jones" at Disneyland meets "Spider-Man" at Islands of Adventure meets "Toy Story Midway Mania" at Disney California Adventure.)

This area is also home to a snack stand, a small gift shop, and an interactive exhibit that requires multiple guests to trigger the effects.

The giant dark ride show building has a façade of buildings in front which also house First Aid, restrooms and the gift shop. There is also a large volcano. It's easily the best themed area of the park.

The pavement in this area features dark strips of what look like "lava". The lamp posts are square red poles with cylindrical lights.

Characters

Tamariki mascot. (Aoka)

The park's primary mascots are the Tamariki, a group of hooded nature spirits with curved horns and striped tails that maintain the balance of the elements on the island. Within the park's storyline and app, there are approximately twenty Tamariki on the island, which are currently represented in the park through the blue and white walkaround Tamariki Aoka and a series of totem-like Tamariki Statues hidden throughout the park.

The four elemental realms have two walkaround representatives each with other villagers appearing in queue artwork and the park's app. The Udara are represented by the scientist Lumina and the musician Bardo, the Awa are represented by the ocean maiden Kiku and the fisherman Mu (The Awa chief Alzanu appeared during the 2023 season), the Yuta are represented by the curiosa Tunika and the merchant Yamil, and the Mura are represented by the warriors Ula and Kolvak. Additionally there is a human islandologist character named Dr. Galavant and a puppet character named Ziki, a horned fox-like animal called a Yik Yik that is carried either by Dr. Galavant or Tunika.

Restrooms

Restroom outside the main entrance.

The layout of this park is excellent. Each section of the park features a restroom. There are also two drinking fountains, with one having a water bottle refill station.

The restroom entrances are color coded based on the area: I am unsure if the two blue and white colors are different shades.

• Ara Matua - yellow.
• Awa - light blue.
• Mura - white.
• Tamariki - blue.
• Udara - white.

Several locations include additional family restrooms (TODO).

The park uses air dryers instead of paper towels.

Food

Menu.

Food available included traditional theme park fair like hamburgers, but also more interesting things like wraps, salads, sausage on a stick, and rice bowls. There were also treats like Dole Whip (making the Disney fans happy, I am sure), cold brew coffee and mini donuts.

Entertainment

During the park's first year, a walkaround Tamariki mascot named Aoka would appear sporadically near the park's entrance. The 2023 season would expand on the character program with nine streetmosphere characters with two representatives for each elemental realm and a human researcher named Dr. Galavant that would rotate in and out with Aoka. The Lost Island Legend Ceremony, held around 11 am and 4 pm daily, has the characters gather near the park's entrance to recount the history of the island.