Grand opening of Atlantic Park: A high-tech wave pool operating like a well-oiled machine

Only two days after opening it feels like it has been there for years

Yesterday I arrived at Atlantic Park, the surf park in Virginia Beach partially owned by Pharrell Williams. Only two days after opening it feels like it has been there for years. Here’s what I witnessed.

Atlantic Park is a high-tech facility that runs like a well-oiled machine. Every interaction you have as a guest appears to have a standard operating procedure written and rehearsed to address it. Check-in and get your wrist band, scan here to enter the surfboard bay, wait here as a team assembles the board for you. Meet here. Scan. Scan. Veer left to get sized for your rash guard, color coordinated so all the staff on site know what session you are in.

Nothing at the park was overlooked. Atlantic Park already felt professional and commercialized similar to a large amusement park. Like Six Flags. This is a distinct contrast to the laid back attitude of Palm Springs Surf Club, the fast and spontaneous spirit of Revel Surf, or the wild west atmosphere of Waco Surf. From their building design to their on-site logistics, Atlantic Park is modern and clean cut, with a staff that handles 30 people in their 2.67 acre pool like a focused volleyball team. They seem to rally together no matter what is getting thrown their way.

I could see the gears churning for the young team members performing well-rehearsed roles. They were aiming to get things perfect and learning eagerly when they did not. Meanwhile more aged managers walked around determinedly with phones buzzing in their hands and slight looks of panic on their faces. Their bodies seemed to be asking for just a couple more hours of sleep but their enthusiasm about the park being open might not have allowed it given the opportunity.

My body also deeply craved sleep after an 11 hour drive from Boston to Virginia Beach. But by the time I paddled out to catch my first wave I too was in hyper focus mode. It was an easy state to get into. The 15 wave sets of the Wavegarden machine used to generate ocean-like waves into the pool felt endless. I never had the sensation of waiting around to break me out of flow.

With back to back repetitions I could see the impact of slight adjustments on my performance. A performance of mostly wipeouts involving scraped knuckles, a crack across the nose of my rental board, and a welt on my thigh where the fins made contact. Eventually I started angling my takeoff and getting up and riding like an acrobat in training, fighting for their life on a tight rope. As a new surfer with only three years under my belt, I found the progressive session, a step up from beginner, to be challenging but doable. Fortunately the front desk allowed me to swap out the intermediate session I had booked for another progressive session.

Besides surfing, Atlantic Park will soon offer restaurants, retail, and a boutique hotel. For now there is only one food option, an airstream run by a small local chain offering pre-made sandwiches and bowls. But that was already sufficient to keep me on-site long enough to get a parking ticket.

Each surf park in North America has a unique poolside vibe. Atlantic Park had my favorite. I was happy to just hang out amongst a sea of comfortable lounge chairs. I didn’t feel like I was in the way, isolated, overstimulated, or expected to leave. Even with the deafening sound of jets from a nearby military base flying over head in unpredictable intervals, I found myself deep in conversation with another guest and stayed at the park for hours.

Time changes all things. Atlantic Park won’t be buzzing with brand new baby energy forever. No surf park can. But my hope is that they never lose it entirely. And I know that in Virginia Beach this is absolutely possible.

Before my surf session, I drove across the Chesapeake Bay and chanced upon the world’s friendliest Starbucks. I opened the door and was instantly greeted by a cheerful team, “Welcome in!” After being served at my table, I proceeded to see them greet every other guest that morning, stranger or local, with the same genuine enthusiasm.

The person at the register said “Hi Mark!” and every other member of the team followed. In one conversation an employee said to a customer “I love the color of your pants Cheryl” and in another a customer asked an employee “How was your birthday?” I witnessed a room full of the energy you’d expect at an establishment opening its doors for the first time.

If a Starbucks can feel like this, who is to say the neighboring Atlantic Park can’t?