Groundbreaking was on September 18, 2007, on the land formerly occupied by the Wyandotte County Fairgrounds and the Unified Government courthouse annex, across Interstate 435 from the Kansas Speedway and Village West.

[1] Phase 2, named Schlitterbahn Vacation Village Resort, was originally planned to include over 1,000 hotel rooms, a Scheels sporting goods store, and a Riverwalk area consisting of shops and restaurants on 300 acres surrounding the water park.

In November 2012, Schlitterbahn Waterparks announced plans for the world's tallest and fastest water slide, Verrückt.

At 168 feet 7 inches (51.38 m),[4] the starting point was taller than Niagara Falls[5] and reached a maximum speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h).

On June 13, 2019, Cedar Fair (now Six Flags) agreed to buy Schlitterbahn's two parks in New Braunfels and Galveston for a price of $261 million.

[16] The adjacent Wyandotte County Courthouse Annex building was demolished beginning in February 2021,[17] and the demolition of Schlitterbahn was completed before September.