DENVER — Follow this reporter down a rabbit hole – one that has consumed more of my valuable work time than my bosses would probably prefer.
My suspicion started with a tip about a viral Facebook post from one of those pages that posts a lot of Colorado memes – "All About Colorado." The post from May 20 announced a new “water thrill park” coming to Denver in the summer of 2025. The post promises nine “attractions” including a world-record-breaking water slide. It’s called Glacier Beach Colorado.
The post got more than 4,000 responses from users on Facebook, 1,400 comments and 1,800 shares.
The tipster noted this wasn’t the first time a post about Glacier Beach Colorado went viral. In fact, it happens almost like clockwork. Each year since 2022, a verbatim post gets nearly the same amount of attention or even more. In 2022 and 2023, the posts announced Glacier Beach Colorado would open near Denver in the summer of 2024. This year the opening date moved back to 2025.
After publication of this article, Glacier Beach Colorado's vice president Jake "JT" Levi e-mailed 9NEWS claiming that Glacier Beach had no association with the "All About Colorado" page. But in February of 2022, the same month viral posts about Glacier Beach started, Glacier Beach Colorado posted on its own Facebook page that it had partnered with the "All About Colorado" page to present a non-fungible token (NFT) auction featuring the park's mascot.
"We did partner with 'All About Colorado' for one sponsored post related to an NFT asset," Levi said by email Saturday. "No other information was authorized, and we asked them to remove any inaccurate statements. In early 2022, we still planned to open in 2023/2024, but those plans fell through, as explained in our FAQ."
Any good reporter would ask these questions: who, what, where, and when?
A visit to Glacier Beach Colorado’s website didn’t provide any of those answers.
When?
An FAQ page on the site says an opening date for the park hasn’t been announced yet.
Where?
The website says a previous location in Golden fell through and the park is still in the process of looking for a new location. An unnamed spokesperson emailed me back to say the company is in contact with two local jurisdictions and three large property development companies. They just wouldn’t tell me where or give me the names of those companies.
Who?
The website lists a President and CEO of Glacier Beach Colorado – a man named Anthony “Big Tony” Tyler. I’ve tried to track down any Anthony Tyler with ties to this park but had no success. I asked the unnamed spokesperson to reassure me that "Big Tony" is real.
“Anthony 'Big Tony' is indeed a real person, and he is working diligently with JT, our Director of Operations, and our stakeholders to move this project forward,” the unnamed emailer wrote. “As is common in large-scale developments, public announcements and video content will be released once we reach more advanced stages of development.”
What?
The website has a few stock photos of people enjoying typical water park features. I found the same photos in our own Adobe Stock bin. It also includes, let’s call them aspirational, renderings of what the water park might look like if it's ever built, though disclaimers throughout remind people the images and videos are “concepts only and not final renderings, all concepts are subject to change.”
The website’s FAQ promises a “resort” where people can stay. Every room has a balcony.
This got pretty weird
Remember those emails I mentioned? I received them after I reached out to Glacier Beach Colorado’s “media team.” I have yet to speak to an actual human being who will identify themselves.
The emails are verbose and strange. I ran them through a couple of artificial intelligence detectors which indicated with high confidence that they had been written by AI. After the original publication of this article, Levi disputed the claim that these e-mails were written by AI.
I may have gotten a little snippy in my initial request suggesting the park seemed, well, fake.
The unnamed emailer didn’t like that.
“We would like to emphasize that we do not appreciate being referred to as 'fake' or a 'scam,'" the unnamed 'media team member' wrote back. “Glacier Beach Colorado is a legitimate project with a vision to create an exceptional entertainment destination.”
“Quite frankly, the journey to realizing visionary projects often entails facing numerous obstacles and setbacks. When Walt Disney embarked on the journey to build Disneyland, he encountered rejection for locations and funding multiple times. It was only through his unwavering determination and the steadfast support of his brother Roy that Disneyland became a reality, inspiring generations to dream, innovate, and create magic.”
When I responded and pressed a bit more asking for reassurance that "Big Tony" is a real person, the emailer again didn’t like it.
“We are disappointed by the dismissive tone and accusatory nature of your emails. As a consumer investigator, it is crucial to approach your inquiries with an open mind and a commitment to thorough research.”
So, with an open mind, I did some thorough research
Glacier Beach Colorado, LLC is registered as a business with the Colorado Secretary of State. The company is registered to Northwest Registered Agent, LLC another company that registers LLCs in Colorado. The business address is listed at a building along Broadway in Boulder where that LLC registration company is located.
The original registered agent for the business was someone named Morgan Noble. I searched for a Morgan Noble in Colorado and had no luck. Then I read some reporting from Wired that listed “Morgan Noble” among personas typically used to register businesses around the country.
I reached out to a couple of planning departments for local jurisdictions. They didn’t know what I was talking about.
I tried to track down "Big Tony" but only hit dead ends.
I started looking at old versions of Glacier Beach’s website and found in the past the company had a store selling Glacier Beach merch and a feature allowing people to “reserve admission” into the park. By the way, the old website actually had prices listed - $42 for a single-day ticket and $99 for a “premium day” ticket.
The current website also has a spot where you can sign up for an email list, mentioning that more than 72,000 have signed up.
Curious about all the data they’ve collected about Coloradans interested in a future water park, I asked the unnamed emailer what they do with it. They pointed me toward a privacy policy:
“We may collect personal information, such as your name, email address, postal address, phone number, and payment information, when you voluntarily provide it to us. We may also collect non-personal information, such as your IP address, browser type, operating system, and browsing preferences, through the use of cookies and similar technologies.
We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to third parties without your consent, except as described in this Privacy Policy. We may share your information with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website, conducting business, or servicing you, as long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential.”
I have no idea who stands behind that policy, as, again, I’ve been unable to connect with any people associated with Glacier Beach Colorado willing to go on the record with a name.
Since publication of this article, the park's vice president Jake "JT" Levi has reached out to 9NEWS.
The conclusion
I remain skeptical about Glacier Beach Colorado. I'm more skeptical than the handful of media outlets that have posted articles based on the very little information shared in viral Facebook posts.
After I started asking questions, Glacier Beach Colorado started following my professional Facebook page. They commented on a picture of my son with a message that will keep me on this story for a while.
“This little guy will be ready for GBC once it finally opens! Several years out. Stay tuned!”
EDITORS NOTE: This article has been updated with information sent by e-mail to 9NEWS by Glacier Beach Colorado's vice president, Jake "JT" Levi, following the original publication.
Do you know anything about the people behind Glacier Beach Colorado? Or do you have another consumer problem? Contact 9NEWS Consumer Investigator Steve Staeger.
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