Water World — Attraction in Federal Heights

Honestly I have been going to this place for over 10 years now, and have been there over 100 times thanks to working there and season passes as a kid. I would fully recommend Water World to visit, for your kid(s) or even as (an) adult(s). There are many reasons, but that's not what anyone would want from a review. Instead I will give some information about the park. There are 3* lazy rivers, the main one, the kid one, *and the other is a ride that's similar (Tortuga Run) There are 4 kid centered areas in the park, 2 of which are good for the very young (babies or very young kids) There are a lot of rides that are for thrill, from not much intensity, to ones that are very much so (Such as "White Lightning", now called "The Peaks Speed Slides") There are various food places around the park. They generally tend to have similar items, though there are unique things only at one of them, so it's good to see them all. There are 3 Dippin' Dots, close to the entrance, in thunder bay, and in the alpine springs area. There is also a proper ice cream place in the thunder bay area, Aokee's. They also have many other cold/frozen things there is you want any. There are restrooms all around the park, as well as trash/recycling cans (Please throw away your trash/put your recyclables in them) The merchandise store is at the entrance area, and they sell other things for use in the park (Such as water shoes or goggles) if you need them. There are multiple first aid areas, as well as many people around the park to assist you, and they are kind. (Please treat them well) There are a ton of rides, and if you are in the middle of the summer the lines will make it impossible to ride every ride. If you wish to have short/almost no lines, I would recommend right around the time the park opens, as the first couple of weeks tend to be slow. The drawback is that it will most likely be colder. Even if not the beginning, the lines tend to be shorter on days that are more cloudy, colder, or generally not "Ideal". Be warned if you go near/on a holiday for it to possibly have a lot of people, so lines and sitting areas could be "worse". Other than that, do not bring your own alcohol, knives (or any form of weaponry), or generally things youd expect to not be allowed to take in. You can bring in food/drinks/snacks. There are the scanners (like the airport ones) that all bags are required to go through, as well as metal detectors you pass through. Don't break into the park, it is a bad idea. There is an ATM near in the entrance area. There are maps you get at the entrance/guest services (To my knowledge they are free, not 100% sure) There are a lot of shelters all around the park, so if weather decides to be silly and a tornado hits you can rest assured you will be safe.

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There are 3 smoking areas around the park, Calypso Cove, Alpine Springs, and South Beach/The West Coast Adventure (Lest side of Thunder Bay path) There are 3 areas that serve beer/cocktails in the park as well, The entrance area, The West Coast Adventure (Right side of Thunder Bay path), and Alpine Springs. The Alpine Springs Drinking/Smoking areas are very close to the other.

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I really enjoy this park, all of the rides are fun (personally dont like zoomerang but I am in the vast minority) I would fully recommend coming here. If you're visiting from anywhere, or it's your first time, I promise it will be fun. I fully enjoy coming back despite having been there so many times. Even riding the same ride well over 200 times (journey to the center of the earth to be exact) I still enjoy going on the ride. This place is wonderful, and I would fully recommend it for a vacation, or to get a season pass and come often.

Thank you for reading, have a...

The Most Disappointing Experience

Avoid having any expectations when renting a cabana.* The stark reality is that you are essentially paying a high price just for shade. I reserved a cabana in Alpine Springs for eight of us, with the main goal of surprising my husband and celebrating his 40th birthday with friends. We arrived at 9 a.m. for the “early admission.”

Upon entering the park, I approached the ticket checker and inquired about the best way to reach our cabana. She instructed us to go right once inside, but those directions were completely inaccurate. We then decided to stop by the “customer service desk” to ask for help, but after waiting in line for 45 minutes, the employee could not locate our reservation, even though we had the confirmation email and reservation number. By now, it was 10:15 a.m., and all my guests were arriving, eager to participate in the surprise, leading to a frustrating waste of an hour and a half.

Eventually, we made our way to Alpine Springs, but the surprise was already spoiled, as guests were left waiting. Upon arriving at the cabana, we found ourselves having to locate it without any guidance from staff, who seemed unaware of the layout.

At 11:30 a.m., the surprise was completely ruined. Our “host” also failed to have our reservation noted. After explaining the situation, we were finally escorted to cabana #9. Once inside, I requested the wristbands, popcorn, cups, and other items included in our “Big Kahuna Package.” To my dismay, they did not have these items listed either, forcing me to show my bank transaction to prove we had indeed paid for the “BIGGEST Package.”

The Big Kahuna Package claims to offer unlimited soda, which is true; however, you must fetch it yourself from the bottom of the hill. Refills are permitted only every 30 minutes, and you receive just 18 seconds of soda per visit. Each person gets one paper cup, and if you lose it, no replacements will be provided!

Popcorn and ice are unlimited as well, but we had to wait for our host to bring them to us. Unfortunately, we did not receive any ice or popcorn until after 2 p.m., which rendered their inclusion pointless. For the Dip n’ Dots, you are given a voucher but must collect it on your own and use it that same day.

As for the Fast Pass, we received one, but while it is valid for four people, only one person can wear it. What are the other three supposed to do while our friend uses it?

Our host was not knowledgeable about certain rides, what the Fast Pass included, or even that there was a fan in our cabana. They did not assist us in any way. The promise of having a host implies a level of service similar to that of a server, but this was far from the case. Shouldn't the cabana have been set up and welcoming? Why am I paying $484.98 plus tax (not including admission tickets) for mere shade, a table, and a fan?

I am extremely disappointed, as this was intended to be a grand surprise for my husband's 40th birthday, but it turned into a headache instead. We didn’t even get to experience any rides until after 12:30 p.m.

After this experience, we will never rent a cabana again or spend this...

The responses from the park owner to these reviews is atrocious customer service and a very poor way to represent your own company. We went today and were incredibly disappointed. First of all, the park cleanliness was not great. The water was pretty dang cold. Lockers are small and expensive, everything is expensive. None of the refill station would let us fill water, they wanted us to pay for new waterbottles everytime. The whole park is pretty confusing unless you are a frequent attendee. No refunds, no convenience, no customer service, crap gift shop, expensive crappy food, no consistency between staff, website is misleading and terrible, no accountability. This place needs to be reported to the better business beuro for stealing from their customers. WATERWORLD, DO BETTER! Between the many negative Facebook reviews and the few on Google, your reputation is going down the toilet along with your park. Secondly, don't ask anyone for directions or help or where to purchase an item or check something. Its an inconvenience to them, they avoid looking at you, and just point in a direction saying over to the right or over that way. Last, I can NOT comprehend the rudeness, chaos, lack of signs and accurate information, making people wait in 90 minute line to borrow a tube for a slide. Carry that giant tube up the metal stairs by yourself. Stand in another 60 to 90 minute line for said slide. They take your tube at the end of the slide and you have to do it all over again. Wait in a line to go wait in a line. Also, you'll have to reserve cabanas/bungalow months in advance if you want one but from the comments i read its not worth it. Customer service is wretched. The park is massive and very few connecting paths, it's like walking through a maze. The wave pool last only a few minutes. The lazy river is super super short. You have to rent tube for the lazy river but can't use them ANYWHERE else and If you carry your tube for too long staff will stop you to reprimand you for carrying your tube around the park because apparently thats only allowed when they say it's ok to carry a massive 2 person tube up 5 flights of metal stairs. $25 for one towel at the gift shop. The changing rooms are saunas, they are very warm and it's hard to put a bathing suit on while you're sweating to death in a matter of 1 minute. The curtains for the changing stalls were ghetto and didnt cover the opening well. The locker set up is weird and kind of a pain. There were a lot of older people that couldn't understand how to reserve or use a locker and staff doesnt help with anything so they couldn't ask them. Nobody tells you any of these things. The staff seems to be incredibly unhappy with their job or there just rude as he'll. We planned this on our vacation with soooo much excitement. It was the worst experience we've had on any trip or theme/water park. Supposedly one of the best water parks in the nation, this is false. Im so so so sad by this experience. TOTAL AND UTTER WAIST OF TIME AND MONEY. Maybe Elitch Gardens is the better choice. If we come back that's were we will try next. The best part of the Waterpark was seeing a...