Rogers Aquatics Center — Attraction in Rogers

Everything was good when we first got there. The crowd was small and the girl at the front was super helpful in saving us money by buying a card with 10 entries for the same price we would've paid for the 4 of us.

Everything changed about an hour later and then went terrible. First the concession took my money but forgot to give me my Coke zero. I kept trying to get it but they repeatedly helped other customers until I got loud about it and by then they had forgot that I ordered it and made it look like I was trying to cheat them out of something.

Then the place got really crowded which sucked but it's understandable. That led to some frustration so we stepped out to the truck for a bit.

When we came back in my 6 year old wanted to go down the big slide so we waited at the bottom for here. We saw the same kid go down twice before my daughter so I started looking for her on the top. Next thing I know she comes flying out of the UFO looking slide straight into 8'of water AND SHE CAN'T SWIM. I run over and see the lifeguard looking at the water and then she lazily uses her floaty to cross the water to my daughter that has been under water for probably 20 seconds already. If I knew the lifeguard couldn't swim I would've jumped in and saved my daughter in a quarter of the time. No one could explain to me why they don't have a policy of asking kids if they can swim before letting them on a slide that falls straight into an 8'deep pool. The male lifeguard told me they just assume everyone can swim. I was ready to give him a right hook and tell him I always assume everyone can bob and weave!

After calming down my crying 6 year old that almost drowned we decided to get them some food. My wife went to order and they were out of pizza, out of fries, out of nachos, out of fruit cups, out of pretzels, and had expired apples that were mush and slimy. She finally ordered 2 cheeseburgers and hotdogs since that's all they had but they forgot to give her change back to her. Then when she brought up the refillable water bottles I bought earlier he snapped at her and said rudely that she had to take the lids off, like she knew that and was stupid. I bought them so I knew but she had no idea that was the policy and even if she did it's absolutely appalling that his customer service is so bad that he would react that way.

I still have 5 entries on my card and I'm seriously considering selling it after this experience and forget about having a company day or birthday party there like we had discussed when we first arrived. Having a bunch of bratty kids working there is a horrible decision and if this is normal then I can't imagine anyone else is happy...

Unfortunately I have to downgrade my previous review. We have had splash passes every single year since opening, but unless I get confirmation from a manager that things will change, this will be the last year we get them. This year, everytime we have visited, the staff absolutely do not care about the rules. They will pick and choose which rules to lazily enforce and if the person doesn't listen to them they just let it go. It has been rampant chaos this year. For example, today in the lazy river there were multiple people stopping in the river (against the rules), kids pushing my kids and other kids (against the rules), kids cannonballing into the river (against the rules) and tons of wild roughhousing (against the rules). Not one lifeguard cared at all. They just sat there looking bored. Oh but one kid touched a hose and got yelled at like it was the end of the world. Touch the hose and that is definitely not okay but hurting and pushing others is apparently totally not worth the effort to blow a whistle. Same issues in all other areas of the park and it's been like this EVERY TIME we visit this year.

There has also been extreme lack of enforcement with the dress code. I saw a lifeguard ask a chubby women to cover her cleavage more while two thin women in full on thong bottoms strutted by. That is just discriminatory against body size and it's gross. I've seen multiple others comment on this over this past season and not one has gotten a response from the business. So they are aware of this apparent bias and I guess just don't care? I have also seen many many thong bottoms worn every visit this year even though this is supposedly against the rules because it's a venue for kids. No one cares. I've seen panties and bras also worn and not one word. I've seen jean shorts in the pool and one time even a group of guys wearing tube socks. No one cares. The gist I've gotten this year is that no one cares enough to enforce the rules or they are just too lazy to enforce them. Either way, they aren't being enforced anymore. It's just a wild free for all. Oh but don't you dare try to take in a water bottle to stay hydrated. That is DEFINITELY against the rules and they enforce that one and make you purchase one of their reusable ones instead. No water bottles allowed but come on in in a thong (only if you're skinny) and let your kids roughhouse and harm others. That's totally fine. I'm extremely frustrated and disappointed after this season. Unless they go back to enforcing rules we will not be back...

The water park does cost more if you don't live in Rogers, and the water park is expensive if you pay for a one time visit. However, they offer punch pass cards (called a "Splash Pass") that can DRASTICALLY reduce the cost, especially if you purchase them during their 1/2 price sale. For example a family of 4 (2 adults & 2 kids) who are non-Rogers residents will pay $50 for one visit. Or you could purchase two 1/2 price punch pass cards. The punch passes go by height and have 10 punches each. The cost, at 1/2 price, for an above 48" pass is $49.50 and a below 48" pass is $37.50 (this was the cost for the 2016 season for a non-Rogers resident, during the 1/2 price sale). That is $89.50 for 20 punches (10 punches for adults & 10 punches for children under 48"). That equals out to be 5 visits for a family of 4, which is less than $5 per person per visit. They offer the half price punch passes around Christmas and in the spring (follow their Facebook page). Even if you get the punch passes at full price, it is a big discount off of paying per visit. The prices are even cheaper if you are a Rogers resident. As far as the water park goes, my family loves it. It is really clean and everything is still like new. There are lots of options for kids (even young ones). I think we are so lucky to have this nearby. We love the lazy river and the kids love the multiple kid sections. The staff we have talked with have been friendly. We do avoid peak times, so I don't have experience with not getting in or it being super crowded. I have heard that they don't offer rain checks and that really stinks, but we have not experienced that either. My family loves getting the 1/2 price punch passes. If we paid full price admission, we would probably only go one time each summer. The sale punch passes make this fun water park very affordable! Keep in mind, the punches are only good for that season so you should plan to use all of them to get your money's worth. Update- I think the park costs more for non-Rogers residents, because Rogers residents are paying tax to fund the park already. I also just saw that they offer the 1/2 priced punch passes for sale for a few days in July too. (I would rather get them before the season starts to make sure I can...