Waterpark at The Villages — Attraction in Tyler

Lots of reviews commented on the size of this place so I will address those first. Yes, it is small but that being said, we knew we weren't going to Great Wolf Lodge. The kids had fun once we got involved and floated with them or went down the tube slides to see who was faster. They have 2 tube slides good for bigger kids and adults, though they are quite slow compared to other waterparks. There is a small wave pool but for whatever reason the water was a few degrees cooler than the lazy river so it was chilly. The lazy river was nice...short again comparatively but moved well and the kids had a blast trying to spray us with the nozzles they controlled on the side of the waterscape (giant playscape with 3 other smaller slides that big and little kids alike were using as they went a bit faster and were under the giant bucket of water so you never knew when you would get doused). They had a store in the lobby we got a treat at that wasn't terribly priced. There was also a Subway and pizza spot to order food if you were there over a meal. We weren't but lots of others seemed to enjoy it. The bathrooms were clean but structured more like a locker room with more lockers (bring your own lock) than bathroom stalls. They do have small sections of lockers inside the waterpark and a large bank right outside the waterpark door, in the lobby, so there are plenty of spots to lock your stuff up if needed. Biggest issue seemed to be a couple of families who dropped their "older" children off and they ended up running around jumping in front of little kids and such. The lifeguard tried several times to get them to stop with no success. So I would say plan on going as a family. There is a spot outside with dozens of lounge chairs and a few picnic tables to enjoy outside sun. But while we were there it rained outside and we were able to continue swimming while all the resorts outdoor pools had to shut down. Pretty nice to have that option. We survived the sales pitch presentation from the Resort to get 3 day passes (we figured we would want more than 1 day here and this was the next package up short of buying individual day passes) but I can't see us spending 3 days here. Maybe a couple of hours one more time but not whole days. Overall nicer if you have smaller kids. And good for a few hours if you have bigger kids. Sleep in, have lunch and then come for a couple of hours before dinner- that's what we did and it worked well. If you aren't staying at the Resort (waterpark is public access) then I am not sure it would be worth the drive from Tyler to come do it. It worked very well for us as there are so many other things to choose to do on the resort so we didn't have to feel "stuck"...

First time going to the waterpark (was invited to a party) and I can say it WILL BE MY LAST! My wheelchair bound son with special needs was NOT treated as if he was welcome! The cashier was an intern from Honduras (which they disgust people with disabilities) and had no shame in showing the disgusted look on her face towards my son. She treated him as if he had a disease. She refused to put on his bracelet and when tellin me "No, you do it" and I put it on, she made a comment about it being on the wrong arm and laughed when I tried to explain why it was on the arm it was on (because of his autism). Spoke with supervisor and they feel it's not necessary to correct the issue but to discuss it with the employee AFTER the shift (which doesnt make sense because that encourages mistreatment to other people who come with disabilities...That shouldve been handled IMMEDIATELY!). There was no sincere apology but the excuse that the girl was from Honduras. Do background checks on these interns and see how their countries backgrounds and beliefs may have an effect on your establishment. Most definitely a case for the disability rights! Plus this place does NOT have anything to offer for anyone with special needs. My money will go ELSEWHERE, ESPECIALLY if my son is not welcome!

Response to reply from owner: This issue was presented to the supervisor in novelty and the person above him. If they did not take action to this issue then I will assume that equality between customers (especially ones with a disability) is not a PRIORITY of concern. Maybe the disability rights should be notified so that this company can get a clear understanding of what should and shouldn't be a priority! On top of that, when the girl was confronted again for her actions by the person throwing the party, she stated in front of the managers that "we dont do that" (meaning from their country, they dont accept people with disabilities). She shouldve been fired then because that makes the business look bad and customer service should be priority! Seeing as though you all have nothing to accommodate people with special needs, I see why this matter didnt seem of importance! I am truly disgusted and disappointed with this place and how they "handle" situations. I felt sorry for the person throwing the party seeing as though they have been an owner for over 30 years. THE SHAME AND...

Today we showed up for my son's birthday. We reserved the wilderness room for 1 hour. We stood in line only to find out that we didn't have to but since we stood in line we wasted some of the time we could have been in our room. Thankfully we didn't need the full hour. Also, their rule of only allowing food from their grill (which I never understood where it was because they kept telling me a different place) is actually quite annoying. We ended up giving up on getting the food and just kept to our cake and cookies. Personally, I will never do a party setup where we only get 1 hour in the room ever again. The preptime for the party was during party hours.

The life guards where on top of things. There was a situation where I was tied up with my 2 year old and my 7 year old went under water and I couldn't get to him. The life guard wasted no time in getting to him.

This was my first time and at 12:30pm the place was BUSY. Granted we did go here during the summer when school was out but honestly, I think it was too busy and probably above the amount of people that should have been there. There are tables and chairs all around the park. If you want one of those you better claim it. The park is compact which makes it hard to navigate when it's so busy. It's a big loud so if you have kids that are sensitive to that like my 2 year old was, be sure to prepare yourself for that. They have drinks and chips that you can purchase. The drinks are 20oz and they are nearly 4.00. There are lockers and showers in the women's restroom and more lockers outside. So you can go here, shower, and change into your clothes pretty easy.

Overall I give this place 3 stars for the price of their drinks and chips and how annoying it was regarding the grill which we NEVER could...