If you’ve seen our Great Wolf Lodge series, you know my family and I are huge fans of water park fun! We knew we wanted to add a new adventure to our summer Bucket List, and found the perfect destination just an hour away. Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe!
When I was a kid, we visited Emerald Pointe usually at least once during the summer. As adults we hadn’t taken our own children yet, as we were waiting for them to get bigger. However, after my oldest learned to swim last summer, we knew we had to make visiting this year a priority!
We wanted the whole family to enjoy the adventure, so after begging my husband, we decided to visit on Father’s Day. Though he may have balked at the idea at first, watching him ride the rides with my niece, it was pretty obvious he wasn’t having a bad time!
It was in fact an amazing day of fun in the sun for the whole family! We hadn’t been gone 24 hours before my girls were begging to visit again! We will be back and this time armed with some tricks and tips to make our experience even better!
I’ve packed this post full of those tips and some of our favorite pics from our adventure. Be sure to read all the way through as I’ve also got an amazing deal just for my readers!
Disclosure: We were graciously hosted by Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe. However, all opinions are my own, and experiences completely as described.
Tips for visiting Wet ‘n Wild Emerald Pointe
1. Go on a weekday.
In order for my husband to attend this time, we had to visit on a weekend. However, I’ve heard from many people that the crowds can be much smaller on the weekdays. It also seems that the further into the season you go, the bigger the crowds! So if you can make it on a weekday at the start of summer, you may skip the long ride waits.
Overall we didn’t experience horrible wait times. My husband had to wait for 15-20 minutes for one of the slides, but for the most part waits were 10 minutes or under!
2. Get there early
This certainly helps contribute to shorter wait times! We got there when the park opened and it was pretty empty! We also found a pretty decent parking spot which made our trip into the park much quicker.
Even arriving early, lines were starting to form at some of the water slides. Some of the more popular ones like The Edge had pretty decent lines from the start. Others had only a few people in line.
We had a cabana reserved, but if we had not, there was tons of seating available. Getting there early would definitely be helpful in securing a prime spot to store your stuff.
3. Apply sunscreen frequently.
This one should go without saying but it’s easy to forget to reapply sunscreen when you’re having fun at the park. I can’t tell you how many people I’ve heard come back from Emerald Pointe with nasty burns (my younger self included)! The sun can be brutal and sunscreen is a MUST.
We made it a rule to come back to our cabana every hour and a half to apply sunscreen. I also had the girls dress in bathing suits that had swim shirts so their skins exposure to the sun would be more limited. At the end of the day we did all have some pretty distinct tan lines, but no burns!
5. Pack a picnic lunch to save
The water park doesn’t allow any outside food or drinks so plan ahead. They do allow you to leave the park and have some picnic tables outside for your convenience. They also offer a cooler storage area for a small fee. Additionally, you could leave your cooler in your car, though I’d recommend packing it well with ice because it will get HOT.
There are also a few restaurants fairly close by, though we personally didn’t want to deal with the hassle of getting dressed and then changing back into bathing suits. In fact, we opted for the most convenient option and just grabbed food in the park.
There are lots of different food options. They are a bit pricey, but not as bad typical theme park food. We grabbed a chicken tender plate for the girls for around $9. It wasn’t bad, and was on par with pretty much anything we would’ve grabbed from a fast food place.
Additionally, we learned after the fact that you can save a few bucks by buying a meal voucher. I think we ended up paying around $13 for each meal and drink and with the meal voucher a meal, side and beverage is only $10.99
5. Grab a souvenir cup for cheap refills
Staying hydrated at the park is essential. Despite being in the water all day, it’s really easy to get dehydrated. We tried to grab a drink every time we headed back to the cabana to reapply sunscreen.
Drinks were probably the most pricey thing in the water park with a drink being about $4-5. We quickly discovered that it was cheapest to buy a souvenir cup and get refills for only 99 cents. Additionally, it saved us a trip to the gift shop as my kids were satisfied at taking home their cute little cups!
You can also save a little by buying your souvenir cup online. I believe they were $9.99 in the park, but only $8.99 online. I even saw an option to get a cup that lasts all summer long with free refills! That would be perfect for season pass holders!
6. Save with Season passes
If you live close to Emerald Pointe, season passes are definitely a great option. With General Admission being $42.99, it quickly pays for itself! I would recommend that at least one family member get the priority pass so that free parking is included. Additionally, you’ll receive discounts on food and drink and free passes for friends! It would be smart to buy one Priority pass and Super Saver passes for the rest of the family.
We had so much fun we’re considering buying one for next summer instead of our usual pool membership. I’ve seen some awesome deals on Black Friday also, so I’ll be keeping an eye out for extra savings then!
However, if you don’t want to do a season pass, there are plenty of other ways to save! The further in advance you purchase tickets, the deeper the discounts and you get discounts for bundling tickets.
Or…
You can grab a DEEP discount just by being my reader! Wet and Wild has graciously offered huge savings to my readers with a special promo code! You can score tickets for as little as $30.99 using the code BLOGGER19 on this page! You must purchase tickets online for this code to be valid!
7. Consider a cabana rental
We had a cabana rental for the day and it was fabulous! Our sweet retreat was located just to the left of the wave pool. It was a nice sized private hut, with a tables, chairs and a small lounging deck. It was the perfect place to unwind for a bit in the cool shade. There was even a ceiling fan for an added breeze.
The cabana rentals also include a locker which was the ideal place to stash our wallets, camera and phone. Concierge service was included and food and drinks could be delivered directly to you.
It provided the perfect spot for my 2 year old to take an afternoon nap when her energy tanked. We just drug a lounge chair into the shade, gave her a towel and she was out! It was much quieter than the public chairs below. In fact, without the cabana we likely would’ve had to have left the park much sooner.
At the very least I’d recommend renting a locker. You don’t want to leave your money or credit cards lying around and if you bring a camera of any kind you’ll need to keep it dry while you enjoy the water. There are two different size locker rentals available that will accommodate most any of your needs.
8. Be aware of height restrictions
Unfortunately, not all rides work for every child. We anticipated our youngest not being able to ride much, but our oldest was a bit disappointed as she was just an inch or two shy of being able to ride what she really wanted to.
Next year it won’t be a problem for us and my youngest may be able to ride a few things too. Though you can find this information on their website, I wanted something cut and dry and easy to read, so I created a quick graphic for our future reference! Feel free to grab it for yourself also so you can prepare your child for what they will (and won’t) be able to ride.
9. Bring your own towels
Unlike Great Wolf Lodge and other indoor water parks, Wet and Wild doesn’t have complimentary towels for use in the park. They do sell them in the gift shop in case you forget yours though!
Be sure to bring at least 1 for each person in your group. I always bring 1 or 2 extras just in case
10. Wear swim shoes!
The pavement around the park gets H-O-T! You do not want to be traipsing around bare foot unless you want some scorched little piggies!
Water shoes are your best bet because the surface of some of the pools, particularly the wave pool, can be a little rough. This little tip was one I remembered from my childhood as the scraped up feet after our visits weren’t one of my favorite souvenirs from our trips!
11. Bring a water proof case for your phone
This actually didn’t occur to me until I saw people with little water proof pouches at the park. I’d lugged my big DSLR camera to get some shots, but quickly realized I could’ve made due with my phone and a water proof pouch! It would be perfect for storing my phone and a few bucks for snacks and/or drinks.
The do sell these in the parks, however they were a little pricey. I’m planning on buying one off Amazon before our next visit and saving a few $$. I found this 4 pack on Amazon that I’ve added to my cart so we’ll have one for both the hubs and myself, and extras in case we need them!
12. Consider bringing your own life jacket
The park does provide life jackets. However, they are not the most comfortable and I am a bit of a germ-o-phob and was a little skeeved out at the idea of my daughter wearing something that could be covered in other people’s germs.
We did plan ahead and bring a puddle jumper for our toddler, but didn’t for our oldest as she can swim. We didn’t realize that the wave pool, and several of the other pools and rides, would require a life jacket for anyone under 48″ regardless of whether or not they could swim.
She was NOT a fan of their life jackets. They had a strap between her legs that rubbed up against her as she walked. Next time, we will be bringing a puddle jumper for her as well!
13. Enjoy an adult beverage
This is one of the better perks for Mom and Dad at the park!
Emerald Pointe allows you go grab a beer or glass of wine with lunch and unwind. They even have a little bar area where you can enjoy your drink with other adults.
We didn’t take advantage of this on our visit but only because our children are so young. As they get older you better believe we’ll be enjoying a drink or two!
14. Create a check in place & time if splitting up
Let me save you an argument. One we learned the hard way.
If you and your husband are splitting up with the kids, decide on a time and a place to check in. This will prevent you both from walking all over the park and missing each other for several hours. This is also another reason the waterproof phone cases would come in handy.
Lesson learned though. Next time before either one of us takes off we will make this decision first!
15. Stay safe & have fun!
The lifeguards at the park were fantastic and super attentive, but the park is crowded and it only takes a second for things to go awry.
I was very surprised at the number of kids running around unsupervised in the kiddie pools. My youngest actually had an unfortunate altercation with another child who randomly pushed her (from standing) down a slide. While I’d like to think this was a rare occurrence, just a quick look around the park confirmed the other child could belong to any number of parents lounging in chairs playing on their phones.
I’m all for some R&R myself, but personally feel that around water isn’t the best time to take advantage of this, especially when small children are involved. So be wary of kids running wild for the safety of your own children also.
Most importantly though, have fun! There are so many adventures to be had and memories to be made at Wet ‘n Wild.
Don’t forget to visit our Travel page for more travel tips and ideas. If you’ve got questions about planning an Emerald Pointe adventure, please leave a comment or drop me a line on This Crafty Mom’s Facebook Page!
