Waterworld USA and It’s Big Water Park
ConcordCalifornia has very few attractions which makes it a city that lacks tourists. But that is only true to a certain extent with Waterworld located in the heart of Concord. Water world is a water park that features many rides including the famous Kahuna and Lazy River. No food is allowed in the park itself, but it does have many stands for food. One of their best foods out there is Water world’s famous curly fries. But that goes to show enough of the simple things, let’s move into some of the details about this particular water park
The water park features over 9 different areas of the park, with a couple of the area’s having their own little spot for several rides. It has a kiddy pool area for the kids who are under 5, but for most of the older kids, you must be around 48 inches tall to ride on some of the more fun ones rides such as the Big Kahuna, The Tornado, and Honolulu Half-pipe. The rides have their own limits, and certain styles of fun.
The Big Kahuna is a 3-5 person ride which you must be roughly three feet or taller to ride, and is mainly a family ride. It is a bigger attraction, so you may want to get to the park early to ride this low rider before the lines start piling up! It starts at the top of about five or more flights of stairs, and it rides fairly nicely and for a decent amount of time for the wait. The line’s wait can be up to one and a half hours, and personally, I cannot say that is worth the wait. However anything under half an hour is worth the wait for this particular ride.
The Wave Pool is one where you do not need to be of a certain height to “ride.” It is mainly an imitation beach in which a machine in the far back rotates up and down to produce waves just like the ocean does. The water park provides inner-tubes for you to take in if you would like, or you can just dive in yourself. It can be fairly slippery as well though after the first part of the water gets deeper, so you would have to be weary or where you step and how you step, because you don’t want to fall back and hit your head. It’s not so crowded usually, and to clear some people out on a busy day, they will shut it down for an hour or fifteen minutes usually to also put chlorine into the water to kill the germs. They have life-guards stationed there too in case of any miss-haps, so there shouldn’t be any concern of anyone drowning.
The Honolulu Half-Pipe – This ride is fairly quick, but the line shouldn’t be more than a 20 minute wait, or it’s not usually worth it. There is a height minimum of somewhere around 3-4 feet, so this isn’t a typical kids ride. It requires you to have a bit more weight on you to keep you from falling into the air and off of the raft. The ride itself is a huge half-pipe, like the ones in skate parks. You climb a flight of stairs up to the top, where there is a raft waiting for you and a life guard as well to make sure everything is going alright. It’s a two person or one really big person ride, and you just hop in and wait for the life-guard to tell you when to go, and off you fly!
The Lazy River is a favorite of everyone’s! It’s just one really long river-like pool that flows around in a huge oval around an island in the middle of the park. Its great feature is a waterfall, and fast water! People can half inner-tubes as well in this one. Some are usually floating in the water and you can just grab one as it floats by, or you can get one from a stock in the back. It only has two known flaws: when it’s a busy day, the pool is extremely crowded and it’s hard to enjoy it when lots of people are splashing, and the water temperature is usually extremely cold.
Typhoon Waterslides – This is a favorite for couples or just two people or even four who want to enjoy a fast and somewhat intense, scary ride. It has inner-tubes that are not optional, and has 4 different tunnels to ride in when you get to the top. With many choices, it’s a great place to catch a quick and fun ride! A good thing to know is that the tunnels that are enclosed are the most intense since you can’t see most of the time you are flying around and shaken.
The Hurricane – This ride is almost the same as Typhoon Waterslides as it also has 4 different tunnels you can take, two closed, and two open. The closed ones take you quite fast around the corners, so you have to be careful to not get water in your ears, but it’s extremely fun. The wait for this ride can usually be around 10 minutes for early risers, but can end up being about 45 minutes long later in the day. Overall though, the wait is usually worth it if you choose the right tunnel! There is no inner-tubes on this ride, just lying on your back and enjoying the water flow pushing you along, but there is a height minimum, so be prepared to be just above 4 feet to enjoy.
The Cliffhanger – This ride is an attachment of The Hurricane, only it’s a bit higher, and instead of being looped around turns and twists, it’s almost like a giant water slide that shoots all the way down. There are two, parallel to each other; one has a bump in it to slow you down a bit, and the other just shoots straight down. One thing you have to worry about though, is if you are wearing a bikini, prepare to hold it down, as some have been known to fly up, and/or off, and also watch out for your bottom half, boys and girls, the ride is so fast, you get wedgies fairly easily. But overall, this ride never has a line, so it’s a lot of fun if you don’t mind the wedgies.
Diablo Falls – This is a smaller park inside of Water world that has a kiddy play area, along with a couple of nice small tubes for the kids who are just not quite tall enough for the more intense rides. It’s only recommended for those who have young ones, or are young ones.
Overall, here are a few recommendations:
-Bring lots of sun screen
-Bring a cooler and lunch to leave in the car to save some money on food
-One towel should be enough on hot days, as you will be running around wet anyways
-Early risers get the best parking, fast admission, fast rides, and can choose where they want to sit. (It gets crowded easy)
-Having a season pass will help get you in much faster than those who are just buying one ticket for the day
So, enjoy this water park when you come to Concord or a city close by, and during the summer months, be aware that it’s really crowded. It’s a great water park to spend your day at, and if you can, bring a cooler to leave in your car to have lunch in because the prices for food are pretty bad. They will give you a stamp to come back in if you do decide to leave for a bit. So overall, it’s a great park as long as you don’t get burned by the intense sun! So enjoy the hot weather of Concord, and enjoy the cool waters of Water world !
