What is Wet n Wild Like...

[jopaly]

..We've bought Flextickets and this will be our first visit to wnw, even though we've visited Orlando since 1995.

Any reviews appreciated, it looks good on their website, but I want some REAL Dis-Views!!!

 

[Pooh's-Honey-Pot]

I went in 2003 and haven't been back since.Hopefully you will hear plenty of positive stories but we didn't like it at all. Its not a patch on Disney - we found it dirty, no "theme" (which I suppose isn't that important if you are just going for the rides), and we had to pay extra for the rubber rings which Disney hand out for free. We left after an hour when a used "woman's product" (sorry if you're now eating dinner) sailed past us on the crest of a wave in the wave pool!!!

 

[tinks86]

Hi, no we didn't love wet & wild either. There was huge queue's for everything - I mean nearly an hour for 1 slide! And there seemed to be loads of groups of teenagers. The other parks with the flex tickets are fab - universal is brilliant as is islands of adventures, and seaworld and the new seaworld water park are amazing - I would give wet & wild amiss and go to the others instead!

 

[Lizzybear]

For the variety of slides etc it can't really be faulted but it does feel a bit 'concrete jungle' which is a bit of a contrast if you're used to the nicely themed Disney waterparks. I've only been once and wouldn't bother again, not really a waterpark kind of person anyway.

 

[scottishprincess]

hi we have only been once, and i wouldnt go back either. I felt it was quite dirty and as someone else said you have to pay for the rings, which put me right off to start with. Disney water parks are a 100 times better.

 

[jopaly]

Thanks for your comments everyone, they make interesting reading....keep 'em coming!

We may try wnw once then, but I'm not expecting much, based on what's been said.

We'll probably go to Aquatica more than once, have any of you been there? Any opinions to offer?

Thanks again....

 

[alibeau]

Not wanting to jump on the band wagon but......

We went to WnW back in 2000 and haven't been back since!!!!
Just felt it was dirty, toilets were disgusting....... That was a long time ago though so perhaps things have improved

Also, we weren't particularly visiting for the slides etc, it was back in the days when we stayed in hotels close to i-drive and so just wanted to go somewhere for the day to catch some sun etc....... so perhaps the slides make up for the grubbiness

Ali

 

[wayneg]

Unfortunately same views from me, went in 2003 and not been back. To be honest I don't have a clue how its survived, it must appeal to some or is it just because its attached to flex ticket the reason its still open?
Now with Aquatica open I think it will be even harder for them to attract people.

 

[tinks_1989]

Same here we went to WnW in 2004 and agree i wouldnt return but I love BB and TL soo much

 

[jen_uk]

Ive never been inside but whenever I have driven past Ive always thought it looked like a concrete jungle, it doesn't look anywhere near as nice as the Disney waterparks

 

[juliebrooks35]

Another one jumping on the bandwagon I'm afraid. We tried W&W in 2004 and wouldn't go back again even if it was free.

As the other posters have said, it's not pleasing on the eye, slightly dirty and the rings for a lot of the rides weren't cheap to rent. Several arguments also broke out around us over the course of the day as there seemed to be a good bit of rubber ring theft going on so you felt you couldn't even relax and close your eyes when on designated 'ring' watch. Not how I would choose to spend my time.
The Disney's waterpark's are fantastic but I've not been to Aquatica yet so can't comment on it although I've heard it's a great park.

 

[Chilly]

I've been twice and DF and I love it as the rides are great, it might not be pretty but we don't care.

 

[Cochise]

It is somewhere we visit once in 3 weeks and leave mid afternoon as we have done it all. Not got a real problem with the place and never seen anything that would particularly put me off. We round off the day by musing around I Drive with a little Crazy Golf and off to Tony Roma's for early dinner before heading back to the villa in the 192 area

 

[Twilight Terror]

Last went in 1999 and haven't been back since. My experience is based on a long time ago, but from all reports nothing much has changed.

We were staying on I-Drive that year, so went there because it was closer. It was also our first holiday to Orlando, and wanted to try everything and squeeze in as much as possible. At the time, we thought it would be our only trip there ever (10yrs later we are DVC members! )

Anyway, we went over Christmas/Millennium, so it was reasonably quiet, but even so, it was still busy. There were always queues for the 3-slide one, where you climb up the staircase. There is concrete everywhere, so the sun is reflected on you from the ground and the water, and there is very little shade anywhere.

Despite being there first thing, the deck chairs were nearly impossible to come by, and I think we ended up having only two between the three of us. Never had trouble with finding one at Disney, even after turning up in the middle of peak time.

There is a good mixture of rides, and the kids section always looked really good. There are a few more exciting rides that they have added since that time, but haven't experienced them.

My mum hates the place because she is always getting injured over there! She fell when getting into the big family raft ride and cut her hand on her locker key. They were very good about getting her treatment for that though. Then, she had trouble with one of the single raft rides that comes out into a deep pool - the one where the waterfall runs along one side - her tube flipped up and she fell out and had to have the lifeguard get her.

She didn't feel safe there afterwards, so we never went back. We tried out BB in 2001 when we went back, but were very tentative given our previous experience, but the feeling and atmosphere was so different at Disney, that she was up for anything including Slush Gusher (would have been Summit Plummet, but they had closed the queue because it was getting to the end of the day)

We didn't use the changing areas (came and went in swimwear), so can't comment on those, but did use the bathrooms. They were not clean, at least not to WDW standards - just your usual public toilet. Someone also had a gastro-related problem, which had not been reported/cleaned up. It was at that point we left the park, reporting the toilets on the way out, although no one seemed in a hurry to sort it out!

Unfortunately, I think given the choice of a straightforward square swimming pool or a trip to WnW, we would all choose the swimming pool! Sorry I don't have anything more positive to add!

 

[dc1964]

I have been a few times and i agree it is a concrete jungle but i guess people go primarily for the thrill rides at wet and wild, they used have knee boarding on the lake as well and that was fun.
i once went on memorial day and the place was fiull of gangs of locals, there were armed police at the entrance and patrolling the pools, it did not feel safe. I prefer the Disney parks but i would not write wet and wild off completely,it would be a shame if all there was left was Disney and Universal.

 

[stba2006]

We went last year at the beginning of October. Some of the rides were closed and it was fairly quite. We didn't really like it that much and only stayed a couple of hours. The wave pool was pretty good, but even with it being a quite day it was jam packed when the waves came on and so I would hate to see what it was like on a busy day.

We thought it was a bit dirty and more like something you would expect to find in a dodgy european resort as oppose to what you get pampered with at Disney

We might just have gone at a bad time though, and I would always suggest trying something like this despite any negative comments because you might go on a really good day and be glad you did

 

[tinysam]

WNW was my favourite water park during our visit last summer.

We had the Flexi ticket plus , so we wanted to try everything available , sure it was dirty and no "theme" but the rides were awesome.We went back to the Disney water parks after visiting WNW and found them to be tame in comparison.

we went to Aquatica 2 months after it opened and on the day we visited , the lazy river had to close because someone had done a number 2 in it !!!

keep an open mind , if you are expecting some smiley Disney magic then dont go , stay at the Disney parks , they are hard to beat for theming , atmosphere , beaches etc but WNW lives up to the wild part..

my 6 yr old had a blast and it was great watching him being a daredevil on the "big boy rides ".. dont really know about paying for rings etc , we didnt but you could hire your own if you wanted , why ? no idea !! as there were plenty lying around on a busy July Sunday..

WNW not for the faint hearted !!

 

[jopaly]

All of these views are excellent and just what I was wanting to hear. Good to see a mix of people who think wnw is great and those who don't.

Obviously, I hope I don't come across anything 'untoward' in the wave pool, but we're definitely going to give it a try at least once.

Even with a bad back and osteo-arthritis in my shoulder (sad for a 37 year old!) I love thrill rides, whether they're in the water or in a theme park, so I can't wait to try the rides that wnw has to offer.

Please keep the comments coming, I really appreciate them all and like to hear what you've got to say!!

 

[juliebro]

We've been a number of times over the past few years. DH enjoys water slides and likes the ones at W n W a lot. Bomb Bay is his favourite.

Not noticed it being particularly dirty, but then I don't tend to use the changing rooms.

You do tend to get groups of teenagers there, but I had a problem with some teenagers at Aquatica. On returning to our loungers I found one had been taken complete with my towel etc.

Overall, the slides are very good. If you enjoy those, try it. If you prefer theming, stick with Disney.

 

[Shooby doo]

Haven't been on our last 3 trips,& we have had Flex passes everytime,IMO it's had it's day.Close up it needs a wash & a decent paint job,on our last vist the 2 persons rings on the Black hole were flat! On the other hand Aquatica was brill! Visited twice on our last trip but don't believe the hype about seeing the Commerson's on the slide,you are going way too fast to see anything but a blur!
SD