Galveston, Texas – This baby is a little bit of Mama and a little like its sister. But the new Schlitterbahn Gal-
veston Island Waterpark has its own personality.
The 15-acre, $35 million playground, newly opened on the island’s northwest side, is the youngest member of the hugely successful, award-winning family of splashing, soaking, swooshing Schlitterbahn water parks.
The Texas group’s parent park in New Braunfels is bigger (65 acres) and prettier, with huge oaks providing shade and the pristine Comal River flowing beside and through it. And the 15-acre sister site on South Padre Island is more sun-baked and has a groundbreaking people-mover system that allows guests to circulate among rides without leaving the water.
But Galveston boasts a higher concentration of thrill rides and the world’s first convertible water park. Wasserfest can be transformed from an outdoor playground to an enclosed water world in less than eight minutes with the closing of translucent walls and roofs. It gives Galveston swagger rights as Schlitterbahn’s first year- round water attraction.
“All three are built around the river environment,” says Gary Slade, editor and publisher of Amusement Today, the monthly newspaper of the theme- park industry. “All have the patented Master Blaster uphill roller coaster. All three have the … padded surfing pool. … But all have their individuality.” Along with Wasserfest, Schlitterbahn Galveston contains two more areas, Surfenburg and the soon-to-open Blastenhoff.
Among them will circulate 3 million gallons of fresh water from the Galveston city system.
The three areas face the Castle Village hub, where a huge white tent shades lockers, restrooms, picnic tables and a gift shop. Prime people- watching is a bonus at railings overlooking the Boogie Bahn surfing attraction and the gently bouncing swells of the wave lagoon and beach.
A “liquid merry-go-round”
Connecting and flowing through the park is a slowly moving ceramic-tiled waterway where tubers can bob nonstop on its liquid merry-go-round.
“You can mold the river to the experience you want,” marketing manager Melissa White says.
The 3-foot-deep, 20- to 40-foot-wide man-made stream burbles with rollicking schools of one-person tubes, two- person floats and clusters of young people or families holding hands to stay together in the current. Here, as throughout the park, lifeguards are ubiquitous and watchful. Like thong swimsuits and jeans, dangerous horseplay isn’t allowed in the water park.
Dabblers can leave or enter the river at five beaches, dropping off or carrying along their inner tubes as they move among attractions at this please- yourself park.
Even with its sides and top open to Gulf breezes, Wasserfest offers enough filtered light to protect the skin of children or the sun-sensitive. Beyond the silvery awnings over two ultrashallow kids’ pools is the wildest ride in the 70,000-square-foot attraction.
“Oh my gawd,” screams a teen as she creates a whitewater explosion and splashes to a stop at the foot of Rohr! Riders on the 244-foot-long body slide start atop a 60-foot tower and within seconds plummet at 35 mph into a water-filled trough below.
Grinning triumphantly, many climb the stairs and repeat the thrill or whiz down the two blue-fiberglass speed slides of Faust und Furious that twist beside Rohr! Fast curves and unexpected drops are the payoff at Wasserfest’s Loopy Luge and Guada-Loopy tube chutes. Guada-Loopy adds the scare factor of rocketing through darkness.
No ride is a complete surprise. Each entry is signposted with a description of the experience and advice on who should and shouldn’t try it.
A perpetual wave
A stroll through Castle Village leads to Boogie Bahn, where surfing talent isn’t required but certainly is handy. Water jets uphill at 50,000 gallons per minute, flowing over a wave-shaped curve to create an endless big breaker.
Onlookers applaud or groan as bodyboarders take their chance on the inch-deep current, some balancing like pros, others whooshed out of the torrent by a wrong move. Although staff will show novices how to surf and direct them to the quietest edge of the simulated wave, a fair number of riders are serious, preparing for the bodyboarding competition the park hosted Aug. 12.
The tide of thrill-seekers finds its way into Surfenburg, where Dragon Blaster and The Tempest – versions of the Schlitterbahn-invented uphill water coaster Master Blaster – offer a wet wahoo for most ages.
Alicia Arnold, 4, rode Dragon Blaster with her father, Matthew.
“She loved it. Only her feet showed above the tube’s rim,” says her mother, Jennifer Arnold, visiting with her family from South Riding, Va.
Parents and children are a focus at family-owned and -operated Schlitterbahn, where even background music from the loudspeakers is G-rated rock and country.
Surfenburg’s Thunder Tub and Wolfpack slides use four-person rafts to promote togetherness, and its Tiki Tikes kiddie pool is an inviting mix of easy slides, low-velocity waterspouts and a hut for climbing and exploring.
“There are things they can do themselves without help,” says Natalie McGuire of Alvin, Texas, as she watches 3-year-old Cole and big sister Me-
gan clamber on the playhouse topped by a tipsy tub that fills, then showers water on laughing kids below.
McGuire also likes the compact size of the Galveston park, which you can walk side-to-side in five minutes. “This is easier with little kids,” she says.
Families also benefit from free parking, free use of life jackets and inner tubes, and a money-saving policy that allows guests to bring in picnic-filled coolers. Also, with only two gift shops and a few food stands, there’s no hard sell for souvenirs or snacks. Bottom line: A family of four could bring a picnic with beverages, skip trinkets and spend a day here for less than $150.
But who’s bargain-hunting when Surfenburg’s Banzai Pipeline body slide is calling? And when Blastenhoff opens this summer, daredevils will be tested by a ripping-fast slide off a tower taller than Rohr! Amid such adrenaline-charged diversions, it’s still possible to look around and see what Amusement Today’s editor says has fueled Schlitterbahn’s success since the New Braunfels park opened in 1979.
“People sit back in their tube, chill out, they splash one another, they get wet and hang out together and have fun,” Slade says.
Nonetheless, additional ways to mix water and people are sure to come.
“We’ll never finish building,” says Jeffrey Siebert, Schlitterbahn director of communications. “We have space at all the parks to add attractions, so the possibilities are endless.”
GET THERE
Schlitterbahn Galveston Island Waterpark is next to Moody Gardens on the island’s northwest side. Take the 61st Street exit from Interstate 45 at Galveston. Drive south to Seawall Boulevard and west to 81st Avenue and follow signs. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are the least crowded. Disabled guests will be assisted to rides.
TICKETS
One-day admission is $31.99 plus tax for adults and $26.50 for ages 3 to 11. Money-saving multiple-day and season passes are available. Through summer, Sonic Drive-ins in Austin, Houston, San Antonio and Waco-Temple offer coupons for $2 off admission (maximum $12 saving).
STAY
Galveston has many hotels and motels. Nearest to Schlitterbahn is the 428-room Moody Gardens Hotel. It’s part of the Moody Gardens complex that includes its Aquarium, Rainforest and Discovery pyramids. A room for two with breakfast starts at $245.
DINE
Schlitterbahn welcomes picnic hampers (no alcohol or glass). Food stands are few and serve items such as burgers ($4.25), hot dogs ($2.75), chicken tenders ($4.29), chopped beef tacos ($4.33) and funnel cake ($4.99).
Downtown Galveston and the nearby Seawall Boulevard offer many places for a sit-down meal or quick snack. The Schlitterbahn admission wristband allows re-entry to the park if you leave to grab a bite.
WHAT TO TAKE
Towel, sunscreen, waterproof hat and shoes, well-stocked insulated cooler. The park provides free life vests, inner tubes, beach chairs and tables. Small lockers are available for $6 per day ($2 refunded with key return). Young children must wear swim diapers, available for $2.99.
So that guests don’t have to carry a purse or wallet, gift shops sell Splash Cash plastic bracelets in $5, $10 and $20 denominations that can be used in the park like money. Problem: Unless your purchase totals an even dollar amount (rare), you get change you must carry or take to your locker. Unused dollars are refunded.
RESOURCES
Schlitterbahn: 409-770-9283; schlitterbahn.com. Moody Gardens: 1-888-388-8484; moodygardens.com.
Galveston Island Convention & Visitors Bureau: 1-888-425-4753; galveston.com.
