So, the weekend before last was our daughter’s birthday weekend and since it was a long weekend, we made the trip to Grand Prairie near Dallas to check out the Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark. Did we like it? Let’s just say: we spent 7 hours swimming, sliding, playing, eating, and relaxing!
Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark
Epic Waters opened in January 2018 and has since attracted more than 350K visitors during its first year of operation. The waterpark with amazing waterslides and fun water activities for all ages is open year round, including major holidays, thanks to a retractable roof and climate-controlled interior.
Next door to the waterpark is The Epic, a not-so-usual-rec-center with a $1 million fitness facility, group fitness and spin studios, indoor walking & jogging track; futsal, volleyball, basketball, and pickleball courts and leagues; an indoor aquatics area with fitness pool, in-water exercise treadmill, bike and trampoline, waterslide, and tot splash zone; kids play areas; arts classrooms; radio station and recording studio; theater and concert venue; and a culinary kitchen for cooking classes and events. Phew, and that’s just a few things you can do.
Now, back to the waterpark. It was pretty chilly outside, but we were greeted with a warm "Welcome to summer!" when we entered Epic Waters. And boy, those 80+ degrees felt good!
Slides and Attractions
The park has 11 waterslides (and we rode all of them!), a splash and activity area for younger children, a FlowRider surf simulator, and an amazing not-so-lazy river that wraps around the entire waterpark and offers both a leisurely float and the excitement of a periodic wave surge.
In the interest of guest safety, the height requirements for many of the slides is 48 inches, something you may want to cover with your younger kids before you visit the waterpark. This requirement meant that our birthday girl was only able to slide one of the “big” slides, but it worked out okay since there are other fun things for younger kids to do, including the Rio Grand (lazy river) which turned out to be her favorite anyway.
E-Racers
The height requirement for this slide is 42 inches and therefore was perfect for our family of four. We each chose our own slide and we raced down at the same time, on a mat, head first. We had a blast. The birthday girl wanted to slide over and over again.
Note for parents of younger kids: it's a pretty fast slide (the heavier you are, the faster the slide) and it's pitch black at times, so you don't know what comes next. Also, tell your kiddos to (for once) keep their mouths shut, or swallowing water is unavoidable.
Aquanaut
Our older daughter was excited about this slide since we just went on a similar slide on our last summer vacation. This slide is a 2-person slide, which I love since it gives you the opportunity to experience the fun with your kiddos. You sit in a two-rider-tube, the lighter person in front, and it takes you to different domes within the slide, where you slide back and forth or up and down the sides, before you're on your way to the next dome.
The height requirement for this slide is 48 inches. I wish it could be 42 inches, so that I could have gone down the slide with my younger daughter as well. But, I know that the height requirements are there for a reason – to make sure that guests have a safe experience. As a mom, I appreciate it when entertainment venues put safety first, so I'm not complaining.
TexasTwist
The TexasTwist is a body slide that winds and goes in many directions ending at the base of the tower. It's fun, not too fast, has a few blind spots. Height requirement: 48 inches.
Yellowjacket Drop
The Yellowjacket Drop is very similar to another slide we very much enjoyed on our summer vacation in Holland last year and were thrilled to see at Epic Waters. Same as the Aquanaut, it is for two riders (yay! and again, I wished, the height requirement wasn't 48 inches). It is an enclosed slide that serpentines through to an open drop that will send you high up onto a wall and send you back down backwards(!) into the bottom pool. This was probably my favorite slide.
Prairie Plunge
And I'm free, free fallin'! Oh yeah, this enclosed body slide has a 50’ drop into the run out below. The height requirement for this slide is 48 inches and the weight requirement is a minimum of 99 lbs. and a maximum of 300 lbs, so our kiddos did not go down this slide — which was fine with me and their dad, since we think it would be too much for younger kids. That left us with the question of whether or not it was going to be too much for mom and dad, a question we contemplated for hours while we enjoyed other attractions at the park. Of course, once he decided to do it, I couldn't chicken out any longer. And I'm glad I didn't. I absolutely loved this slide. In fact, it was my favorite 1-person slide!
Lasso Loop
Beware, not for scaredy cats! Now this slide I have mixed feelings for. After I went down the Prairie Plunge, I thought I could handle anything, but this slide is definitely on the wildest end of the “mild to wild”spectrum of attractions that the park has to offer.
To start off, you stand in a "glass cage" and on the count of three, the bottom of the cage drops open and you free fall for a few seconds to gain enough speed to shoot you up the aqualoop.
Before I went down the slide, I had to stand on a scale (height requirement is 48 inches, weight requirement is a minimum of 99 lbs. and a maximum of 300 lbs.), and the lifeguard explained to me that sometimes people slow down too much after the initial drop that they don't make it through the loop and thus slide back down. He said that this usually only happens to people who weigh slightly less or slightly more than 100 lbs or who wear a shirt, and that if this happens, there's a door when you slide back down the loop that you can climb out of once you come to a complete stop. This info didn't really help my fear going down the slide, but since I'm not slightly over or under 100 lbs and since I wasn't wearing a shirt, I wasn't worried about it.
Well, lucky me, this is exactly what happened to me. The drop was fine and when I shot up the loop, I slowed down big time. I could see the top of the loop, but I never made it up there. I slid down backwards, a little nervous, but calmed down once I saw the door. I made it safely back to the ground. Whew! I'm glad, the lifeguard told me about this possibility, otherwise, I wouldn’t have known what to do. My husband wasn't aware of it, but the sign at the top of the slide does mention it, so it really is a good idea to read the signs before going down the slides!
Note: I think the reason this happened to me is, that I wore a tankini top and a swim skirt, which probably has the same effect as a shirt. So, next time, I'll definitely wear something else, because I would have really liked to go through the Lasso Loop!
FlowRider®
Catch a wave and learn how to boogie-board on this ride! The height requirement for this slide is 42 inches, so younger kiddos can enjoy the surf as well.
The Swimming Hole
The Swimming Hole is perfect for a game of water basketball, practicing swimming, or monkeying around on the whale.
Rascal’s Roundup
Rascal’s Roundup is an aquatic fort full of slides, geysers, water cannons and a huge bucket that tips after a giving a warning sound. This play area is perfect for children under 42″ or under 5 years of age. Parents can wade into the water and join in the fun with their kids, or, there are plenty of chairs for parents to sit and watch their little ones play.
Rio Grand
The Rio Grand is the longest indoor lazy river in Texas and was our 6-year old's absolute favorite thing to do at Epic Waters. She went around and around, with and without a tube, and never got tired of it. We did races, played tag, or just relaxed and cruised around the park, watching other guests go down the slides.
Epic Wave Pool
Not open yet, but coming in May 2019: The Epic Wave Pool, an outdoor 10,000 square-foot wave pool.
Safety
While you may bring Coast Guard approved flotation devices, Epic Waters provides life jackets in all sizes as well as tubes, free of charge. We were also impressed with the amount of lifeguards in the park and felt well taken care of.
Food and drinks
There are concession stands as well as a menu you can order from and a full-service bar for guests that want to relax or need a drink after going down the Prairie Plunge or Lasso Loop (wink, wink).
Birthday Parties and Events
Epic Waters is available for birthday parties, church youth group events, overnight events, corporate events, etc. In 2018, over 4,000 kids celebrated their birthday at Epic Waters!
Admission
Day Passes for Non-Grand Prairie residents start at $29 per person. Prices are subject to change. Please review the Epic Waters website for pricing information.
Group, annual, and seasonal passes are also available.
Online purchase is recommended if you are planning to visit on a weekend, holiday or other high-traffic day – that way you can guarantee your admission.
Giveaway
We’re giving away (1) one family-4-admission to Epic Waters to one lucky reader.
How to enter:
- Like our Facebook page
- Tag a friend other than the friend who has tagged you on our Epic Waters Facebook post
- Share our Epic Waters Facebook post
ALL actions required.
The giveaway ends at noon on Wednesday, February 6, 2019.
Get the Scoop
Like reading our blog? Get our blog posts delivered via email and follow us on Facebook!
This is a sponsored blog post.