Wild Waters

When we visited Silver Springs State Park in 2016, I wanted to go mainly for the historic glass bottom boats.  However also on the grounds at the time was a water park called Wild Waters.  I figured this would be something that PB would enjoy.  Neither him nor I had ever been to a water park before.  I wasn't expecting too much out of it but we actually had the time of our lives!  Oh my gosh it was so much fun!  The day we went attendance was very low so that added to our enjoyment of having the park mostly to ourselves!!!!

The water park was scheduled to close for good the following weekend and has now been completely demolished to make way for a grander entrance for the state park. I think there's more to that story but keeping to ours... Overall the water park was small, apparently as water parks go.  It had 6 main features when everything was in full swing.  The park wasn't fully operational on our visit, looking a little forlorn in some areas but since it was about to get the ax, maintenance wasn't on the agenda anymore. On our trip there were still four attractions kinda working.  One of the largest was a huge tide pool that didn't make waves anymore. Little kids loved it thus keeping their soggy diapered bottoms out of the way of the good attractions.  The best feature were the water slides (seen above) and another attraction called Alligator Ambush in the below photo.  The 3 slides seen above each had a name like Osceola's Revenge, Bunyan's Bend and the Mini Monster, each having a different level of fear factor to them. The Mini Monster (far right) being the lowest but it was the most enjoyable.  It was a laid back set of side to side veers flowing at a perfect pace.  The other two slides had a tendency to force you to lay back flat and get water rammed up your nostrils.  The fourth attraction was called The Silver Bullet and it was just a steep straight shot down slide, I thought it kinda dull.

For Alligator Ambush you carried a huge cumbersome inner-tube up several flights of wooden stairs.  That's the I-could-do-without part.  But then you get into your tube and are dropped down a completely dark, steep chute.  It was magical, it felt like free falling, it was a high.  Then after the magic chute you are shot out into this big bowl with an alligator and water hosing down your face and again with the up the nostrils thing.  That part was not fun and unpleasant.  You then have to catch a current that pushes you through another short tube and into a holding pool for exiting.  The chute drop was so amazing that we scrambled back up the teetering stairs to do it again, and again, and again!  Mr. Husband had to drag PB and I out of the park.
We kept saying one more time, just one more, well maybe just one more.

There are several water parks a bit outside our area that are fully operational and have triple the features but we just haven't made it to them yet.  I don't think they will have the same charm as Wild Waters did.

Next up we are heading over to Orlando, Fl and not for the mouse... but for gators!