During one exciting week we visited all Gold Coast theme and water parks to find the best rides and attractions for thrill seekers like ourselves. Read our overview post to discover what our favourite parks are and where to find the best tickets deals.
There are 2 Gold Coast water parks to enjoy on a (preferably) sunny day. One of them is located a bit further down the street from Movie World. Here’s our guide (that of a twenty-something couple) to Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast.
Getting the most out of your Wet’n’Wild visit
Advice that works for every theme park in the world: get there early and enjoy the minimal queues during those first 1-2 hours. Although Wet’n’Wild opens at 10:00, we were running late and arrived a little after 10:00. Nevertheless, queues seemed to be rather short or of acceptable length throughout the day, probably because there are a lot of slides to choose from.
We brought our own lunch to Wet’n’Wild, a great way to save a couple of dollars. You can’t bring any commercially prepared food, alcohol, or any kind of glassware though, so they check your bag when entering the park. Picnic tables in the shade and even barbecues are available for your lunch break. No need to bring liters of bottled water either, just fill up your bottle with drinking water from one of the fountains throughout the park.
Once you’re in Wet’n’Wild you wont need anything but your swimwear and a layer of sunscreen. We left all our stuff in a locker, which cost us $10 for the entire day. You can access your locker throughout the day simply by scanning your wristband. You can credit that same wristband with some Splash Cash to pay for snacks, drinks or a souvenir. Now you’re all set for a day of water fun!
Our review of Wet’n’Wild attractions
Wet’n’Wild has more slides and (when we visited) shorter queues than WhiteWater World. A visit to Wet’n’Wild will still involve a fair amount of queueing for some slides, but most of the lines advance rather fast. The most adventurous of the thrill rides like the Kamikaze and the AquaLoop have shorter queues.
The Kamikaze was probably the most thrilling slide I’ve ever done, it’s awesome! The tube you need to go down this slide is quite heavy to carry up the stairs, but it’s definitely worth the effort. The AquaLoop is a “drop and loop” slide. I hate the part where you have to wait in the trapdoor until they release you, it’s nerve-racking. The “backpack” you get to wear to protect your back is nice though, and an adrenaline high is guaranteed.
Other favourites were the Super 8 Aqua Racer, where we got to race one another going down the slides head first, and the Black Hole, twisting and turning through pitch black. The Mach 5 – Jetstream was cool as well, but hurts a little bit. No queue though. We were surprised to find that there’s a ride as well, the Surfrider. It’s a great flat ride, more fun than most of the rides at Dreamworld, in our opinion. The queue was rather long, but that didn’t stop us from doing it several times.
The Tornado was rather short, and the queues at the River Rapids were too long. Both were fun, but we only did them once. The Constrictor was not worth the long queue, the Mammoth Falls and the Mach 5 – Sidewinder were OK, but not too exciting.
If you need a break from the queueing or the adrenaline rushes, go relax at the Whirlpool Springs, float in a soft tube on the lazy river of Calypso Bay, or take a dip in the Giant Wave Pool. There are sun beds to lounge on as well, or you can rent your private “Chill Cabana“. Those cabanas are great if you don’t know what to do with your money, but we managed just fine without them.
There are two pay per play attractions as well, the SkyCoaster and the FlowRider, and a Wet’n’Wild Junior section, but we skipped those.
Do we recommend going to Wet’n’Wild Gold Coast?
Yes, we do! We preferred Wet’n’Wild, with more slides and (when we visited) less queues, over WhiteWater World. We had a ton of fun and discovered slides like we’d never seen before. Ready to get wet? Enjoy!