West Coast

5 Reasons to Visit Splashdown Park in #Tsawwassen, BC #SplashdownBC

Last week I had the opportunity to join my local YVR Bloggers group at Splashdown Park in Tsawwassen, BC. Opened in 1983, Splashdown Park was the coolest place to go when I was a kid. I remember visiting the park a couple of times as part of a summer day camp, and both times went down in history as the best field trips ever! Neither hubby nor the kids had ever been to the water slides before, so I was really excited to introduce my family to Splashdown for the first time.

YVR Bloggers

The YVR Bloggers

The seven acre amusement park features 13 water slides, a children’s area, main pool, concession stand, video arcade, and volleyball and basketball courts. I still remember the original water slides from when I was a kid: the Oliver Twist, the Kamikazi, the Corkscrew, and the Whipper Snapper. I got a little thrill of nostalgia climbing those same stairs and waiting in line to throw myself down those same slides.

Splashdown water slides

Photo courtesy of robinwong.com

My family and I had such a great time, I wanted to share with you my top 5 reasons to visit Splashdown Park (again!):

1. Stellar Children’s Area

The girls are only four and two, so we spent a lot of time in the children’s area. I was really impressed by how much was available for the younger crowd. With five mini water slides, six wading pools, and a splash pad, it was definitely not an afterthought the way toddler areas are at most other family attractions. Tee practiced her “swimming” or splashing as I call it, and Kay went down the water slides non-stop, squealing and laughing the whole time.

Down the kiddie water slide

2. The Black Hole

Some bloggy friends (thank you Ricky and Anne!) took charge of the girls for a little while to let hubby and I go down the Black Hole together on the double inner tube. This thrilling water slide is completely enclosed in a black tube so you can’t see any of the twists and drops coming until you suddenly fly out into the sunshine. I’m not ashamed to admit I screamed a little a lot! Woo hoo!

The Black Hole water slide at Splashdown Park

3. Big Jim’s River Run

I think I went on the River Run at least five times. It’s 320 feet of drifting along in an inner tube punctuated with wild and wet slides. Hubby and I took turns watching the kids and going on this ride. We did this a little later in the afternoon and there was virtually no line up. This one was tons of fun! (Sorry no pics of this one, my GoPro battery died.)

4. The Hot Tub

Whenever the kids’ lips started turning blue, we stopped in to the hot tub to warm up. Technically you’re not supposed to have kids under 7 in here as their smaller bodies heat up faster than adults but we just dipped in for a couple of minutes then went back to the more active fun. The water was definitely warm, but not what I would consider hot, so I was okay with having the kids in it for a short period of time. But trust me, if I hadn’t had the kids with me, I would have spent a lot more time in here relaxing!

Relaxing with the kids at Splashdown Park

5. Bring Your Own Food

While Splashdown Park has a surprisingly affordable concession stand, I really appreciated that you could choose to bring your own food instead. Some parks really stick it to you by banning outside food so you have to buy their overpriced food. Not here! Splashdown will even rent a barbecue grill to you for a reasonable $10 an hour. This can really helps defray some of the costs of a day out, especially with a larger family or group.

Rent a barbecue grill at Splashdown Park

Insider Tips for Having a Great Time at Splashdown Park

  • If you have younger kids who need constant supervision, go with a larger group so you can trade off child care. That way you’ll get to go on the grown-up slides too.
  • Splashdown Park lends out lifejackets, sun umbrellas, volleyballs, and basketballs on a first come first served basis (with a piece of ID). So if you need these items, either come early or bring your own.
  • This day we bought lunch at the concessions, and in our experience the hot dogs, chicken strips, fries, and onion rings were pretty good, but we found the fish mushy. Your mileage may vary, of course.
  • Leave room for some ice cream from the Goodies snack bar!

While we were there, Novus TV was filming a segment about YVR Bloggers and Splashdown. Check it out to see more of the park and clips of the slides. (You have to look very closely to find me, but I’m in there briefly. Let’s play Where’s This West Coast Mommy!)

Splashdown Park is the perfect summer family outing. Staff were always present to ensure that everyone was safe and having a good time, and we didn’t have to watch out for partying or rowdy behaviour. We saw lots of families with kids, including toddlers and babies, and Tee and Kay even got to make friends with some of the other kids there. Tee still can’t stop talking about how much fun she had at Splashdown. I think it’s safe to say this will be a new summer tradition for my family!

Making new friends at Splashdown Park

Photo courtesy of daddyblogger.com

Location & Hours of Operation

Visit Splashdown Park at 4775 Nulelum Way, Tsawwassen, BC (just before the BC Ferries Terminal). Open daily until Monday, September 1, 2014. See website for hours as they vary.

Ticket Prices

  • Tots (3 years and under) are FREE
  • Under 48″ $17.99
  • 48″ and above $23.99
  • Seniors $10.99
  • Family (up to 4 persons) $83.99

Save with twilight rates (starting 4 hours before closing). Season passes are also available.

Connect

Stay connected with Splashdown Park on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Sign up for Splashdown Park’s newsletter to get the scoop on special events and promotions and receive a coupon for $2 off admission for up to 4 family members.

When was the last time you went to the water slides?

Disclosure: I received complimentary admission for the purpose of writing this review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ.

Leave a Comment

7 Comments

  • I haven’t been to a water park in years… The Black Whole looks like so much fun!

    You’ve inspired me to look into finding a water park near me, I know there’s a few….my son and a couple friends would have a great time!

    As always, great pics!

  • The only water park I’ve ever went to was in Winnipeg and I was maybe 8 the last time I was there. The Splashdown Park in #Tsawwassen, BC looks like fun!!! I would love to go there!!! I love the idea that you can bring your own food.

  • It’s now the Big Splash Water Slide Park and $28 a person for anyone over 4 years of age. There is no senior rates anymore… no family rate… They also charge for parking. While it’s not bad value, for some families it’s just too expensive. It would be nice if they had an observers rate like some parks do, where you can’t use the slides and only pay a nominal amount, like $5 to catch your kids at the bottom, or just be the chaperone.

    • I haven’t been to the park since the change in management so thank you for the update! I loved the family rate, too bad they didn’t keep that. 🙁