Visit Hudson Valley

WHERE & WHEN:

Splashdown Water Park
Route 9
Fishkill, NY
845-897-6606

Type of Fun: Water Park/Amusement Park

Date: Wednesday July 19, 2006

Cost of Admission:
Full Day Prices:
Adults and Children over 42″ tall: $22.50
Children Under 42″ tall: $17.95

Half Day Prices:(3 PM to Closing)
Adult $17.95
Child $13.95

Online Ticket Prices:
Adults and Children Over 42″ Day Pass: $20.96
Children under 42″ Day Pass: $16.31
Seniors 65 and over Day Pass: $18.31

Season passes are available

Review/Opinion*

I found the park to be very clean. It’s a pleasure to be able to take a young child to the rest room without feeling the need to scrub it clean before use. Taking into consideration the amount of people that were at the park on the day of our review, we were very pleased at its cleanliness. The employees were helpful and courteous. They were also young and energetic enough to handle working at such a place.

Here’s what you’ve got to choose from when you visit Splashdown:

• The wave pool
• Lazy river (for tired parents)
• Bumper boats
• 18 Hole Mini Golf
• Adventure Island - Arcades and Restaurant
• Cowabunga Falls - Water Slides
• Blast Zone - Water Maze
• Buccaneer Bay - Pool and slide for the little ones
• White Sand Beach
• Humunga Half Pipe raft ride - For the adventurous at heart. Actually, you’ve got to be a little crazy.
• Coconut Lagoon - Large swimming pool

You’re allowed to bring your own food (no alcoholic beverages), so you could save a couple of dollars by packing your own cooler. We decided to truly experience the park so we didn’t bring food. The food is the usual amusement part type stuff (sure wish they had more greenery. Unfortunately the day we went they ran out of salad, but who goes to an amusement park for salad?).

Although there were several school groups there, it did not seem crowded and uncomfortable. The staff was professional and the facilities were clean.

The wave pool was fun and funny. They sound a buzzer/horn when the waves are about to begin. Everyone screams and runs to the wave pool. It is really pretty funny. Young and old alike are trained to react to the buzzer.

The slides at Cowabunga Falls are huge and fun. There are three slides, orange, purple and yellow. I hear that the orange is the fastest and the loopiest. To preserve my appearance of composure, I didn’t try that one. The purple and yellow were more than fast enough for me. If you want to go slower, sit up while descending the slide, but being the adventurer that I am, I laid back like I was lugeing. About three quarters of the way down the slide, I realized I had not removed my sunglasses. I reached up to take them off right as I hit a turn and my body went halfway up the side of the slide. Of course I lost my bearings (couldn’t find my face) and the next thing I knew, I hit the water, my rear end hit the bottom of the pool, my feet were in the air and my glasses were who knows where.

I’d say I scored a 10 on landing gracefully in the water. Once I got my bearings and tried to gain my composure and ‘cool’, I had the poor attendant go under water to fetch my glasses. She was very understanding (she probably was still giggling at my graceful water entry). After my humiliating water entry, I let the kids talk me into going again on another slide. So, of course I did. It really was a lot of fun.

The kids totally enjoyed themselves. They ran from slide to slide then to the wave pool and then to my favorite, the lazy river. It’s a tired parent’s best friend. Except for the occasional sprays of water , it is a very relaxing ride. All you have to do is get on the tube and float around the river. (Although my ability to gracefully place myself on a tube is something to behold).

There was so much to do at Splashdown that we couldn’t get to it all in one day. We didn’t get to the bumper boats, arcades or even the miniature golf.

One of the main attractions at the park is the Humungous slope. It’s a huge 4 story high U-shaped slope on which one or two people at a time can slide down. Of course being U shaped, once you hit the bottom, the momentum takes you back up the other side. This continues until you run out of steam and your ride ends in the valley of the U.

No, before you ask, I did not get on this ride (I’m not totally crazy). I did, however, stand at the bottom and guffawed at the total look of fear on every rider’s face as they realized that it was too late to back out of their soon to be deep descent into the valley of the Humongous slope.

My son, who fears nothing, momentarily wanted his ‘mommy’. He didn’t say it, but I could see the petrified look of fear in his eyes and the dropping of his jaw that he wished he were down on the ground with me.

Swoosh, down he went, hit the bottom and back up the other side the momentum took him. Up four stories high, again the panic on his face, then back down again and up the other side (not as high as the first time). Finally, the muscles in his face relaxed and he remembered that he was supposed to be cool. Teen aged boys are always cool. (except on a 4 story high water slide).

He enjoyed the ride but said he wouldn’t do it again. A testimony to the ride.

Get there early because it is a popular attraction (for the life of me I can’t understand why. I think it’s something about youth being wasted on the young).

All in all, it was a great time and we’ll have to go back there again to enjoy the remainder of the park.

*These are our opinions. Please visit the establishment and make your own decisions. We would be interested to know if you agree with us.

Review by: Felicia A. Williams