Indoor water parks across the UK make summer family fun a real possibility all year round. The best water parks in the UK are excellent rainy havens during colder weather. After all, if you’re going to get wet, you could get really wet too.
Calm indoor heated pools at hotels and health clubs can be lovely for adults, but kids want the most uninhibited action and the thrill of splashing in moving water.
Let’s face it, most of us do.
If you’re taking advantage of the off-season rates for a cheaper family vacation, adding a visit to the water park could make reluctant teens at your party a little more excited. Try one of these best indoor water parks.
The blue Lagoon
Part of the Bluestone National Park Resort in the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, The Blue Lagoon has giant slides, a wave pool, water cannons and all the usual water park attractions, plus occasional After Dark parties with music and entertainment. live, underwater aquacycling and Wild Water Fridays, when wave machines, water cannons, canals and other features are fully activated.
- What makes it special? As well as being close to the beautiful Pembrokeshire heritage coastline in Wales, a Blue Lagoon holiday is one of the greenest holidays in the UK. All the water you use is heated by a system powered by biomass fuel. It is believed to be the only facility of its kind in the world to be heated in this way and it is also the largest biomass system in Wales. The remotely monitored and computer controlled on-site power center is hidden under a grass roof. It uses wood chips made from “top, lop and cheeky” from local, naturally logged forests, as well as Miscanthus, a sterile hybrid of various African grasses grown by local farmers on land that would otherwise go unused.
- Sessions Tickets for adults, children and families are available and booking online is recommended. Each ticket is for a three-hour session, including changeover times. If you book online and collect your tickets when you arrive, you will save 15%. Guests staying at the resort can freely use the Blue Lagoon as part of their vacation.
- Visit their website for more information.
Alton Towers Water Park
Before Disney came to Paris, a trip to Alton Towers in Staffordshire, not far from Stoke-on-Trent, was the greatest pleasure most children in the UK could imagine. It remains one of the UK’s top family attractions, with several hotels close by for imaginative attractions and themed experiences. Alton Tower Water Park, formerly known as Cariba Creek, is an indoor “tropical” lagoon with slides, water cannons and a steaming volcanic hot spring. Designed to provide guests with a ‘Caribbean experience’, Splash Landings Hotel is adjacent to the water park.
Admission is priced separately, although packages that group family hotel stays with water park and theme park tickets are available. The water park is open all year round, but the theme park is only open from March to early November.
- What makes it special? Master Blaster is a water roller coaster that surprises with sudden explosions of water. Adventurous visitors can try the hot Bubbly Wubbly Pool, outdoors amid rising clouds of steam, or opt for the quieter, inland Volcano Springs. There is an interactive ‘Waterworks Treehouse with 70 different things to do, and every now and then a bell rings before the’ Tipping Bucket ‘releases a deluge of 1,000 gallons of water.
- Tickets sessions a day are sold with up to one month in advance at a discount of 25% for tickets purchased online. There are tickets for adults, children, seniors, and the disabled, as well as four different types of family tickets, so it’s a good idea to check current prices online.
- Visit their website for more information.
Aquatic world
Stoke-on-Trent is turning into something of an indoor water park hub with Waterworld giving the Alton Towers’ Waterpark a competitive run for its money. At least 400,000 visitors a year flock to this indoor water park for its eye-catching attractions. They claim to be the UK’s first indoor tropical water park. Attractions include slides, a challenging lily pad ride for older children, and the Nucleus, a water roller coaster. Note that this is a very active place with no quiet corners for adults to lounge poolside.
- What makes it special? Friday nights are Wave Rave, a water disco geared towards teens and teens for an after school treat. The latest charts, a DJ and dancing with lights and smoke on a new dance floor and on the water.
- Individual tickets, family tickets, and spectator tickets are available at a discount for tickets purchased online. Online ticket holders can also skip the line (in other words, there is no waiting in line).
- Visit their website for more information.
Coral Reef Waterworld, Bracknell
This Berkshire community leisure center has recently been renovated and can now boast a range of exciting slides and quieter activities for adults and families with young children. Located in the Home Counties area, it is easily accessible if visiting London and the South East. It functions as a membership leisure center, but also has bookable day sessions, swimming lessons, and the like.
- What makes it special? There are five new slides that range from really daredevil experiences – Fancy getting shot from a water cannon? – softer slides for young children. The Cannon tracks your time at the end of the ride so you can launch yourself at whatever speed you dare. The indoor pool has a pirate ship and the occasional water cannons for squatting.
- Sessions Two-hour sessions for Family Fun with Flumes can be booked online. The two-hour period includes time spent in the changing rooms. Hours vary during school hours, weekends, and holidays, so check the website. Spectator tickets are also available so grannies can watch the fun.
