We received complimentary admission to White Water as part of a promotional blogger tour of Branson, MO through the US Family Guide. All opinions are 100% my own.
It was raining when we pulled into Branson, MO. A relief from the oppressive Texas weather we’d left behind, we welcomed the grey skies and wet afternoon as we checked into our hotel. But we really hoped the rain would be gone when it was time to visit White Water, the famous Branson water park, on Saturday. And gone, it was.
Saturday was beautiful! Blue skies and 80 degrees, it was a perfect day for a trip to a water park. We’d already had breakfast at The Keeter Center and visited the Butterfly Palace in the morning, and the kids were ready to spend some time outside. What better place to visit than White Water?
Here’s everything you need to know to plan your family trip to White Water.
We’ve visited a water park before with the kids, and with kids this age (nearly-three and five-and-a-half), my first concern is whether or not there will be activities suitable for small children. Claire is too small for most water slides and Jack, while big enough, is easily scared.
White Water has several play structures designed for children – from babies to big kids – in mind.
This play structure was surrounded by chairs for adults to relax in!
There was even a “big kid” water slide that was slow enough for both of the kids to enjoy. In fact, they each went down it several times and had to be dragged away!
There are also activities that the whole family can do together.
My favorite thing about water parks is always the lazy river, and it was no exception here.
The kids and I did several rounds in the Aloha River, which turned out to be *such* a lazy river that Claire actually fell asleep on my lap as we floated around. I couldn’t blame her – it seemed like an awesome place to nap!
But if you like scary water slides? There’s plenty for you, too.
White Water just opened KaPau Plummet (pronounced Ka-Pow), the park’s biggest thrill to date. Riders start on top of a four-story platform, where they enter the AquaLaunch shoot. Riders step into a translucent tube, with nothing but a clear drop floor below their feet. After a count of 3-2-1, the floor drops out from beneath them and riders free-fall down a 70 degree plunge and into a 240-foot-long spiraling tube, initially falling at 26 feets per second.
Okay, I am *way* too chicken for this kind of stuff! But, for all of your brave folks out there…it sounds awesome!
Photo courtesy of White Water
Photo courtesy of White Water
Photo courtesy of White Water
But before you enjoy all the park has to offer, you’ll want to put your stuff down somewhere! As a mom of two littles, I’ve always got a bunch of junk with me wherever I go.
You can rent a locker at White Water. They have family-sized lockers ($15) and individual-sized lockers ($6 – we were able to cram all of our stuff into a smaller locker, but it was tight!).
There is a $10 refundable deposit when you rent a locker, so keep that in mind if you are bringing cash.
There are five dining options inside the park. I know that I like to bring food whenever possible, and you cannot bring food into the park. However, you *can* enjoy your own food at the picnic area right outside the park. So, you could start with a picnic and then enter the park to play!
If you’re visiting from out-of-town, and don’t want to bring your kids’ flotation devices with you (those take up a lot of room!), you can borrow a life jacket – for free – from White Water. They had all sizes, even for small infants.
If you want to be sure of a shady place to rest throughout the day, you can rent a cabana. If I were staying the entire day, or had a large group with me, the cabana would be the way to go! You need to book a cabana in advance, so if you’re interested in that, check out the rates and availability here.
Here are a few other items you’ll want to bring with you (most of which you can purchase at the park, should you forget):
- Towels
- Sunscreen
- Flip-flops or water shoes for the kids (after walking around barefoot for a long time, they started to complain that their feet hurt a bit)
- Money for food and locker rental
- Ziplock bag to store your phone/camera if you want to take pictures and not get it wet
White Water also hosts a bunch of fun events throughout the summer, like Night Water, Dive-In Movies, and Red, White and BOOM Fireworks. You can see their special event calendar here.
We had a great time, and loved everything White Water had to offer! It ended in an amazing nap for three of us, too (can you guess who didn’t get a nap? It was, ahem, ME).
Claire’s nap started before we left the park. In fact, it started one of the rides. The lazy river!
You can buy tickets to White Water here. If you are also planning on visiting Silver Dollar City while you’re in Branson, be sure to check out the Splash & Play deals for some serious savings.
