Natalie Valerio

I’ve been to the Showboat in AC in the past, but I must say Island waterpark gave it a much needed facelift. The hotel and waterpark are nice. Everything is very clean and very organized. The walk from the boardwalk to the waterpark help desk is a bit of a long one. Signs are pretty clear in terms of directions but still a bit of a walk. Once you collect your wristbands at the desk, you have to walk some more. At the very entrance of the waterpark, you’ll find security checking bags. Once inside you immediately see the water slides, a lazy River, two bars, a small surfing simulator area and a line of food vendors. It was a cloudy chilly day so we had no problem being at the waterpark because it’s indoors. But for some reason they had the ceiling retracted so it was a bit chilly. Aside from that the pools are not heated. My real issue with this waterpark is, they already have limited amount of things to do, they have very strict restrictions on their slides. My two year old niece wasn’t allowed on the only kiddie ride in the entire waterpark. She was two inches to short. Luckily at that age she was able to go in free, but poor thing was heartbroken when she got to the “top” of the slide and was asked to get down. Even with her mother willing and able to hold her hand down the slide. Yes… it’s that small, that as she’s sitting at the “top” you can stand on the side of the slide and hold a child’s hand as they make their way down. Extremely disappointing. We, the adults managed to get on some slides. When we managed to climb 5 flights to get to the top of one in particular, they asked to weigh us. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Had I been overweight and asked to go back down after all that climbing, I would have been livid. I feel that’s something that needs to be taken care of at the very bottom of the slide, before making the climb. Same with the kiddie slide. Please disclose this info with signage or at the front desk when you have guests pick up their bands. If you are breast feeding mom, please be aware there is nowhere to properly feed your infant if you are looking for privacy. We had to help a family member make her own little space to do so but it was not a comfortable experience for her. Seating is difficult. My family and I went on a Thursday and it was nowhere near being at capacity, and still we found ourselves looking for somewhere to sit. They do have lockers and changing rooms by the restrooms. Overall, the waterpark is nice. But I wouldn’t take children under a certain age. Height requirements will limit them from really enjoying themselves. One thing that made us adults happy were the bars. We had some pretty good drinks made. But other than that, really not much else going on.