Santorini Water Park

Cha-Am, Tha-Yang, Kaeng Krachan, and Petchaburi. Discussion on areas north of Hua Hin.
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Frank Hovis
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Santorini Water Park

Post by Frank Hovis »

I don't think there have been any reviews of the Santorini water park as yet so here is my experience.
I went to the main Santorini 'fun-fair experience' a few years ago when it opened and was less than impressed with it, both in terms of cost and ride quality, I was expecting similar high prices and low quality from the water park.

We set off early (9am), arriving at the water park I was pleased to see a vast, empty, car park. We parked almost next to the entrance. At the entrance booth we found that the price is 700 baht per person over 140cm. Under 140cm was half price and under 110cms is free.
As a comparison; Black Mountain water park standard price is 600 baht for over 12s and 300 baht for under 12s. As we are all quite tall it was looking like a 2800 baht entry fee which isn't exactly expensive for a whole day out but it seemed like a lot given how poor the original Santorini park was.
The girl in the booth explained that there were discounts available, the best is a 1500 baht family ticket but you needed a voucher taken from the True Visions TV listings brochure (which of course we didn't have). She then advised that if we used AIS for our mobiles we could get a 200 baht discount, we all do, so we all got our mobiles out dialed the special number, showed her the message and we got our 200 baht discount, it was a bit of a kerfuffle but in the end the price was now 2000 baht for four people.

Once inside the water park it became clear that they had put considerably more effort into this than on the 'fun fair' part of Santorini. At this early hour there were very few other people here so we had a full choice of seating, we chose to sit at the Wave Pool (one of my favorite things at BM).
The wave timer was counting down, we all grabbed a float and made our way into the pool, the timer hit zero and water started pouring into the pool from the Spanish style building at the head of the pool, we braced for impact and braced and braced and relaxed, the waves were little more than ripples. I was in the doldrums; in both senses of the word.
Disappointed does not fully explain my feelings at being sat on a float waiting for all hell to break loose only to find I could create bigger waves by farting in the pool. At this point even 500 baht seemed like too much to pay.

Undeterred we headed off to some of the slides, there are two sets, one to the right of the 'wave' pool and one to the left. We went to the right which consisted of three slides, a blue one, a yellow one and one that was designed to look like a cobra. The cobra is a two man slide, using an inflatable, it looked like the most gentle of the three so we went on that first.
Aaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh ! Gentle shmental. It starts off gently and then, without warning, you are plunging vertically into the 'hood' of the snake and then you shoot up the other side of the hood until you are almost vertical again and on reaching the zenith you slide back down and up the other side again three or four times. This is way better than any of the slides at BM and an added benefit is that there are two tubes on this slide so if there are four of you, four people can go at the same time. Delighted, we did this slide a few more times before trying out the others.
The blue slide is a pretty normal slide with a slight twist in that near the end you are ejected into a sort of mixing bowl which you slide round and then fall out the bottom.
The yellow slide is definitely the most thrilling, not for the ride but for the fear at the start; it's not a traditional lie-down slide. You enter via a capsule resembling a cryo-pod from a sci-fi movie but you remain standing. The operator then flicks a switch and the floor of the pod disappears and you free fall for a few meters before you are lying against the tube. The speed you have gathered in the free fall carries you much faster than all the other slides and as such it's a very short run but the thrill at the start and the speed that you travel at more than makes up for the short time you are travelling. For those that like trepidation this is the best slide, the operator seems to delight in changing the amount of time you wait for the drop to start which adds to the thrill. The cryo-pod entrace is clear perspex which lets you see the fear on people's faces as they wait for the drop. An excellent idea.

To the left of the 'wave' pool is a large complex of slides comprising of some completely blacked out slides, one open twisting slide, a high sharp drop straight slide and a strange slide where you enter large 'caverns' on your way down. It is complimented by a six tube slide that you use a mat to lie on, in the prone position, head first. While it's not a scary slide it is fun for the whole family to go down at the same time.

There is a 'lazy river' type flowing klong that is quite similar to the one at BM but considerably smaller. The 'lazy river' flows round the childrens pool/area which looked to be well equipped with slides and climbing frames and things.

Food : The food we had, burgers and chips was OK possibly not quite as nice as BM and in the same price range.

Facilities : There are no real changing facilities. There are showers and you can change in the toilets. There are small 'casita' type houses dotted around the perimeter which can be rented out for the day but I didn't check the cost. They appeared to have aircon and all had small satellite dishes on top.

Photos : As you might imagine, taking your camera down a water slide might be the last picture it ever takes but there appears to be some sort of RFID wristband you can rent for 100 baht which allows you to retrieve pictures of your day at the park. I have no idea how it works but there are small cameras on the slides and an RFID detector at each slide.

Queues : In the morning all the slides were immediately available, after about 2pm the place started to fill up and the more popular slides had some queuing.

Safety : Unlike BM, there is no need to wear a helmet on any slide, in fact there are no helmets to wear. Whether you see that as a good thing or bad thing is up to you, if you wanted to I'm sure you can wear your own helmet but I didn't see anyone doing so. There are life vests available and the staff seemed to be attentive and numerous.

Smoking : The entire park is a no-smoking area. If you want to smoke there is an ashtray, outside the park, near the entrance. I didn't see a single person smoking inside the park which I thought was quite an amazing feat of control given that so many people happily break a 'real' law (motorcycle helmets) that they would adhere so strictly to what amounts to a request not to smoke.

Overall : With the discount it's cheaper than BM at full price. The slides are about the same thrill as BM with the exception of the Snake and the Cryo-Pod which are much, much better than BMs offerings. The wave pool is not a patch on BM's, in fact to call it a wave pool is just wrong. The clientele was almost exclusively Thai. There were no queues at all for any slides until about 2pm.

In the end I'm glad I went, we all had a great time and we will probably go there more often than BM now.
jingjoe
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Re: Santorini Water Park

Post by jingjoe »

Nice review.
Are any of the parks suitable for a 2yo?Or a suitable pool their for them to splash around in?
Also do you know if any of the parks offer a yearly membership,that allows unlimited visits?
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Frank Hovis
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Re: Santorini Water Park

Post by Frank Hovis »

Both Black Mountain and Santorini have childrens areas that are suitable for a two year old but the last time I was at Black Mountain (about a month ago) the childrens area was completely closed and being refurbished.
With supervision a two year old could happily go in the 'lazy river' or some of the pools at both places.

Don't know about season tickets, sorry.
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Terry
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Re: Santorini Water Park

Post by Terry »

Yes - good review Frank - I took my youngest son (12) with a couple of his buddies up there two weeks back.

The verdict was that it is infinitely better than BM.

Sad really 'cos BM is 5 minutes from us and Santorini is 1/2 hr away - :roll:

Myself and Mrs T sat and watched from the central cafe area but might be tempted to take one of the Cabanas for the day but they are THB 2,000 for the whole day. I guess if there are several of you, it's probably worth it for your own 'private' retreat.

Anyways it is very well run and a good day out for the kids.
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