Six Flags White Water: Tips for Tackling the Park with Young Kids

Thanks to Six Flags White Water for providing admission tickets. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Last week my family paid a visit to Six Flags – White Water, a water park in Marietta, Georgia. It’s on the north side of Atlanta, so for us coming down from Chattanooga, it was a very easy 1 1/2 hour drive. We had a lot of fun, and we learned some things from our visit that I’d love to share with you if you are considering a trip to this water park in the future. I hope my tips help you out.

1. Go Mid-Week

We intentionally planned our trip for a Wednesday, and we also (unintentionally) went on a day when thunderstorms were expected for part of the day. This was a really nice double whammy for the crowds. I waited for 20 minutes to ride one ride, but otherwise, found next to no line for things, and the crowds in the wave pool and the lazy river ride (our two favorite things to do) were quite reasonable. If you can go mid-week instead of on a weekend, I highly recommend it in order to maximize the amount of things you can do in the park.

2. Don’t Prepay for Parking

When I was on the White Water website before the trip, I found out that parking could be paid for in advance so you can get through the line faster. Since I knew I’d be paying that expense I decided to get it taken care of. Don’t do it! Parking at the gate is $15, and I spent $16.99 to get it in advance. It didn’t save me any time because there was no “express” lane for folks who already paid. Totally wasted $1.99, so learn from my mistake.

3. No Liquids

Just a heads up: if you bring in a backpack, beach tote, purse, or similar, it will be checked at the gate. I had a water bottle and was asked to dump out the contents before heading in. I was told that I could easily find a water fountain once inside the park, so it was no big deal to me, but it’s a good heads up. If you have formula or apple juice for a wee one, you might want to check the policies on the website to see if those things are permitted.

4. Food is Expensive

This shouldn’t be a shocker, but it’s always nice to know: you will be hard-pressed to spend less than $10/person/meal, and that’s not necessarily including a drink. I noticed a few meal deals for families of 4, with burgers, fries and drinks for $40, but since my kids don’t drink sodas and aren’t big on burgers, that wasn’t a good fit for us. We ended up pushing lunch back to be a little bit late and just sharing a basket of chicken fingers, and then leaving the park around 5:30 and getting something to eat on our way home. I did notice a picnic pavilion and wished that we had brought our own food, only to later realize that no outside food is allowed in the park (with exceptions being made for dietary restrictions), so I guess that is just overflow table space for eating the park’s food. I get it, but it’s a bummer, especially with the overall lack of diversity on the menu. It’s pizza, burgers, and chicken tenders as far as the eye can see. The only work around I can think of is leaving your food in a cooler in your trunk, and then leaving the park (you can get a hand stamp) and heading back to the car to eat. This would be a pain in the rear, obviously, but if you have 4 or 5 people with big appetites and if you plan to eat twice, you could save quite a bit of money that way.

5. Know Your Audience

Is anyone in your party a thrill-seeker? Or do you have anyone who likes to take it easy and isn’t much for the rides? It’s good to have a sense for the types of things people really want to do. My kids really, REALLY wanted to play in the splash zones and they also loved going around and around in the lazy river. So we set up our towels and shoes in the Buccaneer Bay area since we were almost always within striking distance of it, anyway. My husband and I quickly let go of the idea of doing most of the rides because if there is a parent swap in place, it isn’t obvious and therefore, it wasn’t worth it to us to mess with it so that we could ride when there were so many open pool and splash areas our kids would rather be playing in, anyway.

And I will say that even if you don’t take advantage of all the great rides at this park, you can still have a really fun day. We certainly did!

6. It’s Tough to Get Photos! 

This is probably obvious, but I didn’t really think about how hard it would be to capture fun photos of the day in a water park. I happen to own a water protection cover which meant my phone could get wet, but even then, it’s a pain to lug around with you constantly when you just want to play! We rented a locker (which is $15, despite the website listing it as $14) for the day, and that did help, but it felt like a lot to spend just to be able to take pictures every now and then. Next time I go, I’m leaving my phone in the trunk of my car.

7. Rain in the Forecast? Get a Plan

If a thunderstorm occurs, rides are shut down (which is just as it should be, obviously). I was very impressed with how the management of SF White Water kept guests in the loop about storms heading our way and how long they might last. We were communicated with via a speaker system that we could hear very clearly. What was a little concerning was that we were advised to seek shelter quickly when one particular cell was headed our way, only…where is the shelter? It’s an outdoor water park! I took the girls to the women’s restroom, and we had to camp out there for about 30 minutes. All this is to say to scope out the actual buildings you can enter in the park (it’s pretty much only restrooms) so you don’t find yourself outside during a thunderstorm, just under a roof with no walls. That’s not where I want to be when lightning is coming down! 

8. Where to Change?

We only found one changing area, called the bath house, centrally located in the park. It’s good to identify where it is so that you know where to get changed before heading home.

9. Cabanas: Yes or No?

There are private cabanas in a few different sections of the park that offer shade, lockers and personalized service. The price tag is steep, at $150 for the day, but before you write it off, there are some reasons to think about going for it. If you are nursing a child, for example, it’s really nice to be able to close the curtain and have privacy (otherwise there’s only one nursing area in the park, located in first aid). Also, if you are planning on renting a locker, you get a very large lockable locker in your cabana included with the price. And additionally, if you plan on eating in the park, you get 15% off your food purchases, as well as personalized service, meaning that an employee will take your order and deliver the food to you. And you can also get changed in your cabana at the end of the day instead of hiking over to the bath houses. So depending on what your needs are, a cabana can be a really nice treat. Expensive, but nice all the same.

Six Flags -White Water is not a cheap park to visit (especially by the time you pay for parking, a storage locker and some food) but it IS a very fun place to visit. There are tons of rides and also plenty of open play areas so ensure that your family will have a blast all day long and leave exhausted. My girls slept GREAT that night! 🙂

If you have some tips for Six Flags – White Water, please share them in the comments!