Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix is a large water park right outside of Phoenix and a short drive from Scottsdale. The water park has just opened for the summer season keeping locals and travelers alike cool under the sweltering heat of the Arizona sun. After coming from weather in the 60s in San Francisco to temperatures over 100 degrees in Phoenix, it was time to cool down. Being 6 months pregnant, traveling with a toddler and other kids, I was a bit nervous at first doing to a large water park but I was easily impressed with the layout and staff at Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix. I came to Wet 'n' Wild Phoenix on a Thursday afternoon with kids ranging from 2 years old to 13 years old.

The adults and kids alike had a blast. Though she was too short for most of the rides, our toddler had an amazing time and loved the Wet ‘n’ Wild Jr, Soak ‘Em Playground, and Cactus Cooler (the lazy River). Life vest were provided and life guards were on hand at just about every corner. I pushed our stroller through the stroller gate and used it to corral all of our towels around the park. What impressed me the most was the cleanliness of the place. I did not see a piece of trash laying around or debris floating in the water. Another plus is that with toddlers and older kids it was easy for us to have a meeting point arranged in the Jr. area where the adults could lay on the shaded beach chairs in the center of the area while the younger kids did all of the rides directly around us. This setup let us watch the kids get on a off the rides and stop to see us whenever they wanted to take a break. The older kids went off to the larger rides and met us at the meeting points. I am not sure how crowds are on weekends but on Thursday it was not too crowded where we could not find a beach chair and the kids could easily find us. The only thing brought up by one of the kids was that the inflatables, though usable, could have been a little more inflated and the food at the cafe could have been a bit more affordable for families or have bigger portions.

Despite those minor items, I would definitely come back with kids. A few things to note regarding their rules (from their website): Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix Management, as well as our employees, fully support a woman’s right to breastfeed at our waterpark. For the comfort and safety of all of our guests, smoking is only permitted in the designated areas. Hard or soft coolers, glass containers, food, drinks or picnic lunches may not be taken into the Park. Guests with special diets or baby formula may bring their items into the Park with management approval.

They are having a special Dive ‘n’ Movies every Thursday and Friday evening between May 29 to August 8, 2014, with the movies showing on a large inflated projector next to the large wave pool. Families with kids float in the pool or lay on the beach chairs watching the movie. Cars was the move of the night during my visit and the kids loved watching one of their favorite films while floating around on inflatables (already provided for by the park). Tickets are a discounted $20 starting at 5:00 p.m. which gives you access to the entire park and includes the movie. Parking is an additional $8. Regular hours at Wet ‘n’ Wild Phoenix is from 10am to 6pm or 10pm (for Dive ‘n’ Movie days) and they are typically open May through September.