3 Tips for Enjoying a Trip to Wet n Wild Hawaii

Palm trees over the wave pool at Wet n Wild Hawaii.

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All Lyvi wanted for her 12th birthday was to spend the day at Wet n Wild Hawaii.

So, that’s exactly what we did!

We spent 7 hours sliding, swimming, and splashing at the only waterpark on the island of Oahu. Here are 3 things we learned that are crucial to having a good time.

The entrance to Chief's Luau at Wet n Wild Hawaii. — (*Statue and ‘petroglyphs’ near the entrance.)*

Wear Water Shoes

The waterpark is on the leeward side of the island, and the sun is bright! Plus, we were there during the hottest part of the day, and the concrete was baking!

Most people seemed to be walking around barefoot, so we put our flip flops (or slippahs, as the locals would say) in our rented locker. There isn’t much shade along the sidewalks or in the areas where you stand in line. So, there were times we were hopping around and trying to get to the grass to cool the bottoms of our feet.

After about 2 hours of that, we went back to the locker and put our shoes back on. Our feet were tender and sore from the hot pavement.

It was annoying having to take our shoes off before every ride. Plus, we still had to stand in line barefoot, where our feet got hot again anyway.

The smartest option would be to wear good-fitting water shoes. However, if you don’t want to buy those, at least wear your flip flops as much as you can. It will save your feet!

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Waterslides and palm trees at Wet n Wild Hawaii waterpark. — *(All that hot concrete had us hopping and running for the grass/pool.)*

Locker rentals at Wet n Wild Hawaii water park. — *(All that hot concrete had us hopping and running for the grass/pool.)*

Watching 'Wicked' at the wave pool at Wet n Wild Hawaii. — *(The girls loved watching Wicked while they got to swim in the wave pool!)*

Use Serious Sun Protection

We were there at the park ALL day long. And if you haven’t learned the hard way yet, take it from me, the sun in Hawaii hits different.

I’ve lived in Florida and Texas and never have I ever burned as quickly as I do here in Hawaii.

We applied sunscreen every 2 hours at Wet n Wild. The girls and I have a whole system for sunscreen and how we apply it (crazy, I know, but it works!).

However, Heff doesn’t take it as seriously, and it showed. He was the only one who got sunburnt. And the front of his body was lobster red. The back of his body (where I applied sunscreen) wasn’t burnt at all.

I highly recommend wearing rash guards/swim shirts to prevent sunburn. If you don’t have those, then apply sunscreen at least every 2 hours.

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(*I was very proud that neither of my girls had any sunburn at all.)*

Hawaii Bucket List: Spend the day at Wet n Wild Hawaii waterpark. — *(The lazy river is beautiful!)*

Water slide at Wet n Wild Hawaii. — *(The lazy river is beautiful!)*

Arrive in the Afternoon

We went to Wet n Wild in mid-August, which is not considered peak season. The Saturday we went, the park was open until 8:00 pm. We ended up leaving around 5:45.

The difference in the park from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm was astonishing. Lines were SO MUCH shorter after 4:30. And there were slides that had no lines at all after 5:30.

Knowing what I know now, if the park were going to be open late, we wouldn’t get there until at least 2:00.

Going to the park later would solve a lot of the issues we had earlier in the day, such as hot feet, worrying about sunburn, and long lines.

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Entrance to Wet n Wild Hawaii on Oahu. — *(It was busy and lines were backed up when we got there.)*

Waterslides at the only waterpark on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. — *(It was busy and lines were backed up when we got there.)*

*(The park is pretty in the late afternoon sun.)*

We had a great time at Wet n Wild Hawaii. So much so that we bought season passes!

The girls LOVED it, and so did my husband and I. We are excited to go back, but we’ll be doing things a little differently next time, now that we know these 3 crucial tips.