Featured Story

Universal Orlando Resort: Where to Stay & Play for a Few Days

By

My recent stay at Universal Orlando Resort was so much fun and I’m going to share and highlight my favorite moments with you. First and foremost, I stayed at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort on the property which allowed me early access (one hour) to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™. It was my first time experiencing Diagon Alley™. I took advantage of the complimentary shuttle service to Universal Studios Florida and was able to … [Read More...]

Life & Style

Navigating Disney World During a Pandemic

By

I recently had an opportunity to visit Walt Disney World as part of my Goofy Getaways FAM Training. It was exciting and I was a bit anxious because even though some restrictions are being lifted, guidelines are more relaxed, and travel is starting to … [Read More...]

Strike a pose at Pose Selfie Studio

By

I recently had an opportunity to visit the NEW Pose Selfie Studio in Raleigh, NC with my daughter and it was so much fun. The great thing about this studio is that you have all the tools you need to capture your perfect photos alone or you can go … [Read More...]

Taste the Flavors of St. Thomas USVI

By

I am excited to be collaborating with my fellow foodie lover Hannah Victoria on this listing of places to eat in St. Thomas USVI whether you are visiting or local to the island. We are giving you our personal opinions based on our dining experiences … [Read More...]

More Top Stories

Tech

Travel

Navigating Disney World During a Pandemic

By

I recently had an opportunity to visit Walt Disney World as part of my Goofy Getaways FAM Training. It was exciting and I was a bit anxious because even though some restrictions are being lifted, guidelines are more relaxed, and travel is starting to … [Read More...]

Taste the Flavors of St. Thomas USVI

By

I am excited to be collaborating with my fellow foodie lover Hannah Victoria on this listing of places to eat in St. Thomas USVI whether you are visiting or local to the island. We are giving you our personal opinions based on our dining experiences … [Read More...]

Food

Rosé All Day at Seasons 52

By

I recently had the opportunity to experience the Seasons 52 Summer Menu paired perfectly with Rose cocktails. The menu changes with the season and I can really appreciate that. My reservation was for 7:00pm and it … [Read More...]

A quiet Orlando water park worth tracking down for its new water slide

Most Aussies heading to Florida have a mental checklist that looks something like Disney, Universal, maybe a day at the coast, then back to the villa for a quiet arvo by the pool. Smaller water parks rarely make the cut. After a long chat with a local at a servo in Kissimmee, I ended up at a family-run splash pad tucked behind a subdivision, where a brand new water slide had just opened for its first full summer. It was the sort of place you only find when you stop looking for the obvious.

This write-up is for travellers who want something a bit different from the big-name attractions, parents travelling with kids of mixed ages, or anyone curious about the smaller side of Orlando beyond the theme park conveyor belt. I'll cover what the new ride actually feels like, who it suits, and how it lines up against the larger water parks Australians usually compare it to, including the Gold Coast giants back home.

How I stumbled onto this tucked-away spot

The day started with a wrong turn off the main highway, the kind that happens when your hire car GPS decides to recalculate halfway through a U-turn. Instead of pulling into the parking lot of a chain restaurant, I ended up on a leafy suburban road lined with palm trees and faded wooden fences. A hand-painted banner on a chain-link gate read "Splash Hollow — Now Open for Summer." Curiosity won.

What I found was not a resort water park or a themed attraction tied to a hotel. It was a community pool with a small slide complex, picnic tables under a tin roof, and a kiosk selling lemonade and hot chips. The new water slide was the centrepiece, a tall blue-and-yellow tube ride that twisted around the back of the property. A handful of locals were already queued up in the shade. There were no wristbands, no lockers for hire, and no app to download.

It felt closer in spirit to a public pool on a hot Saturday in Sydney than to anything marketed to tourists, and that was exactly the charm. The whole visit cost less than what I'd spend on a couple of pies and a soft drink at the footy back in Melbourne.

First look at the new attraction

The slide stands about three storeys high and shoots riders out through a fully enclosed tube before dropping them into a run-out lane. From the queue platform you can see across the car park and into the surrounding neighbourhood, which feels oddly peaceful given the height. The colour scheme is bright but not garish, and the surrounding decking has been freshly stained.

What sets this attraction apart is the angle of the drop. Most new water slides installed at community parks in the US tend to favour gentler family-friendly slopes. This one has a sharper initial drop followed by a series of tight S-curves that push you side to side inside the tube. The local lifeguard on duty called it a proper thrill ride, which surprised me given the modest size of the park.

The queue area was shaded, which is something I appreciated after standing in full sun at Typhoon Lagoon the year before. There were hooks for towels, a foot-wash station at the exit, and a small grassy patch where younger siblings could play while older ones queued. The whole thing felt designed by people who actually use the park.

What the ride actually feels like

The slide uses a conveyor belt system at the bottom rather than a splash-down pool, which is a newer design I've only seen at a handful of parks. You land on your back on a thick rubber mat and it carries you uphill into the unloading area. It's a weird sensation the first time, like the slide is gently arguing with gravity.

The interior of the tube is mostly dark, broken up by small rings of natural light at each curve. The water flow is heavy enough to keep you moving without feeling like you're being shot out of a cannon. Total ride time felt like around 25 seconds, which is longer than the average body slide at the major parks.

After three runs back to back, my shoulders were a bit tender from the speed of the exit, but nothing a cold drink didn't fix. The ride operator called out a friendly "have a good one, mate" as I walked off, which is not the sort of thing you hear in Orlando very often. Small detail, but it stuck with me.

Family touches and crowd levels

Because the park sits in a residential pocket, the crowd profile is completely different from the big resorts. On the morning I visited there were maybe 40 people on site. By early arvo the number had climbed to around 80, mostly families with primary-school-aged kids. I did not see a single queue longer than five minutes for the slide.

There is a small wading pool for toddlers, a couple of straightforward lapels for older children who want to cool off, and a shaded picnic shelter. The kiosk serves basic fare: hot chips, sausage rolls, frozen drinks, ice blocks. Prices were noticeably lower than what you'd pay at a resort concession stand. A bottle of water cost about a third of what I'd paid at a certain mouse-themed park the previous week.

Lifeguards were attentive without being overbearing, and I noticed a couple of staff members actually engaging with families in conversation. The vibe was more local pool than tourist attraction, which for many Aussie travellers will feel like a familiar, comfortable rhythm.

How it compares with the bigger parks

Let's be honest about it: this is not going to replace a full day at SeaWorld's water park or a multi-park passover at the Orlando heavyweights. It does not need to. The appeal is the opposite. Where the bigger parks feel chockers with queues, queues, and more queues, this place offers a slow afternoon where you can actually read a book between rides.

For Australian visitors used to WhiteWater World or Wet'n'Wild on the Gold Coast, the new slide here feels like a hybrid between a community aquatic centre and a small commercial park. The ride itself is more thrilling than most slides you'll encounter at suburban pools back in Brisbane or Perth, but the overall scale is far more modest than anything on the coast.

If you're spending two weeks in Florida and want to break up the theme park grind with something calmer, this place is a solid half-day detour. Bring your own towels, pack some snacks, and don't expect flash food or souvenir shops. You will, however, leave feeling like you've seen a side of Orlando that most travellers drive right past.

Practical notes for travellers from Australia

The park is roughly 25 minutes' drive from the main tourist corridor, depending on traffic. A hire car is pretty much essential, as there is no public transport nearby. Parking is free and the surface is flat gravel, so any standard sedan will manage.

Pricing is by the day per person, with discounts for locals after a certain hour. Cash and card are both accepted at the kiosk. There are no lockers on site, so leave valuables in the car or at your accommodation. Sun protection is a must, even with the shaded queue, because the Florida sun in summer hits different from what we're used to in our milder December arvos back home.

If you're flying from Sydney or Melbourne, factor in a connection through LAX or Dallas. Most flights arrive into Orlando late in the evening, so plan to visit the park on a day when you have nothing else booked. School holidays in Australia fall at different times to the US summer rush, so you might find this small park refreshingly quiet even if you travel in July.

Helpful things to know before you go