Still not ready to be seen in a bathing suit...
"I took four teenagers to Schlitterbahn and all I got was this lousy t-shirt." I wish I could even say that, but they were great!! My sweet niece and nephew and two of their friends came down Monday, we had burgers with Uncle D., got up early the next day and headed down to New Braunfels. I said be ready and 8:15 and they were. Who wasn't? Me! They hit the ground running, came back for lunch at the appointed time and left again. Park closed at 8... no kids... 8:10... no kids... 8:20... four kids running back to our spot! Oh thank God! Just a full day of slides, rides, tubes and sun!
And moms... I swear I asked them to drink water and put on sunscreen. I SWEAR!
Made it home, ordered pizza, tried to watch TV, but we all fell asleep. Got up super early Wednesday (again - they were ready, I wasn't) and drove them home.
It was too fast, but it sure was fun! I didn't even ride anything... unless you count helping my friend Jen's two kiddos slide into the Tadpool. And I don't think you do. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the "swim-up bar" they boast to have actually serves alcohol! Too bad I was too hot and worried about carting four kids home to have a drink. Did you hear that moms?! I didn't drink!
Since this was my first visit... and I didn't actually do anything but sit and read and people watch, I'm going to turn it over to a friend from college that goes to Schlitterbahn all the ding-dang time for the real advice. It was invaluable to me! Take it away Schlitter-insider!
"Okay, first of all, park your butt in one place and be Ground Zero, especially with 12 and 14 year olds. Decide beforehand which part of the park they'll be in the most and park yourself there. Yes, they can take the shuttle by themselves, but you might want to tag along, too, just for a change of scenery. Bring a cooler - with food and drink. It is expensive there, and you can bring in anything you want as long as it isn't glass or alcohol. You might want to give them a $10 cash band, though, if they're shuttling and might get thirsty on the fly. Lockers are expensive, so try to avoid getting those - they're like $9 or something insane like that. You can get there as early as 9:30 and get your bands...highly recommend that to avoid most of the lines, especially if they want to do the "tower rides" like Master Blaster, etc. If they want to ride any of the rides at Blastenhoff (where Master Blaster is), GO THERE FIRST and GET THERE EARLY. The lines only get worse as the day goes on, and as hot as it will be, you do NOT want to be stuck on that tower for 2.5 hours and no water...btdt (been there, done that).
They will LOVE the old side - there's tons to do and ride over there, and it is spread out enough that they won't feel like you are hawking them. For 12 and 14 year olds, I'd recommend the tower rides at Blastenhoff along with the Torrent (wave river), maybe Dragon's Revenge at Surfenburg (everything else over there is pretty calm), and pretty much all the tube rides at the original park on the west side. Look over the map online for all the rides over there. Lots of stairs, though, and it is easy to get lost, so make sure they have check-in times. My son, at 10, is allowed to go off with a friend for a specified amount of time as long as I know which rides he's going to, so I think a 12 and 14 year old group should be fine.
Most importantly, bring your own food and drinks...that's where they REALLY get you.
There is oodles of shade. Find a picnic table, spread out a towel or two on it and plop the cooler down and leave it. Make that ground zero. People are really good about not messing with anyone's stuff, but don't leave things like ipods or phones just sitting out. Leave those in the car. There are zillions of lounge chairs all over the parks. With older kids, you probably won't want to be on the far side of the original park - that's where all the little kid stuff is. If you're on the original side, I'd make Ground Zero around the Lagoon. It is easy to get to and has tons of tables and space. And the hot tub has a bar, haha. If you are at Blastenhoff, it is small enough to pretty much make any place Ground Zero, but we love going behind the "pirate ship" with the slides (not the little pirate ship, but the one that dumps the water)...lots of space back there that people forget about. At Surfenburg, there are some picnic tables that are through the locker area that no one ever finds...those are good, too. I think with the older kids you'll probably focus on Blastenhoff or or the original park. You are all going to have a great time."
The only things I did differently were to actually get a locker for when I left the table (leave my cell phone in the car?! are you crazy? I have Facebook to check!) and I did get the Thirstblaster-refillable-drink-thing instead of the Splash Cash band. Hindsight, Splash Cash. Other thing - we got there after 9:30. Already crowded. Touche, Schlitter-insider. I parked in the Lagoon... and she was right, the kids liked that park the best overall. The lines do get crazy in Blastenhoff a little after it opens, but things everywhere seemed to slow down after 3 or 4 or so. At least they did that day. Oh! I did float in the lagoon for awhile... with my giant Thirstblaster full of iced tea (unsweet, please). Does that count as a ride?
I'm tired just reliving it! Highly recommend it, folks! It's the hottest, coolest time in Texas... Come pla-ay, Schlitterbahn! That would be the theme song, but I cant find a link to it. Just trust me.
And trust the Schilitter-insider!
OF COURSE you should trust the Schlitter-insider! That person knows ALL! I will say, last time SI was at the park, she was there at 9:10. First one in the gate at Surfenberg. However, the lines were already forming at Blastnehoff, and really, besides slathering on sunscreen, there's not much to do there before they open the park. Glad you had a great time and we'll get together next time you're down!
Hottest coolest time in Texas!
Posted by: Sgriscom | Monday, August 16, 2010 at 08:41 PM
Love to! I may even ride something!
Posted by: Dorothy G. Caldwell | Monday, August 16, 2010 at 08:53 PM