Hawaiian Falls Water & Adventure Park Pflugerville

On a hot summer day in Texas, it's hard to beat a day zooming down several slides into a pool of water, several laps around the lazy river, bouncing in a tube in the wave pool, or lounging under a cabana next to the lazy river with a huge shaved ice! And that's exactly what we did and more during a visit to Hawaiian Falls in Pflugerville. And we had a blast.

We were in Austin babysitting four of our five grand kids, ranging from 3 to 8, and they were getting as restless and bored as we were and since it was almost 100 degrees we decided to head to Hawaiian Falls Water Park & Adventure Park in Pflugerville. A little research validated that a season pass was the best way to go because it includes free admission for the season to both the water park and adventure park plus a lot of discount coupons - for example, bring a friend for free, $5 food coupon, $5 game coupon, a free cotton candy, and a lot more. And I know the grand kids will want to come again. Hawaiian Falls has been around for over a decade and with a Season Pass the grand kids can enjoy other Hawaiian Falls Parks in Garland, The Colony, Mansfield, Roanoke, Waco, and White Settlement.

Hawaiian Falls Water Park

As soon as we walked in the gate the grand kids took off with us in tow and headed straight for the tubes at the lazy river. The Hawaiian Falls Shaka Meter rates the park water slides and attractions from 1 to 5 with a 1 being easy and calm to a five meaning intense or thrilling. The lazy river is rated a 1 but it's a great way to relax and cool off as you float in a tube, walk, or swim in a flowing river. After the third lap I was starting to get a little dizzy and a tad water logged and thankfully the vote was 4 to 2 to move on to another attraction.

Since the two youngest grand kids are under 48 inches, they went with the wife to Breaker Beach - a wave pool with gentle waves and lots of lounge and beach chairs. They had a blast jumping the waves, swimming, and riding the waves in an inner tube. Rated a 1 on the Shaka Meter.

While they were doing that the older two grand kids ran to Aquatube and literally ran all the way up the stairs to the top and went twisting and turning down one of the enclosed slides. They were at the bottom and heading back up the stairs to ride the second of the three tube slides before I was half way up the stairs - I was huffing and puffing as they ran past me. When I finally got to the top they were waiting to tell me which tube to go down - the Aqua Aquatube which starts slowly before it twists and turns down a huge hill to a catch pool (a 4 on the Shaka Meter); the Green Aquatube that is completely enclosed; or the Blue Aquatube with a series of tight twists and turns before throwing you into the catch pool - a 3 in the Shaka Meter. They forced me down the one with the highest Shaka Meter - and I loved it. As I huffed and puffed back up the stairs to try the Green Aquatube, they ran to the top and took a couple runs down the Pflyin' Hawaiian (Sky PFall) where they stepped into a capsule and suddenly the floor beneath them dropped and they went flying straight down an open chute - a 5 on the Shaka Meter and too scary for me!

After a couple trips up the stairs, I rushed over to join the two younger kids at Splashwater Harbor (a wading pool with water features and lily pads to leap from one to the other - a 1 on the Shaka Meter) and almost fell asleep in a lounge chair while the wife took the older kids down the next set of rides which included:

• Diamond Head Drop - a partially enclosed tube that twists and turns to the bottom - a 5 on the Shaka Meter
• The Rush - a single or double inner tube ride down a twisting and turning enclosed tube - a 3 on the Shaka Meter
• The Pipeline - several turns through a half enclosed and half open tube to the catch pool - also a 3 on Shaka Meter

I don't know how many trips they made up the stairs, but the wife came back looking a little tired with the two grand kids still full of energy! After all of that, we were ready for some calories to get more energy for the rest of the rides. We ate at Surf Side Barbecue which has Texas style barbecue (the brisket sandwich was good), burgers, sausage on a stick and more. The other choice was Sharkey's Cafe which has hot dogs, burgers, pizza, nachos, pretzels, churros, french fries, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Following lunch we had to do a couple more laps on the lazy river and then I went with the oldest kids to the Reef Racer where you jump on a rubber mat and race straight down one of six lanes - I lost all three races and had to buy the kids cotton candy and Hawaiian shaved ice.

Hawaiian Falls Adventure Park

From there it was a short walk to the Hawaiian Falls Adventure Park which opened in August 2014 on 23 acres and it's designed to be thrilling, adventurous, and heart pumping and test your strength, agility, determination, balance, and courage. We were excited about giving it a try but very disappointed when we found out that for safety reasons you need a dry shirt with sleeves, shorts or pants, closed toe or closed heeled shoes, and no wet attire - of course we had none of that! So, unfortunately, we didn't get to try any of the Adventure Park activities which include:

• Challenge Course - a three level ropes course with 15 different rope activities on each level. You can start at 2' above the ground and work your way up to a mini zip line that is 60' above ground and 400' long. Each level gets a little higher and a little more challenging and it will test your agility, strength, and courage! You'll use a smart belay system to navigate from challenge to challenge and you must demonstrate proficiency on one level before you can advance to the next level. Kids must be at least 48 inches tall and weigh at least 60 pounds to participate.
• Cargo Net - a 45' rope ladder that requires strength, balance, and determination to make it to the top.
• Big Island Adventure Trail - everyone will enjoy climbing over and under the 18 rope bridges and tunnels on three different levels

• Free Fall - at the top of the Cargo Net and Climbing Wall you can enjoy an adrenaline pumping and thrilling free fall by jumping off the 60' seven story tower - don't worry, you're hooked into a safe full-body harness and auto belay system.
• Rock Climbing Wall - you'll need upper body strength and some good footwork to make it up this 45' tall wall.
• Pineapple Express Zip Line Tour - you can check out the park as you fly through the air 15' to 60' above the ground on one of three 500 foot long zip lines

The grand kids immediately started pressuring me for "when can we come back to try the Adventure Park?" I promised that the next time we're in Austin babysitting, we would be back to give it a try! Can't wait!

I was ready to go back to our Cabana (the only way to go if you visit Hawaiian Falls - lots of shade, comfy chairs, a locker rental, all-you-can-drink wristbands plus a cabana attendant) for a nap but was forced to take a couple more rides and then stop in the arcade to spend the free $5. I was hoping that after a full day all 4 grand kids would be ready for a long nap, I knew I was ready for one - but no, when we got home they wanted to ride bikes, swim in the pool, and play some baseball! I went to bed and could have slept like a baby for a couple days! Fun day.