Adventure Island

This place is dirty, bathrooms gross, food overpriced, people leave their garbage everywhere in the seating area, first aid everywhere because people constantly getting hurt, I slipped myself and was told «well it’s a water park and its slippery.» Saw a fight break out at the churro stand. Life guards who just check out all the tats on the chicks. Religious tats, gang tats, jail tats, homemade, you name it… It’s all here! Best of all when my 6 yo asked me why the back of that ladies pirate bikini says «surrender the booty» This place just ain’t my style!

The best water park for kids. Not too crowded… Lots of water slide and the bathroom are clean. We will buy an annul pass. My kids had a blast!!!

As with all things that attracts a lot of people when the weather is nice, don’t be a dummy and apply common sense:
1. If you want to avoid long lines — GO EARLY (a.k.a. right at opening time). Some have suggested going later in the afternoon but then you will need to wrap it up once the park closes, so think about time management.
2. If you’re into saving money, and you already know you’re going more than once per season (the park is only open June-​Sept.) get an annual pass. Parking is included. Do the math, it makes 100% sense.
3. In regards to my second point — bring a (small) cooler and bring your own food & drinks. I’ve read people’s complaints about the food being (bad &) expensive… well, duh, that’s how the park makes money. Common sense.
4. When it’s warm/​hot and sunny (which is June — end of year in FL), this park will get BUSY. That means that lines to some of the rides (especially Colossal Curl) will have long-​ish lines. Don’t complain about that, it’s just what it is. It’s another reason to go early — run and go to this popular new-​ish ride first (short line), then enjoy the rest of the park where lines are 10 mins, 15 mins long, tops.
5. In the interest of SAFETY, the park will close rides and pools when there is lightning in the area. Happened to us just yesterday. Again — don’t complain about that. You’d go and sue them if they’d let you ride and you got struck by lightning. Again, yes, common sense…
6. Last year, we went on a whim on the last day of the season. Best decision ever, and I can’t believe I’m giving away my «secret». NO lines. NONE. One ride was already closed for the season, and food options at the concession stand are LIMITED. Something that’s understandable, at least in my view. We rode every single ride TWICE with no more than 10 – 20 people ahead of us. Best day ever.

Adventure Island has been around forever. I remember going as a kid and having so much fun with my friends and family. I go now as an adult and enjoy it just as much.
FYI — You can bring food/​snacks and water/​soda/​juice (no glass) into the park.
Tip — Get the Busch Gardens/​Adventure Island season pass. It includes parking and you can visit both parks as many times as you want. It is an awesome deal.

Place sucks. Took over two hours to leave parking area. Food awful. Lines too long. Parking is a disaster. Should be closed down.

Great park… Season pass is worth the money. The park lines are not that bad. Colossal Curl is a new ride and is awesome. The wait to ride will average about 30 – 45 Minutes. Wahoo Run is the next best ride and the wait there is over an hour. The lazy river has limited tubes and it seems as though folks are fighting to get the next tube. Hopefully they will add more tunes later. You can bring in an ice chest but it can only be 15″ in L, W, H. They are strict about that. Saw a person turned away at gate.

The line to get in to the park is very short, but it takes TOO long to buy and print a ticket TSA is much faster than the ticket sales at adventure island. I only brought cash so I can’t go to the self service line. Isn’t there someone to monitor this and speed up the process? The people in the ticket sales booth are so slow I think they might be dead. The management here must be napping. The park will close before the people at the end of the line can purchase a ticket.

Great place for a family fun day. I am not fond of long lines and this place has that. It’s crowded and there is no getting around that. But we had a great time. We all loved the water, the kids enjoyed the slides, and it was a rollicking day of joy. The kids want to go back already.

Had a great time! Went on a Saturday, late in the day and still had a great time! It was nice to feel like a kid again

We moved four months ago and this is the first «big» thing I’ve done with the kiddos and we went on our own. On a Saturday. It was packed BUT lines weren’t too too bad {I would say the longest was 20 minutes}. My kiddos are 4 {and super petite — 30 lbs} and 6 {exactly 42 inches tall}. There were PLENTY of things we could do as long as I was with my 4 year old. I did allow my son to go off on his own for a few rides {while we stayed nearby}. It was a HOT day and I recommend getting there at open and finding a SPOT. Otherwise you’ll end up in a spare part of the grass. There was plenty of spare grass back near RIPTIDE and their new colossal ride. But if you want chairs, definitely get in and get it ASAP. I didn’t score a chair until near 5 PM.
Since it was our first time, we did get off to a slow start. Now that I’ve been I would personally head towards the beachy area for the relaxing slides. There are two that me and my daughter enjoyed and could do in under 5 minutes and 3 slides that my son could go do on his own. Everyone was overall polite and when we had questions, staff was excellent in being helpful and knowing the rides.
My tiny daughter did an oversized tube ride {Aruba Tuba} with her life jacket and LOVED it. She didn’t meet any height restrictions but as long as she was wearing a life jacket and could maintain the position, she could ride things. She wasn’t as outgoing as my son so we kept it simple. We LOVED the lazy river which is not so lazy in some parts. It was crowded of course but we spent hours in it just swimming around with the crazies!
We didn’t eat there… I brought PLENTY of snacks and many had coolers. They do have to be a certain size, so it is possible to avoid buying food, which we did even though we were there for 7 hours! I am happy to report my kids didn’t die from not buying the junk sold and we were able to snack our way through the day.
This is an ACTIVE park. With one watching adult, it is easy for kiddos to get lost, so definitely keep an eye on them if the park is packed. I have heard from others that Mondays and even Friday mornings are better in terms of lines and being able to see your kids.
Tips:
– Bring your own towels, get there early and find a spot to land
– Pack a small cooler and some snacks or a full lunch for a long day
– Parking is $ 15.
– LOTS of sunscreen
– There are lockers all over {not just at the entrance}. Lock up your keys, valuables, phone for $ 10
– Be ready to stand in some lines especially for bigger rides on weekends.
– Go on a weekday to avoid lines and go EARLY or stay late {as it got later, it definitely thinned out}
– They have showers, bathrooms near entrance, so feel free to take a change of clothes.
– Be patient and kind to smaller riders
– Be patient and kind to everyone
– Call ahead to ensure they are not at capacity
ENJOY!

This is my favorite hot day place to go. It’s not huge so the waits aren’t busch gardens long. They have rides, a lazy river, wave pool, food, and even a splash section for smaller children. The only downfall is seating or a place to sit down your things. We usually dish for the tiki hut but this time we didn’t because the last time the one we got had a bees nest in it and we weren’t able to enjoy it. When we told staff there weren’t any suggestions. They have lockers that you can rent $ 10 for standard size and I think $ 15 for large. U can open as much as you want there’s a button u press once you leave. They have life jackets. The food is ok nothing special but the price is high. A meal including drink averages $ 10 – 12 depending on what you get. They have seating all over but back by mango joes is usually where I head. Snacks, food and drink are everywhere. I will always return what can I say we love it.

Not a good day to go today! We could not get in. And that was at 3pm. And it’s not summer time. No one had any idea if it was going to reopen today and only found out after we had parked. No one to call! So not happy!!! And like I said it’s not even summer or school holidays… Not good value for money! Bush gardens was over crowed as well.

I was blown away by the dine all day pass! For $ 36 they give you a wrist band that lets everybody know who the real fat people are. I ate all day. Cheese burger fries carrot cake cherry coke buffalo chicken wrap fries mac and cheese cherry coke footlong chili cheese dog fries cheesecake bottle of water. What a deal. And you look like a baller instead of one of the poor people who bring in a cooler full of Oscar Meyer favorites. The surf side is way better the joe mangos. I can’t wait to poop blood. Nine thumbs up!

I went with my family to Adventure Island and my kids LOVED it! There are so many fun slides and pools to have fun in (especially in the warm month of April). They had food opportunities, as well as nice cabana facilities.
Totally recommend to anyone interested in any waterparks!

We’ve lived in the Tampa area for over 30 years, We’ve had passes to Busch Gardens for over 15 years and this year decided to add on passes to Adventure Island. After four visits, we’re calling the summer a wash and probably not returning.
While I thought many of the rides were fun as a kid, I feel like the place is deteriorating and poorly managed. One positive is my wife and I really like the new collosal curl ride.
Now the negatives. It is Dirty. The bathroom floors are disgusting, and people walk barefoot into them, then swim in the pools with no signs or indicators encouraging people to wear water shoes. The rambling bayou (lazy river) and endless surf (wave pool) are full of sticks, leaves, sand, and debris – I saw a man lift a broken plastic cup out of the water next to where his daughter was swimming. One visit, I couldn’t find a restroom with soap.
Safety should obviously be top priority at a water park. While in the lazy river with wife, I saw multiple lifeguards staring into space or picking at their fingernails, not really look in at the swimmers.
One major aspect of this park that turns me off are the continuous closures with no refunds. Three of the four times we’ve visited, the attractions closed because of «inclement weather» in the vicinity. And all three of those times, I didn’t see a strike of lightning. Just a lot of disappointed kids sitting around in the sunshine for hours, parents spending money on food, and not a lot else.
If you’re going to build a water park in the Lightning capital of the world, you should probably increase the radius of weather for closures. The funny part is that workers aren’t really concerned about safety – they don’t help anyone come down from ride lines or take shelter. They just shut down rides and stand there.
In addition, even with expensive passes, we have to pay for lockers every time.
I guess when i came here as a kid I never really noticed these things. I just wanted to ride the slides and hit on chicks!!! Those days are over for me and now my eyes are attracted to safety concerns.
Overall, I’m just eh about this park. There are better splash grounds for little kids and water rides at other, better amusement parks.

Lots of water slide choices. They need more lounge chairs. Either come early or later in the day, or else it will be too crowded to get chairs.
Lockers cost $ 12!!! And if u return your key at the end of the day, they just give u a $ 3 credit to their park. $ 3 buys NOTHING there.
IMPORTANT: you CAN bring your own food in. It has to be in a 15×15 container. They’re strict about that dimension. We were grateful to be able to bring our own lunch in the cooler so we didn’t have to pay for the overpriced food.

It’s not a bad water park. They have some great rides like the Colossal, Caribbean Twist, and The Riptide. Yes, the food can be a bit expensive, but it’s actually pretty decent. Save a little money and go for the The kids meal, the portion is just as good for adults.
Contraire to popular believe, Tampa Bay is not the most ideal place to be during the hot summer season. Lots of heat, humidity, and plenty of rain and lightning?. Adventure Island shuts down a lot throughout the summer days because of this. They will reopen the rides long as the weather cooperates, just pay attention to the not so loud speaker.
I get the park shutting down due to safety reasons. Makes perfect sense. Sometimes the rides open despite light showers, other times they are shut down. While other times the rain stops and they’ll take their time to reopen even with the sun out. I’m all for safety, not sure how other water parks handle this, but A.I. goes overboard.
Rain scatters in FL, so despite the nice weather you experience when leaving the house, you may experience heavy showers a few miles ahead. So you are basically taking a gamble every time you head out to the park. Adventure Island will not accommodate you in any way… It’s strictly up to you.
To make A.I. more consumer friendly in the summer. Why not just shut down completely? Perhaps offer free parking or even half off? Better yet, just have every customer sign a waiver.
It’s unfair to families traveling from out of town with kids and not knowing when or if the park will re-​open because of a cloudy day or a little rain. Fact is, A.I. Is just as inconsistent as the weather.
Adventure Island can be a lot of fun during the perfect climate. It’s hit or miss in the summer because of the unpredictability of the weather.
Final thoughts: The kids will certainly enjoy the park, Island Nights will keep them entertained. The passes are reasonable, though I can’t say the same for all other costs involved. The Colossal Curl is a great addition, easily the best ride they have. Bathrooms could use a little attention. Overall it’s just barely a four star rating.

Adventure Island is not my favorite waterpark in Florida, but it’s not bad.
We came to Adventure Island last weekend with our Busch Gardens annual passes that allow us free entry and free parking (amazing deal!). The lines weren’t nearly as long as I expected them to be which was nice. All of the rides are fun, but none of them are really all that thrilling. This park is more for families with young kids than for thrill seekers as they really only have 2 thrill rides– The Wahoo Run and the brand new Colossal Curl.
I’m sure you will see me check in again and again, but it will probably only be to cool down or take a break from Busch Gardens.
One more thing– Safety Tip! I got a giant splinter stuck in my big toe after simply walking barefoot over one of their wooden bridges! I suggest you walk extra carefully or wear water shoes or else you will be spending 20+ minutes in First Aid where the very friendly staff will dig into your foot over and over with sharp tweezers in an attempt to pull out the splinter.

The family and I had a good time here last Sunday. We arrived fairly early, and rented a locker. We stored or valuables, and proceeded to splash around. We hit most of the slides, and early, the lines send to move fast. As the day progressed, I think the employees were hot and tired, because on several slides, the person giving the «thumbs-​up» (fir the next riders) had completely zoned out. Once, the person at the top was waving around, but couldn’t get his attention. As the day progresses, the Waterpark, as a whole, operates less efficient.
The only real negative I have is the ground gets really hot! I have blisters on the bottoms of my feet. Other than the rides, there is nowhere to cool the feet. Even the zoo has stations to cool off. A little sprinkle here or there would be nice.
Overall, it was a fun day. We all had a good time, and were exhausted!

Paid $ 52 for a weekday pass and $ 12 to park. We packed a cooler of drinks, snacks and sandwiches which saved us quite a bit of money. The soft sided coolers without ice don’t apply to the 15″ measurement rule, although our cooler was the correct size.
I appreciated the numerous amounts of life guards and security throughout the park. The grounds were clean and the restroom by the entrance with a changing area was tidy.