Schlitterbahn Waterpark

I went to this waterpark while staying at my timeshare in Texas for a week. Had fun in the lazy river. Would love to re-​visit this park!!!

Long lines, lots of rides… I suppose everyone has got to go, I spent lots of time there as a teenager, the park has gotten bigger, the lines have too. They allow you to bring your own food and drinks, just no glass or alcoholic beverages of your own, as they sell alcohol on site.

We checked into the resort in New Brunfils for the first time and our experience from the beginning was horrible. First off my husband arrived an hour earlier then myself and he was told by housekeeping the room was ready, however it took him an hour and a half before he had access to the room (97 degrees outside and sitting on the porch waiting). The reply was that the front desk needed a supervisor to do a final inspection.
Secondly, we each needed two wristbands a person (there was 6 of us), but we were short four of them. So we all proceeded to the front desk and staff member Heather was not only rude, but argumentative, accusatory and extremely unprofessional. She insisted that we misplaced or lost the wristbands. My kids were horrified by this interaction as was I. She was trying to scold me saying «now I’m taking your word that you do not have these wristbands and if I give them to you, you won’t lose them again right?» I still couldn’t even figure out why we needed two wristbands each, so when I ask she rolled her eyes at me — if Heather continues to work at the front desk with customers I think Schlitterbahn will continue to have disgruntled visitors. This is the first negative review I have ever written, hopefully the last.
The highlights to our stay were: the room was awesome, super clean and the staff at the newer portion of the waterpark were very nice and interactive with all of us!

Had a blast at Schlitterbahn. They have the longest water slide which goes upwards. I enjoyed all the rides especially the Dark Knight, Wolfpack and Masterblaster. Free parking available. I only gave this park a 4 stars because we had to take a bus to the other side of the park. Other than that it’s a great place to cool off. It’s great for all ages. I recommend having water shoes as the ground can be hot to walk around. Flip flops also tend get lose during the rides. They have a pretty cool water bar too for the adults.

Lovely park. Tons of rides (although many of them were similar). Nice water quality. Neat and clean facilities.
Had tons of fun with my brother here ! Went on a Saturday and everything was perfect !
Here are some tips that might help you :
1. Go to the West side of the park first ! More Newer, thrilling rides here.
2. We had the best kind of water shoes. Barefeet !! Was alright except you had to play «lava on the ground» and walk in shades.
3. Folks say go early for parking. We reached around 1130 and found parking fairly close and had tons of time to enjoy the rides.
4. You can bring your own food ! This was huge and a lot of folks did so. The food options there were pretty standard amusement park ones, which were just about alright.
5. Sunscreen. sunscreen. sunscreen…
6. Crowd: Although the park was fairly full. didnt really wait much for most of the rides… except «Wolfpack». waited an hour and was just not worth it ! So make an educated guess.
7. My body was aching the next day but was totally worth it ! So if you can stretch before getting on the rides !
8. Water was as natural as they could keep it. At the end we didn’t feel that «chlorine» or «treated» water taste at all.
I’ll definitely visit this again next time I am around. Great family fun !

Save your money and go to a water park where you can actually ride the rides in a reasonable amount of time. The rides already had a line from the people staying at the resort before the gates opened, leaving us that had arrived early still at the end of the line to get on the rides. Waiting an hour and a half for a 20 second ride is ridiculous. Splash Town and Hawaiian Falls are a much better bet at less than ½ the price.
The older side of the park is confusing, old, and not a lot of fun. The bbq did smell pretty good though and I did like the river water splash pool. It was nice and cool.
I’m not a water park expert but there should be more rides maybe and a shorter wait. Disney has it down. Perhaps Schlitterbaun could learn something from them.
I will never go to the New Braunfels location again only because it is too crowded and standing in line for excessive amounts of time isn’t a lot of fun. I would go to the South Padre park again thou

On a spring trip with the marching band, and even as an adult I loved this waterpark! I never knew that you could take a bus over to the other parks as well! Great slides and lots of fun for kids and adults! I do not care for the one in Galveston, so this is a great getaway!

The place is great, watch out for rough flooring though. My mom busted her knee when a wave came in and she fell. LOL but blood was everywhere which was not funny.
They have a first aid center there so no worries!
It is a great water park and the rides are amazing!
The waiting in line isn’t too long if you go in about 12 The food is fantastic! I get a season pass every year

Great Waterpark and resort. We love being able to go in early ride the big slides then play for the rest of the day.
We get a room with a kitchen and stock up. It’s nice to take a break in the afternoon. The remodeled rooms are really nice. I wish the cabins would get a facelift.

This is a great water park for local Texans!
There are two sides to this park! The East (Old Park) and the West (New Park).
They have some cabanas you can rent out but they fill up fast!
Lockers are $ 8.00 to rent, $ 10.00 up front and you get 2 $ 1.00 coins back.
We spent about 8 hours between both parks and we felt that was enough time to hit up the major rides.

I find Schlitterbahn to be a wonderful water park. I am only basing my review on the park alone. I have not stayed at the resort hotel. I have always found the staff to be supper friendly and very helpful, even when asked the same question 10 thousand times a day. They allow you to during in coolers for picnics and drinks, just no glass or alcohol, there’s free parking as well. The two parks have a totally different feel to them.
The west park is the original park and is very shaded and has some of the best tube chutes. The east park the newest section and is just a quick tram ride from the west park. It is very fun as well. It has all the high speed water rides, like the Dragon’s Revenge water coaster. Schlitterbahn is a great day or two trip for the family. I don’t think you would be disappointed!

Very tedious compared to Fiesta Texas.
You are responsible for carrying your tube from ride to ride and holding it while in line.
Most of the tube rides require a bit of luck and lots of patience: lots of people were getting stuck in whirlpools after small drops! You had to paddle your way out or hope the next person crashing into you would give you enough momentum to continue on.
The park is spilt between two sides with a trolley system — and I recommend starting on the newer side.
Over on the new side you a wave pool area, a lazy river, and three water slides.
The wait time in line on the slides is marked by signs, «You will be enjoying this ride in _​_​_​_​_​!»
– and the marked amount is outrageous!
Only one slide requires tubes (the Black Knight) and allows more than one person to ride at a time, so the other two you have to wait until the rider makes it aaaaall the way to the bottom and moves out of the way before the next person in line can go. Up on the final platform the signs remind you that you have another HOUR to wait! This is where you could carry on a conversation with the slide’s attendant, without having to yell, if you wanted to. AN HOUR!
Your only hope is running to these slides first thing in the morning, and hoping not too many others are planning to do the same.
The Dragon’s Revenge ride is hidden behind the kid’s pool on the new side — A very long wait time for this two-​seater tube ride, but we thought it was one of the more fun rides.
The older side of the park has much more to offer, but almost every ride requires the use of a tube.
The Cliffhanger Tube Chute has two endings to pick from: a steep, cliff-​like waterfall, or float on into the river after merging with the Raging River Tube Chute. Though both rides have workers telling people when they can join in, and a worker designating turns at the merge, the ride was overcrowded and caused several pile ups and flips! We were shocked that there were not more workers to help prevent collisions after the small drops throughout — This was the ride that everyone was getting stuck in the small whirlpools.
Part of the Congo River Expedition was closed off (we were told it had an exciting drop and ended in the Comal River). We stood in line for almost 45 minutes to float in a circle and go through a mist tunnel while recordings of animal sounds played. Even if it HAD ended in the river. This was terribly disappointing and voted the worst ride of the day.
We experienced our longest wait at the Hillside Tube Chute and, the hour and a half wait was the ONLY reason we did not immediately jump back on, everyone agreed that it was the best ride of the day! All sorts of different drops and turns, no where to get stuck, and the ride even goes underneath the locker room building.
There are heated swim-​up bar areas — All of the larger rides state that you cannot ride if you have consumed alcohol, but the warm water also sounded kinda gross to our group. so we did not give them a go.
It is common for patrons to find a table and set up camp: everywhere there were picnic baskets and coolers and sunscreen and towels (I love situations where people can whole-​heartedly trust crowds of strangers) but, if you set your tube down for even a SECOND, it was gone!
Over all, it was a neat time; however, I would much rather go back to Fiesta Texas. or just a regular backyard swimming pool. haha

We visited the New Braunfels location yesterday with our two boys (6 and 7 yo.) Keep in mind that my wife and I have been going here since the 80’s.
Schlitterbahn needs to work on the culture at this facility. The employees were for the most part, disgruntled. There were a few superstars, but I can count them on one hand. There were several employees that failed to respond when I said «Good Morning», «How’s it going», etc… NO eye contact, NO smile… Did I do something to make you mad? Not one employee offered to help, we had to approach them and ask. One employee asked me what time it was, because he was ready to get off work. That’s great, I’m glad you enjoy your job ensuring the safety of my children.
How about the group of employees that sat at a table in the shade while we wandered past them twice (obviously lost.) By the way, we wasted around an hour (collectively throughout the day) being lost due to poor signage.
Trashcans were still full first thing in the morning. There are shoe insoles laying on the ground throughout the old park. I’m not sure why, but is there a barrier to picking these up?
Here’s my favorite: We purchased a «Family Fun Pack» at HEB. This includes admission for a family of 4, and 4 «Combo Meals.» When we received our food wristband at the park, it specified that the combo only included chips. Is this the end of the world? NO! However, it’s just more cheap Schlitterbahn tactics. Every combo listed at the park included fries. Thanks for the «chips» downgrade. Little things kill! There is also, NO time advantage to having this pass. You still have to wait in line at the ticket booth.
How about the line at Blastenhoff? It was great. 1.5 hours for 30 seconds of ride (Wolfpack.) Why was the wait this long? Because your equipment breaks repetitively, and your employees move like drunken snails. But that’s OK!!! You had one of your teenagers come out with a water hose and spray everyone a couple of times. This was degrading at best. How about an update on the equipment instead?
In summary, your employees were militant, the park was dirty, and you need to improve your logistics.
I think it’s great that you have positioned yourself where there is no opportunity for customers to request compensation for lack of performance or satisfaction.

Absolutely LOVE this place! Been here 3x now and it never disappoints!
check the calendar. Weekdays vs weekends or holidays can have different times. Arrive early when they first open! Even if it’s 10 – 15 mins earlier to get tickets and through the door.
Free parking, you can bring your own cooler with food and drinks. No alcohol. Very family friendly! Free tram to take you back and forth from new and old park. I love the old park best! The rides are longer, quicker lines and some are incorporated into the comal river. Most uses the natural untreated river water. And there are fishes swimming beneath you sometimes!
Apply lots of sunscreen! PLEASE keep it NATURAL ingredients due to the river water and all the fishes and live plants.
Wear water shoes or flip flops. Hot cement. And algae in the river water areas. Plus feet fungus! Eww.
Bring cheap sunglasses! They will probably fall off or scrap the walls/​floors.
Fav rides are: master blaster in the new park. Waited for 2 hrs. (We got here an he late. Arrive early! Park in the new park if possible)
The LAZY pool!!! So fun!
Old park: raging rivers (45min ride– my absolute fav), white water tube chute.
Congo ride was okay… Kind of low water and hit my butt quite a few times. Did not like Der Bahn speed slides. Really hurt my butt! The deluge– lame. The Falls– eh. Okay. But don’t waste time as there are other rides to go on.
We definitely try to ride all the high thrill rides. I would come here every year if I could.

Second time here. First of all, Master blaster was broken when I got there. It was working later and I decided wait for this ride. Alas, it was not to be. Masterblaster (and the wolfpack) broke down again! Tired of waiting in lines I decided to float the Comal river. In case anyone decides to do this, get out of the river at the «last public exit». They’ll be no sign saying «Schlitt erbahn guests…» FYI.
Free parking and bring your own picnic lunch is awesome. (I’m sure no one smuggles liquor in.) Wear water shoes, the concrete is HOT.

I have been coming here every summer for last 4 years. Tips: 1) get here by 10am 2) start at the newer park first because it is not busy and you can get long waited rides for a fraction of the time 3) bring water shoes to avoid stepping on hot cement of just catching some fungus 4) invest in a water phone pack to protect phone/​money in water (I bought mine for $ 9.99 @ academy, waterpark sells exact one for $ 20) 5.) wear sunscreen 6) HAVE FUN!

Schlitterbahn has been rated the #1 waterpark in the U.S. for several years running. With that rank comes long lines and crowds. However, there is a reason why it keeps earning this rank. It is a great place for families to visit and get relief from the Texas heat. The park is divided into four sections; The Original Schlitterbahn (often called the «the old part»), Surfenburg, Tubenbach, and Blastenhoff. The «old part» is our favorite portion of the park. All of the rides are fed by the Comal River (pronounce Cō-​mël) and are typically much longer than the rides in the new portions. If you stay at one of their resorts, you can get early access to the Blastenhoff portion of the park where the larger rides are located such as Master Blaster (the «rollercoaster» of tube rides), Wolfpack and Black Knight. These three rides will definitely have the longer lines during peak times easily being as long as two hours or more. It pays to do them very early or very late. The older part has much better shade to maximize your relief from the heat.
You can bring your own cooler full of drinks and food. However, you cannot bring in your own alcohol and glass containers are not allowed. They do check bags and coolers at every entrance so be patient and prepared.
All in all, this is a great waterpark. Again, during peak times, the lines can get long. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

So worth the price! Free parking. You can bring in your own coolers and food. No glass or alcohol though. You can buy adult drinks here. Three are 3 parks so visit all of them. Original side has a combo of river water and pool water. Tons of slides. Family friendly! Food available for purchase: turkey legs, pizza, burgers, nachos, ice cream. Prices are reasonable. Staff has always been helpful. Open 10 – 8 all summer. When July comes avoid weekends! Come mid August they are still open weekend until late September. We have bought season passes since 2006 and are always satisfied.

My husband and I visited this waterpark last summer and had a fantastic time. This place is family owned and they take pride in their park. It is clean, safe, and family friendly. The rides are a blast and there is something for everyone. It is actually made up of two separate parks and you can shuttle between the two, which makes it all the more unique and adventurous. We stayed in an adorable cottage right there at the park for 3 nights. The best part of the day was waking up to the birds chirping, squirrels playing in the trees, turtles swimming in the water, and the sounds of families anxious to get on the rides.
Highly recommend!

All I learned from my 3 days at Schlitterbahn in mid August:
— buy your tickets ahead of time and find an attendant near the ticket booth with wristbands and you’ll be in the park in 5 min
— buy the ticket package with the refillable cup. A family of 4 can easily share 2 cups
–we arrived 15 min before opening time and they us in each day and we were able to score a nice shaded table every time (on both sides)
–parking was never an issue
— our bags with all of our belongings were safe all day. I think its because families are always coming and going by their tables.
— water socks are a necessity! The ground is partly black asphalt, rocky and HOT. Carrying flip flops on the rides becomes a hassle. They are $ 15 in the gift shop.
— Most cost efficient Lunch: A large pizza (8 slices) by the kiddie area is $ 18. Hamburgers are disgusting. Think high school cafeteria soy meat with cold processed cheese. Most combos are $ 8 including corn dogs and chicken tenders. We drove 8 hrs and I didnt feel like buying a loaf of bread, meat, jar of mayo, ziplocks and making a grocery trip on my vaca. Otherwise, I would rec bringing an ice chest with food and drinks and snacks. Dippin Dots are $ 6.50 for a small cup.
— There are alot of fun lazy river/​wave pool options when youre over standing in lines for rides.
— The river fed side (west) is more shaded and the water is cold!
— The tram was an easy eay to go from one side to the other. One driver (grandpa age) truly enjoys his job and makes corny kid friendly jokes.
Side note: Water parks in general would not be my first choice for a vacation BUT I just spent 3 days at the biggest water park in the country and it ended up being one of my top 3 family vacations to date. Tons of great foodie dinner options within driving distance in Austin and San Antonio was a huge plus too;)