Wet and Wild Gold Coast Information

Wet and Wild Gold Coast Australia All You Need To Know About Planning A Day In This Water Park

You will find information on this page about:

I've tried to cover most of what you need to know to enjoy a day at this theme park, however, if I have missed something you are interested in or would like to know, feel free to ask a question.

Don't forget to read other people's questions first as you may well find your answer there and you may discover something useful for you.

Wet and Wild Gold Coast is the largest of the water parks in the area, the other two options you may hear about are Dreamworld's WhiteWater World and a small water park at Sea World Resort.

Opening Times for Wet and Wild Gold Coast

Daily:	10.00am to 5.00pm Closing times vary. During the winter months usually 4pm. May be extended during summer months especially from Christmas through to mid January, when it can be as late as 9pm. Check with the park directly if this will affect you.
Exceptions:	Closed Christmas Day 25 December. Closed ANZAC Day 25 April

Buying Tickets for Wet and Wild Gold Coast

You can buy tickets at the gate when you arrive, online or at ticket booths around the coast.

I have not found anywhere that consistently has big discounts for Gold Coast theme parks. You might see ads that entice you with huge discounts, you will need to check they are not for locals only or have very specific restrictions.

Occassionally, visitors to the Gold Coast can find genuine discounts where savings are a couple of dollars a ticket, but watch out for hidden booking fees and credit card fees that eat into those savings. The real savings are to be made by checking out special promotions, deals and combination tickets and passes.

As a rule, you should not pay more for the convenience of buying tickets online and usually there is a small discount - some of the theme parks charge a higher price for tickets at the gate. The other benefits of buying online before you visit is that you can budget for your trip more easily and also when you go to the theme parks, you get to go in the pre-paid line which may be just as long, but much quicker!

At Wet and Wild Gold Coast the ticket entry for those with pre-paid vouchers or passes is easily found on arrival and usually you are directed to the far left hand side to a special entry.

Back to Top of Wet and Wild Gold Coast

Getting To Wet and Wild Gold Coast

Wet and Wild is located in the Gold Coast hinterland area called Oxenford.

The actual address for Wet n Wild Gold Coast is Entertainment Road, Oxenford. It is just off the Pacific Motorway or M1 at the Helensvale North exit.

Coming from Brisbane in the north, or from Gold Coast locations such as Southport, Surfers Paradise, Broadbeach, Nerang, Coolangatta or northern NSW, it is well signposted from the M1 and you can see the park as you approach the turn off to Helensvale North.

This is the same turn off you use for Paradise Country, Australian Outback Spectacular and Warner Bros. Movie World.

There is plenty of parking, so driving is a great option you can BYO car or hire a car.

Wet and Wild Gold Coast Transfers

Gold Coast Shuttle Transfers are great for transfers directly from your accommodation. Their Freedom and Gold Passes are flexible options for Gold Coast airport transfers and theme parks transfers that will save you money too.

Surfside Buslines run the public bus sustem on the Gold Coast Tel: 131 230. They run theme park express services which stop at Wet n Wild, including services from Helensvale Railway Station and Pacific Fair Shopping Centre amongst many others.

Translink run the train services which run from Brisbane to Robina. Helensvale railway station is the best stop for Wet n Wild with Surfside buses providing the bus connections.

Personally, I think it is better to pay a bit extra and go with a shuttle service such as Gold Coast Shuttle Transfers as the public bus service can at times be frustrating.

If you wanted to be really decadent you could transfer by helicopter or hummer limousine, that way you don't have to mix with the riff-raff! More details on transfers to theme parks.

Back to Top of Wet and Wild Gold Coast

Things To Consider

Food and Drinks

Wet n Wild you can take in a picnic and bring in something to cook on the coin operated BBQs. There are some fairly standard restrictions including but not limited to, no glassware or commercially prepared food and no alcohol. Inside the water park there are food outlets with a range of options that are mostly fast food, though you can find a salad or wrap if you look carefully!

There are a limited number of strollers for hire and free wheelchairs - the park is mostly wheel friendly - but there are restrictions on some rides, so you will need to check.

Accessibility and Getting Around

You enter Wet n Wild roughly in the middle - you can start wherever you feel like. For some reason, and I don't know why we tend to always start on the right hand side of the park! Straight in front of the entrance is Bucanneer Bay which is a great place to start for the younger kids.

Wet n Wild is mostly flat, however, you do need to climb stairs to get to many of the ride entrances.

Things to Take

Wet n Wild you probably want to take as little as possible, because you cannot take your personal possessions on the wet rides! There are lockers and I highly recommend you use them for your valuables, that way you don't have to worry about them.

You are going to be out in the sun and water most of the day, so make it simple here are some of the things we pack or wear:

• Water Bottle
• Sunscreen - a water repellent one and reapply every two hours
• Hat or Cap
• Sunglasses - ones you don't mind getting a little wet
• Swimwear - can include board shorts and rash shirt (though you may need to take off the rash shirt for certain rides)
• Towels - worth taking more than one, especially for younger kids who may feel the cold even on hot days - I have one of those ;-)
• Thongs (flip flops, jandals, havianas etc) or easy to slip off footwear

Money

There are EFTPOS machines and an ATM in the shop at Wet n Wild and they have something called Splash Cash so you don't have to carry around cash.

Personally, I find getting a locker easier, because you aren't needing to get money out except to buy food and drinks or if you want to go on the pay per use rides. 

Personally, other than money for food and drinks, you can easily enjoy a day Wet and Wild without paying for any of additional activities.

Pre-paid Tickets

I always buy my tickets ahead of time, as the pre-paid lines are much faster than those where you have to buy the tickets at the gate. They definitely seem to be encouraging people to buy their tickets ahead of time because it helps them get people into the park on opening much faster.

Back to Top of Wet and Wild Gold Coast

Weather and How It Affects Your Day

Hmmm, would you still go to Wet and Wild Gold Coast when it is raining?

Well, I would, because you are going to get wet anyway! However, if it was cold and windy to boot - then maybe not so good for younger kids who might get too cold too quickly. Having said that, guess what - there will be really short queues so you could get to ride all the rides to your hearts content!

One of the really odd things I have noticed about Wet n Wild (and we used to live out that way when we first moved to the Gold Coast), is that there can often be menacing dark grey clouds hanging around out the back over the hills, so you keep thinking that it going to storm and get nasty... but it never quite seems to. Well occassionally it might, but these clouds, especially in the summer, are the sort that build up until the early evening and then either disappear or form a storm. By which time, you are long gone!

Wet n Wild is inland from the coast and on hot, still days, it is VERY hot out there, but the upside is you can cool down in the water!

Can I visit Wet and Wild Gold Coast in Winter?

In the cooler winter months, the water is heated, making this an all year round water park. It is definitely quieter during the winter months (especially during the week) - great if you want to enjoy the rides with short queues, but the park closes a little earlier.

During the winter we like to pop in for a couple of hours in the warmest part of the day. If you have kids who get cold quickly, you will have to weigh up if it is the best activity for your family during your Gold Coast visit in winter (June, July and August).

If you are visiting from a colder climate (UK, Canada, parts of USA, south America, Northern Europe and of course New Zealand and southern part of Australia), you will be laughing at my writing this and just stay that I have now become too soft! You won't even bat an eyelid at visiting this water theme park during the winter - because what we think is cold - is definitely NOT!

If you are visiting from a more tropical climate such as Singapore, Malaysia, India, Hong Kong, Central America and northern Australia - you may find that it is cooler than where you are coming from since our winter is your summer.

Final comment about visiting during winter - don't forget the sunscreen, even when it is overcast, our sun is very strong - winter and summer!

Back to Top of Wet and Wild Gold Coast

Shops at Wet and Wild Gold Coast

Wet n Wild doesn't have anywhere near the shopping that the other theme parks has, but then you don't go there to shop - you go there to get wet and go wild!

There is a shop at the entrance and exit where you can buy souvenirs and beach wear, towels or any necessities like sunscreen, sunglasses, batteries for your camera or disposable cameras and other things you might have forgotten to bring with you.

The prices are pretty high, so best not to forget anything and save your money for some souvenirs if you want them, or photos of your faces on the special ride photos!

Food in Wet n Wild

The food at Wet n Wild is definitely informal!

Very much, beach style fast food, snacks, drinks and ice creams.

Most of the permanent food outlets are in the central area of the park, near the entrance and exit.

During busy times, there are mobile food and drink carts, with delights such as hot dogs, churros, cold drinks and ice cream.

I am not sure if there are any Halal certified foods for sale at Wet and Wild Gold Coast, so you may have to bring your own to this theme park.

One of the reasons I don't think they have as large a selection of food outlets as the other theme parks, is that you can bring in your own picnic and there are coin operated barbeques for you to cook on.

We tend not to eat much at this park (too busy!), but if we do it is usually just some hot chips, a coffee or hot chocolate for the kids and ice cream! We usually take in some fruit and cold drinks.

Back to Top of Wet and Wild Gold Coast

Where To Stay Close To Wet and Wild Gold Coast

I often get asked about staying close to the theme parks to save on travel time, or staying in the main tourist areas such as Main Beach (about 20 minutes drive), Surfers Paradise (about 20 to 25 minutes drive) or Broadbeach (about 25 minutes drive).

I will answer this as best I can - there are very few options to stay within 5 minutes drive of these theme parks. Those places are either motels, or the the Gold Coast Holiday Park which combines a Caravan Park and 4 star motel accommodation. Another similar option is Treasure Island Holiday Park at Runaway Bay which is about a 10 minute drive.

When you look at the map of where the theme parks are you might be tempted to look for accommodation in Hope Island, Sanctuary Cove or Runaway Bay and those places are fine, but you will definitely need to consider having a car to get around and drive yourself to Wet n Wild.

So, a long winded way of answering this question, I would still personally choose to stay in Main Beach, Surfers Paradise or Broadbeach for two main reasons.

First one, is you get a much larger variety of hotels, apartments and accommodation to choose from so are more likely to find something that suits your style and budget.

Secondly, when you are not at the inland theme parks, you get to experience the beach and other wonderful attractions along the coastal strip. It would be a shame to come to the Gold Coast and not experience those areas.

Check out the Surfers Paradise Accommodation Guide for some of the options in the area.