Ian Bryan

Review of West Gwinnett Park Aquatic Cen...

I live in North Carolina and my 6 year old daughte...

I live in North Carolina and my 6 year old daughter asked me to take her to a water park when we went to visit Atlanta. I did the research and of all the parks, I picked West Gwinnett's because I expected it to be family friendly and community oriented (it is, after all, a public facility for an impressive community).

When we walked in the door, happy as cats and ready to swim, we were immediately shocked by front desk staff speaking to what appeared to be latino immigrants in a mean, cold, undeniably racist and derogatory manner. The family had come with inflatables and because they didn't speak much English, were not understanding the front desk woman's request to leave them in the car. Of course it makes sense they would be confused - eh? no swim toys in the swimming pool?

But Instead of trying to communicate more patiently and clearly, the woman behind the counter was hostile and unbelievably rude, while the immigrant family was patient, kind and open. I wish we had left then, but I wanted to have an open mind and give the place a chance and I didn't want to let my daughter down.

Then when we got our place at the counter to check in, there wasn't a shred of friendliness. Other than take my payment, the only thing the woman behind the counter said to me was "DO NOT LET HER IN THE WATER UNLESS YOU ARE BY HER SIDE OR WE WILL ASK YOU TO LEAVE"

Really? Wow. Thanks for the welcome!

Then we went out to the pool area and decided to shrug off Ms. Nasty. I figured it was just her. But within minutes of getting into the water, lifeguards were yelling at my child like she was some kind of criminal over tiny things that 6 year olds do, like jumping up and down in the shallow end and going underneath the water slides for shade.

So we moved to the wave pool, where I figured we couldn't attract a fussy lifeguard. A few minutes into the wave pool and we are stopped by yet another lifeguard who tells me that my swimming suit is "inappropriate for family" and "we require actual swimwear here". My swimsuit is a form-fitting professional suit - it cost $50 and is more definable as "swimwear" than most of what anyone else was wearing. I realized the issue was the form-fitting element (think: crotch) and found the experience very embarrassing. I petitioned to be left alone, showed her the speedo logo, and went on. 30 minutes later, another lifeguard approached me and again, stated that "I am sorry sir but we require swimwear at the pool." There seemed to be a big issue with a man wearing a form fitting, professional swimsuit.

I think the worst issue was when the lifeguards got on my daughter for climbing out of the wave pool in the wrong place. "Get down! Stop! Don't get out there!" yelling at her, confusing her, causing her to stop mid-way getting out of the water and then fall back in backwards. I jumped in to pull her up (while the lifeguard just observed as a 6 year old fell backwards into the water without anything to grasp) and instead of coming to help, the lifeguard came over to lecture us with a raised, impatient voice.

I could keep going and going but basically the culture at this place is so (I can't think of a better word) negative that we gave up trying to have fun and left after a few hours. I will never go again and I hope that this review is helpful for anyone who wants to bring a happy child to a water park - go anywhere but here!