Big Surf Waterpark Reviews

Get there early to get the best spot for shade and chairs

We take our kids here every year as soon as school gets out!

Just as good as it was when I was a kid, even a little better. There was at least one full uniform officer watching over us as well. $15 for a 1/2 pound cheeseburger which came with a side and a 16oz. Soda or Gatorade. I hadn't been in a while and it exceeded my expectations.

Lots of people but they do a good job with keeping up.. It's a fun place

Stressed out, over whelmed... Try the Black hole/ blue tube. Guarantee stress reliever --If Ur not chicken!

Haven't been here in 10 + years and it still looks good. They have slides for kids and adults. Great prices for tickets. Large parking lot. Clean bathrooms. Just needs some up keep on some of the slides. If your looking for more variety on slides i would go to sunsplash cost more but worth it.

We had a blast, but it us a small park, and some slides were down!

We had a great time. Prices were reasonable, lines were short and moved quickly. Definitely recommend and will be back

Loved it. Great family place. Lots to do for all ages.

Had a blast... Best place to cool off in the Phoenix summer

Great fun, but about time for a facelift its a little dated

Took my grandsons here to this water park it was awesome they had loads of fun my little grandson Kai loved it and so did I first time in a bathing suit in a long time. My grandson Kai loved the little mini kid slides, where as my older Grandsons love the big adult slides

Surfing in the desert ? boogie Boarding in Phoenix? Yes you can ! This place is awesome. A genius designed these waves easier to catch than Hawaii. People are nice too!! Fun in the Summertime

Family had fun, but best part was that we got in for free.

You can bring tents and coolers with water inside the park. A lot of shade to choose from.

I can't remember the last time I experienced customer service even half as bad as I had at Big Surf. My wife, two little boys and I went knowing we only had a couple of hours, but thought we'd make the most of it since the summer season is coming to a close. About 15 minutes after we got there, we were told a quarter of the park's slides would be closed for filming. I went to the general manager's office to register a complaint and was told by one of the leads that a sign was posted at the entry so I have no reason to complain. To be fair, a sign was posted, but it said nothing about closing any slides for filming...only that patron's likenesses may be used in the film. I asked the gentleman why he was being so condescending about a simple complaint and he proceeded to get more abusive. I asked to speak to the manager and two other men emerged. One identified himself as the General Manager, Bob Pena, and proceeded to treat me the same way the previous person had. Because my six year old son was standing with me, I kept my cool and reminded them I was just there to register a complaint, that's all. To which, Mr. Pena asked if I had been drinking because my eyes were red. For the record, I do not drink and certainly had not been drinking that day. At this point I was stunned more than anything. I asked if this was how they handled all their complaints and was promptly removed from the office and told the police would be called for disorderly conduct.

Normally, I would be content to assume some responsibility if my actions warranted that type of response, but that just wasn't the case in this instance. I was speechless more than anything. The management's actions were downright hostile. If I owned that park, I would want to know this happened. If I was going for the first time, I would want to know what to expect. Instances of poor service happen ... this is the first time I've ever posted about it when I've been on the receiving end. You should be able to expect better of leadership at a business of that size. My recommendation is to steer clear at all costs - it's just not worth the abuse.

I used to go and had season passes, but since staff won't protect mothers and children from people who are yelling and cursing... we won't ever go back. What a disgrace.

Always a fun spot to hang out especially when its 110 out!!!

Family fun for most ages. They allow coolers full of sealed water but food must be kept out of the park.

Need to update the place. The water in the wave pool is dirty and slides outdated. It's fun for about an hour if that. It also gets over crowded for its size.

I do enjoy this place but it's sad to see the lack of maintenance. Especially with the 50th anniversary. Towers are rust buckets and there are slides that haven't worked for years. Unused wiring everywhere. A Zipline that's now just sitting rotting away. So much potential. It is either tough to survive in this business or owners just don't care anymore.

The groupon was a good price.. $19 per person. Lines were not too bad. But loved the wave. They didnt kick you out like at sunsplash. Had a great time. Wish there were more open "rides"

Love this place. 3rd time going and the while family has something to do!

1st time going but not our last. It was super packed but still lots of fun. We even had two 3 year old kids.

Gotta love big surf. It's been a couple of years now since I last went.. so maybe my review isn't worth a lot, but it looks like some recent reviews are still giving it a good number of stars, so I'm thinking they're still running a good show.

Of course the main wave pool is super fun, but they also have the hurricane slides, the black hole slide, and many others I remember enjoying.

Great place
Just no beer varieties

Too expensive. No lazy river. Not many food choices. Go to Wet & Wild ...better & bigger for the money.

Certainly shows it's age and in need of updates. I haven't visited here in over 25 years and don't really plan to return.

We got a ticket though GROUPON and that should have been a good clue. The park is old and in need of renovations. The kids had a fun time nonetheless, it's water and they did like the waves, however I was ripped off by Big Surf. I sent my teen to put some things in a locker. The charge for the locker was $7.00. My son deposited a $20.00 bill and the machine did not give him any change. I went to see what had happened and in small print at the bottom of where you pay it says you must use exact change. First the signs should be by where you deposited the money and not at the bottom. 2nd I want to know how many people have $7.00, I mean I want to say that lots of people will have $5.00, $10.00 or $20.00 but $7.00 really??. 3rd, I know I am probably not the first person that has this issue and I am sure that lots of other parents and kids have been ripped off by the same oversight.
I addressed the manager of Big Surf and he gave me the number for Tiburon Locker Company. He basically said that he had nothing to do with the Lockers. I was dumbfounded Really?? Really?? you allow a third party put their lockers in your premises and allow them to cheat people?? and then you say you have nothing to do with it???
This little trip and adventure basically ended costing more than the price of the GROUPON. It was really not worth it.

I had amazing time at Big Surf! It was my first time and I'm so glad I went. I hung out in the kid area near the wave pool with my friend. Then I headed to the slides.
I went on all the slides. I recommend when it's a scorching AZ day!!!

Lots of fun. Great place to go with a family. Best wave pool around. But enough wave to catch and ride in.

I really enjoy my visits to Big Surf. I would just like to suggest that you have two lines for admissions, one of which is just for Season Pass holders. It would make the lines much quicker.

It's great because i had so much fun with my family

This place desperately needs investment. Rusty railings, cracked concrete. You can get a season pass for less than two regular admissions and there is a reason why. In addition, the slides are not well organized, long waiting lines. If you want to store your cell phone, the smallest locker is $8. In general, I guess it's OK if you get a discounted ticket, would never pay full price.

Fun place to hang out in water with family. The wave pool is a lot of fun. The park is a little dirty but it is old.

Love it. The surf and waves was so fun. They also have a large variety of water slides.

Took 8 kids ages 3, 8, 10 x2, 11,12, 18 and 21. They had a great time in the water, except for the fact that bigger guys were taking their rafts in the wave pool. One went so far as to try and take my 18 year olds, he fought back, scared them away. When they told the lifeguard, he said I didn't see anything. We left. I know I won't be renting those rafts again for the younger ones. It's too hard to keep an eye on each of them in that BIG HUGE wave pool, no matter how much fun the water is.
They got on every slide at least 10 times.
Nice place just watch your younger ones very closely when they have rafts.
Got discount tickets on Groupon. Price was right.

Awesome slides and things really fun for swimmers has small pools for young ages as well.

Lobe that place it's so far all the water slides and the pools and all the games in the pools are so fun I recommend you go there during summer or very hot days

Giant water park with tones of slide and pool, a giant wave comes through every 5 to 10 minutes in the largest pool there are plenty of snack bars and lockers for safety and there's also a bar, the price was not too bad at about 20 for adults and a little less for the chitlins

This is a great place to cool off during the hot summer. I reccomond going here, you hardly get bored. The season pass is a great deal. They have the biggest wave pool I've ever seen. They have special times for people with bogieboards. Safety is their biggest priority. They have slides for kids off all ages and adults. They have great food. They have tons of chairs and umbrellas to sit at out of the sun. I highly recommend this place over any other waterpark.

Lots of fun, would go again if they do Groupon again. Would be cool to see an adults only pool with swim up bar. Just an idea ;)

Rides and everything were operable. Employees that we spoke to, we're very helpful, had good information, and we're very pleasant. It was a nice place, they have plenty of room for visitors to hang out in the grass. They could use some more chairs and shade for those places though. The worst was the bathrooms. The bathrooms and the bathhouses, where people change, are completely nasty! Not only do the stalls and toilets act and look run down, nobody had cleaned the place all day it looked like. I'd rather pee in the pool! I thought the food was awful, especially for the price. They do have a decent selection, including salads. If they don't allow you to bring your own in, the least they could do was provide you with something that tasted good.

The park was OK. We had fun because it was part of a group gathering, but it would have been just ok otherwise.

First to start, I thought this was a different water park that I wanted to go to. They don't have the lazy river haha that's golf land. Now, since I'm over being disappointed that they didn't have the ride I wanted. My 6 year old doesn't swim yet and doesn't like the slides so we spent way more then I'd like you just go in 1 pool. The food is decent price and they have coffee! Got coffee and a bagel only to take a bite and the bagel is stale. So if you're a mom or dad with a child like mine, I do not recommend this place. Waste of money. Go to a public pool. And just be cautious of their foods.

Went to big surf for the swimming with Nixon event and it was an amazing experience. The rides are exciting and area is very clean. The life guards are very attentive and kind. I highly recommend taking your family here

This is the best and easiest way to escape the summer Blaze in AZ. We always buy Season Passes which are such a great deal. The Wave pool is well maintained and a lot of fun. You can ride waves on rafts, boogie boards or surf boards. Not at the same time as they have designated time slots for each. Pretty sure this is the only waveThe slide are lots of fun also and there are all knives of lounge chairs and shade structures. You need to be there within the first 30 min of opening if you want shade or you may have to share with a new friend. The food is pretty good and they have an amazing BBQ on the weekends. There is also a Bar with a view of the Wave Pool to cut loose a little while the kids go crazy. Great value for the money across the board.

Nice cold water place to be to get out with familiy and have a good time

The black slide was the best with my 4 year old. I had my daughter with me too. She watched him while I went on the white one. She took him down on the black one again.

I would definitely recommend Big Surf, more so that Hurricane Harbor. Much more fun experience and way more activities to do. My 6 year old loves going to Big Surf, I bring her at least 4-5 times every summer.

Kids had fun but bathrooms were gross and this place needs renavation big time.

The wave pool and slides were good but it needs a lazy river circulating around the place. Food selection was better than I imagined and they have lockers you can rent to store your stuff. Overall I liked what they had going on there. Great place to take the family on a sizzling summer day.

Wide parking and all its facilities of pools and slides very safe

Great place for the day! Not a ton of slides, but the wave pool is great. Except they kick you out periodically unless you have a boogie board.

If you turn back the hands of time Big Surf was probably a great destination. Unfortunately today it is seriously showing its age. The wave pool and water slides are still fun, however have they ever heard of paint and maintenance. My message to the owner is don't be afraid to renovate and raise prices to cater to a higher income clientele.

Okay so Big Surf has enjoyed the luxury of not having much competition in the valley, which means they never really had to do much renovations to the property. The place looks virtually the same as it did in the 90 s. For that reason it is a three star water park. You can still have fun at the park, just could do a bit better. Slippery areas, also hot on the feet of you or your kids are barefoot in several areas of the park.

We have season passes, so we will probably live there this summer. Fun place to cool down.

Been a while since I've been here, but the slides were a lot of fun, especially in summer!

They didn't tell us when we I purchased tickets for my family, that Wave pool was closing soon at 4:50 p.m. for surfing, then when they closed at 5:45 or 5:50, they only had 1 Restroom open for like 20 Ladies, tried to ask to use the other Restroom, 2 Men employees said no we could not use. But other than that it was fun, I might have come earlier or another day if I had known about Wave Pool closing at 5pm for the surfers.

Some stuff was good and some were boring some ppl were rude and didn't know what they were talking about I so yeah

We bought a season pass for the park and we really enjoy going there