Been There, Done That: Atlantis Water Park, Centreville, VA

When S. and I were dating, we loved going to Fairfax County’s small ‘water parks’. Especially ones with wave pools or lazy rivers. Now that Mike is a water lover it adds a whole new element to our water park journeys.

On July 4th we opted to go to Atlantis Water Park at Bull Run in Manassas. Mainly because kids under 2 get in for free (adults are $6.75) and it’s about 10 minutes from our apartment. They have a large pool, a water slide, a splash pad, a sand pit, and a kiddie pool. We stayed for about an hour and it was well worth the price of admission.

We got there right as they opened (as per our usual MO) and there was a short line, but a lot of people were turning around and kids crying. Uh oh. Turns out the main pool had a ‘problem’ and was closed. On a holiday weekend no less. However, the splash pad and the kiddie pool were open which is all we wanted to do anyway.

There was plenty of seating, shade and room for a stroller. We immediately got into the kiddie pool and Mike had a hard time adjusting. It was windy and we think that might have had an impact on his fun level since he was shivering. He walked around with Dad in the shallow kiddie pool and then we walked over to the splash pad.

The splash pad looked like so much fun! A bell rang warning people to either run closer or run away from the massive bucket that dumped water all over anxious, laughing kids and some adults. There were places to slide down, climb up and stand under streams of water. While Mike wasn’t a fan of getting his face wet, he liked ‘helping’ pull the rope that turned the water on and got Momma wet.

The splash pad also had small water spurts that Mike liked putting his hand over.

A few things of note for your trip to Atlantis:

No food or drink is allowed in the park, but we were able to bring 1 bottle of water in and an empty sippy cup. They have a snack bar with the usual – hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, ice cream, etc. There is also a nice seating area where you have to eat. IF you do bring your own food, there are lots of picnic tables in the shade outside the water park.

Babies have to wear swim diapers and can’t go in the main pool. There is also big locker room with showers and changing tables. Plus you can buy the diapers, sunscreen, etc at the front desk if you forgot anything. Oh, and they will check their bag when you come in.

Each section of the park is enclosed with a latching gate. So if you have a wanderer you don’t have to worry TOO much about him finding his way from the kiddie pool to the main pool. Not advocating you take a nap in the sun while your toddler plays in the water, but you know what I mean.