We recently returned from Tenerife where we visited a fantastic water park. Robert, who's 9, absolutely loved it - here he explains why...
Siam Park, also known as the Water Kingdom, is said to be the best tourist attraction in the whole of Tenerife and it is also the best park I've ever been to. We went there on Christmas day so I thought it would be quite calm with not a lot of people there, but it was swarming with adults and children. While Jess and Mum relaxed on the beach or on the lazy river, dad and I decided to get some action and go on some proper rides.
Mekong Rapids
The Mekong rapids were one of my favourite rides. Throughout the course of the day we went on it four times and each time it became better and better. We climbed onto a yellow dinghy very high up from the ground and entered a pool of water, then off we went! We were zooming through the tunnels and bumping down the drops - it was brilliant. My favourite bit was at the end when there was a big drop, resulting in a very big splash. The first time we went on it dad was screaming like a little baby as he was going backwards, so if you go on the Mekong Rapids ask your child to go backwards instead of you!
The Giant
For me the Giant was the best looking water slide as it was in the shape of a giant face. Two tunnels came out around where the mouth was and the fun began as soon as you got in. One of the things I liked about The Water Kingdom was that for most rides you could pick if you wanted to go on a one or two person dinghy, and we usually decided to go on a two seater. You could go on the right or the left tunnel, we went on both and personally I preferred the right. The ride started by plummeting us down, then it was like we were being sucked into a plug hole, spinning and spinning then finally being gobbled up by the darkness. After that it was another drop then a soft, wet landing in the pool.
The Volcano and Naga Racer
The volcano was basically the Giant just with a few more drops and turns and a bigger plughole. The only unique thing about it was that it was mainly in the dark and I was a bit disappointed with it. However, the Naga Racer was great.
When you got to the front of the queue the staff member gave you a lane. We lay down on our mats at the lane then when the instructor said "go" we pushed off. It was very fast and very cool as some of the time you were lying on the mat in mid air. The person who got to the bottom of their slide first won the race. It wasn't me or dad any of the times we went on.
Jungle Snakes
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All of the Jungle Snake slides[/caption]
The jungle snake slides were all different rides but along the same lines. There were four of them, Boa, Viper, Python and Cobra. For me these were the calmest rides of the park (not including the Mai Thai River) as they were not as quick as the other attractions and had fewer drops. My favourite was the viper as it was the most thrilling of the four. So if you don't think you want to do all of them do that one and if you want a long ride don't go on the Boa it is very short.
At Siam Park all of the staff were really very good at keeping us safe - for every ride there were new rules like if I should be at the front or if dad should. It was forever changing so it was good to know they were looking out for our safety.
Mai Thai River
The Mai Thai River was very relaxing as all you do is sit back and let the water carry you through; well that's what I did. I couldn't really steer so I let the water control me, maybe that's why I was going the wrong way half the time. At one point in the lazy river there was a set of mini rapids, it wasn't so lazy then. I liked going through the aquarium as you were underneath sharks and exotic fish. I enjoyed it but kept feeling like I was going to fall through the hole in the dinghy as I was so small.
Siam Beach
Siam Beach was great. It had real sand and it didn't stick to your feet, just that was amazing. It also had a giant pool of water which wasn't salty, so it felt much nicer than the sea.
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Siam Beach, before and after it becomes a wave machine...[/caption]
Siam Park has the record for the highest man-made wave ever and it is four metres high and the pool turned into a wave pool every hour at 40 minutes past. Mum and dad loved the waves, but personally I hated the big waves as I felt like I was going to drown or die. Even standing right at the edge of the pool 30 metres away from the wave it still managed to push me over into the water. The impact was so big after the wave crashed down and after it went past me that instead of standing up, my head was touching the bottom of the pool. Everyone else seemed to love it so I would say if you are under 10 only go on it a few times.
Kinnaree
The Kinnaree was the scariest ride we went on by far. It went so fast and had the biggest drops. We went up a massive wall and then plummeted back down - it felt like we were going to go upside down. It was the the most cleverly made ride of all.
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In front of the Tower of Power[/caption]
There were two rides that we didn't go on - the Tower Of Power the one with the 28 metre drop and the Dragon in which the whole ride is spinning and falling.
I thought Siam Park was amazing and the rides were great. The only bad thing was the tiring trek up hundreds of stairs to get to the attractions. I really hurt my feet climbing up all the rough rocks but it was worth it when we shot off down the tunnels for the slide.
There are also mini versions of rides for little kids like the Lost City and The Sinnaree.
It was a brilliant but very wet day out. We all loved it and mum wants to point out that it was also extremely clean which matters to her!
Here is a video of the park.
[kad_youtube url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gae1cngJTA" width=500 height=650]
Disclosure: We were offered free tickets to Siam Park in order to write about it for the blog. However, all our opinions are, of course are own. Tickets cost: €34 (around £26.60) for adults (which includes 12+) and €23 (around £18) for 3-11s.
There is an awful lot to do in Tenerife (we have more posts coming!) and for more information on this gorgeous island and things to do with the family visit the tourist board website.
We've teamed up with the lovely Fiona at Coombe Mill this week in her Country Kids link-up. There you can read lots of wonderful posts about the outdoors!
Labels: Blog, lazy river, rides, Siam park, Tenerife, The rest of the world, water parks