10 Tips for Having Fun at SplashDown Beach in Fishkill, New York

Our first visit to SplashDown Beach was a couple of years ago when we were exploring Dutchess County (read our full City Guide here). Our whole family LOVED the waterpark! After a recent, super fun visit to the park’s nearby sister resort Rocking Horse Ranch, the resort invited us back to Splashdown Beach and told us to bring a few friends. Everyone enjoyed a picture perfect summer day!

SplashDown Beach, located in Fishkill in the heart of Hudson Valley in New York, first opened in the mid 1980s as a spot for locals with young children to cool off during hot summer months.  The Turk family, founders and owners of the popular, all inclusive, nearby Rocking Horse Ranch, bought the park in the early 2000s and expanded the 13 acre property to include rides and attractions for all ages. Today, the waterpark has almost two dozen rides, multiple pools, plenty of dining options, and tons of space to spread out and soak up the sun. 

A quick compliment to the staff: We’ve been to several waterparks in recent years, and SplashDown has some of the calmest, friendliest, and most attentive staff we’ve met. We witnessed two incidents where lifeguards and staff attended to young children in over their heads (literally) in just a few seconds. The staff was alert, quick, and stayed with the child comforting them until an adult arrived.

10 Tips for Having Fun at SplashDown Beach:

1. Reserve tickets ahead of time here.  It will save time at the park. Take note of (IMO) the very reasonable season ticket options here– if you go three times during the season, you’ve already saved money over the daily rate. Plus there are tons of perks for season ticket holders. There are also discounts for late day entrance, seniors, and people under 42”.  Parking is free at SplashDown Beach.
2. Get there early! The park opens at 10am, but the staff will start checking people in earlier. Guests first go through a bag check and then a ticket line. Because we had taken care of tickets ahead of time, we bypassed a majority of the line and scanned in quickly. Lines for the “major” rides were minimal from 10am to 11am (under 10 minutes) and were also shorter after 4:30pm. SplashDown Beach has a generous weather guarantee policy if the weather turns.
3. Consider renting a Luxury Lounge or a Cabana. There are tons of options for lounging throughout the park (including tables and chairs, reclining loungers, traditional style chairs) but most of them are in direct sunlight for most of the day. Luxury Lounge rentals include two reclining chairs and a table under a shaded canopy and can be reserved ahead of time.  We prefer the lounges closer to the wave pool for a more central location. Four sets of Cabanas are located throughout the park (some on sand and some on concrete) and include two lounge chairs, a table with four chairs, a free locker rental, plenty of shade (and the ability to draw the side curtains close for privacy), and the ability to order food online and have it delivered right to your cabana. Compared to some of the other waterparks we have visited, pricing at SplashDown Beach is much more reasonable. We thought the Luxury Lounge was worth the cost if you’re a smaller group, and if you’re with a larger party and need a “homebase” or have a baby or toddler who might nap mid day, the Cabana rental is worth the cost.
4. Know what’s allowed in. Guests cannot bring outside food or drink EXCEPT for unopened water bottles. We froze a few bottles the night before that melted nicely throughout the day, as well as a few room temp bottles we poured over the iced bottles. No outside floating devices of any kind are allowed, but SplashDown does provide free life vests in a variety of sizes. Babies and toddlers must wear a swim diaper. 
5. Consider bringing water shoes. There is a mix of concrete paths and sandy areas (mainly near the wave pool) throughout the park. While most people had on flip flops and tossed them off near the entrance to a ride, people wearing water shoes could hop right in line. A few rides exit in a different spot from the entrance, so it’s helpful to have watershoes that can be worn on the rides.

6. Consider bringing a wagon for the toddler crew. Depending on arrival time, some guests will have to park a fair distance from the entrance, and it will be safer to contain younger children in a wagon. Plus, wagons are great for lugging all the towels and changes of clothes. There are plenty of lockers for rent throughout the park; lockers run on a wristband with a barcode that is easy to scan and guests have unlimited open/close privileges. 
7. Know the lay of the land. See the full map here. Restrooms located near the Wave Pool had a long line most of the day, but restrooms in the Adventure Island building and near Cowabunga Grill never had a line while we were there. Try some of the more popular rides (Humunga HalfPipe, Arctic Mammoth, The Megalodon, and Cowabunga Falls) before lunch or later in the day (we waited less than 10 minutes before noon, but we were told it was close to 45 minutes mid afternoon). Save the pools and Lazy River for midday. 
8. Prepare children for thrill rides and rides that might have requirements (see #9). The park codes the intensity of all rides here. In our opinion, we suggest:
   1. For younger kids and mild intensity: Pelican Bay, Monster Wave Pool, Shipwreck Lagoon, Pirate’s Revenge (slide), Cowabunga Falls (three slides), Croc Creek Wavy Lazy River, and Splash Works.
   2. For older kids/ thrill seekers: The Megalodon, Arctic Mammoth, Humunga Half-Pipe, Arctic Plunge, Pirate’s Plunge and Bullet Bowl slides.
9. Know your (and your entire group’s) weight and height. Several rides do have height and weight requirements for safety. These details are posted outside each ride. Rides like the Megalodon or Arctic Mammoth might limit the number of riders in the tube based on weight. There is a spot in the park to check both weight and height, located with First Aid in the middle of the park. 
10. Eat “off peak.” The numerous dining options will be busiest during typical lunch hours 11:30-2pm. We noticed that it is especially busy from 12:30-2pm on the day we were there. We suggest maximizing ride time when the park first opens and try eating around noon ahead of most people. If you’ve reserved a cabana, the staff will bring the food to you saving even more time (you order from a QR code posted in the cabana). Dining options include burgers, chicken sandwiches, pizzas, salads, candy and snacks, and tons of ice cream and frozen drink options- see the full list here. 

Looking for other adventures near SplashDown Beach? Check out our full City Guide to Dutchess County and our feature of Rocking Horse Ranch. And follow along on our adventures on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter.

Disclosure: We were given passes to explore SplashDown Beach. All opinions expressed are my own.