Magic Waters Waterpark

Formerly known as "Magic Waters", and now known as "Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor Rockford", it's a decent water park in the Rockford area (specifically Cherry Valley).

There are a good amount of water slides, a decently sized wave pool and a small lazy River and two kids areas. This Hurricane Harbor is half the size of the location in Gurnee but is still a nice location, it's nowhere near as crowded as there either but I still prefer Gurnee, but, Rockford isn't bad at all.

If you want a break from high water park crowds and don't mind a smaller venue, this might be your go to, especially if you have a season pass/membership to six flags.

Ugh. Let's get this over with. I'm not happy (that I'm not happy).

I haven't been here since I was a Cub Scout, and all I could really remember from then was that there was water and the sun was out.

Obviously, things have changed. They've no doubt updated, added, removed slides and facilities, and they are now owned by Six Flags, being referred to as Hurricane Harbor Rockford on all branding. The only reason I came was due to being a new Season Passholder (and thinking that Gurnee would be mobbed on July 5th).

Though there was a line to get in (maybe an hour after opening), it moved quickly. There may have been a holiday crowd, but even so, good luck getting a pool chair. If you don't want to pay through the nose for a locker, you can leave your belongings elsewhere (and up to fate), like on/under various picnic tables, or on any expanse of grass.

Now let's get to the good. Line management isn't bad. The tube slides move slower, but it does take longer to load up a tube when compared to just dropping yourself into a slide. And all the slides I slid were enjoyable. Even Wipeout, which has you basically stepping into a coffin at the top of a vertical tunnel slide, the clear door closing, the cold robot voice counting down from three to two to one, and then the floor vanishing from beneath your feet as you plummet, until you can't tell if you're plummeting anymore or not, all you know is water is flying straight into your eyes and esophagus. And then it's done? Then it's done.

Now. To the bad. The sigh, the groan, the exasperated, slightly dehydrated, mostly I-don't-want-to-berate-a-high-schooler-doing-the-best-they-can part of the day.

In addition to a Season Pass, I also purchase a Basic Dining pass, and seeing the lines somewhat long, I decided to utilize the in-app ordering, so I could pick up the food when ready. But I had to pick a time slot first, the next one being 30 minutes later. Okay, not so bad. I grabbed that slot, placed the order, and it said to come to the restaurant during the slot to "check in" on the app.

The half hour passes and I return, deciding, I'll just get in line AND check in, see what comes first. At this point, I must mention I pass a tent on one side of the restaurant, and this tent is clearly branded "Six Flags Members." I'm just a Season Passholder, not a member, so I assume that's a perk I'm not paying for.

So I check in and am told I'll get a message when the food is ready to be picked up. And I wait. And I wait. I see a few people walking off with full pizzas, so okay, those slowed things down. So I wait some more.

An hour later, I get to the front of the line and tell the high schooler that my order still says "Preparing," that I haven't been notified it's ready, but HERE I AM, so can I have it. And she says "Oh, a pickup? You can just go in from that tent." "The tent that says Members?" "Oh, that's just what we put up." "But it still says 'preparing.' How would I know to pick it up?" "Oh, we don't use that. People don't show up and food gets cold."

I could go on, but the exasperation is already leeching back into my soul. I had previous issues just getting and being able to use the season pass, and now that I visit a park, I follow what I assume are the best practices (use the app, don't go where it says Members, get in line, be nice), and I lose an hour and a half of my day.

Stunningly frustrating. There is incompetence somewhere. Many places I assume. I just don't know where to point the finger.

TLDR: Slides GOOD, Getting food BAD
(though the food itself was fine)

A great wave pool and lots of fun rides and slides for the kids. Even the little kids have their own area which is really nice. It I had a really great time although it is smaller than the hurricane Harbor in Gurnee.

We went here once with the whole family and felt that the water was very dirty and the park was extremely overcrowded for a Tuesday. We now take our yearly water park trips to raging waves. Things are cleaner there and they have cabana options where you are completely secluded from other people. It's a lot better.

Poor management, long lines and really expensive food. Have been coming for years but was disappointed enough this time that we will likely never come back.

*****UPDATE*****

Policy change now prohibits any coolers being brought into the park. This was the biggest perk at MW. But what makes it worse is citing "safety" as the reason. You lost my family's biz, MW.

If you're coming from Chicago this Waterpark takes a little while to get to but I think it's pretty much worth it if you're able to partake in a Groupon deal or even better going on their website they had a deal for $13 a person which couldn't be beat you just need to go on prepay and print and have the ticket present ticket to the cashier when you arrive and Groupon was running a special for $17 per admission you got a tube rental you got this Monster Shave Ice drink and you also got regular admission
Today was a pretty cool day in the area only maybe about 75 the high so I think that's why I wasn't crowded today they also had an abundance of lifeguards on duty on every ride so that was good to see cuz I had a couple teenagers and I wanted them to be safe but you only have two eyes so the fact that they had more than enough lifeguards on staff on duty while I actually did see a rider get stuck in one of the tubes towards the back of the amusement park and the young lady who was stationed there ran to her Aid so quickly people hardly knew what was happening because she attended to the problem so swiftly . The food I would say was a letdown at this park when you're used to funnel cake from Six Flags Great America and try there there's it pales in comparison taste like it wasn't done they barely give you any toppings but it's much cheaper than Six Flags where you can get a funnel cake there for $4.50 so you run the risk of it really cheap or not being delicious but at least you didn't pay too much for it
the rides today really easy to get on because the lack of crap no need for a FastPass everything was up and running only one mishap young lady get in the pool stuck in the tube
the water temperature in on each ride it was frigid so I set out normally when I will go and ride every ride I was only able to get on for cuz I was just too chilly the water was chilling in the temperature was chilly but the children had a great time so it was worth it

When the summers were hot this is where my son and I liked to spend our days. Cooling off in the river floating on tubes.

If you check the website they are fairly cheap and for their hours which can, and have, fluctuate depending on what is going on in the area.. It's great to go when they have their $10 deals. All day Tuesday, after 5pm on the rest of the weekdays..

We also loved hanging, floating, around the big beach pool with the big waves. It was fun to be with my son teaching him how to handle these rogue waves. It gave us the bonding time we needed and he learned how to handle himself in the water.y
The lines of the slides can be long but the actual wait time is not that bad at all. If you go early you will have a good chance to get on the more popular ones.

The food is okay but it's great they let you bring your own. I don't get it but I sure am not going to complain about it.

Look for ways to get free tickets too. For example, if your kids are enrolled in swimming classes. Many will give you a couple 1 days passed just for signing up. That really helps when you have to pay for classes. Also, when a child completes the summer reading programs, they will give a couple passes, good for 1 day, for 2 people by the library they sign up with. So, yes several options to take advantage of to save money.

I try not to rent a locker but if you have to they are $7 each. When you return the key, you'll get $2 back.

Getting tired of wading in your backyard baby pool, come out to the big pool where the big people play.

I almost didn't go after seeing the bad reviews, but decided since we had Six Flags season passes that we should at least check it out once. I was very impressed and in some ways liked it better than the Six Flags waterpark in Gurnee. For instance, many of the slides don't require as many stairs to be climbed to get to them like in Gurnee because they are built into the side of a hill. Most of the park was open when we were there except 2 slides and a food stand. The only negatives were that all of the free lounge chairs were in the sun, so I had to rent a cabana in order to lay in the shade and the food stands all had very long lines. They haven't fully implemented Six Flags mobile app food ordering yet, which resulted in waiting an hour total between ordering and receiving our food. Otherwise, a great park! We will be back again next year.

One of the best waterparks I have been too. I'm shocked at the low reviews. Maybe it wasn't as good before Six Flags took over. I saw no reason for low reviews. We had one of the best times we've had in a long time.