The Parent’s Guide to Hurricane Harbor at Six Flags Over Georgia

Last year Atlanta Moms® was one of the first to tell the Atlanta parent community about Six Flags Over Georgia’s new water park, Hurricane Harbor and now we’re going to tell you about our experience at Hurricane Harbor!

Atlanta moms, dads, grandparents.. (well, everyone) have waited a long time to see the addition to Six Flags Over Georgia!  Hurricane Harbor officially opened to the public in late May, welcoming families to Atlanta’s beach away from the beach.  Hurricane Harbor is tucked away in the back of the main park and when visitors enter through the turnstiles, it’s like entering a caribbean paradise.  The turnstiles are not for admission purposes, since admission is included in your Six Flags Over Georgia admission, but rather to make sure that visitors leaving Hurricane Harbor are dressed appropriately for the main park.

We packed our beach bag, and the kids, and headed to Six Flags Monday in hopes of having a fun day in the sun and water at Hurricane Harbor.  Knowing we’d have a cabana for the day, I thought surely I’d get to relax in the cabana while the kids played in the water and on the rides.   Long story short, I relaxed in the cabana for about six minutes of our entire six hour visit.  Not because I couldn’t relax but because I didn’t want to relax!  There are so many things to do at Hurricane Harbor, I couldn’t just sit in the cabana!

My daughter didn’t slow down the entire six hours we were at Hurricane Harbor.   My son and his friend sat in the cabana a couple of times but  jumped  up and took off for another ride down Bonzai Pipelines or Tsunami Surge after about a two minute break.   My daughter would have stayed in the wave pool all day if we’d have let her.  We had tons of fun on our rental tubes in Calypso Bay when the four foot waves were on.  You don’t have to rent a tube but if you want to ensure that you *do* have a tube the entire day, you’ll want to rent one. Otherwise, they are first come, first serve.  You also don’t have to rent a cabana, although I highly encourage it.  There is plenty of seating in regular and lounge chairs with much of the seating being covered by umbrellas.

Inside This Guide:

• Hurricane Harbor Attractions
• Hurricane Harbor Dining & Shopping
• Hurricane Harbor Safety
• Hurricane Harbor Cabanas
• 8 Essential Water Park Tips
• Six Flags Season Pass

Hurricane Harbor Attractions

Tsunami Surge

Tsunami Surge is a water slide with a 5-story drop that will excite even adrenaline junkies.  From what I could tell, it is one of the most popular rides in Hurricane Harbor.  Don’t let a long looking wait line fool you; you’ll get to the top before you know it.

I wasn’t able to enjoy Tsunami Surge but my 8-year-old daughter, my 14-year-old son and his 14-year-old friend, as well as my husband rode it twice and loved it.    I was afraid my daughter would be scared or would let go of the handle on the 4-person raft during the ride, but she did neither.  She amazes me.  I think after our latest visit to Six Flags Over Georgia, I can officially call her a thrill-seeker.

Watch as my family blast through and out Tsunami Surge!

Calypso Bay Wave Pool

Calypso Bay’s 4-foot waves are rideable with or without a tube.   Speaking of tubes, get to Hurricane Harbor early enough in the day and you can snag a free tube.  However, every hour for about 10 minutes, you’ll have to give it up and hope to snag another one after the 10 minutes is up.  During that 10-minutes, a wave test is performed to make sure things are running smoothly in Calypso Bay.

We spent hours in Calypso Bay.   It was my daughter’s go-to attraction.  Our cabana provided a fabulous view of and close access to a practically private-beach area of Calypso Bay.     While my daughter had an amazing time in the wave pool, I recommend always being in the wave pool with your young children as the pool can get  crowded while the waves are on and if your child isn’t a great swimmer or gets panicky in the water, at all, he/she will need you in the water to enjoy the 4-foot waves with them.  The wave pool is addicting.. once I went into the waves once, every time I heard the buzz indicating the waves were starting I would run in to catch more waves.  It’s just like the beach but without the sharks.  🙂

Safety at Hurricane Harbor

Safety is taken extremely seriously at Hurricane Harbor.  There are lifeguards all over Hurricane Harbor who are clearly on their A-game.  Parents can rest assured that their children will be well watched by lifeguards and taken care of if needed.

Paradise Island

Paradise Island was one of my daughter’s favorite areas of Hurricane Harbor.  Paradise Island is made up of many relatively short water slides that are great for the younger crowd.  I quickly learned that kids think it’s really funny to spray adults with a camera with one of the several water canyons.  😉

Paradise Island is a 2,000-square-foot interactive water playground that includes three giant water-dumping towers and hundreds of interactive water elements. Kids splash into this water play structure and get soaked on six slides with dozens of water gadgets, climbing nets, water blasters and tipping buckets.

Hurricane Harbor Cabanas

I can’t imagine going to Hurricane Harbor and not having a cabana after having one during our first visit.  Our cabana, a standard $150/day cabana, had four chairs, two tables, two lounge chairs, a large trunk with a lock, and a mini-fridge.   All four sides of the cabanas can be enclosed with the nautical inspired canvas drapes.  They do not fully close though, so be prepared to changed into your swimsuit in the changing rooms which are inside the restrooms.   Speaking of restrooms, there are a couple of restrooms/changing areas in Hurricane Harbor.  One is near Paradise Island and the other is near Calypso Bay, the wave pool, and is called Island Bathhouse.  Both offer visitors a place to shower or change into or out of your swimsuit.

When you rent a cabana for the day, you get a cabana hostess.  Our hostesses were amazing.  I don’t know what kind of screening process Six Flags Over Georgia went through to find their impeccably polite and attentive cabana hostesses but whatever they did was perfect.  Our hostess, Ashley, checked on us at least once every 30 minutes.  She took our food and drink orders throughout the day.

If you are questioning whether or not it is worth it to spend the $150-$399 on a cabana, here are eight reasons why I think you should:

1. You will have a cabana host/hostess available to you all day.
2. The view of  Calypso Bay is gorgeous and you will have a clear view of your kids in the private cabana access area of the wave pool.
3. Cabanas have ceiling fans!  Enough said, right?
4. Your cabana also comes with a mini-fridge to keep drinks and snacks like M&Ms cool 🙂
5. Get out of the sun and have some privacy while you eat or rest
6. If it rains, no worries.. take shelter in your cabana
7. Lock valuables in your private trunk
8. Only visitors who are renting a cabana are permitted in the cabana area
9. Money tip – Split the cost of a cabana with another family.. it’s not likely that you’ll all be in the cabana at the same time often

Hurricane Harbor Food & Shopping

There’s no shortage of food and drinks inside Hurricane Harbor.  Tidal Wave Café serves beach-style food including juicy burgers, mouth-watering nachos, crispy chicken tenders, aromatic pizza and more!

If you forgot sunscreen, flip flops, or even a swimsuit, Tradewinds has you covered!  When you rent a cabana your cabana host/hostess will provide you a menu and will serve food and drinks right to your cabana.. no walking or line-waiting required!

Bonzai Pipelines

Do your kids love to yell “Bonzai”?  They’ll love Bonzai Pipelines then!  These slides race down the craziest of slides yet! Take the plunge on two slides with sharp turns and test your courage on a third slide with a four-story drop.

Travel down a 4-story drop into a gigantic bowl that will hurl you around and around in gushing water before finally dropping through a corkscrew chute into a splash pool below.  My daughter especially loved the slide with the bowl!

Save Money With A Six Flags Season Pass!

If you live in or near Atlanta and love Six Flags Over Georgia (who doesn’t?), you’ll definitely want to get a season pass now that there is a water park at Six Flags also!  Don’t worry about getting to only enjoy a few rides and not getting to the waterpark because if you have a season pass, you can go back anytime.  Not only does having a Six Flags Season Pass make financial sense, it will also allow you to relax during your visits because you won’t feel so pressured to ride everything in one day.  Season passes are a great value. Check out the  Six Flags Over Georgia Season Pass options!

8 Essential Water Park Tips

1. Drink a lot of water.
2. Eat plenty. Food is important to keep your body fueled!
3. Wear sunscreen and reapply often.
4. Remind your children to never run near water.
5. Wear a hat to protect your head and face from the sun.
6. Wear sunglasses.  Consider attaching a strap to your child’s sunglasses so they don’t fall off or get lost.
7. Bring medication such as ibuprofen or tylenol in case you/your child get sunburned or injured.
8. Wear water shoes to minimize the risk of falling or stepping on something.

I serve in a compensated role as a Six Flags Supermom. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.