Reviews of Big Kahuna's Water & Adventure Park (Park)

Havoc 508

The best ride was closed. They have not updated their park since 2008. It is just a tourist trap. Huge disappointment to my daughter who really was looking forward to going. Do not waste your time going. Need to lower their price. It not worth it.

Thomas Laisney

I have been going here for MANY years. I do not go every year, however I was young the first time I went and I am a lot older now, so that should tell you something! Nothing like hitting a water park on a hit day, eating some great food and perhaps even throwing back a cold beer or two! I really enjoy the atmosphere (the theme is perfect for a water park!) As well as the rides!

Danielle Rollins

We love big kahunas! Always have a blast when we go. We get the season passes so we go quite often. Really the only complaint I have is the water gets quite warm in the kids' sections and wave pool, maybe they could get more flowing water in there to cool it down like the pirate bay place, that always has cool refreshing water because of all the water flowing into it. I think the rates for just a day are pretty high, but if you're getting a season pass the money is well spent!

Lori Martinez

Price was not worth the experience. The park was a confusing maze of tube allowed this and tube prohibited that. I met maybe 3 friendly staff members but noone smiles at all. We bought a soda thinking we'd get a nice souvenir to take back home with us to Texas, what we got was an old cup from 2017 with the year scratched out in sharpie and the current year written on it, when asked about it we were hastily hurried along and told they had run out of 2019 cups. Also, you have to pay to park here?! You pay something like $50 to get in and still pay for parking, and no refunds if the weather gets bad? Ridiculous. Dirty green water, closed down rides, less than friendly staff; over all I was disappointed. For what we paid to get in, this was not the experience I expected. Wont be back.

Tara Childers

Fun water park, kids had a blast. If you go during the summer, the pavement can and will burn your feet. There's not much shade and they don't have water mist sprayers on the pavement (like Disney does). Wear flip flops or water shoes when going around the park. Also, they don't allow you to bring snacks or water in, which was disappointing. Even Disney let's you do that. I tried to get a cup of water from one of the booths and a young lady wanted to charge me for it. No problem, but then I had to walk all the way back across the park on the burning hot pavement to the locker to get some money. I went to a booth nearby my locker to get the cup of water. They told me it was free. So I guess the lady was trying to steal my money? All in all, it was ok and the kids had a great time. Just bring sunscreen, water shoes and a lot of money.

JD Odom

This place is fun if you go late spring (while school is still in session) because it is not terribly crowded. They do have some good slides and activities. Note: there is not a lot here for very young kids like toddlers to do. If you go during peak season (like July) some will see it as a waste of money. Pricey to get in (unless you are a season pass holder), long lines, fighting others to find a place to sit in the shade, overcrowded frustrations with some people, etc.. If you buy food it is average and not the healthiest. If you really want to do a water park in the area, this is probably the best choice....next best thing is Panama City or Gulf Shores.

Marvin Taylor

Pretty cool water park. I went with two eleven-year-olds one 12 year old. Had a great time on the slides. Has two lazy pools could use a couple more floats they were kind of hard to find sometimes. Love the fact that you can leave out and come back in. This is great for families who have food allergies. You can bring your own food. Was able to leave out the park and go back in

Jared Granger

Been here twice. It's actually really nice later in the day especially after it rains cause everyone leaves and then you can go on all the rides as many times as you want without long lines. Definitely recommend stopping by if you're in Destin and want to cool off! Plus the military eye candy is a splendid addition!

Derek Jones

Yearly season pass holders. We love this park. Big enough to take up an entire day and exhaust the family with fun, and not too. If to be overwhelming. Never have any issues with long lines either! I do have a love/hate relationship with one of the lazy rivers though!!! Always get stuck!

Cyan Berry

Worst waterpark I have ever been to by far! We spent way to much money to get here and be so very disappointed! Half of the rides/slides aren't open because they are so understaffed. One booth open for the whole park to get food and drinks, took 45 minutes to get a drink and fries. We purchased a locker and when we went back to get our belongings it would not work! The worker told me I had entered the wrong number and then checked it only to realize it was correct it just wasnt opening! I stood there for 45 minutes waiting for them to open it!!! Not worth the over priced tickets what so ever!!

Lisamarie VT

Went today and the lines are not long surprisingly and if some seemed to be it went by so fast The kids that work there are nice One lifeguard however through a blue float in the water and hit my son with it— I almost threw a lifeguard in the water sorry I’m sure it wouldn’t have been the first ☹️ Great place not overwhelming with size of place and it’s just really fun

Traci Petry

For the price this place should have been much nicer. The entire place was FILTHY. While my older 2 had fun, I was glad my 2 year old was free because I'm pretty sure she even realized what a disgusting mess the place was. The only area that was not gross was the kids Bucaneer area. For $200 I really hoped it would have been nicer. I will say the food prices were not terrible but the food wasn't good either so we pretty much threw it all in the trash after a few bites and just went to Whataburger.

Jeremy Boyer

Not near as fun as I thought it would be looking through the broacher and when you're driving by. A lot of people which makes it packed. I will say for a place like that though the food prices are really reasonable. It's something to do overall

Conrad Endlich

Seriously... take your precious vacation time darn near anywhere else. Pretty weak park. They had a fraction of the inner tubes they needed to accommodate customers, so we could not even try out some slides. Daughter didn't like it, as we've been to decent water parks. We left much earlier than planned and had a nice time back on the beach instead. We had just been looking to do something different besides the beach that day, but obviously we should have just stuck to what's best about Destin.

Savannah Adams

Well at first I gave a 5 stars because this place was great the first few times. Then my 1 and a half year old kept getting sick. Turns out it was to much bacteria in the water. She's on her last 10 day antibiotic. Be aware of the contaminated water. Maybe it won't be so bad now that summer is pretty much over. Idk but I used to love this place growing up and really wanted my baby to love it like I did but probably not now unless they get the water fixed.

Whitney Lisenby

We had a blast! We got our season passes on sale and headed with the entire family all 13 of us! Even our 2 year old had an area for fun with plenty of chairs for mommy's and daddy's and even grandparents

FauxFaFox

There are many waterslides at this park and the lifeguards are very attentive about the safety of the people in the park. If it thunders the park is closed for 30 minutes since the last Thunder. There are many things for both adults and children to do.

Brittany Jackson

We always have fun but half the paek is always closed bo matter what time of year so we don't really get our money's worth, but season passes are cheap amd and great for those hot florida days

Regan Frizelle

Had an amazing day with my grandkids. Wonderful water park to take the kids or even as an adult to visit.

Grace Green

This is an awesome water park. It's huge. It has something for everyone. They have several little kid areas for babies and toddlers to play in as well as tons of fun rides for taller riders. It will definitely keep the whole family busy all day. The season passes are the best bang for your buck as well as getting the refillable cups for drinks. They have plenty of food options, prices are average to other theme park prices. They have plenty of life guards on duty at all times and fairly clean restrooms and changing areas. All in all it's a great place to spend the day.

Tiray Randle

Ummmm, mediocre. Really old and very dirty. They differently need to close for a day or so just to clean up. Most of the employees are children but they are professional and vigilant. Would I go again? If there was another water park near me, NO, but since it's the only one in the area, I guess I'll go only when they have specials. They are also kinda over priced.

Valerie Meyers

I’m giving the park a 3 star because my children did have a good time. The park has really went downhill in the last few years. Pools and slides were very dirty and need to be repainted, debris and trash laying around, and the bathrooms were so nasty we didn’t want to use them. Also, a lot of the tubes needed air and you couldn’t even use them. Hopefully, a renovation and a good cleaning is in the budget.

ANE CAMARA

Putt putt was so much fun. 3 x 18 holes for only 4.99 plus taxes for under 11. Best deal in town! My boys had a blast!

Shawn Ikner

Great park, with great rides. Almost 1/4 of the rides were closed down though. Would have been nice to know before buying tickets. However we still had a great time. But, I only give 2 stars because there was one water fountain in the whole park that I could find and it was broke. With all the staff and maintenance working around the park I feel like they could have this fixed. But, when you charge 3.50 per bottle water why would you want a functional water fountain? So,

L.P Davis

It's not as good as we thought it'd be. Not enough slides,a little dirty and food and drinks are pricey.

Griffin Cooley

The wave pool is small, but the slides are fast and fun. Staffed with loads of lifeguards. Great place for a family outing or just friends. Tickets are pretty expensive, but season passes are available for about the same price. Military get discounts as well.

Cory Paul

Great if you are single with no family, or are visiting with lots of money. Ticket prices are way way over priced as well as amenities. Definitely not worth what they charge.

Kelli Walker

Clean park. Friendly staff. EXTREMELY PROFESSIONAL lifeguards. I have never seen more attentive lifeguards ever. I was in awe the entire day!

Michelle Tena

Season passes for the whole family?! Why not! Besides the beach, this is our go-to place to entertain the kids all summer. They never seem to tire from it and always have a great time! I can never get enough of the beautiful rock waterfall landscape, and can't believe the season passes are about the same price as a summer membership to the local pool!

Theresa Chapman

Oh my awesome amazing place we have season passes with granddaughters we all love it fun fun fun lots of things to do

Matt Karls

Great place to have fun for a day. I took my two nieces here a few weeks ago and we had a blast! There are tons of rides to go on and the lazy river is a wonderful place to go and relax in. I can't believe how fast you could get through slides and rides even with it being busy. They have a good cue and waiting system so you can always have fun even when it's busy. Check it out if you're in the area.

Tyshawna Brandt

I wasn't really please with the park. I paid 130 dollars and the water was nasty. The one kiddie area was full of bugs. The lazy river smelled like urine and the bathroom smelled awful. They could use signs to tell you where things are located. I walked around the park with 3 small children in circles trying to figure out where things were. Then to pay 5 dollars to park in the uncut grass. I was just here to visit my grandchildren. Not sure I would recommend this water park.

Michelle Saylor

Overall the park was a fun place to be; however, I feel like after you pay 200.00 to get in to the park to play and after purchasing food and drinks for a family of 4 that the least that you could do is have free parking.

Jackie Brackett

Lots of fun! We've been anxiously awaiting the new kids area to open though and the food is gross and expensive. Deducted an additional star because they don't let you bring water in, and tried to charge for water cups

Talia A.

Needs more floats and knowledgeable staff. Half of them didnt speak clear english . Had fun though.

Margaret Amos

Very disappointing this time, bad customer service and not informing the people when they close certain parts of the park for water testing which takes about 20 to 30 minutes to do. Have always enjoyed going but this time was lied to twice and then couldn't get into water.

Josh Moore

Overly crowded and overpriced for what you get. The concrete was so hot that you couldn't even walk on it. But then there were areas that were fine to walk on. I left with blisters on my feet from the hot concrete. And where were the 40 attractions? I couldn't find them and a few were closed down. I asked for a drink with no ice and they only filled it up halfway. And then you get charged for parking on top of the exorbitant prices? No thank you.

Crystal Hadley

Attractions are fun, food an drinks are way overpriced. Staff is mostly kids and they're all pretty rude. If you have trouble with stairs don't come, this place is nothing but stairs. NO ONE EVER ANSWERS PHONE CALLS OR EMAILS. Then your comments are deleted off of their Instagram.

donita valerius

It's great summer fun and getting season passes has become a family tradition! The reason for not having 5 stars is due to the overcrowding and every year we have gone one or more attractions have been closed. The food isn't great and you can't bring food inside, we typically pack a cooler and eat in the car! There are many different slides and lots of kiddie areas! Overall a great place for family fun!

Eric Mogent

Fun place. They got something there for everybody. Whether you want to relax the whole day or do something exciting it's there. Been there a few times and I've always enjoyed myself. The drinks are a bit pricey though.

David Shiflett

Call before you go.....I googled the park, it clearly said "open" in green font, plus the schedule said open M-Sunday but "labor day hours may be different" so I spent an hour and fifteen mins driving my family there......only to find out it was closed. When I called the office and they didn't seem to even be concerned, nor bother to even offer any kind of discount for future visits.

Joshua Mitchem

Great place staff was great , but could use some after hours work construction and upkeep wise especially bathrooms...

Jennifer Waters

My kids, ages 5 and 3, had a great time. However, they also have a great time at the local splash pad for $5/person. The cost for our family to enter was over $200. For that price, I expect excellent customer service and attention to safety, which is absolutely NOT what you will find at Big Kahuna’s. Upon entering, the staff at the gate were very apathetic about checking our bags (and likely their jobs in general) which thankfully allowed us to sneak in our own snacks and water, as the food offerings in the park are pretty terrible (funnel cakes, fries, pizza). Once inside, we discovered that we would have to traverse 100+ stairs with the stroller for our 6 month old in order to access the main area for younger children, Buccaneer’s Cove. I get that it’s a water park so of course there will be stairs, but the fact that there wasn’t a ramp to access the area of the park most likely to be used by families with infant siblings in strollers seemed like a huge oversight. In Buccaneer’s Cove, the lifeguards were plentiful but often inattentive or unengaged. On multiple occasions I was the only person with eyes on my children. The area in front of the stairs to access the the slides is extremely slippery, which I discovered as I was following my older children while holding my baby and fell hard, thankfully with no injury to my infant son, only to myself. I received only a casual “are you ok?” from a lifeguard. Other people continued to fall throughout the day. When I brought it to the attention of the management that there should at least be a sign, it was clear he was uninterested in my experience and what I had to say and nothing would be done about the situation. I’m glad my kids had fun, but I have a hard time paying that much money to an establishment that blatantly cares so little for customer experience and safety.

Joe Frame

Great place to spend the day with the family. The park is pretty big so expect to do a lot of walking. The kiddie areas are great and they allow kids with life jackets on a lot of the slides. My 4 year-old loved that he could go down some of the same slides as his big sisters. I HIGHLY recommend renting a cabana. You have your own personal space and a cabana attendant that will bring you food and drinks (food and drinks not included). You also get a personal safe, table with chairs, and a chaise lounge chair. It's not cheap, so go early, get a cabana and spend the whole day at the park.

Kelsey Crews

If you don’t want to waste money- skip the water park! Half of the rides were shut down, there was no shade, and any platform you waited on was so hot my entire family came home blisters. There was food and trash in the lazy river and barely any of the water was clean. We were not impressed and very upset with the amount of money we spent for the experience we received. Ignore the Destin, Florida advertisements!

Chitneni Vinuthna Sai

The Halloween night was not so much fun not even kids get scared the only thing that was fun this season is the cyclone and swing shot.

Kyle Shipp

Fun place to go for all ages. They have something for everyone. You can definitely spend an entire day there having fun.

Mel Rivera

We have season passes to big kahunas. It's a small park but it's great for a weekend getaway and family time. The staff is always friendly and the area is pleasant for all your family young and old.

Michael Knapp

Impressed. Great time! We don't eat there, so we don't know about food prices, but overall a great experience.

Dawn Goodpasture

Purchased tickets for water park two days early to save money. Which was great idea. But...... upon our arrival part of the water park was closed and they ended up closing two attractions for the rest of the day. Very upset that they never reopened the slides. They should warn people on their websites if things will be closed for maintenance.

Brandy Kearbey

This was the biggest dissappoint of our vacation. Group of 34. due to a child's hair being too tall and the guy not willing to get out of his box to look at the correct measurement wanted to charge him a adult pricew had already been there for an hour waiting for this one gentleman to do his job with no help at all. the lady handling the money said fine charges all is an adult we are ready to get inside. Then he refused to give us that rate close the window. Unprofessional understaffed and unwilling to take a group of 34 people so they lost our business and any other big kahuna water park in the United States

Jerry JCS Walker

Get on the water slid that is the fastest you can move. End up splashing cars along the roadway that Are driving by. One guy had his window rolled down as I approached the end of the slide, water from my splash landing went into his vehicle. What a blast, great,place to look off.

Samantha Provenzano

Just don’t go! Not clean at all!!!! We went at night and you couldn’t see the holes whatsoever, it was more frustrating than fun. Also, could use an exterminator on the property. Extremely disappointed.

Wayne Reed

Fun place but paid online with groupon then when we get there the whole park was not open.

XboxSaintX

Just an amazing place to have fun with your family! Rides were excellent and the food is really good! No complaints.

James Holmes

BK's haunted attraction is amazing! We enjoyed our frightening walk-through! It is super creepy seeing it at night and without water!

Brandy Ragan

Although very pricey but great place to take the kids and enjoy the day

Austin Hatfield

Great water park, generally clean. Staff is nice. Bought season passes for the first time this year (locals). Every time we've went (family of 9), half the water park has been closed due to maintenance or construction. I would think that this would be something that was done in the off season. Haven't been in ten years, a little bummed that the path under the waterfalls in the pirate area was permanently blocked off. Also traffic in and out is atrocious.

Jillian Hacker

I take my god daughter here every year. We both love it. The lines move fast, the staff is friendly, and it has not only one but 2 lazy rivers. Theres a ton of slides for kids and adults. Totally worth it!

Cindy Clark

We went here because we couldn't go into the gulf due to the riptide warnings. We were very happy we did. The boys, ages 16 and 13, had so much fun with so many water activities to keep them busy. We, lady friends, ages 66 and 61, hung near the wave pool and enjoyed that as well as the nearby float around our area. We purchased the special cups with the 99 cent refills, which was a bargain based on how thirsty we became. The food prices were good and we enjoyed lunch with burgers and chicken. There are lots of stairs to get around the park on and we were able to navigate somewhat, even though we ladies both have had back surgery.

Joe Steltenpohl

Horrible!!!! Do not waste your money here if you have toddler aged kids. We have a 3 and 10 year old and both weren’t very happy. For the 3 year old they will let them go down slides with life jackets but not with a parent so if your child does not swim they just throw them down the slide and it’s very dangerous! The staff was rude the whole time no one seemed happy or nice. Most slides have knicks all down them and will tear your back up. This place is over filled with how tiny it is also, no seating at all after 11am. Also you’ll pay $11 for a tiny locker and $5 to park. It’s a huge rip off for outdated stuff and how small it is. If your kids are younger save your money!!!

Lillian Day

It is great for a family outing or something among those lines I absolutely love it.

Christian Ibanez

Don’t waste your money on this park if you have small kids especially! Staff doesn’t care and aren’t trained well! Scott and Haley are the names of two employees I took to management after my son was shoved down the rapids ride not fully on his float! I was reading the reviews and it looks like several people had this same issue with this park. What a joke this place is!

Kaska Howard

First time at this park, kids loved it! Many slides for big and small, lots of stuff to do. Staff very very attentive. One thing that I didnt like was an awful smell when walking down the stair to get to the wave pool.

Miguel

It was nice first time going to a water park in the states. Lines moved fluently, they have lockers to put your stuff but you of course you already know you have to pay for it. Plus you got to pay for parking on the way out. Overall I enjoyed the rides and it was worth it in my opinion.

brian

Great for the area! Don't go expecting Aquatica or some huge water park. Some really fun rides. Great for the family.

Lindsey C

Beware of "soft opening" days where you pay full price for admission but half the attractions are closed. We brought my toddler on a Thursday in May and paid full price for him to play on the equivalent of an aging rec center baby pool, since it was the only area open to children his size. The staff was polite but completely unaccommodating when I expressed my disappointment. I will not return.

Lonna Miles

I have been to many water parks, this was the worst. Me and my nine year old daughter went for the day. Drove 2 hours to pay outrageous prices on a place that was filthy. 103.00$ for 2 people plus 11$ for a locker and 5$ for parking. I except to pay honestly but not for a place with murky green water, inattentive life guards and OMG the women's bathroom smelled of raw sewage. It was filthy. I hope that it was just water all over the floor in there. Then after our visit I find that the lazy river had been shut down the week prior for not meeting water quality levels. There was one shower in the entire park and it was by the lazy river. Oh and if you wanted to ride a slide that required a tube get ready to wait because there are not enough. I have decided we will spend the extra hour to drive to ship wreck island next. Not as big but a lot cleaner.

Jackie Erickson

Only one area open for little ones (Tadpole Pond). It will be better when the other 2 areas are completed. Food good but a bit over-priced

Jay Taylor

Always fully stocked and great service. Very easy to get checked out.

Nata Greer

Large with lots of slides and others. Children's areas, lazy river, food, drinks, wave pool, surfing ride. Attentive and effective life guards. Mini golf mountain built right in with the water park. Best water park in the Destin area. Only downside is that at any given time, a few of the rides\slides will be down for maintenance. I've been there many times, but never have all of the attractions been working at once.

Allan Coble

We get season passes every year! The kiddos have a great time. We've never felt unsafe on their rides and have witnesses a responsive staff if they feel others are potentially acting dangerously. Fun for kiddos AND adults.

carz4 you

Pathetic! We drove an hour further to Panama City to shipwreck island where the employees were patient and actually trained to life guard. No one shoved small children down slides without tubes and it was inexpensive! Also had really fun big slides for kids! 2 lagoons with tons of different activities and pools for kids as well! If you have small kids don’t take them to big kahunas, it’s a waste of money! Go to shipwreck island instead!

Brittany Brannon

Super fun!!! Would have given 5 stars if all rides had been available.

eastwoodberry

This is the worst money I've spent in Florida! Half of the attractions were closed, concessions were expensive and lines were long. I can't express enough how horrible our experience was I will never throw money away on this dump again. Stay away!

Ivan Moore

Fun and relaxing place but dang, this place is in the need of some serious maintenance. When you spend nearly 50 dollars per person one expects the paint to look fresh, the cracks to be filled and the boardwalks to look nice. Get it together folks!

Julie Caldwell

It's pretty ghetto. At 47$ a person to get in, you would expect it to be kept up much better than it is. They obviously don't spend the money on maintenance, upkeep or beautification. It's pretty dirty to say the least. There's built up dirt on the sides of all the pools. The bathrooms are filthy and the stench is sickening. I even went in after girls had been in to "clean". Nothing was clean. It still stunk like standing urine, there was still feces and such on the toilets, all they did was use their dust pans to pick up larger trash from the floor, that didn't even include the toilet paper behind the toilets. The line for concessions wasn't really that long yet it took an hour to get through. Then when you get through they don't have what you want from the menu. most, not all, are unfriendly and uncaring. The park suspended rides due to weather, understandably, however the sky's were clear and blue for nearly an hour before they reopened half the park. Some areas were closed, were guessing they didn't have enough lifeguards to open all the areas. Then we came across a sign that says, "water is recirculated, do not swallow". Were all know kids let go in the pool. This place is gross. Don't waste your money or your time, just go to the beach.

Jacob Woodby

Park is normally great, but they have half the stuff shut down for the season already. This includes the second half of the lazy river.

Sam Nabors

The water park was great. It was clean and the lines moved quickly. My only complaint was not enough shade around the seating areas. It would really help to add more umbrellas.

Jayden Pearson

Nice place to play on a hot day. Make sure to wear sun screen though. It's not a complaint, but there isn't a lot of shaded area.

Viridiana Cardenas

Fun place for the family! There was a part of the water park that was under construction but my family and I still had plenty of fun!. I HIGHLY recommend the philly cheese sandwich!

Josh Shimp

I went here with my wife for a nice date day away from the stress of every day life. We only stayed for just over one hour before leaving. The water in the park was very dirty! We both felt like we would need a tetanus shot and some amoxicillin if we stayed any longer.

DJ NICK NV

Definitely a great place to go in this area, perfect for families, groups small or large. Prices are fair and I was here today with my family and my kids had a great time. I have a season pass for my family and enjoy getting a cabana. We will be back

Victoria balciute

The worst spent money! Very dirty pools and slides, restrooms are the worst! Had to change baby's diaper on my knees because couldn't even imagine to put him on changing table... no matter that it is off season, you should either inform that almost half of slides will be closed or give some discount for people. Paying full price for half of the park is crazy! Never ever coming back!!!

Christi Lynn Lee

Great place. Fun for everyone. Lines are way better than other parks. Staff is friendly and helpful.

David Keller

So much fun!! You and your family will love it. Fun for all ages. We get season passes every year.

Alicia Aycock

The water park is fun and the life guards are helpful and knowledgeable. BUT THE customer service at the food stations are garbage they are rude and have attitudes out of this world! Not onky was my husband and I treated as if we didn't exist. As we were leaving another coustmer was very upset how poor hers service was. Sad thing is its been like that for years. For the prices you have to pay for food and beverages the people serving should have a decent attitude.

Rosie Kay

I thought they would have more slides, but they didn’t. My friends and I pretty much just stayed in the lazy river. The food was awful and overpriced. I got the buffalo chicken wrap, which was cold and the breading was coming off the chicken so it tasted like mush. Probably won’t be back.

debra thrasher

They boast of being the biggest water park on the emerald coast but Shipwreck Island in Panama city (only 45ish minutes down the road) seemed bigger with rides that were more fun and not nearly the amount of stairs.....plus it's cheaper than big kahuna. The ride I wanted to ride the most was closed down all day along with some rides at the back they considered "overflow". They had slides, pools and a very dirty lazy river(with no tubes avail) which I can go to where I live for 15/person rather than the 180 I blew here. We chose to come here because it was conveniently across the street from where we were staying but the next time, we will just drive into Panama city instead. Shipwreck Island even had water sprinklers/hoses on all sidewalks so your feet wont burn. Now that's what I call customer service, which was severely lacking at big kahunas.

Samantha Berry

Probably the worst experience I have ever had at a water park in my life. If I could give this place zero stars I would. Spent nearly 100 dollars for two tickets just to enter the park and that price was only for two people. Did not get what we paid for whatsoever. Half the slides were closed and had to wait for a drink at concession stand for 45 minutes. I would recommend just going to the beach with your family and save yourselves the money and aggravation.

Aaron Scott

Took a vacation to Destin from Michigan and wanted to do something fun in Destin with a group of 4 people. We all bought passes to the park thinking it was going to be a great time...wrong. Over half of the park was shut down that we were limited to pretty much 2 or 3 slides. All of the food was gone or shut down, not to mention the food quality looked poor to begin with. The water was gross and the lazy river was overpacked because there was nothing else to do except float in a circle with everything being closed. Definitely not worth the money. The price I would put on our experience is maybe $15 each MAX. Will definitely not come back.

Will Rainey

We love Big Kahuna's!!! Buy a season pass and refillable drink and popcorn and being them back with each visit! 99¢ refills!!! Kids always have a blast. My only complaints are: sometimes the lifeguards seem absent...there are tons of them and they sometimes just aren't paying attention. And I wish they would have done improvements during the off season. There's one section that's closed for upgrades but these upgrades didn't seem to start until after opening weekend or shortly before. They were closed for months...

Serenity Miesch

There are so many different things to do there and the waters not to cold but it's not to warm either. Also I love there cool cups for slushies!

malcolm gamble

Tons of fun in the sun! The slides were by far my family's favorite part. Very friendly staff.

Lonnie Ebertowski

Took 4 days and 4 voicemails to get a call back. Customer service is very spotty. The park itself is very big and usually enjoyable if you go on a weekday when it's not as busy.

Jose Ibanez

WARNING TOURIST!!!! Horrible experience! Don’t take your little kids here. The life guards aren’t actually trained, they’re minimum wage hired and the water rapids worker slung my son down the rapids not fully on his float he was tumbling head over feet. The other ride worker who helps push the floats through the water wasn’t ready and was screaming at the guy who shoved my son down. It was scary. 2 workers SCOTT AND HAYLE cursed at my wife for being in the water without being on her float trying to save our son. We will never be back and we will warn everyone. We are local!! The best water park to go to is SHIPWRECK ISLAND an hour away from this horrid place!

dave chesno

Prices were reasonable the amount of options. We went one week out of season and several rides were already shut down but we didnt wait in any lines. Staff was welcoming and polite. The park was clean except the bathrooms were horrendous.

Matthew Nezat

Stopped in to play putt-putt and had a decent time with our friends. Some of the "tee" boxes need to be moved as they are impossible to hit from. The layout is great, however the holes could be more challenging and could use a bit of an update.

dj creamcheese

DO NOT GIVE THIS BUSINESS YOUR MONEY FOR MANY REASONS. **Notice only good reviews are coming from local guides and crazy people**

karen hudson

Amazing fun! Bring your own food, the prices are crazy! You can't bring food in the park, but you can get your hands stamped and have a picnic at your car.

Sabrina Scott

Wasnt really cool. Better for smaller kids the one in pensicola is alot funner and seemed bigger

Gage Kosmas

Fantastic place to go not usually too crowded nor expensive. Definitely best water park within the area.

TimBro

AWSOME they have so many slides short lines friendly staff, a half pipe, very sick i suggest you go.

Destin Beach Access

A fantastic place to bring the kids (and it's fun for the adults, I have to admit!). Tons of great slides, plenty to do, and we come back year after year. It can be pricey to bring the whole family, but it's worth it if you have a full day to spend.

Brittany Downs

Staff was great and helpful . Hours were wrong on web site.10-5pm are actual hours

Dale Major

Why don't they close this park down. not worth the money. I which i could give them a minus 5 stars.

Harriet Burns

While vacationing in Santa Rosa beach last week we decided to take the kids to the Big Kahuna waterpark. It cost the five of us a total of $255.00 just to walk in. Aside from the fact that my two grandsons, aged 8 & 10, were charged the adult price of $47.99, most of us came back to our condo with painful, blistered feet. We’re from New Orleans so we’re used to the hot weather. We didn’t expect to be walking on what seemed to be hot coals. I would think they would at least warn people and suggest wearing water shoes. Don’t let the pictures fool you. The place is dirty, disgusting and way over-priced. Then they have the nerve to charge for parking. A total rip-off!!!! NEVER AGAIN!!!!

Sara Pruette

When I looked the ticket prices up online I was like wow they are expensive, but after we went i seen that it was absolutely worth every penny. Great place to take your family. Even small kids. My family had the best time! Even my three year old got to ride almost every ride in the park.

joerica Brown

The only reason for the 4 stars was when we went they did not have the whole park open. The overall experience was a good one. We will be back next summer. Also, the daiquiris was not worth the price water down.

Thevoiceof fred

Big Kahuna’s is a win win. Attractions, including a couple of lazy rivers, a wave pool, and a surf wave! Great prices (season pass recommended) great vibes.

Julia Marlowe

What a disappointing experience. We were so excited to take our boys to this water park, however upon entering and noticing the extremely run down and poorly maintained condition of this park we were quickly regretting the $300+ we spent to get in. Water slides weren’t working, lazy river was extremely dirty, steps everywhere, the paths to get to other parts of the park were extremely hot quickly burning my little ones feet, the bathrooms were absolutely disgusting. The park overall looked to be falling apart. Wooden steps resulting in splinters in your feet. Even my boys were bored of this park after a couple hours. Food prices weren’t horrible but the wait was ridiculous. We love water parks but we will never come back to this one. Especially upon leaving finding out we had to pay for parking as well.....parking that was in a dirt parking lot.

Madison Ketchem

I've been here in the past and it was great but I can off season during the week because the website said it was open and when we got there, us and a few other cars called and the answering machine said they were only open on weekends. They should change their hours so people are informed.

Shady Lama

Son loved this place. A lot to do just be ready for a workout climbing steps to the bigger slides. They do charge for parking on the way out. Fun times had. Lockers start at $11

Gary Cook

Good water slides but only 1/2 park was open

Angie Clinton

Great family fun! Only 4 stars because 2 of the most fun rides were down for maintenance.

Kevin Supenia

A lot of people may believe you get what you pay for.......this is not the case when it comes to Big Kahuna's water park. An expensive entry fee fetches you a very lacking and understaffed water park with a 45 minute wait just to purchase a simple drink. At least half of the slides were closed which left not much to do. You're better off taking the family to the beach or the arcade nearby.

Jessica Frasier

Half the water park is closed due to lack of life guards and the putt putt golf course needed cleaning and maintenance. However, my family had a great time in both parks.

C. Ainsley Davis

Great park, pricey but quite a few slides and 2 lazy rivers. The tube rides need some redesign as you can get stuck in an area for a while going in circles. Pricey food and drinks with no real options for kids drinks other than water or fruit punch and soda. Had a good fun day there to make sure we got the most out of the admissions.

Melissa Parsons

Kids will have fun, plenty of life guards but my suggestion don't get the popcorn bucket. It can only be refilled in one location. This weekend I waited over 30 minutes for refill. The guy was working by himself even though two other areas had two people with no lines. Ray was the shift manager never saw him walk through. Bathrooms were a mess. Why have a business if you don't want to take care of it.

STUDENT Lauren Tussey

The slides were moldy and crusty and felt like they were going to break down. The Honolulu half pipe was such a long line and it was not fun at all. It was dirty and girls BEWARE!!! Your top could fall off on the ride. The workers there are mean and yell at you for no reason. The lazy river let’s kids ride the river in no tubes and they crash into the older kids. Most of the slides are shut down and disgusting. 1/10 all around. They make you dump out your water at the front and don’t properly check your bags. I would not trust my kids alone at Big Kahunas.

Michelle Harris-Felix

Lot fun. Could without the stairs little smaller than I thought.

Megan Hunt

I'm a local. I've been going to Big kahunas for over 25 years. It has new owners. The water has been low all summer. (Like they can't afford to fill it up.) The health department shut them down for a couple of days. That really should tell you all you need to know about how its being ran now. The students they bring in from all over the world to work are underpaid, most seem miserable if you take the time to talk to them. The maintenance men (probably close to the only locals that work there) are rude, like they have authority over all.

Katherine McCall

A great place for kids but not my fav. The water is refreshing and cool except for the wave pool which is like bath water and small. The food is over priced and unhealthy which is not an option for me. And they don’t allow you to bring in any water, drinks, or food of your own. The only reason I go is because my son likes it and it’s not expensive if you buy the season passes. We’ve been three times this summer so feel like we got our money’s worth at least. Not sure if we’ll go again.

Maria Boyington

So many rides great way to stay cool. Fun for everyone. Weather you just want to relax in the lazy river or let the kids play in the kid section. Fun for all ages

Christina Coley

Kids LOVE this place!! I can relax in the kid area and let my teens roam, they love the slides. Season pass is worth the extra $10, only way to go!!

joann davis

Had a horrible experience here! Water was hot, food lines took forever, and park at your own risk our car was keyed and they have no cameras in the parking lot and we were told they’re not responsible for anything. I emailed and never got a response. Will never go back!!

Tetyana Pokydko

Not my favorite place. Water is way to cold even in kiddie pools, you can see they have a big water loss and constantly pumping in more cold water. Hard to navigate all the little passages and walkways, some lead to nowhere. Crowded. Just poorly designed with that big hill it’s on. We went to Panama City Beach water park and it’s so much better, flat and spread out.

Emily Woodard

I was there the day before yesterday with my family. I was trying to go down stairs to get on a ride when I slipped and fell down the four steps twisting my ankle and hitting right hip on all four stairs going down. The surface in the water is extremely slippery!! Of course the lifegaurd apologized profusely and said Big Kahuna's is "talking" about repainting steps. I am sure Big Kahuna's makes enough money where adding texture to the step in the water (like they have on the steps outside of water) should be available. Not even 15 minutes later my niece was walking into the kiddie pool on the slope and she slipped and fell as well. Definitely a disappointment and safety hazard!!! This needs to be fixed.

Santhana Drake

Awesome waterpark. Friendly staff. Fun for hours. Have visited many times over the years. Kids absolutely love. Won't regret your visit. Glad we purchased annual pass.

Elaine Horn

Middle of tourist season and lines still moved pretty fast. Expensive food but good. They have alcoholic daquiris and non-alcoholic as well. Lots of kids and baby areas as well as fun for older kids and adults too. Lockers available starting at $11 but my big bag fit in the smallest size available so it was ok. Over all great!

Jennifer Norton

Kids liked the water park. Putt putt was horrible. The lighting was poorly placed. We couldn't see most of the holes. The adventure side is open even though it looks closed. I thought it was closed all week, when we asked about it, they turned on the lights, let us ride once and shut it all down. Making it looked closed again. Very disappointed in the putt putt, wish we would have gone somewhere else. Waste of money and huge let down.

Erica Asble

It's a water park, lots of different places to sit, lots of water.. right now (early May) it's not so crowded so if your local it's the time to go. Season passes make it affordable to visit multiple times. Just an FYI the stone walk paths are hot on the bottom of your feet!!! There are a lot of stairs too, if stairs bother you take some something before you come and when you leave to help with inflammation (not a DR at all.. just saying). Currently my youngest is too big for the kiddie pools and slides (they don't hold his interest, he's definitely a dare devil), and too small for the Big rides, but don't worry there are some rides for him now that he's at least 42 inches tall.. Hey and if you happen to go and enjoy the park, please please don't bring your own food in, IT'S NOT ALLOWED and not fair to other parents follow the rules. Enjoy and don't forget to bring sunscreen!

Marie Rose

We had fun here, but it was very expensive considering a lot of the slides were closed or not working. Fewer attractions should result in lower price for entry. Water was pretty filthy in some places, kind of more like pond water. Bottom of large pool was slimy. Concrete was really rough in some places, could scrape up kids knees if they fall, which can't be sanitary. Food was pricey for the quality and quantity. On top of admission, they charge an additional $5 fee for parking when you leave. I would suggest wearing water shoes since the concrete paths and boardwalks get extremely hot from the sun. Overall, this park could be great if they could clean it up and get everything working.

Diana McLendon

We bought season passes for two small children and when we went we were highly disappointed. They were doing construction and had 50% of the kid area is closed the kid areas that were open we’re not maintained they had the whole winter to repaint and fix things up and nothing was done. I spent over $200 on season passes so my kids can enjoy something besides the beach since there’s a little no we’re kind of stuck in really not able to go until the construction is complete. When we went we try to get some food and we went to one counter to order and they told us we had to go to another counter so we went to that counter in the net told us they weren’t open this is at 12 o’clock . We have left numerous messages and emails nobody has gotten back to us highly highly disappointed in Customer Service and in how they operate

Aidan Allenbaugh

Awesome time, just buy the season pass. It's worth it even if you only go twice.

Justin K

Had a great time. From what I saw, most of the people that complained about something was because they can’t follow simple instructions that are posted next to each slide. Why should they make special height restrictions for you? Anyway, little pricey and lots of walking up and down stairs to get across the park but to be expected. Overall good experience with staff and facilities

David Dodson

You cant bring in coolers or drinks. So plan on spending a lot of money on drinks and snacks. The people they have working in concessions dont care one bit that you've been in line for an hour just to get your kids a drink. It is so mismanaged! While standing in line everyone was talking about never coming back and how it was not worth it. I agreed completely and will never take my family back. Save your money!

Christian Smalley

I wouldn’t even give a single Star to this place. A new employee that had just started that day working for 30 minuets unsupervised on the water rapids ride shoved my 7 year old down the slide and he want even fully on his float. He was flipping down the water ride head over feet, the girl that stands below the ride to push the floats down was mad screaming at the guy who pushed my son down because no one was ready not expecting this to happen! I jumped in to save him, another girl screamed at me to get on a float that I wasn’t supposed to be on the ride without a float, the whole time my son is without a float just tumbling down the ride! People aren’t screaming for someone to help him! Literally the worst experience of my life at a water park! Management was involved and I had a full refund. I don’t think this place trains employees well before they start their job which is insane because this is a huge water park and people who could be drowning would actually be saved by the untrained “lifeguards”... I’ll never be back