11 Florida Resorts With Water Parks Perfect for a Family Vacation
With thrilling slides, lazy rivers, and surf machines, these splashy fun zones blow standard hotel pools out of the water.
For beachgoers, Florida certainly offers some of the finest sands in the land. But when it's freshwater fun you're seeking, set your sights on a hotel that dishes up more than your standard swimming pool. These hotels with water parks provide more than just relief from the Florida heat — many of them are also near major attractions like Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando Resort.
Follow our lead to these Florida getaways — complete with slides, lazy rivers, lagoons, waterfalls, FlowRider surf simulators, and more. Then set off slipping and sliding to your heart's delight.
The Grove Resort & Water Park Orlando
Less than 10 miles west of Walt Disney World, The Grove Resort & Waterpark Orlando has multiple on-site attractions for families to enjoy. Entry to the Surfari Water Park is free with your stay and gets you access to a 695-foot-long lazy river, dual water slides, a children's activity pool, and an enormous zero-entry pool. If your kids know the basics of surfing (or just want to try shredding in a controlled environment), you can pay extra for the FlowRider Double surf simulator, a sheet wave machine that creates the perfect conditions to feel what it's like to ride a swell. Other fun things to do at this property fronting Lake Austin include fishing outings and playing mini golf and video games in the arcade.
JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa
With free access for hotel guests and day passes available for local residents, Tidal Cove at the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa in Aventura offers one of the best hotel water parks in South Florida. This is where you'll find the nation's first FlowRider Triple surf simulation pool, with three different surf areas where you can try to hang 10 on a Flowboard (lessons are offered for beginners, too). Climb the water park's 60-foot tower to careen down seven different waterslides, including the 558-foot Constrictor slide, or just float atop a tube through tropical foliage along the lazy river. There are five acres of pool deck fun to keep you wet and wild here.
Orlando World Center Marriott
The sprawling Orlando World Center Marriott — just 10 minutes by car from shopping and entertainment at Disney Springs — is one of the largest Marriotts in the world, with a convention center, golf course, spa, nightly laser shows, and Japanese steakhouse among its many amenities. But for kids, it's all about the River Falls Water Park, complete with a zero-entry heated lagoon pool, three twisting slides, a slide tower, a kiddie splash pad, and a 575-foot lazy river.
Related: How to Plan the Perfect Trip to Orlando, According to Theme Park and Travel Experts
Encore Resort at Reunion
About a 10-minute drive from Walt Disney World, Encore Resort at Reunion is perfect for a multigenerational vacation or family reunion. The massive private resort offers spacious vacation rentals with between four and 13 bedrooms. All come with five-star-hotel-style amenities and free transportation to Orlando's major theme parks. The community also has an epic water park that sprawls across 10 tropical acres. Attractions range from waterslides that drop from a 60-foot-high tower to the Surfing Safari Splash Area for smaller kids, with four pint-sized slides, water cannons they can fire, and bridges to scale.
Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa
This favorite hotel among golfers is located in the quiet community of Palm Coast — just south of St. Augustine on Florida's east coast — and it happens to have a great water park, too. (All the better for keeping the kids entertained while you're teeing off.) The Fantasy Pool Complex at Hammock Beach Golf Resort & Spa has a zero-entry beach pool where toddlers stay busy building sandcastles while older kids tackle the twisting waterslide or float down the lazy river. There's even an indoor pool and an adults-only pool for when you want a break from all the splashing, hooting, and hollering.
Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center
This Marriott property in Kissimmee is famous for its annual holiday events, incredible gardens, and animal habitats housed inside a 4.5-acre glass atrium, but it also delivers big on water park fun. Cypress Springs Water Park at Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center is a three-acre zone with seven waterslides, a surf simulator, two pools, and an enormous playground in the water. There's also an action river (not to be mistaken for a lazy river) called Crystal River Rapids, where you're pushed along in a brisk current at four feet per second.
CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort
A water park that's largely shaded from Florida's plentiful and sometimes punishing sunshine — now there's a great idea! That's what awaits at CoCo Key Hotel and Water Resort, located less than 10 minutes by car from Universal Orlando Resort and full of splash-centric fun all its own. A 54,000-square-foot canopy shades the bulk of this outdoor water park, with 14 slides to careen down, two restaurants, a tiki bar, and a dedicated lagoon area for younger guests with gentle slides and fountains to enjoy. Four tickets to the water park are included in the hotel's resort fee, which covers shuttles to Universal Orlando, entry to the family-friendly arcade, a fitness center, and other perks.
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort
Even if visiting the nearby theme parks is the primary point of your vacation at the lavish Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, you might be tempted to build an off-day into your itinerary once you see Explorer Island. The hotel's fabulous water park centers on a 7,590-square-foot family pool with an underwater audio system and dishes up a lazy river, The Drop (a twisting waterslide), a splash zone, and regularly scheduled events, such as dive-in movies every Saturday evening.
Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort
Florida's beach getaways of yesteryear were the inspiration for the retro-chic 1950s and '60s vibes at Universal's Cabana Bay Beach Resort, where guests who've purchased theme park admission get early entry (up to one hour before the parks open) to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And we're guessing Harry would enjoy the fun at Cabana Bay's cool on-site water park, with a waterslide themed after a dive tower, the Lazy River Courtyard with a sand beach, and a positively enormous centerpiece pool. Plus, it's just steps from Universal's Volcano Bay water park.
Related: Best Times to Visit The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Orlando Resort
FantasyWorld Resort
Stay four miles from Walt Disney World in Kissimmee at FantasyWorld Resort, and you can keep the kids entertained on property with a sweet water park complete with a lazy river, two three-story waterslides, a splash pad, and more. All of the accommodations here are two-bedroom, two-bathroom villas that can sleep six people with full kitchens and washer/dryers, making it easy to settle in and stay a while.
Island H2O Water Park at Margaritaville Resort Orlando
While it's not actually on the property, Island H2O Water Park is a great option within easy walking distance of Margaritaville Resort Orlando. Even better, resort guests get discounts on admission. This is hardly your standard hotel water park, either. It pulls out all the watery stops with more than 20 experiences that include thrilling drop slides, a six-lane racer slide, a lazy river, a wave pool, kiddie slides and a splash zone, dive-in movies and live music during the summer, and tons more.
Related: The 12 Best Places to Visit in Florida, According to a Lifelong Resident
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